Best Raccoon/Opossum bait?

Raw chicken.

I caught all mine with usually a carrot or aple in the trap.Few times I tossed in cantelope and marshmallows,but the ants went for those.

I caught 2 in the fall using cat food.  I sprinkle in around on the ground around the trap and then put a small container of it in the trap.

I have another one patroling the area now, so I'll be rebating the trap again tonight.

One thing I haven't been able to catch is that darn fox!

I also  used sardines for years. Then I switched to marshmallows. Same good results but much cheaper. We've also caught possums with the marshies.

We have 3 Great Pyrenees dogs. No problems with predators.

Cindy

I have baited my traps with an egg in the past.  That way it doesn't attract the neighborhood cat.  All the other suggestions have worked for me too. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6RandomBrownLayers 

Is that dry cat food or wet?

I used dry.  I put a small container filled with cat food in the trap and sprinked some around the container too.  (It falls through the holes.)

I caught a 'coon the first night I set the trap.

A few weeks later I tried the same thing, but didn't catch anything the first night, so then I put some pieces of our leftover turkey carcass (bones) in there as well and caught one.

I attempted to catch a fox,.. no luck.  He was able to get the bait without triggering the trap.

I have kept chickens for 11 years but never had problems with preditors while we owned a dog.  I've had non stop raccoons and foxes since the dog is gone.

I know I need to secure the coop better, but some evenings no-one is home to close up the coop.
 

I've caught coon with marshmallows, canned cat food, sardines (I eat the sardines and put the can of juice out) I do lile some of these ideas of dry foods cause the wet stuff does get messy in a day or too, and yes the mallows are pretty good bait and not too messy.

I did read a good tip since coon will reach in and get bait and are tricky anyway. I put hardware cloth on the ends of my traps for 1 foot so no reach ins. The coons will also "stack" 3 deep preventing the door from going down! I stake my traps down very firm to prevent tipping. The other tip sounds good is bait in a hole under the trip plate and stake trap.

If you have cage trap problems there is a Duke Coon Cuff which is dog proof. Only a coon can trip it. They have the fingers that can wrap around the inner trip which nothing else has. Google "duke dog proof coon cuff"