night camera

[boondockers]

Yesterday we set up our new night camera. Since the traps and bait hadn't been touched the last couple of nights, I wasn't too optimistic we'd capture anything on film. I could not have been more wrong. First shot is a rabbit. Second shot a raccoon. Now the question is, why didn't the raccoon take the bait. At least we've on the right road.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Coons can be pretty smart. They can smell danger and unless they are really starving, they may never take the bait. All you can do is wait. LOL

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Raccoons are often too smart to go into a trap. The best bet are dog proof leg traps.

http://blog.flemingoutdoors.com/category/animal-trapping-control/page/2/

ETA

Raccoons territories are huge and don't sleep in the same den each night so in making the rounds, they sometimes take a week before they return.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! X3, coons can be trap smart unfortunately, especially those that were trapped and released by someone else, the Duke Dog Proof traps seem to work really well even on those.

 

[boondockers]

That's some pretty amazing footage of the sneaky coon in the garage. Well, I have a surprise for this one tonight. No trap, but a fine dining experience that guarantees he won't walk more than 20' before he drops. Appreciate the heads up that they get wise to traps. Who knows, maybe these are the 28 we caught and released last year coming back to haunt us!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There you go.
Are you serious or are you kidding? Caught and released?

 

[boondockers]

Serious, and I won't go that rout again. Nothing on film last night except for our feral cat, but the week is still young.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Catch and release for an extremely successful invasive predator isn't a great idea.
As I mentioned, they have a huge range so unless you drive a long way away, they probably already know the way back to your house.
Releasing a predator somewhere else is dumping your problem on someone else.
Should you take it far enough away that it doesn't return, there are already predators where you are releasing them. So they will have to fight others in unfamiliar territory to compete for food and dens, that's not really humane.
Lastly, most places, trapping and releasing into the wild is illegal. Urban/suburban vermin have much more diseases than wilderness ones so releasing spreads those diseases.

28

 

[boondockers]

That's basically why we agreed to no more catch and release. We had to drive them to the other side of the Wabash, and that is by no means a short distance. Also, quite a few of them had injuries on their paws from the traps and it seemed cruel that an infection might set in. One farmer pointed out to a few of us who were having a friendly competition that all we were actually doing was turning them loose to destroy someone else's property, or kill their flocks. I honestly hated the idea at first, but when they invaded our loft and went undetected for but two weeks....well, I'll spare you the graphic of what the loft looked like. Then l ended up on antibiotics for 10 days because I picked up an infection from their mess. The path we've chosen now is the most humane way we know of, so until we learn a better way, this is just how it has to be.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I prefer to shoot them (even though I hate to shoot an animal in a trap but it's fast). The department of conservation here recommends drowning. One needs a huge trashcan filled with water to take a large trap.
They are vermin and before Europeans and other humans spread across the continent, they were only in river bottoms in what is now the SE US. That makes them an invasive species across much of their range.
I both admire and hate them.