Summer is a time to enjoy the freshest of fruits and veggies. A major part of the summer bounty is sweet corn. You see it growing and ripening in your backyard garden and count the days until you can bite into those juicy, sweet kernels.
However, your sweet corn harvest may be in jeopardy if the neighborhood raccoon gets into your patch.
We want you to be able to savor this sweet part of summer, so here are five tips on how to keep raccoons out of your sweet corn. Follow these tips, and there will be more sweet corn in your garden for you and your family to enjoy.
How to Keep Raccoons Out of Your Sweet Corn
1: Grow Tall Sweet Corn
Does your sweet corn variety produce stalks that are tall, medium, or short? Plant height is important when you’re trying to deter raccoon. According to some expert sweet corn growers, the taller the stalk, the harder it is for a raccoon to climb, and thus, the harder it is for them to devour your sweet corn.
Some growers recommend the 8-foot-tall Silver Queen variety, Kandy Korn, or Platinum Lady.
2. Add a fence of squash plants.
In addition to the height of your sweet corn, the other plants in your garden play a role in deterring raccoon. According to seasoned gardeners, raccoon despise squash plants. They can tolerate neither the smell nor the tiny, itchy spikes on the leaves and fruit.
We suggest planting cucumbers, summer squash, and winter squash as a “fence” around your sweet corn. Grow these 2-3 plants deep to be on the safe side. If you don’t have this much space in your garden, grow squash plants in rows between your rows of sweet corn.
And take note for next year’s growing season about what worked well. Did one squash variety work better than another?
3. Consider a fence of the electric or floppy varieties.
Fences are an excellent way to keep out raccoon and many other critters. If you decide to use an electric fence, it is recommended to install multiple electrified wires at different heights.
The goal is to cover a 1’ high area with wires that run low, in the middle, and at the 1’ mark. Canvassing the 1’ area ensures that a raccoon can’t find a way into the garden without feeling a harmless, but deterring, shock.
Another fence option is a floppy fence, which is an idea outlined in detail in 100 Greatest Garden Ideas by Jeff Cox. The floppy fence is attached to the top of a sturdier fence. As the raccoon climbs the floppy fence, their weight causes the fence to flop over, almost parallel to the ground, outside of the garden. This leaves the raccoon with only one option, to release their grip on the fence, and land on their back on the ground below.
4. Wrap it up!
Depending on the size of your sweet corn crop, wrapping up the ears may be a desirable route. Seasoned gardeners have used duct tape to wrap up their ears. With this method, it’s also worth experimenting with other materials that might prevent a raccoon claw from ripping through. Though, duct tape may be the best option.
5. Use Nite Guard Solar.
Nite Guard Solar is the raccoon deterrent device chosen by gardeners who want to grow sweet corn for their own family and not for a family of raccoons.
How do Nite Guard Solar lights deter hungry raccoon?
Nite Guard Solar lights mimic interactions between animals in nature. The flashing red light, to a raccoon, appears as the eye of another predator. The raccoon sees this flashing red light and thinks twice about raiding your garden.
Want to know what Nite Guard Solar users have to say?
Our customers share their experiences using Nite Guard Solar predator control lights on our testimonials page. Read a raccoon testimonial, and see why installing Nite Guard Solar is the right decision for you this summer.
We wish you a happy, successful, and delicious sweet corn harvest!
Have questions about Nite Guard Solar lights?
Contact us by phone at 1-800-328-6647, or send us an email. We enjoy hearing from sweet corn growers like you, and anyone who wants to protect their property from nighttime predators.
Interested in installing Nite Guard Solar lights?
You can shop for Nite Guard Solar lights, and our daytime repellent tape, on our online shop or at a retailer near you. Give us a call, and we can help you find a local retailer who stocks our lights.
Updated August 21, 2019