With Summer on it’s way people are spending more time in their backyards. Barbeques and parties in the back of the house are commonplace during the summer, and the smell of free food can attract more than just your noisy neighbors. Raccoons will often investigate backyards after barbeques and parties, long after the guests have gone home. Raccoons will look just about anywhere for a meal, and the table where you and your guests ate can be like a buffet table of food smells for a raccoon. Food droppings, garbage bags, and a dirty grill can all be targets for raccoons to invade your backyard when you are all finished. Cleaning up your backyard after a barbeque may keep it clean, but the smell of a fresh meal can linger for the keen senses of the raccoon. Make sure to clean your grill and anywhere there was food. Throw the garbage away and secure it in raccoon-proof garbage cans.If you do not have secured cans, use ropes, locks or bungee cords to seal away the contents. Locking garbage cans are easily obtainable from almost any hardware store. If the smell of food is in the air, a raccoon may come, but if there is no food for them, they may not stick around. Raccoons may try to find a home in or under your shed or under debris piles in your backyard. This will give them easy access to food from your garbage, and also give them more opportunities to invade your home itself. Raccoons are expert climbers and can easily break into your attic.