We have been battling raccoons, as many of you are. A new one came to visit early this morning, right after sunrise. I got a good look at her and she/he was HUGE. Dh does not want to invest in electric fence (I'll convince him eventually). So, we barricaded the front door better, adding an extra layer of wood and two more hook locks. Dh set up a spot light with a remote in our bedroom. Then I got a door alarm (you can pick them up for around $7 I think). It runs on batteries and you can stick them on by tape... one side to the door, one side to the door frame. When the two are separated the alarm BLARES. So, instead of the door, I placed them on two slats of scrap wood and laid both pieces of wood across a bucket, but off to one side so it would be tippy. I placed this in front of the door. (Yesterday, said raccoon stood on the same buckets to reach up high). As soon as the raccoon tries to climb the bucket, the wood pieces will be separated and sound the alarm. The coop is about 75' from our bedroom window, so I'll be sure to hear it. We also placed a Hav-a-hart trap between the coop and the house.
I think I will sleep MUCH better tonight.
I think I will sleep MUCH better tonight.
