How do I keep raccoons away

[JadedPhoenix]

Thank goodness, monkeys are the one predator we don't have in SC.

Yet. Just a matter of time before someone who got them as pets, legally or otherwise, release them because they are tired of them or the monkeys themselves escape to look for a more enjoyable environment.

 

[AthenaT]

SC should be fine (monkeys would not be be invasive )as the weather and natural food sources would be had to find...here banana trees citrus trees, , bamboo, elephant ears ect all grow wild and temps very rarely dip near freezing for more than a day or so.

 

[lowflyer]

Feral monkeys???

NOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I was born in Florida. The very idea of the face-ripping feces flinging vermin gives me the chills. Now I'm thinking...raccoons...the next step down from monkeys. NOOOO.

I'm glad my chickens and me are a long way from any realistic possibility of bears or monkeys. But I've got a .22 for any coon that decides to make a bellyfull of my chickens. And...bigger firepower....should monkeys appear.

I'm still working on large enough ordnance for bears. Just in case.

Or zombies.

 

[AthenaT]

the coons and possums are my biggest concern....The monkeys roam but stay away from humans for the most part.....The bear is seldom seen...mostly just eating from trash cans . I do like living in town but backed up to this swampy/wooded area...much better than hemmed in on all sides by cookie cutter subdivision houses. If we were ever hit by a disaster we would probably try to find someplace with more yard space and zoned to allow livestock. I would really like to add a milk goat and have more room for gardening...but unless I find a goat that barks and will wear a dog suit it isnt going to happen. One of my biggest fears is code enforcement making me re home my girls. Here in Pasco county we must hide our backyard flocks

 

[centrarchid]

We just took out a large male oppossum no more than ten minutes ago. Dogs played lead role as they do with raccoons for similar although not so easy to come by results. Oppossum was first engaged very close to neighbors Fort Know type of coop that is fairly near our property boundary. This job was much tougher than most as opossum found cover under an exceptionally large and dense multi-floral rose. Dogs had to lay on their side for several feet to get at opossum. They did, opossum was flushed where dogs could catch and dispatch. Dogs now out front removing thorns from their hides. Neighbors flock was all in an uproar with their dogs apparently doing the same in their house. As we wrapped up I could hear neighbor checking on their coop but no words said. If like me they were out about in not enough cloths and at best half-witted from being asleep.

 

[johnderosa1]

the coons and possums are my biggest concern....The monkeys roam but stay away from humans for the most part.....The bear is seldom seen...mostly just eating from trash cans . I do like living in town but backed up to this swampy/wooded area...much better than hemmed in on all sides by cookie cutter subdivision houses. If we were ever hit by a disaster we would probably try to find someplace with more yard space and zoned to allow livestock. I would really like to add a milk goat and have more room for gardening...but unless I find a goat that barks and will wear a dog suit it isnt going to happen. One of my biggest fears is code enforcement making me re home my girls. Here in Pasco county we must hide our backyard flocks

well I'm sure I could get my dog to wear a goat suit and teach her to sound like a goat.... You might want to give it a try....

 

[tarajane]

Well, at least raccoons and weasels can't rip your face off like monkeys can.....or can they?

Only if you try to kiss them...

 

[tarajane]

Anyway people, it was a chimpanzee that ripped that poor woman's face off. I guess there really could be some of them near Silver Springs but you can be sure it would be on the news everywhere. Now, that IS a different story altogether... But just remember if you are faced LOL with one and need to kill it, it was not their choice to be brought here and they did the best they could to survive. They, once again were brought here by man.....

 

[AthenaT]

yes they do hit the news quite often...one even has his own FB page...and yes it was a chimp that ripped that woman's face off...nothing like these smaller monkeys that escape from "money island" As I have said I am not worried about the monkeys...worst case they fling poo...and its only poo.

Still looking for that special milk goat that will agree to wear a dog suit and learn to bark or a act of nature that allows me to find a couple of acres zoned for farming that I can build a Tiny Victorian and be as self sustaining as possible. I really want more garden space, my chickens (I really would like a rooster) some ducks, bees and a small orchard

 

[microchick]

Personally I would be concerned about feral monkeys as much as I would standard every day raccoons. I've seen stories on TV where wild monkeys have caught and eatten birds and other small animals in the wild. They are definitely carnivorous/omnivorous and unlike raccoons, they are smart and can think. I would imagine that if a feral monkey could get it's hands and teeth (look at their incisors sometime. Those things are made for biting) on a plump juicey chicken, it would kill and eat it without hesitation.

Protecting our flocks from preditors is our responsibility no matter what we are protecting them from. And while my comment about getting your face bit off by one was meant as a joke, there are many instances where primates have inflicted painful and mutilating bites on humans.

Luckily where we live we are more concerned about the neighbor down the road's dogs getting loose and coming down to visit our dogs than we are anything else. Fencing is our best friend whether it be chain link or electric. There is no way we can free range our birds due to the number of red tailed hawks and owls that we have around us. We counted five in the air this week over our farm and that number will increase with the breeding season here. So our flock will be kept under wraps so to speak and since it's against the law to inflict punishment to the owners of the animals whether they be dogs, cats or monkeys, who turn the animials loose to torment folks who are just trying to get fresh eggs for their breakfast, the animal will unfortunately pay the price for the transgression if chickens wind up dead.