Many home gardeners have problems with raccoons eating their sweet corn. In an effort to prevent this damage, gardeners have used various techniques to scare away the raccoons. Some gardeners place blood meal around the sweet corn planting. Others set a blaring radio in the center of the patch. Unfortunately, these control measure are often unsuccessful. The most effective way to prevent damage to the sweet corn crop is to encircle the area with an electric fence. A two-wire fence with one wire 4 to 6 inches above the ground and the other at 12 inches should keep the raccoons out of the sweet corn. For additional information on the management and control of raccoons, pick up a copy of Pm-1302e, Managing Iowa Wildlife - Raccoons, at your local county extension office.
This article originally appeared in the July 1, 1992 issue, p. 115.
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