7 Ways To Keep Raccoons OFF Your Bird Feeders! (2023)
How do you keep raccoons away and off bird feeders?
Unfortunately, I recently had to ask myself this question.
For years, raccoons have comfortably eaten sunflower seeds and peanuts on the ground underneath my feeders.
I thought we had a good relationship. You see, every day, I put food on the ground for the birds. And almost every night, raccoons come to feast on the easy meal, and I don’t care at all! In return, these masked mammals stay off my feeders and don’t break anything.
Well, it only took one young individual to break my imaginary pact with the raccoons. This frisky bandit started climbing up the pole next to my feeding station that supports my live webcams. From there, the raccoon would make a leap of faith to my feeders!
You can actually watch this mischievous juvenile jumping from the camera pole below, breaking my tray feeder in the process!
*If you want to watch my LIVE bird feeder camera, make sure to check out this page.*
Unfortunately, once a raccoon finds an easy meal, they don’t forget about it easily. Suddenly, the same raccoon almost nightly was climbing up and jumping over to my feeders.
Luckily, after some thinking and experimentation, I was able to utilize a few strategies to force the raccoon back on the ground. But after dealing with this naughty raccoon, I thought I would write today’s guide:
7 Ways to Keep Raccoons Off Bird Feeders!
#1. Install a baffle on your bird feeder pole.
Even though they are rather large mammals, raccoons are expert climbers. The easiest way for them to get to your food is by simply climbing up the pole that hangs your bird feeders.
To stop raccoons, the first thing you should try is attaching a baffle to the pole.
A baffle is a contraption that is used to stop animals from climbing. Not only will it help stop raccoons, but a baffle should also prevent squirrels from climbing. I think baffles (wrap-around style) look like the cones that are put around a dog’s neck after they have been neutered!
Which baffle you should buy depends on the size and shape of your feeder pole. I wrote a complete guide to baffles, which should help you decide which one you need!
Or, if you are in the market for a bird feeder pole and don’t want to build one, you should check out the Squirrel Stopper Pole. I used it for many years, and it has a built-in, spring-loaded baffle that neither raccoons nor squirrels can’t get past!
- View Today’s Price for the Squirrel Stopper Pole! (Use code BWHQ to receive 10% off)
Unfortunately, I found out that wrap-around baffles don’t work 100% of the time against raccoons. I have the following baffle installed on the pole in my backyard. Somehow, the raccoon that you see at the beginning of this article was able to maneuver his way around it!
To solve my raccoon problem, I had to also use some of the other strategies listed below!
#2. Wrap metal around your feeder pole.
Raccoons are expert tree climbers but luckily haven’t evolved to climb up smooth metal (yet).
If there is a pole or tree that you can’t stop them from ascending, try wrapping it in some sort of sheet metal or aluminum flashing.
For example, I use a 4×4 wooden post as my homemade bird feeder pole. When it was installed, a metal stovepipe was placed around the pole (and spray painted black). There is no way for a raccoon to climb up the slippery metal!
Here is a video of my dad and me putting the stovepipe on my DIY bird feeder pole.
And for extra protection, I even placed a baffle at the top of the stove pipe.
Wrapping a piece of thin metal around your bird feeder pole, tree, or anything else you don’t want raccoons (or squirrels!) climbing works exceptionally well.
#3. Keep raccoons away with spicy food!
Have you ever eaten a hot pepper?
If so, you know that they can make your mouth a bit uncomfortable.
The “heat“ that you feel in your mouth after eating a hot pepper is caused by a compound called capsaicin. The reason we feel pain, discomfort, and burning after eating hot peppers is that capsaicin messes with specific nerve endings in our mouth.
MAMMALS are affected by capsaicin! RACCOONS included.
Here is the exciting part:
Birds can eat capsaicin all day long and feel no ill effects.
So to take advantage, many bird foods add capsaicin as a powder coat, liquid coat, or as part of a suet mix to stop raccoons from eating.
