Raccoons may look cute, but they’re not welcome guests at any house. They can cause serious damage to your property and introduce ticks, fleas, and diseases that can sicken both pets and people. If you have nuisance raccoons, there are several methods to get rid of them humanely without harming them.

Racoons will stay where they’re happy, so the easiest way to deter them from your property is to make it uncomfortable. Eliminating easy food sources like unsecured garbage cans, bird feeders, and wood piles is a good start. Trimming overhanging tree limbs that could help them scale your roof, closing off crawl spaces and decks, and blocking access to other hiding spots can also give them a reason to choose a better neighborhood.

Since raccoons seek warm, dark shelters get rid of nuisance raccoons to nest and raise their young, the best way to prevent them from entering your home is by sealing up the areas they use as dens. This includes insulating attic vents, covering crawl space openings, and sealing basement and attic windows. You should also check regularly for places they might slip in, such as broken porch skirting and lattice work under decks, gaps around the foundation and walls, and holes or cracks under eaves. If you discover an attic entrance, a professional can trap and relocate the mother raccoon and her babies. Then, a professional can help you block off the entry point and seal it permanently to prevent future re-entry.

Another key factor is preventing raccoons from accessing water sources. If a yard offers quick access to water, it’ll be hard for a raccoon to keep moving in search of the next meal. Scour your yard, scout out leaky hoses and sprinklers, cover ponds and pools, and eliminate puddles and standing water.

Garbage cans are the easiest source of food for raccoons, so making them inaccessible is the best way to discourage them from hanging out on your property. This can be done by locking the garbage can at night, taking it inside the garage or shed, and by using a cinder block to weigh down trash can lids. You can also re-purpose old cinder blocks to block access to bird feeders and to deter other wildlife as well.

Finally, raccoons are attracted to damp areas where they can hide and rear their young, so keeping yards raked, free of fallen debris, and trimming hedges will reduce the number of hiding spots for raccoons. Also, a motion-activated lawn sprinkler that sprays the ground with cold water can scare away unwanted visitors.

If you’re still seeing raccoons on your property, consider setting up a live trap and carefully releasing them far away from your home. It’s important to have a professional catch and relocate these wild animals because otherwise, they may return with their babies, chew their way into your attic, and destroy your roof. It’s also illegal in many states to release a captured raccoon into the wild because it can carry diseases that threaten people and other animals.