Coon won't go in trap after getting hit by the first one and escaping!

[Dutchgirl]

What to do now?!

I just bought the second trap, it has one opening side after he got out of the open-on-both-sides trap. The first one must have been a little too small, because the bait was placed in the middle and the first door must have hit his back or tail and made him real shy of it.

He's so smart that he was able to put all the bait out of the new trap with out going in. Amazing. NOw we are tying it up with thread and hanging it in the back, but he still won't go in. Keeps visiting though.

I'm afraid he is going to get in or that a roo will try to fight him (again) even thought the bottom two feet is blocked now.

He has pulled three of our birds out of their cages at night, before we put up panels to help stop that. There is poultry netting on the top, but I fear he will chew through that.

 

[eggchel]

Use a large enough trap that he doesnt have to squeeze to get in.
Put a tarp, a board, or some feed sacks over the top of the cage, leaving both ends uncovered, so that he doesnt see the trap.
Handle the trap with gloves so he doesnt smell you (although most raccoons arent afraid of people).
Put more than one food in the trap. We use a small can of cat food and some marshmallows.
Put the opening to the trap right next to the last place that he was able to grap one of your chickens.... he will come back there.

Have a plan for what you will do with him. Keep in mind that a male raccoon will travel upwards of 10 miles in his own territory, so if you are relocating him take him far far away, preferably across a river or a big highway. Otherwise you are merely annoying him and he will be right back.

Be sure to wear heavy gloves when you handle the trap to avoid possible rabies exposure. Wear gloves when you handle the cat food can after the raccoon has eaten out of it, to avoid his saliva. Yes, you can get rabies just from contact with their saliva.

After you have disposed of the raccoon, set the trap again.... there may very well be more than one.

Chel <--just finished rabies treatments, sigh.

 

[keystonepaul]

eggchel had some good advice, I would add try covering the bottom of the cage with a bit of dirt so he's not walking in on the wire. In addition to the other advice you've got. Keystonepaul

 

[jhm47]

And---DO NOT "relocate" him. All you will do is transfer a chicken killer from one area to another. This is similar to taking an unwanted dog or cat to another area and abandoning it. Giving someone else your problem is not a very nice thing to do.

 

[eggchel]

I agree with jhm47. I would only relocate if your local law absolutely prohibits you from doing anything else. Otherwise, if you are able, I would recommend killing it humanely. However, many members here are unable or unwilling to dispose of a predator by killing it, so relocation, building fort knox for chickens, or tolerance of flock losses are their choices.

 

[Dutchgirl]

He finally got hungry enough and went in ! YAY! Now I can sleep a little more peacefully.

He actually bent the steel on the brand new trap, too! I can see that he would have no problem at all cutting through the poultry netting I have over the dog pens that the birds are in. He also tried digging around the bottom of the trap that night, before going in.

I was sorry that TSC only had this closed end trap available. I do think open is better, but it has to be the really long ones to get a coon. Our old trap is open, but he got out of it the first try, probably got hit on the back or tail, and that's why he wouldn't go back in, I'm sure.

Someone I knew had no problem disposing of this one, this cute furry creature who ripped my little birds to sheds, night after night. My favorite tiny bantam OE cockerel, among others, boo hoo! Not much bigger than a Big Mac.

 

[antlers]

Reset it again. You may have more than 1. LIKELY have more than one.

 

[ChanceRider]

Congrats on your success! I have a baited live trap set out right now trying to get the coon that got into our house a couple of days ago. Hopefully I'll have the same success that you did!

Update: Went out and checked the trap.... yep, a young coon inside AND momma coon and two more youngsters also on the deck. One down, three to go.

 

[mikeksfarmer]

I had a terable time with my live trap. The raccoons would tip it over so the doors would be on the ground and thus not able to close. Then they could walk in and eat with out issue. Even when they sprung the trap they could eat the food through the wire sides. I finally created a high cross bar where I could hang a old foil pan of grease. It was just high enough the raccoon would stand under it and reach up and not be able to reach it. I shot an killed 11 raccoons that way in a week. My Turkey Vulture feeding station was well stocked with food that week. I think the same thing would work with a "Leg hold trap"/ steel trap. chain it down well. Put it under the bait and sooner or later they will step on it. They can be purchased at many farm stores. Do keep in mind that an angery hurting Raccoon can be very dangerous. Dont use your shovel it always breaks the handle. Do use a baseball bat or lenght of 2x4". That or shoot the vermit. There is no shortage of raccoons out there. Relocation usually creates stresses on stable populations that already exist. The stress is usually a shortage of food or shelter. Thus they cause problems where normaly they may not be causing problems. For the average raccoon; after death there is nothing.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Tonight 4 coons just killed my one duck and a hen and I'm ready for war!

What have y'all been using for bait that works best?

A few years back I caught a baby and the mother and other babies were hanging around. Back then I had a tiny pellet gun that didn't do much of anything. I wish I had something more powerful (I'm in the middle of a city) so I could have dispatched the lot of them that night. I wouldn't be surprised if the ones that came tonight were the grown up babies from before.