Time and time again, it has been shown that having capsaicin-treated bird food is one of the best raccoon repellents you can utilize. Raccoons have SUPER sensitive noses, so all it takes is one smell, and they will start looking elsewhere. 🙂
Using hot pepper sunflower seed in my bird feeders worked well to force the raccoon back to the ground. For about a week, I used spicy food in my feeders until the raccoon learned its lesson.
Here is the hot pepper birdseed that I use: View Price - Amazon
Cole’s Hot Meats Sunflower Seed
Is it safe to feed birds capsaicin?
Products that contain capsaicin have been on the market for a long time now, and there are no reports of any birders or ornithologists who have spoken on the adverse health consequences for birds.
#4. Use bird feeders that raccoons can’t use!
One way to keep these mammals away is to use bird feeders that raccoons physically CAN’T use.
Here are two styles that should work great.
A. Weight-sensitive feeders
A raccoon’s weight varies dramatically among individuals, but most weigh somewhere between 10 – 30 pounds. The average size of the birds coming to your feeders is much smaller, typically only a few ounces.
Luckily, it’s easy to use a raccoon’s size against themselves!
Certain bird feeders have perches that close when enough weight is put on them. This feature allows small songbirds to feed in peace, but as soon as a raccoon puts its chubby leg on it, access to the food is denied!
My favorite weight-sensitive feeder is the Absolute II hopper. Below is a video of how it works.
COMPARE PRICES – Amazon or JCS Wildlife – Save 10% by using code “BWHQ” at checkout!
Not only will it cause a problem for raccoons, but squirrels and heavier birds also won’t be able to eat.
B. Caged bird feeders
The idea behind these feeders is simple. Wrap a metal cage around a bird feeder that only small birds can fit through! Caged feeders also work great if you need to prevent starlings from feeding!
Seriously, take a look at this caged feeder that I own below.
Audubon Caged Tube Feeder View Cost - Amazon
A raccoon can try as hard as it wants, but there is no way it’s going to get access to the food unless it somehow knocks the feeder to the ground.
#5. Feed raccoons separately.
Many people, including myself, enjoy seeing raccoons in our yards and appreciate their role in the circle of life. We just get a bit annoyed when they start climbing on our feeders and break stuff!
In addition to the other strategies on this list, you can try feeding raccoons in a safe place on the ground. The hope is that if you offer enough delicious food where it’s easy to reach, these acrobatic mammals will have no reason to climb up to your feeders.
Check out my LIVE animal camera below!
The webcam watches the area underneath my feeding station. Almost every day, I fill the tray feeders full of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and corn. The food is primarily for the birds, but I know every night the raccoons, opossums, and rabbits are going to get their fill.
I hope that if the raccoons can find enough food on the ground, there is no reason even to try to find food above! This strategy also works extremely well for distracting House Sparrows.
#6. Neutralize any “launchpads.”
So most of the time, my bird feeders are extremely quiet at night, since birds aren’t active once the sun goes down.
But a few years ago, I had a raccoon problem different from the one I mentioned at the beginning of the article.
One night, out of nowhere, things got a little crazy. As you can see in the video, a raccoon appears mysteriously from above!
After some investigation, I found that a branch overhead had slowly been growing closer and closer to the top of my feeding station. This raccoon had climbed down the tree limb and accessed the food from above!
A quick trim of the tree branches solved the raccoon problem immediately!
The moral of the story?
Make sure to inspect areas around your feeding station. Specifically, look for places a raccoon could either jump off from or climb down. Like me, you may need to do some tree trimming or raccoon-proof a nearby structure or tree that they could jump from!
#7. Trap and release.
If all else fails, you can try to trap raccoons and let them go somewhere far away from your house.
Catching a raccoon is relatively easy.
First, buy a large trap, like the one seen below.
Havahart Raccoon Trap View Price - Amazon
Then put something delicious inside, such as peanut butter, dog food, shelled sunflower seeds, or any number of other human foods.
