Raccoons are considered to be nuisances in some residential neighborhoods. This is because they eat food belonging to pets, burrow into different areas of your home and get into garbage cans. The worst part is that they carry diseases and can easily transmit them to livestock, pets and people. The most effective method of controlling them is by using a raccoon trap but you must know how to bait the trap for it be effective.

Before you bait the trap, learn the route that they use. Since they are nocturnal animals, you can only observe them during the night. Place each trap on a single piece of wood and it has to be on their most traveled paths. You can them place the bait just a small distance away. As the raccoon tries to access the bait, the wood will prevent it from digging under your trap as a way of getting to the bait.

Bait the trap using any food that is part of their normal diet. Note that in early summer and in the spring, raccoons tend to feed on crayfish, frogs, fish, mussels and insects. In the fall and summer, they eat berries, fruits, grains and nuts. However, if they are getting into the trash can, you can bait the trap using your waste food because they are interested in it. You can also bait the trap using cat food that has seafood flavor.

If you really want to release the raccoon into the wild, learn to bait a cage trap. These traps are of many types and come with a front-door that is spring-loaded so that the sensor only needs to be triggered for the door to slam shut. The bait is placed in the back part of the trap and remember to place the trap on the sensor.