Has anyone had success with deer cams? *updated with pics!*

[NicInNC]

I just got in fro setting up the camera and checking things out around the coop. I thought I was going to die when the dirt collapsed under my feet behind the coop. There are holes and tunnels all over the place. The holes are about the diameter of a baseball (maybe a little smaller) and the tunnels are about 6 inches to 1 foot deep. They all lead to and from under the coop. DH said he's going to raise the coop off the ground about 2 feet. Hopefully that will stop critters from living up under there. He's also going to dig deep up under the ground, pour cement and then put fencing around the side that the run is on. We have so much work to do.

 

[JanetS]

Trying to stay one step ahead of the predators is a full time job. Our coop is about 2 ft off the ground and we've had no issues. Using cement should be a big help. Good luck.

 

[NicInNC]

Well, I set the trap around 7pm and just shined the spotlight out towards the trap only to discover it was tripped. I've caught another dang opossum.

 

[NicInNC]

I am so frustrated! I caught a possum Saturday, another Monday, another night before last and then last night I caught a skunk....which sprayed me.

Do I continue setting the traps each night? Could I possibly be attracting more animals by setting the traps or do you think all these animals are hanging around regardless? I really need advice.

And I would LOVE advice on how to get rid of this smell. It sprayed my hand as I was trying to take a picture. My boss said I smell like sulfur, a patient has said I smell like skunk, another coworker said I smell like pot and another said I smell like perm.

 

[JanetS]

After trapping over 20 animals with no end in site we gave up and decided to just make sure our coop/run was predator proof. We use a game camera to keep up on what is moving in our yard, lock up the girls at night, no more free ranging(we have bobcats) and just enjoy our chickens. It's been a lot less stressful and we've had no losses.

 

[Nambroth]

I am so frustrated! I caught a possum Saturday, another Monday, another night before last and then last night I caught a skunk....which sprayed me.

Do I continue setting the traps each night? Could I possibly be attracting more animals by setting the traps or do you think all these animals are hanging around regardless? I really need advice.

And I would LOVE advice on how to get rid of this smell. It sprayed my hand as I was trying to take a picture. My boss said I smell like sulfur, a patient has said I smell like skunk, another coworker said I smell like pot and another said I smell like perm.

Good grief, I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with this! My suggestion is to use white vinegar rinses. It is about the best thing for helping with skunk smell, but your hands may have an odor for a while, especially when they get wet.

 

[NicInNC]

After trapping over 20 animals with no end in site we gave up and decided to just make sure our coop/run was predator proof. We use a game camera to keep up on what is moving in our yard, lock up the girls at night, no more free ranging(we have bobcats) and just enjoy our chickens. It's been a lot less stressful and we've had no losses.

That's basically what we've been doing. I also had someone point out to me why we've had so many animals move in. About a mile down the road, they have cleared away tons of woods to make way for a new road and bridge. I bet a lot of animals homes have been destroyed and they're on the move.

 

[NicInNC]

Good grief, I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with this! My suggestion is to use white vinegar rinses. It is about the best thing for helping with skunk smell, but your hands may have an odor for a while, especially when they get wet.

It took about 2 days for the smell to go away. The day that I posted about how bad I smelled, I got home from work and the smell in my house was so bad that my kids wanted to go stay with my parents. My 15 year old was sick to her stomach and had a headache because the smell was so strong even with the windows open. Come to find out, I guess it had also sprayed my jacket, which I hung on the dining room chair.

I STILL haven't gotten the smell completely out of my jacket. I soaked it for about an hour in white vinegar and then have washed it twice. It's a Carhartt and I am NOT throwing it out!

 

[BillHoo]

When approaching a trapped skunk, it's best to have a big towel or blanket handy.

When you cover the trap, it tends to calm them down a bit.

Then just submerge the trap in a big water illed plastic tote, or the nearest creek for about 10 minutes beore opening and dumping the drap contents.

Hang your jacket outside for a week or so in the sunshine.

 

[seminolewind]

I heard tomato juice is good for skunk smell.

I made my coop and run actually rat proof. 4 years later, there's some chewing on the corner of the door. Desperation. To solve the coop thing, you need to put a layer of hardware cloth on the floor. My pen has 3 feet of hardware cloth flat around the inner wall sides. So the only ground not covered in hardware cloth is just the middle of the pen. Every once in a great while I take the hose and spray the ground really hard thru the hardware cloth and see if there are any tunnels.

My silkie coop is completely covered in Hardware cloth, even the floor.

Knock on wood, I haven't had anything else yet.