Soon enough, you should have a raccoon. Now you need to drive at least five miles away to let it go. Try to find a friend that has a large forest where the raccoon can hopefully stay away from people.
While trapping can work, I don’t think it’s a long-term solution. There will ALWAYS be more raccoons. To solve your raccoon problems, I think it’s a much better use of time to focus on how to stop them permanently.
PLEASE do not hurt the raccoon.
These adaptable mammals are just trying to stay alive. Be kind and find a suitable place far away from your house to let them go.
*Please check your local laws and regulations about trapping and releasing!*
Final Thoughts
I think I can safely say that the raccoon that was climbing onto my bird feeders has been defeated, and he is peacefully eating again on the ground.
As you do battle against raccoons, I think you will find you use a combination of tactics. For me, I needed the help of baffles, spicy food, and caged and weight-sensitive feeders to stop raccoons.
I’d love to hear what works for you.
The only thing we found to keep raccoons off our bird feeders was applying thick red axil grease on the poles under the baffles. It lasts a long time and evidently they don’t like the smell.
I just read this article. And I’m sad to say, but few or none of them will work, at least with the raccoons in my neighborhood.
1. I have a feeder just like the green, weight-sensitive one in your video. It is on a metal pole, and has both a cone and a tube baffle on the pole. Guess what? I’ve seen the raccoons somehow manage to climb up past the squirrel baffles, and then reach into each of the square hole things on the feeder with their paws to grab a fistful of bird seed. The weight-sensitive part is useless when they can just stick their hands through the holes.
2. Several days ago there was a baby raccoon hanging onto the bottom end of my tube feeder, with its mother sitting below, watching baby practice its feeder-raiding skills, no doubt praising it in Raccoonese for a job well done. I stuck my head out the window to shoo them away, but after doing that a couple times that night, they ceased to be afraid of me. A few times this year they’ve actually knocked down the tube feeder off the pole. So I finally decided to wire it securely to the pole, which worked, but still didn’t prevent the raccoons from climbing up the pole and sticking their paws into the holes to grab some seed.
3. As for the cage feeder, I have absolutely no doubt a raccoon can stick its arm through the cage wires and grab some seed through the holes.
4. Last year there was a raccoon in my backyard who had figured out to shake the pole the feeder is on to make the seed spill out of the feeder. I admit that was pretty clever. Long story short, I eventually had that particular raccoon trapped and put to sleep, because it either had some sort of bad neurological issue or was extremely old and had the raccoon equivalent of Parkinson’s. But I digress. I’d never want to trap healthy raccoons, especially not when they have kids like the pair I saw a few days ago.
It’s clear these raccoons come every night – or almost every night. I also get an opossum every night but they’re not as athletic as the raccoons and create no problems.
Now, pardon me while I go outside to take in my feeders for the night.
I love this and your love and respect of all living things! From your article I have decided that I will move the bird feeder into the house at night and replace it again during the day. Thanks for your advice!
Bird feeders undisturbed by ‘coons until this year. Metal pole, baffle that swings when grabbed so there is no solid footing. But somehow that animal got up there at night, cleaned up every seed, without knocking anything down. Got a trail camera pic of it sitting on top munching away, about 4 a.m. Squirrels can’t do this, so how does a raccoon.
Look in your trees, they often leave them there after they’re done dining.
Look in the trees in your yard, raccoons often leave them there after they’re done dining.
Raccoons are considered an invasive species in our city. There are laws against relocating a trapped raccoon and requirements to kill them if trapped. They have caused problems for residents when they relocate inside homes, chimneys, etc., a few this summer have been rabid and some have caused a parasitic disease in vulnerable people who encountered their feces. My neighborhood hasn’t had many problems with them lately because we don’t provide much food for them and keep our yards cleaned up. We also do this to discourage rats. I think your tolerance of raccoons might work where there is more space for everyone but doesn’t work here.
