Will repellents get a raccoon out of the chimney?

The first and most important thing to know is that repellents don't have any effect on raccoons, not in the chimney or elsewhere. The most common repellents are mothballs and ammonia. Mothballs are a combination of pesticides and deodorants that are placed with small balls of white material (usually wool or something else). Mothballs are effective when it comes to repelling moths and their larvae, but not when it comes to raccoons or other rodents. This is the reason why mothballs are used in closets where you store clothes (especially wool clothes) to prevent moths from destroying it.

The scent released from the mothballs is more offensive for humans and the mentioned moths than for other animals. When it comes to ammonia, this is indeed a nasty smell and it is difficult to withstand it – but primarily for the people around it. It will not have any more effect on raccoons than mothballs.

This is especially true if we are talking about the pregnant raccoon or a raccoon mother with babies. This is an animal with a nurturing and protective instinct that is above all other instincts, and a nasty smell isn't something that will scare her away or force her away from her nest with the babies in it. Offensive scents aren't something that will affect a raccoon mother. Even other repellents, such as loud noises or a lightshow (lasers and similar), will not scare a mother raccoon away and get her away from the babies. In the end, the most important thing is that the offensive smell isn't something that has any effect on the health or wellbeing of a raccoon mother or babies, and this is the other reason why repellents of any kind will not get the raccoon out of the chimney if it has made it its home. Wildlife means the undomesticated animals species and they are the animals that grow or live in the wild in the area where they were not introduced by the humans.

The wildlife may be found in each ecosystem like the grasslands, plains, rain forest, forest and deserts. Even if the popular term should stand for the wild that has not been touched by the human factors but in most cases, the wildlife has been affected by the human activities. The only safe way to get the raccoons out of the chimney is by using traps – primarily snare-and-pole traps that enable safe hooking and removing of the raccoon mother and her babies out of the chimney. Once you get the mother raccoon out of the chimney, then remove the babies – don't do it the other way around, as the mother will do her best to protect the babies, which will include biting or scratching you.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Raccoons page or email us if you have any other questions about Will repellents get a raccoon out of the chimney?