I've shown pictures of my Carolina Reaper peppers.
I cant eat them but this is what I use on raccoons and deer.

I like to chop the pepper and add to boiling water till soft and mushy.
Strain and put in hand 1 quart sprayer.

Spray pepper juice on lower leaves.

It works!
At least so far.
I've only lost a hand full of figs but I'm getting a jump on them critters.

Here are 2 articles with similar ideas.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/spices-keep-raccoons-away-75675.html


http://www.eraccoonrepellent.com/2011/10/homemade-raccoon-repellent/


I hope it offers a help to those with raccoon pests.

Doug

i've been using tabasco. it  works against bunnies n dogs.

I have been using the Tabasco too, it works but the Cayenne powder is cheaper since I have to use a lot of the spray.
Doug, thanks for the links, I will get the garlic too.
I hope this works against the possums as well.

Is this something that will repel squirrels?

I have an occasional coon but lots of the bushy tailed tree rats.

Spraying the lawn with milk and using milorganite seemed to discourage them.

Coons are too beg to take out with my airgun.

raccoons can be killed with a break barrel pellet gun. one shot to the head or three to the belly and that will be the end of him. hope that helps.

My air gun problem is accuracy.  I have a relatively high powered break barrel .22 air gun and a good scope.  It works great on the squirrels and chipmunks.  Problem is first shot accuracy.  I'm not too worried about a wounded squirrel or chipmunk.  They will croak pretty soon.  I'm not so sure about a coon. 

Chipmunks at 30 yids are a challenge.  Head shots on even slow moving coons could be hard to connect.

have you tried baiting them?  racoons really dont run from you. just walk away slowly. when you put bait like cat food out, they will just look at you. then you just open the slider door or window real slow and then pop em one. becomes a pretty big target. i would take the scope off. hope that helps.

True, anybody can just kill the raccoons.
Normally I would too. Easy to trap and kill.

Many people on this forum can not just go out and shoot the animal.

I'm just keeping them from my ripe figs for now.
They don't bother me any other time of year.

We have a small stream that runs through the back of the property
and they call it home back there.

I see them on my deer camera every year.

If this repelling does not work, I'll go at it another route.

thanks

City raccoon's are a lot different from rural raccoon's......I assure you the ones here run away at first sight and are never out during daylight hours.  They are a royal pain for me......they don't bother my blueberries or citrus but the peaches, plums, figs and grapes they would harvest far more than I would if measures were not taken to keep them in check.   Yes I know...they are a natural part of this planet,  so am I:)  

There are several solutions.....duke dog proof leg hold traps work amazingly well and can't catch a dog or a cat, it takes a paw with some dexterity to set them off.....coons mostly and a possum now and then.  Because you have to pull up on the trigger a dog stepping in the trap can not fire it.  The coons toes are caught inside a tube so they can't chew at them and have never seen a bloody foot in one.  Make sure steel traps are legal where you live, for example they are not legal here in Florida so one must find other ways.  Yes you can use a live trap but a LOT of raccoon's are too smart for them.  If they have been almost caught in one before they avoid them or roll them over which sets them off and the food spills out. 

You can also google .....Fly bait coon soda....and read up on a remarkably effective way to take care of raccoon's and possums.  Use at your own risk as it is not legal.  I have heard that 1/2 cup to 16 ounces of sugary soda works well.  If you do use it please take precautions against dogs, I would not use it unless the property is fenced......cats won't touch it, .  Please make sure the container (pie pan) can't spill or run over if it rains.  If you add cookies to the liquid so it is a saturated mush it seems to work even better.   I doubt children would be in danger as the stuff stinks, but use your own judgement.  The raccoon will be just feet away from the bait, very dead, it is remarkably fast acting which limits their suffering, if that matters to you.  We are all adults and can make our own choices on how we want to handle these things. 

sorry scfigfanatic. i was replying to charley when he said pellet guns dont work on raccoons. all the animals i shot around my place call it home also but i have the final say. sorry i like things that work and i dont have time to go around spraying all my trees and plants every week and after every time it rains. you do what works for you and ill do the same. good luck with your raccoon problems.

Squirrels can be repelled with a spray made from peppermint oil. Make sure it it oil and no flavoring. Combine one teaspoon of peppermint oil with one gallon of water and spray it around where you don't want them or plant mint plants around your fig trees.

I was not really trying to say that the air gun would not work on a coon.
I'm just not confident enough to try it as it needs a first shot to the head.
Air guns are a little finicky with hold position and other factors.  I would hate to shoot one and have it get away wounded.
I have not tried it, but don't believe I could get three to the belly before it moved to the yard next door.  It takes a while to load another pellet on a break barrel air gun.