For the last few weeks I have continued to set the traps all around the chicken run/coop. Nothing. I started to breath a huge sigh of relief. Then over the last few days I suddenly noticed that the cat food was disappearing faster than usual by the time I got up in the morning. And I mean licked clean. Suspicions started kicking in. 3 nights ago, my insomniac 9 year old told me the following morning that he had seen a raccoon on the back deck. Bingo! I set the trap night before last and at about 1 am, I hear DH up and about. Cussing up a storm. I asked him what was going on and he tells me that my *$#*!!!* raccoon is tearing up the house! I had set the trap right up against the house and by the back door. It had started to tear up the weatherstripping on the door. DH was not well with the situation, to say the least. I go out the backdoor and right then and there, the coon figured out where the trap door was and started squeezing out of it!!!!! I yelled at it, "Oh, no you don't!!!!!" and flipped the trap onto it's end, containing the coon in the trap door space. This was a huge coon and it was very, very angry. DH manned up and did what he had to do. I think this was his first since he had the shakes afterward and even popped open a beer at 1am! Here's hoping that he doesn't suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome!
