Coon in my barn!!!

[silkielover88]

I'm pretty sure what it is, I have a barn cat and I've noticed more of her food is being eaten, right out of the bowl. So I put the bag into a feed bin with a lid. Next day, same as usual, all her food in her dish was gone. Ok...so next day, lid was off can and cat food all ate. Well took all cat food out of the barn, then the kid was off my layer mash and prints in the feed. I placed a box trap and I thought I blocked up the cat door, well I caught mamma cats 2 kittens... Any other ideas to try? I don't want it getting my birds, but I also have outdoor cats to consider as well.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... I don't want it [a coon] getting my birds, but I also have outdoor cats to consider as well.

Get a Duke trap company Dog Proof coon trap and bait her up with marshmallows. Just be sure to stake the trap far enough away from trees and brush so that the coon can't tangle the trap chain or wire. When you catch one coon keep the trap set and you're likely to catch a dozen or more before you thin them out.

Cats are un impressed by the taste of marshmallows.

 

[silkielover88]

Lol I've thought of that too, my boyfriend traps but he's had 4 surgeries on his leg and can't exactly walk around and see what's going on in the barn. But he's been telling me what to do but I haven't had much luck lol.

 

[ckickenlov101]

If you want to catch a coon I recommend buying a live trap. Put it were you think the coon travels most frequently and you peanut butter for bait. This method has worked for my several times when a raccoon was getting into my sweet corn.

 

[Folly's place]

Feed your cats meals, don't leave cat food available all the time. Fortify your feed containers. Set live traps with fruit, peanut butter, and grains, all less likely to appeal to the kitties. Shoot what you trap!!! Marshmallows are good too, and Duke traps for coons. And please manage your cat population... Mary

 

[bigmrg74]

Raccoons love them some marshmellows. Get some of the big jumbo ones for smores, and set a live trap with them. Only use a live trap in a barn just in case a kitten happens to get playful near it, you wouldn't want to have to deal with that mess if it was a steel trap. And a live trap can come in handy later on if you want to round up your barn cats for any vet work or get them fixed. They're well worth the investment.

And like somebody else said earlier, shoot em. Catch and release will just have them coming back to your place, if you drive 4 hours away, they'll end up being somebody else's problem.

Had one tonight commit suicide with my front tire. just darted out into the road before I could do anything about it. Thought it might have been a dog there for a half second. Did double back to check to make sure it was a raccoon and to finish it off in needed. Was doorknob dead when I got turned back around to confirm what I hit. rolled over him one more time just to be sure, only about a mile from my place, so one less raccoon in the neighborhood puts less pressure on the other ones to get into my chicken coop or barn.

 

[silkielover88]

All great ideas! Thanks guys!!! We do have a lot of live traps. And we have just mama and 2 kittens, she is on a wait list to be spayed and babies have homes once they are old enough. As for the coon when it's caught, no problem there! We have a friend with a young coon hound pup who would love a dead coon for him to play with for a day or so.

 

[silkielover88]

I got the little bugger!!!!

 

[dazookeyper]

Awesome. We borrowed an old trap from a neighbor and haven't been so lucky.

 

[silkielover88]

Well I tried everything! Then since it was getting in and eating my cat food, I put some in front of the trap, and some in the back. Then I got the bugger!