Best Bait for Raccoons?

[neo71665]

depends what i have. lol

as a trapper i use cage traps and Duke DP traps. i use bird seed to cat food. i also have tried marshmallows but never got lucky with them for some reason.

yesterday i caught a 19 pound male raccoon, (18 lbs 15 oz if you want the exact weight) on a mixture of corn, barley and oat mix (with molasses added)

I went and got 12 DP traps a few years ago and never had any luck catching a single coon in one. I did catch a few possums and a single field mouse unlucky enough to get in the tube and trip it.
I'm not saying they don't work just I never had any luck.

 

[Howard E]

If you have coons to catch and weren't, you were doing something wrong.

DP's are used with good success by a lot of people.....from inexperienced folks like us to fur trappers to ADC guys.

While sardines, wet and dry cat foods, etc. all work, and work well on coons, they also work well on a whole bunch of other stuff like cats, possums and skunks. One reason for using sweets like marshmallows, black twizzlers, jelly beans, candy orange slices, grape jelly, etc, is that while coons have a serious sweet tooth and will go after that stuff hard, the non targets don't. Helps you filter the catch, above and beyond what a DP with pull only trigger filters out.

That applies to both DP's and cage traps.

 

[neo71665]

Not saying I wasn't but I've been trapping since 1985ish and still learn stuff daily. I put them out in the same areas I was already trapping and catching. Nothing. Swap back over to my regular traps and went right back to catching.

Just about any omnivore has a sweet tooth just like a coon. Possums, and coons both are bad about trying to get into beehives. Skunks too if you don't get them high enough off the ground. Luckily I'm not in a high bear area and we never have to worry too bad about them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I just want to stress what others are saying about releasing raccoons you catch. Please don't, unless it's onto a wildlife preserve and you have checked to make sure it is okay to do so. If you release a raccoon onto someone else's property, they may also have chickens or ducks, and that is not very neighborly of you. Also, you are putting the animal on territory that it is not familiar with, probably already inhabited by other raccoons and wildlife who won't take kindly to it. You may be sentencing it to a miserable death. Kinder and more humane to dispatch it immediately. This is your responsibility as a flock owner. My opinion.

 

[daystardoberman]

So about a year ago on a dreary day I watched as a raccoon walked from our front yard along the side to our back yard under our deck. We didn’t see him after that. Fast forward to a few days ago, about 4 days after our fence was installed in our back yard, it was another dreary day and out was our lovely raccoon friend wandering the fence looking very confused. He eventually went under our upper building I’m pretty sure. We set a live cage trap with an apple but no luck. From experience what is the best bait to use?
We are getting chickens most likely this weekend so the faster we can relocate the boogers the better.

A can of smelly cat food.

 

[Farmer Brian]

For raccoon, opossum and skunk, I use a sweet bait. Strawberry sugar waffers is my preferred bait. Cats aren't interested usually.
Birthing season is upon us and females will be needing more food to nurse. Just something to think about before removing a female. Also, coons are a rabies vector species, as are skunks. Relocation is not recommended, and is usually illegal. Check with your star DNR. As mentioned above, if you trap it, euthanize it.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

So about a year ago on a dreary day I watched as a raccoon walked from our front yard along the side to our back yard under our deck. We didn’t see him after that. Fast forward to a few days ago, about 4 days after our fence was installed in our back yard, it was another dreary day and out was our lovely raccoon friend wandering the fence looking very confused. He eventually went under our upper building I’m pretty sure. We set a live cage trap with an apple but no luck. From experience what is the best bait to use?
We are getting chickens most likely this weekend so the faster we can relocate the boogers the better.

I use peanut butter on crackers. If you have fish, use that.

 

[Rainwing]

Marshmallows! Always works for me

 

[upper20s]

So about a year ago on a dreary day I watched as a raccoon walked from our front yard along the side to our back yard under our deck. We didn’t see him after that. Fast forward to a few days ago, about 4 days after our fence was installed in our back yard, it was another dreary day and out was our lovely raccoon friend wandering the fence looking very confused. He eventually went under our upper building I’m pretty sure. We set a live cage trap with an apple but no luck. From experience what is the best bait to use?
We are getting chickens most likely this weekend so the faster we can relocate the boogers the better.

12 gauge

 

[RiverOtter]

Like many others have said, sweets. Stinky cat food and tuna will actually draw more beasties onto your place.

Keep in mind, Nature abhors a vacuum. Good raccoon habitat will have raccoons. So, while you can work on making your place bad raccoon habitat, if you have neighbors anywhere near, they'll still be some around. I have insane predator load and I only trap and kill the very bold, the problem animals, the ones who have to be right here to spring the trap. Those who tread warily on the edges, wide eyed and ready to book it into the brush, knowing that the dogs and I claim this spot, those I leave alone, and would never set traps for or tempt closer with stinky bait. Those, I want to have long, healthy lives and tell all their children "See those buildings and fences? Leave those alone. The chicken aren't worth it - monsters live there."