Rubbish and bins
This is a container problem.
A raccoon that has opened a bin once will keep opening it, and the only reliable fix is a bin it cannot open.
Raccoons have dexterous forepaws with an extraordinary density of touch receptors, excellent spatial memory, and a documented ability to solve latches. Domestic rubbish is calorie-dense, predictable, and requires no hunting. Once a route is learned it becomes a nightly circuit visited by the same animal.
What you are hearing
Lids lifted and bags opened neatly is raccoon work. Bags torn and scattered widely is more often dogs. Small holes in bags at ground level suggests rats, which is a different and more urgent problem.
What to do
- 01Store bins in a garage or shed until collection morning if you can.
- 02Otherwise use a bin with a locking lid, or fit a bungee or a carabiner — over the lid, not through the handle.
- 03Rinse anything that smells of meat or sugar before it goes in.
- 04Never leave bags out overnight, and stop feeding pets outdoors.
What not to do
- Do not trap and relocate. The territory is immediately reoccupied and relocation is regulated.
- Do not use poison or any deterrent that could reach a pet.
- Do not leave a bin weighted with a brick; a raccoon will simply push it over.
Stopping it happening again
- Secure the food source and the visits stop within a week or two.
- Compost in a closed tumbler rather than an open heap.
- Pick fruit up off the ground; windfall keeps a circuit alive on its own.
When to call someone licensed
Only if an animal is denning in the structure as well as raiding the bins, or if you suspect rats.
Find a rehabilitatorUnderstand the animal
Raccoon problem-solving is genuinely remarkable, and it is the reason they are among the few mammals that have gained ground as cities grew.