Have you ever considered live trapping and relocating them. Racoons are incredibly easy to trap -- just bait a hav-a-hart trap with a can of fish-based catfood, and they'll be in there the first night. Keep going until you get them all. Be sure to take them at least five miles away to release them.

I once got 3 juvenile racoons in the standard large trap at once -- it was actually quite funny to see them jammed in like sardines trying to play Twister. HOW they managed that is beyond me - just so greedy they pushed in, I guess. No harm done, they all were fine when released.

I hate them they are nasty vile creatures that will kill a chicken or duck or whatever just for the sport of it. If it were me I'd sit with a rifle and shoot them....They are usually so brazen they will just stroll us to there banquet even with a light shining in their face.

Another option might be an inexpensive electric fence kit. I think you can get them for under $100.

LOL, Ruthie! That's a Texan response if I ever heard one. They are dangerous too. My dogs encountered a Mama and her baby in the back yard once at 6:00 a.m. God, what a way to start the day. My dogs are big and that Mama was scary! Hissing and howling, standing on her hind legs. I agree to get rid of them (in whichever way you prefer) if you have small children and/or dogs running around.

My entire yard has an electric line running about 6 inches off the ground - right up against the privacy fence.. It's to keep the dog from digging out but it hasn't kept anything from getting in. Racoons can climb, right? Several levels of it might work around your actual garden, though. Then you'll have to deal with unhooking them whenever you want to really get into it. Ours is solar powered which makes it a lot easier.

hmmmm well getting rid of the racoons is good advice,they make attractive hats, if u live trap them(good for the karma i guess) take them more like 50 miles away!
i do have a suggestion for patching the crop cover though, a simple office stapler can mend those holes and be in the budget...sewing is not my strong point.

If you are going to live trap and release pest animals please release them only on land that you own yourself.

Its really not appropriate to pass your problem to other people by releasing pests on their land or on public land. My dad's been the victim of people who figured that they could release their suburban pest raccoons out in the country. He had plenty of racoons in his corn and his trash cans already and so do the people who live next to the tracts of public land. :-)

Thanks for your suggestions. I know what you mean about karma -- I'm still haunted by the cat I killed. Maybe now that I've confessed, it will go away.

Since those raccoons are so strong and crafty, perhaps deer netting wouldn't suffice. Solar powered electric -- have to find out about that.

I'm suppose to be thinking about getting organized to plant for the fall -- but my heart is just not in it. Maybe by next spring we'll have fences.

A neighbor down the road used chicken wire for the four sides of his garden (looks like about 20 foot square with a fence about 8 foot high) and he has wood across the top with chicken wire closing off the top. Guess he had about enough.

My sister stopped leaving cat food out at night and the raccoons threw all her clay pots over the deck with the plants in them.

Last night my boyfriend went outside on the porch and he called me to come out there (it was dark) we got the flashlight and sure enough a mother raccoon and about 4 babies were in the field next to our place, he got into the truck and tried to scare them away with the headhights and the horn. I sure hope they stay away!!! I might have to call fish and game (we are in the city limits) so we can't fire the gun to scare them :(