Hi, I live in Quebec, Canada and have had an ongoing battle with raccoons for some years now. They kept stealing my peanut tube feeders and they dug up two tubs of pansies that I had on my patio. I finally bought four nine foot metal poles which had three arms on the top for hanging plants. These work extremely well as the raccoons can’t reach the tube feeders now. However, if I have table feeders on the deck, they will destroy them. As well they ripped the bottom out of one of the chairs on the patio. Very frustrating! I think the suggestion of cayenne pepper might solve the problem and I am going to get some today! Many thanks!
We’ve had an ongoing battle with raccoons and squirrels for quite a while. I use hot pepper bird food, add cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. That helps, not doesn’t completely deter them. My biggest problem lately is they’re knocking our hummingbird feeders down. We don’t have any in the yard because of that. Now, they’re climbing on top of our pergola and an extended pole on our deck and knocking them down. They’ve turned over some of my flower pots, but I think that’s just them being clumsy. I sprinkle pepper flakes on the dirt in my pots to keep the squirrels out as well. Soooo frustrating! 🤦♀️
The box-like feeder that closes to prevent squirrels from getting any seed didn’t work. My squirrels get on the top and hang by their back legs from the roof peak, and take all the food from above.
Did you know raccoon feces carries worm eggs that can be deadly, especially for children? The eggs will last in the soil through snow and heat for 20 years. The only thing that will kill the eggs is boiling water or fire. I had raccoons eating from our fruit trees and leaving what is called a raccoon latrine behind a fence where we rarely went. They use the same place over and over. It was as big as a cow pie. They used other places to defecate. I got tired of picking up their feces with gloves and putting it in plastic bags and then carrying boiling water to put on the spot where it had been. You really should never feed raccoons. I’ve been vegetarian for 50 years so I have not had any animal or fish killed in order to eat, but I believe you should not encourage raccoons. The eggs hatch in the body and travel through the muscles, spine, brain, and eyes. We have put up a pet grade electric wire all around the perimeter of our backyard about an inch or two from the top of the wood fence. In the area behind our wood fence is a chain link fence. There are insulators (Zareba) you can buy that work on poles. I don’t know if this will keep out the raccoons, but when I accidentally touch the wire, I don’t like it. I’m sure they don’t either. I also put some pokey metal things I got in the building section of Home Depot and velcroed them to the drain pipes so they are discouraged from climbing the poles and going over the roof for access to come down on the rain tanks next to our house.
I tried covering my feeding poles with the carpet tack strips, squirrels and raccoons were NOT dettered.
Hi.my problem are squirrels in my hazelnut tree. I’m saving all the hair I comb from my cat and dog and will attempt making a pop bottle into the shape of a cat and then covering it with the hair and fasten it to a branch. Any comments or ideas?
These mini vaccuum cleaners are very helpful at keeping mice away. I had mice problems a few months ago. The raccoons then took the food over until the raccoons became a problems. I then built a lego ground feeder for the raccoons. Then they ate from that and clean up the ground under my bird feeders.
I keep raccoons away by feeding them on a lego ground feeder. It sits on the ground and the squirrels and raccoons eat out of it. Those two kinds of critters also act as “mini vacuum cleaners” that eat food from under my bird feeders. The cleaning they do to the area on my porch under my feeder is very helpful to keep mice away. I had mice problems a few months ago until the squirrels and raccoons took the food over and ate it all to keep away the mice. Then the raccons and squirrels started becoming problems until I built a mini lego feeding ray and placed it on the ground. The squirrels eat on the ground feeder during the day and the raccoons eat at night.
Has anyone used a solar powered flashing red light being sold to deter all kinds of night critters? If so, were they effective?
I tried a solar lit slinky. The coon stole it despite the fact it was fastened to top of pole by wire from suet feeder (coon had stolen this earlier) and twisted around the pole.
Metal poles don’t work. I watched a raccon go up and down one like gymnasts last night before I scared it off and took my feeder inside. No luck with a baffle either. Going to try the cayenne pepper next.
