Naughty Racoons & his friends!

Does anyone have tips on how to keep racoons & other rodents at bay?

I read that mothballs work, but...
Will they melt in the rain?
Will dogs eat them?
Will cats eat them?
Will they poison the lawn, veggie garden & fruit trees?
Will they poison wild birds?
I don't want to poison anything!

We "had" racoons in the garage.. OMG the mess & poop!!.. We want to make sure they don't come back. We are also building a veggie garden in the backyard & we don't want them destroying everything, but we don't want to hurt any animals either.

I read that wolf urin works, but I don't want that near my veggies!!!
I could tollerate Digi poop as I know its chemical free & healthy (no worms, etc).. but will that work?

Also how should I go about protecting my plants from hungry bugs?
Will mothballs work on them too?
Should I use winter salt to keep slugs & the millions of snails away?
How will salt effect everything?


We are trying to be as organic as possible & without killing/poisoning any animals.

Thanks :)