We have raccoons I’ve never had a problem with them around the house. It’s a big thing in the south to coon hunting in the south. They go at night with dogs. The dogs run the coons up the tree. I guess they eat them. I don’t. My grandfather hunted squirrels and rabbits, I grew up eating it but never seen coons cooked. Have you ever been deep in the application mountains? The homeowners have wooden trash boxes at the road away from the house to keep the bears out. I guess they have a lock. Raccoons & bears might be the worst animals that go through the trash. Found this link, resembles what I’ve seen in mountains.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Carpentry/comments/ho0zyo/built_this_to_keep_bears_out_of_the_trash/