Golden Malrin racoons?

[Hatching]

I have lost 9 chickens so far this year due to raccoons, leaving me down to my last two. I have tried the traps but they just set the trap off from the outside or refuse to go in the trap at all. People in my area know that I have been hit hard by the raccoons and one of them recommended, in secret, Golden Marlin. This is the same guy who also recommend it to me for flies, I originally didn't want to use it because all information online describes its toxicity to the point that upon opening the can everything in a 5 mile radius will die. Obvious to say I didn't want that anywhere near me. Long story short, last week I asked my neighbor if I could have a small amount to "try it out", he gave me the rest of his can, which was about half. I mixed the blue crystals with some canned dog food, set it out of reach of dogs one night and hoped for the best. The next day the food was gone, golden malrin and all, but thing. I searched for a body but no. I tried again, this time I dissolved it in Pepsi, same thing, nothing. WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING ? everything online says that they die within 20 feet of where they ate it. The raccoons have polished off the half can with not one body found. Could it be that I'm not doing this correctly? The raccoons around here are HUGE about the size of my pug. I know I shouldn't have don't this to begin with but in at my wits end.

ps. My neighbor had never used it for raccoons and recommended it as a raccoon solution from what he has read

 

[bobbi-j]

If you're putting it out at night, how do you know it's raccoons eating it? This is the problem with poisoning. You may be killing unintended targets. I've heard the same thing about Golden Malrin and Pepsi, but have never tried it (see previous sentence). Maybe rather than trying to poison the raccoons, you should think about securing your coop better. That would be far more effective. Even if you manage to kill the one(s) that have gotten your birds, eventually more will move in. And if raccoons can get to them so can other predators.

PS - Unless your pug is extraordinarily large, those are young ones that are getting to your flock...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If you're putting it out at night, how do you know it's raccoons eating it? This is the problem with poisoning. You may be killing unintended targets. I've heard the same thing about Golden Malrin and Pepsi, but have never tried it (see previous sentence). Maybe rather than trying to poison the raccoons, you should think about securing your coop better. That would be far more effective. Even if you manage to kill the one(s) that have gotten your birds, eventually more will move in. And if raccoons can get to them so can other predators.

PS - Unless your pug is extraordinarily large, those are young ones that are getting to your flock...

X 2 on all points.

 

[centrarchid]

Let us see the coop to see how to harden it against raccoons.

 

[Hatching]

My coop is now secure, admitted that the first time the raccoons visited it was not at all. I live in a very suburban neighborhood which is why I found it surprising that I was zoned for chickens, well hens only. This is also why I didn't think to secure them the way some of you guys in more rural areas secure your chickens. For 2 years nothing happened until quite recently, predator wise. It took me two more visits from the racoons to harden off all the ways they have thought about, and successfully entered the coop. It is most definitely raccoons that have taken the bait, Ive seem them multiple times, both taking the golden malrin and messing with the traps but never going inside. Ive seen only 2 opossums try the trap too, but not take the golden malrin bait.

I'm just shocked that from everything Ive read online that I could watch the racoons eat the poison and just frolic away. But no, I wont be using the Golden Malrin anymore, I'm just wondering if it was because I used pepsi instead of coke.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I'm glad Hatching got good advice on how to deal with predators. Discussing the use of poison isn't really congruent with the values of BYC so we'll terminate this thread now.

Thanks to all who commented in a positive and helpful way. It is quite unlikely that poisoning is ever legal in defense of one's flock, so it would be better to focus on other means of both prevention and disposal of predators.

Thanks everyone.
BYC Mod Staff