How do you get rid or Opssums & Racoons ???

[Chicken kid12]

Does anyone know what to do if you can't trap the Racoon? we bought a live trap but he just steals the bait

 

[ivan3]

Does anyone know what to do if you can't trap the Racoon? we bought a live trap but he just steals the bait

Don't give up on the live trap, yet : https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/232969/modifications-for-standard-havaharts-save-time However, if dealing with a truly live trap savvy raccoon? Duke Dog proof foot traps are a good alternative for these few "bright" vermin. Needless to say, "catch & release" (for anyone contemplating it) isn't a realistic option with this tool

 

[11mini]

This is what I use - it is equipped with a laser/light combo.

 

[Ilovefarming]

A Live Trap
A 22. Rifle (My best suggestion so far!)
Putting as much resictance around the coop as possible, (fence around the coop, wire mesh. etc.)
A wire mesh (will prevent coons from digging under the coop)
Putting the feeder away at night
Keeping Compost Bins securley closed
A red Light That Flashes on and off in your yard at night when an animal enters it. (I have this to keep the rabbits out of the garden. It works for me.)
Gathering Eggs Before Nightfall

 

[Chicken kid12]

if I catch the brat coon I will kill it. Relocating it never works for raccoons. They will come back, or become someone else's problem.

 

[cheramiefarms]

A 22 does the trick.

I

a trap and a .22, or irrigation ditch. Get a small live animal trap, put raw eggs in it and you'll come out in the morning to vermin trapped!  Then dispose of as you see fit.

 

[cheramiefarms]

I have a possum I been hunting for weeks an I really think God loves this guy . I have a 20foot by 10 chicken coup and I have a fig tree wright next to it . I had 2 9mm bullets and missed him by 2 feet away , then he was at banana tree with his two friends and my 22 would not fire and by time I got my other gun they where gone and then I spotted him in my back pastor an all I had was 9mm bullets agains and you know I missed him from three feet away . I was thinking about setting a boil for him an add him to my goats , chickens , donkeys and mallards and them white ducks

 

[Ilovefarming]

I have a possum I been hunting for weeks an I really think God loves this guy .

 

[Kit Parker]

Problem with wildlife solutions advised here? They don't work as solutions - they actually make sure your problem continues! You actually INCREASE your predators when you kill/ remove them as advised by many here.

Wildlife Biology 101:

Woops! No matter how many of these wildlife animals you kill/ remove -- with each one killed a vacancy opens for approx five more to attempt to fill that opening. Fact. Only solution is "reconditioning your neighborhood wildlife". Look, you only have a few specific raccoons, opossums, fox.... Unless you remove them. Now you have created an over-population result. Please read on...

Our pets/ livestock are our responsibility to protect. The ONLY solution is prevention, ie, a better coop. Why?

Our pets/ livestock have another name in our world: Food buffet. Wildlife/ Nature Rule #1: Food equals wildlife / NO food equals no wildlife. So, eliminate availability of food and wildlife stops showing up. Period.

On contrary - increase food supply and carrying capacity (sustainability) increases. Catch 22: If you kill/ remove wildlife the local population (in your backyard) will jump up before Nature regains that lower number and settles again.

YOU are a territory! Wildlife exists by territory area, and it's well proven that every territory has a carrying capacity. That capacity, the magic number, is dictated by food supply, water and habitat. You can make the territory you live in sustain less animals, or more, by what you do (provide or not provide) each day.

Relocating wildlife animals only helps you sleep better. It is same result as killing (several more now show up to fill that vacancy). Relocation is also inhumane, irresponsible and a waste of time. Use your time, money and brain to diminish the conflict - meaning wildlife may smell your food supply but when they show up they can't achieve a meal. THAT is what makes wildlife give up trying, which means no loss for you, reconditioned/ "trained" wildlife in your backyard, and a more static population size. Bonus: The parent(s) of your "trained" wildlife will teach their young - hopefully that your property is not where they find food. Bingo.

A better coop means better wire (not chicken wire), dig deterrent, electric wire... Anything that stops success of wildlife being rewarded with a meal decreases your conflict issue, period! We can kill, but can we out-wit them? One is easy, the other is what proves who the superior/ bigger brained species is here.

 

[bobbi-j]

Problem with wildlife solutions advised here? They don't work as solutions - they actually make sure your problem continues! You actually INCREASE your predators when you kill/ remove them as advised by many here.

Wildlife Biology 101:

Woops! No matter how many of these wildlife animals you kill/ remove -- with each one killed a vacancy opens for approx five more to attempt to fill that opening. Fact. Only solution is "reconditioning your neighborhood wildlife". Look, you only have a few specific raccoons, opossums, fox.... Unless you remove them. Now you have created an over-population result. Please read on...

Our pets/ livestock are our responsibility to protect. The ONLY solution is prevention, ie, a better coop. Why?

Our pets/ livestock have another name in our world: Food buffet. Wildlife/ Nature Rule #1: Food equals wildlife / NO food equals no wildlife. So, eliminate availability of food and wildlife stops showing up. Period.

On contrary - increase food supply and carrying capacity (sustainability) increases. Catch 22: If you kill/ remove wildlife the local population (in your backyard) will jump up before Nature regains that lower number and settles again.

YOU are a territory! Wildlife exists by territory area, and it's well proven that every territory has a carrying capacity. That capacity, the magic number, is dictated by food supply, water and habitat. You can make the territory you live in sustain less animals, or more, by what you do (provide or not provide) each day.

Relocating wildlife animals only helps you sleep better. It is same result as killing (several more now show up to fill that vacancy). Relocation is also inhumane, irresponsible and a waste of time. Use your time, money and brain to diminish the conflict - meaning wildlife may smell your food supply but when they show up they can't achieve a meal. THAT is what makes wildlife give up trying, which means no loss for you, reconditioned/ "trained" wildlife in your backyard, and a more static population size. Bonus: The parent(s) of your "trained" wildlife will teach their young - hopefully that your property is not where they find food. Bingo.

A better coop means better wire (not chicken wire), dig deterrent, electric wire... Anything that stops success of wildlife being rewarded with a meal decreases your conflict issue, period! We can kill, but can we out-wit them? One is easy, the other is what proves who the superior/ bigger brained species is here.

While I agree with your opinion on relocating, I cannot agree that 5 more raccoons moved in to take the place of the one DH shot in the chicken coop this summer. Our situation may be different, living in the country with plenty of room for both us and the wildlife, but I can't even say that for sure. What I do know is, when we have killed the predators that we have caught coming into our building site, we usually don't have problems with more for years. This year has been different with first the raccoon, then a few months later with mysterious disappearances - possibly coyote. But for the most part, eliminate the problem, it's gone for a long time.