How to Keep Raccoons Out of a Deer Feeder

Hunter servicing a deer feeder spinner plate to keep raccoons out

Stop Feeding the Raccoons

Raccoons are the patient, nimble little thieves of the feed site. They climb the feeder legs, settle onto the spin plate, and methodically clean out the corn you bought for the deer — and they scare almost nothing while they do it. They will not usually run your deer off, but they cost you feed, foul the site, and turn an expensive bag of corn into a raccoon's nightly dinner. This guide is part of our complete deer feeder guide, and it is about one thing: keeping coons off your feeder.

The whole game comes down to denying two things — the climb up the legs and the perch on the spinner. Do that, and keep less feed standing on the ground, and the raccoon problem mostly solves itself.

Slick Legs
Grease
Spinner Cage
Feeder Height
Timed Feeding
Deterrents

How to Raccoon-Proof a Deer Feeder

A raccoon gets to your corn by climbing a leg and sitting on the spinner. Take away the climb, take away the perch, and take away the standing feed, and you have beaten most of them. Here are the methods that actually work, roughly in the order most hunters stack them.

Slick the Legs So They Can't Climb

The single most effective trick is making the legs impossible to grip:

PVC sleeves. Slide about two feet of 4-inch PVC pipe over each leg. Leave it loose — chained on or just hanging free — so when a raccoon grabs it, the pipe rolls and dumps him right back on the ground. It is cheap, it is quiet, and it works.
A Slinky. Stretch a metal Slinky over the leg brackets. When a coon tries to climb, the coils stretch and slide and he goes nowhere. Same principle as the rolling pipe, even cheaper.
Halos and baffles. A smooth metal "halo" or baffle clamped around each leg gives the raccoon nothing to climb past — the same idea as a squirrel baffle on a bird feeder, scaled up.

Grease the Legs

If you want even simpler, grease works and works well. A coat of axle grease or plain Vaseline on the legs gives a raccoon nothing to hold, and — importantly — deer are not bothered by it, so it does not cost you visits. The only catch is upkeep: grease wears off and gathers dust, so reapply it periodically, a couple of times a season. The old Crisco-and-cayenne combo is a folk favorite that works for a while too, mixing a slick base with a deterrent.

Cage the Spinner

A few determined raccoons will still find a way up. For them, put a cage or guard around the spinner wheel so they cannot sit on the plate and hand-feed themselves. It does not stop the climb, but it stops the payoff, and a coon that gets nothing eventually quits the site.

Raise It and Time It

Two setup choices quietly do a lot of the work:

Raise the feeder. Getting the feeder higher off the ground keeps raccoons — and squirrels — from simply reaching it, and it stacks with slick legs. See how high a deer feeder should be for the numbers.
Run a timed spin feeder. A spin feeder only throws corn at set times, so there is far less standing feed for a raccoon to camp on than there is under a 24/7 gravity feeder. Less standing food means less reason for a coon to show up at all.

The key point: deny the climb and run a timed feeder. A slick or greased leg plus a high, timed spin feeder beats any single gimmick — and it beats them in combination far better than any one of them alone. Stack two or three of these and the raccoons move on to an easier meal.

Deterrents and the Honest Last Resort

Some hunters sprinkle cayenne or hot pepper around the base of the feeder. It is a mild deterrent that works for a while, but it washes off and a hungry raccoon learns to tolerate it, so treat it as a cheap add-on, not a solution.

And the honest truth: no single trick is one hundred percent. Some persistent individual raccoons figure out everything you throw at them, and the only thing that finally ends it is trapping and removal. Before you go to that trouble, it is worth confirming raccoons are actually the culprit — opossums, squirrels, and even bears raid feeders too. A trail camera over the feeder will show you exactly what is hitting it at night, so you fix the right problem. And if your night visitor turns out to be a hog, that is a different fight — see how to keep hogs out of a deer feeder.

Gear That Helps Keep Coons Out

We will be straight with you: we do not sell PVC sleeves, Slinkys, grease, or raccoon baffles — those are a hardware-store run and a roll of chain. What we do carry is the hardware that does the heavy lifting around them: a timed spin feeder to cut standing feed, a tall, stable tripod feeder, and a camera to confirm who is actually raiding you.

Start with a timed, elevated feeder

A timer is your quietest anti-raccoon tool, because it only puts corn on the ground when deer are active rather than all day. For a tall, stable platform that holds a season's worth and stands well off the ground, the 350 lb Tripod Feeder is the workhorse — and its legs are exactly what a PVC sleeve or a coat of grease goes on. If you want a lighter, packable setup you can hang up out of reach, the 50 lb Hanging Feeder goes up on a limb in minutes. Browse the full lineup in the deer feeder collection.

Catch the culprit on camera

Before you wage war on raccoons, make sure raccoons are the problem. Hang a trail camera over the feeder and you will know in a night or two whether it is coons, possums, squirrels, or hogs cleaning you out — and you can fix the right thing instead of guessing. New to them? Start with our trail camera guide.

Shop Deer Feeders Shop Trail Cameras

Raccoon-Proofing FAQ

How Do I Keep Raccoons Out of My Deer Feeder?

Deny the climb and the perch. Slide a couple feet of loose 4-inch PVC over each leg so it rolls a raccoon off, or run a Slinky over the leg brackets to do the same. Grease the legs with axle grease or Vaseline, which deer ignore and coons hate. Cage the spinner so the few that still reach the top cannot sit on the plate. Raise the whole feeder higher off the ground, and run a timed spin feeder instead of a 24/7 gravity feeder so there is far less standing feed to camp on. No single trick is foolproof, so stack two or three of them.

Will Grease on the Feeder Legs Bother the Deer?

No. Deer are not put off by axle grease or Vaseline on the legs, and they do not need to touch the legs to feed, so it does not spook them off the site. It does wear off and collect dust over time, so reapply it periodically, a couple of times a season, to keep the legs too slick for a raccoon to climb.

Does Cayenne Pepper Keep Raccoons Off a Feeder?

It is a mild, temporary deterrent. Cayenne or hot pepper sprinkled around the base, or a Crisco-and-cayenne mix on the legs, will discourage raccoons for a while, but it washes off in the rain and a determined coon works around it. Treat it as a cheap add-on, not a permanent fix, and pair it with slick or greased legs.

Do Raccoons at a Feeder Scare Off Deer?

Mostly they cost you feed and foul the site rather than truly scaring deer off. Deer generally tolerate a raccoon or two on the feeder. But heavy coon pressure that picks the site clean every night, plus the mess and scent they leave behind, will pull deer activity down and burn through corn you meant for the herd.

What Is the Most Reliable Raccoon-Proof Feeder Setup?

A timed spin feeder raised high off the ground, with slick or greased legs or a cage around the spinner plate, stops the large majority of raccoons. The timer keeps standing feed to a minimum, and the slick legs and height deny the climb. For the stubborn, persistent individuals that still figure it out, trapping and removal is often the only thing that finally ends it. No single gimmick is one hundred percent.

Beat the Climb, Keep the Corn

Raccoons are persistent, but they are not magic. Slick or grease the legs, raise the feeder, cage the spinner, and run a timer so there is nothing standing for them to camp on — then confirm the rest of your setup in the complete deer feeder guide. Stack the fixes and the corn goes to the deer, where you meant it to.

Shop Deer Feeders Set the Height