What is the best bait for raccoons in a live trap?

[cochinator]

Basically out of laziness, I baited my trap with chicken food a few weeks ago and it worked. They are so messy they knock half the food out of the run and it might have been was he had been coming to get anyway.

 

[Wrooster]

As far as I know it is now illegal in all 50 states to live trap a raccoon and then release it in any location except where it was originally trapped. So what is the purpose of using a live trap on coons?...........

Live traps are easier to buy - I don't think our Tractor Supply sells leg-hold or anything similar. They are more versatile - you can always make the animal in a live trap dead but you can't bring a dead one back to life. They don't kill the neighbor's cat by mistake (whether that's a good idea or not). You don't have to negotiate with soft-hearted members of the family before putting the trap out. And in many jurisdictions, lethal or leg-hold are not legal.

Trap-and-release is a mistake on several levels in my opinion. Trap and execute does the job and doesn't make permanent mistakes.

 

[Hunt4lif3]

I do quite a bit of trapping and coon hunting both and for raccoons I've used many different commercially made baits and lures. I've used the sardines, cat foods, marshmallows, you name it and I've tried it. Last year I started making my own stuff and setting a dozen traps with the stuff I make and a dozen with commercial bait I caught 10 with my bait and 2 with the others in the first night. The other 2 of mine were caught the next day along with 5 more on resets with my bait. The way I make it is to take equal parts of bacon grease and peanut butter and melt them together with about a spoonful of maple syrup. The stuff will harden into kinda like a paste in a few hours, and it only takes about a quarter size pinch of it to do the trick. Hope this helps!

 

[JRGriff]

I do quite a bit of trapping and coon hunting both and for raccoons I've used many different commercially made baits and lures. I've used the sardines, cat foods, marshmallows, you name it and I've tried it. Last year I started making my own stuff and setting a dozen traps with the stuff I make and a dozen with commercial bait I caught 10 with my bait and 2 with the others in the first night. The other 2 of mine were caught the next day along with 5 more on resets with my bait. The way I make it is to take equal parts of bacon grease and peanut butter and melt them together with about a spoonful of maple syrup. The stuff will harden into kinda like a paste in a few hours, and it only takes about a quarter size pinch of it to do the trick. Hope this helps!

X2. Fishy or sweets will do the trick. Few gold fish from the pet store worked well for me lol.

 

[chiknhurder]

Coons and possums both love cat food but coons are a little smarter than possums and are more weary of human scent. Best to keep your trap outdoors and let it set for awhile before baiting it. I had a possum getting into my garage when the door was open and sleeping in the cats bed. I set out a trap and didn't get just one. I trapped a total of 8. One night I was pulling in the drive after hauling one off about 10 miles away to relocate it and there was already another one eating in the trap and eating out of the cats food dish I'd baited the trap with. I hauled him off and released him the next morning.

 

[redchickenguy]

We had no luck with cat food wet or dry no luck with peanut butter or even leftover chicken. The only thing that caught the huge coon that was eating the chickens was pork fat! Did it in one night.

 

[enola]

Coons and possums both love cat food but coons are a little smarter than possums and are more weary of human scent.  Best to keep your trap outdoors and let it set for awhile before baiting it.  I had a possum getting into my garage when the door was open and sleeping in the cats bed.  I set out a trap and didn't get just one.  I trapped a total of 8.  One night I was pulling in the drive after hauling one off about 10 miles away to relocate it and there was already another one eating in the trap and eating out of the cats food dish I'd baited the trap with.  I hauled him off and released him the next morning.

You do realize that trapping and relocating raccoons is illegal don't you?

And by trapping and releasing coons you are just giving your coon problems to another chicken lover! Think about it.......

 

[chiknhurder]

You do realize that trapping and relocating raccoons is illegal don't you?

And by trapping and releasing coons you are just giving your coon problems to another chicken lover! Think about it.......

I've talked to my conservation department and there's nothing wrong with trapping and relocating predators so long as it's not released on public land or private property unless you have permission from the property owner. Not everyone raises chickens. Have you ever heard of a coon hunter? They love raccoons on their hunting leases/property.

 

[LTygress]

I am learning about this too so I do not have any information to offer, just a question to add to this... What are we legally allowed to do with the racoons once we catch them if they have been a eating our livestock?

Not sure about OHio, but here in Georgia, you can take them to animal control - who will put them down. Raccoons are considered a nuisance animal, and they also carry rabies, so animal control doesn't relocate them, they kill them.

Possums they will relocate FOR you, but they won't put a possum down.

 

[LTygress]

By the way, I bait my traps with the carcasses of... chickens. I had a possum kill one a few days ago, ate her head, and left her body. I tossed the body in the trap. Caught him the very next day.