Neighbor is BIG TIME feeding the raccoons.

[grandpaw roo]

In Pa as a land owner you may trap,transfer,or kill animals such as this.I would not advise a transfer also because of it becoming someone else problem.If you can't shoot you could put the live trap by the exhaust of your car.They just go to sleep.If you can shoot and have access to a .22 the CB ammo is very quiet and effective but I would only shoot them in the trap not running around houses.

Check with your local Game Commission or Wildlife Conservation Officer on options.

 

[duluthralphie]

In Pa as a land owner you may trap,transfer,or kill animals such as this.I would not advise a transfer also because of it becoming someone else problem.If you can't shoot you could put the live trap by the exhaust of your car.They just go to sleep.If you can shoot and have access to a .22 the CB ammo is very quiet and effective but I would only shoot them in the trap not running around houses.

A faster cheaper way is cover the trap and spray in some starting fluid. It just puts them to sleep. (Do not smoke while waiting for them to go to "sleep".

 

[Joe19]

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree....

Relocation is most likely illegal, not to mention a terrible idea. I for one, woukd be extremely mad if someone dumped a trap smart coon on my property.

Most state laws require a raccoon to be dispatched (destroyed) on site. Might check your state laws to make sure.

Who said anything about releasing on someone else's property? Sorry, I just assumed that was common sense. Anyway....coons are not considered a nuisance animal here under the law. It's one thing to be careful and cautious, another to panic and over react. You can trap without a permit on your own land. One answer does not always cover an entire subject. You did say one thing correct....it is a good idea to check your local laws.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I very much agree with Howard, in some places it is legal, some places not. My first call would be to Wildlife & Fisheries or whatever they are called where you live and chat with them. At least you would know where you stand legally and if you are lucky, may get some relief.

I don’t know if she is living alone or not, but having someone do a welfare check on her might be a reasonable thing to do.

When I was in suburbia a neighbor fed raccoons. Out in the middle of not much where I now live some people feed deer. The deer are a road hazard anyway but it’s especially dangerous around that house. In that area I’m particularly careful when I drive by.

My approach is first that it is my responsibility to protect my animals. I can control what I do, I don’t have a lot of control over what other people do. Whether or not someone “should” or “should not” do something is totally irrelevant, I like to deal with facts, not wishes.

My first approach is barriers, passive defenses that work whether I’m around or not. I have a deer fence around my garden. I use electric netting to protect my chickens from ground-based critters, my main problems have been dogs abandoned out here, not the wildlife, but the electric netting helps there too. I lock mine is a secure coop at night when the danger is highest. Good barriers are my primary defense.

I also trap. I don’t have a trap set all the time, but so far this year I’ve removed more than a dozen each of raccoons, skunks, and possum. A kind neighbor encourages this and has given me permission to dump the carcasses in an isolated area of their pasture. That sure beats digging holes.

On rare occasions I shoot something, almost always with a shotgun to limit the range. I don’t have neighbors all that close so I’m not too worried about hitting one of them or their houses with a shotgun, but there are a lot of cattle and horses around. I really don’t want to accidentally shoot one of them. I find the 12 gauge pretty effective and still limits the range, even full choke turkey load.

I personally do not consider trapping or shooting these critters to be a primary deterrent. It does not eliminate the problem. It reduces the number of critters hunting in that area, which is a big benefit, but it does not eliminate the problem. If you have one you have others. When I do go in a trapping binge it’s pretty normal to catch critters several nights in a row. One time I set the trap for what I was sure was a raccoon I caught two possum before I got the raccoon. I’ve caught skunks on three consecutive nights.

I consider reducing the numbers actively hunting your area to be a pretty big benefit, I don’t want to mislead people in that point. But my main defense is barriers, new critters will keep coming. And I consider it my responsibility to take care of my animals, not someone else’s.

 

[shortgrass]

Who said anything about releasing on someone else's property? Sorry, I just assumed that was common sense. Anyway....coons are not considered a nuisance animal here under the law. It's one thing to be careful and cautious, another to panic and over react. You can trap without a permit on your own land. One answer does not always cover an entire subject. You did say one thing correct....it is a good idea to check your local laws.

That's actually why I said to check your laws. "Relocation" is illegal in all shapes and forms here in CO, ESPECIALLY coons since they are considered a invasive species. We are not allowed to relocate ANYWHERE, be it private property OR state land, which is still someone's property BTW lol, the state owns it

Different area, different law. Common sense is not always prevalent in every human, I've discovered

 

[Joe19]

Hey I'm all for a 22 bullet but I figured some people were a little squeamish so I opted for the pc answer.

 

[duluthralphie]

Hey I'm all for a 22 bullet but I figured some people were a little squeamish so I opted for the pc answer.

22 shells have become a rarity in many stores here. They have lots of .17 shells though..

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Get a live trap and relocate miles away or give away for meat. They love jumbo marshmallows. Works good in the live trap.

It is a violation of both State and Federal Law to trap and release a raccoon EXCEPT, in the same locator in which the raccoon was first trapped.

If you choose to ignore my words then don't expect me to send you a birthday cake with a file in it.

 

[centrarchid]

This is an interesting display of intolerance. In many ways I am like the old lady feeding the raccoons. When we moved onto our ground, it had just been laid fallow to extremely heavy grazing with a beef cow-calf herd. The pasture vegetation was dominated by fescue that wildlife and insects beneficial to me had little use for. The woodlot was dominated by a thicket of trees where larger trees would die from damage to roots and the understory is dominated by toxic plants the cattle did not like to eat but otherwise are not typical of natural understory plants where I live. As soon as I moved in the process to promote / establish native plants began. Intent was first to make area more suitable for true free-range keeping of chickens as I deem fit. Second was to promote abundance of wildlife. When we first moved in very few rabbits or squirrels were present and we had few native birds. Rabbits in particular are building up in abundance where they can reproduce very successfully on my land. Then many have to emigrate to neighbors where the rabbits are putting moves on gardening efforts like they are doing here. Additionally raptors like the Great-horned Owl and Coopers Hawk are really working my ground and surrounding properties. At least some of my neighbors are not happy about the increase in abundance of wildlife that is obviously centered on my little patch. Still I am doing what makes me happy, not unlike the little old lady with her raccoons. They would be sticking their noses into my business telling me to stop efforts. I am not saying anything as of yet about how their efforts to keep manicured lawns and continuous supply of pet food and trash dumpsters suppresses abundance of most wildlife with exception several urban tolerant invasive species. The species list includes the following; raccoons, dogs kept as pets, cats, European Starlings, Eurasion House Sparrows, Eurasion Collared Doves and rats. I can deal easily with all but the starlings and sparrows that not only eat a lot of feed and defecate on equipment, they also bring in disease. We have conflicts. System that works I do what I do without being overtly critical of neighbors and they do what can to protect their own with efforts restricted to their properties. Neighbors, like me, need to stay within the law.

 

[Joe19]

It is a violation of both State and Federal Law to trap and release a raccoon EXCEPT, in the same locator in which the raccoon was first trapped.

If you choose to ignore my words then don't expect me to send you a birthday cake with a file in it.

Please give me the link to that Federal Law. I need to educate myself. Also. .....THEN JUST PUT A BULLET IN ITS HEAD OR HIT IT WITH A HAMMER, doesn't really matter to me. I was just trying to be sensitive to the tree huggers and not suggest killing the creature at first.