- Oct 18, 2013
- 5
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I've been reading predator threads here since my raccoon problems began a few months ago. And we finally got him!! I adopted three young runner ducks last summer, but didn't have any problems with predators (that we knew of) until a year later. We live in a suburban community where everyone is pretty much fenced in in gridlock and nobody can see anyone else above the tall fences. The ducks "free-range" during the day in our small yard and garden and have a great time in the pumpkin vines and rooting for earthworms that are everywhere.
Unfortunately, this July, a nasty raccoon chewed through and pulled out part of the siding on the enclosure and dragged the little brown female out in the middle of the night. We were devastated- we buried her and put a heavy stone on the grave. To our horror, the raccoon dug around and exhumed her body to feast on again the next night! We were determined to get him.
We adopted two more ducks and fixed the enclosure; unfortunately, I didn't read enough about how evil raccoons could be and we used chicken wire to enclose the house. The raccoon came back a few nights later, used his devious little hands to tear through the wire, reached into the house and tore off the head of one of our new ducks. We heard the ruckus and ran out, but it was too late and he ran off after giving us one of those scary iridescent green-eyed looks. He came back almost every night after that, but at this point, we secured our enclosure even more and he didn't yet figured out how to get to our ducks. We found little tooth marks everywhere!
We bought a Hav-a-Heart trap, but this raccoon was able to take the food every night without being caught. I started looking up raccoon trap options and found BYC - I followed the threads, ordered a Duke DP trap, and baited it with marshmallows and honey as so many posters had said. We caught him last night. This is the picture. Doesn't he look like a creep?
I feel so vindicated for the loss of our best laying female and new duckling!! My dad dispatched him and we realized how huge he was. Our Hav-a-Heart trap couldn't even cover his rump, let alone his tail. No wonder we couldn't get him for a few months.
I am so grateful for all the information I found here from everyone who is just so passionate about fowl. I decided to become a member today after everything you all have said helped me catch this monster. Our ducks have really become family and it's unbelievable what a rollercoaster of emotions this stupid raccoon has put us through in past few months. Good riddance!
Unfortunately, this July, a nasty raccoon chewed through and pulled out part of the siding on the enclosure and dragged the little brown female out in the middle of the night. We were devastated- we buried her and put a heavy stone on the grave. To our horror, the raccoon dug around and exhumed her body to feast on again the next night! We were determined to get him.
We adopted two more ducks and fixed the enclosure; unfortunately, I didn't read enough about how evil raccoons could be and we used chicken wire to enclose the house. The raccoon came back a few nights later, used his devious little hands to tear through the wire, reached into the house and tore off the head of one of our new ducks. We heard the ruckus and ran out, but it was too late and he ran off after giving us one of those scary iridescent green-eyed looks. He came back almost every night after that, but at this point, we secured our enclosure even more and he didn't yet figured out how to get to our ducks. We found little tooth marks everywhere!
We bought a Hav-a-Heart trap, but this raccoon was able to take the food every night without being caught. I started looking up raccoon trap options and found BYC - I followed the threads, ordered a Duke DP trap, and baited it with marshmallows and honey as so many posters had said. We caught him last night. This is the picture. Doesn't he look like a creep?
I feel so vindicated for the loss of our best laying female and new duckling!! My dad dispatched him and we realized how huge he was. Our Hav-a-Heart trap couldn't even cover his rump, let alone his tail. No wonder we couldn't get him for a few months.
I am so grateful for all the information I found here from everyone who is just so passionate about fowl. I decided to become a member today after everything you all have said helped me catch this monster. Our ducks have really become family and it's unbelievable what a rollercoaster of emotions this stupid raccoon has put us through in past few months. Good riddance!