I have to carry all of my birdfeeders into the garage at night, just after dark and then return them to the outdoords prior to daybreak, to keep raccoons away. Prior to this, besides making a mess of our feeders, raccoons had even found their way into our attic! Removing the birdfeeders every night was the only solution for me, though it’s unpleasant to take the feeders in and out during cold, icy weather.
I had a family in my yard that eventually found a way to shelter in my house. Behind the rafters was as far as they went. I lived in a rural neighborhood but for years they lived in the sewer system at the other end of my street. I used coyote urine on a few Bounty paper towels that I stuck between the prongs of my antique laundry pole. At the gutter on the end corner they must have made an opening. So I shoved the paper towel into it. It did work a bit. They didn’t like it. But she must have had her babies behind the wall so she had to return. I redid the treatment and for a whole week I blasted my stereo very loud. They all left. Never saw them again. I was told by a wild life man to use these two things. The coyote is their enemy & they hate loud noise.
Raccoon actually unscrewed my larger three-cylinder feeder which was hanging from the centre of a screen ten structure. Putting cayenne pepper in now!
Thanks so much! I so much want to feed EVERYONE, and I don’t like it when the raccoons take more than their fair share. I love the zip tie idea. I’ll also try cayenne pepper since I have that on hand.
I have about 10 raccoons coming to the feeders at night. One is able to get up our pole even passed the baffle. He empties the 4 feeders to feed the others! We used plastic drain pipe to build the feeder pole. Cut it and inserted a 2×4 with drilled holes. We can raise the feeders high enough that bears can’t reach them. But it doesn’t stop the raccoons. I even wrapped the bottom of the pole with barbed wire. They climb right over it!
The best advice I can give, #1, plastic zip ties work great to attach your feeder to the hook it’s hanging from or even the branch itself. #2, sprinkle your bird seed with some cayenne pepper. The birds love it, the coon don’t. Sprinkle some on the ground below your feeder, also. My hubs and I watched a coon’s reaction to the cayenne on the ground below the feeder, he was rubbing his face and mouth all over the ground trying to get rid of the burn. Just remember to repeat the application after it rains. (These suggestions also work with squirrels, if they come back.)
I don’t know how high your feeder is hanging, but consider a baffle if you can fit one between the branch and your feeder. As long as the baffle has the room to tip to the side, the coon won’t make it to your feeder. A little trick of mine, I use car wax on the top of our baffles, makes them even more ‘slicker-ier’.
Good luck,
Lois
Sigh. After a year with a caged bird feeder successfully defeated the squirrels, I have a racoon problem. I woke up one morning, looked out the kitchen window to watch the birds and realised that the cage was gone. My daughter was up late and saw the whole thing from her bedroom window.
The racoon climbed the tree, reached down and yanked the cage of the hook and ate the entire contents. I switched to pepper-infused suet. The racoon came back and trashed the bird feeder every single night before I gave up. Unfortunately, we can’t install a pole as I live in a townhouse and we can’t permanently install a pole on the shared lawn. I have opted to put the feeder out each morning and bring it in every night. But I’m concerned about the nights I forget to do so.
We have electric fence on our deck to keep the bears off. It hasn’t affected birds, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons (unfortunately). I believe this is because they are not grounded. I have found no issues for wildlife for the last 2 years of use. I’ve seen many birds land on Hotwire, if they are not grounded, they don’t get shocked.
They took my birdfeeder too, I am sure a walk in my woods will reveal it eventually but I feel for ya, those feeders aren’t cheap
I actually have a critter taking (stealing?!!) my birdfeeders! I am assuming it is a raccoon. I don’t mind feeding them, but I would rather them leave my birdfeeders behind. I have “lost” two to them in a few nights now. You have given me some great advice to try… I was just completely blown away they took the whole birdfeeders with them!!
I live in an area with lots of bears, just yesterday one broke into my trash can! I have honey bees, and have an electric fence to keep bears out, but I don’t want to by more and possibly harm birds if they sit on it. What should I do?