Raccoon Control

[lazy gardener]

I have a charger that was used for electronet. I was convinced that it was not working effectively (hooked to 12 V deep cycle battery.) I could grab hold of the fence, and barely feel a thing. Then, I tried taking my shoe off, and poking my toe in the damp grass, while touching the fence. UM... yeah, it worked very well. Curled my hair. Point being, the predator should not be wearing shoes, and it is best if his initial meeting with the fence be up close and personal. A dab of peanut butter, or bacon grease would be very effective. My chicks would squirt through the openings on the electronet without getting zapped. Their feet make poor conductors. However, Rocky, and Wiley have soft pads on their feet that make great conductors. Be sure to place the strands of the fencing close to the ground, and every 6 - 8", then every foot until you get as high as the expected height of your target critter. I've been told that an electric fence is only as good as the ground rod(s) it's attached to.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

If I may add my 2 cents to this issue: trap the coons out! I grew up trapping for fur, and have done nuisance wildlife control on the side for over a decade. Get on them and keep their numbers under control. The last 5-6 years, fur prices have come down from their highs in the last decade so less people are after fur. Because of this, there are more coons. Soon, like we had back in 2008, we will have a big run of rabies and distemper when the numbers get too high. Ol' ma nature is far more cruel than trapping them.

I know some people are a bit sensitive when it comes to dispatching critters. I personally am not a fan of box style live traps. They are big, heavy, and draw too much attention to thieves. Any big coon left in one will chew through it rather easily, sows and pups not so much. Now before people give me grief about how great box traps are, I run 500-700 traps (foot holds, conibears, dog proofs, and box traps) across 15k acres in 3 counties. And was a member of a international committee to help establish wildlife laws in a foreign country, where I advised them on how properly trap (foot hold and live trap) and translocate multiple species (ocelots, margay, and various other predators and prey) into a high fenced facility for an eco-tourism establishment.

Get the coon numbers down as soon as possible. My preferred method is a 220 conibear in a square bucket (look up 220 bucket set). It dispatches the animal quickly-but this may not be the best option if you are in town or have free roaming pets. I use this often on my farm to keep the critters in check. There is a dog proof trap where only a coon (and sometimes a possum or skunk) will put its paw in and get caught. These are great and I use them around town quite often. they pay for themselves very quickly.

I worked for the state DNR for a short while where we raised 40,000 pheasants for put and take hunts. We had (40) 1-acre pens that were fully enclosed with a hot wire. Coons, possums, owls, hawks, etc still did damage even will our security. We trapped the coons and other critters regularly to keep the number down. It made more of a difference than just the hot wire alone.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

...I have a raccoon problem....
Problem One. The yards are large, and totally not raccoon proof-able.
Problem Two. A hunter... friend referred to the number of coons as a "bazillion."
I would put out traps, but I don't really want to waste my breath killing raccoons....more will just come..... but I can't help thinking that now that the coons have discovered the chicks, they'll just keep coming back..... Any advice would be very greatly appreciated.

Problem #1 & #2:
I think that the coons now expect you to provide them with as many chicken dinners as they wish to become accustomed to. The coons eating your poultry therefor have no, zero, nada enticement to go easy on your flock. Thinks to patriotic Americans like Smith & Wesson or Samuel Colt I doubt that the coons living in your area can breed faster than a dedicated chicken keeper can shoot these marauding coons. Besides, commercial poultry houses don't usually provide a living food source for a colony of coons.

 

[Akrnaf2]

So, I have a raccoon problem. I'm pretty sure a raccoon got into my chick flock and took out several chicks.
Problem One. The yards are large, and totally not raccoon proof-able.
Problem Two. A hunter/trapped friend of ours referred to the number of coons as a "bazillion."
I know one way of prevention is coon proofing yards and houses. The house is coon proof, but the yard isn't. It's large, so even if I redid the fence (Not happening!) I couldn't cover the top. And since the cornerposts are large, solid wood posts, it would be easy for a coon to climb.
I would put out traps, but I don't really want to waste my breath killing raccoons, since more will just come. What I'm saying is, I'm after a more permanent solution.
That being said, we killed two or three coons that were getting into the layer house a while back. But we also fixed the window where they were getting in. There haven't been any problems there for a while.
I probably will set a trap, however. We've never had problems with coons and chicks before, but I can't help thinking that now that the coons have discovered the chicks, they'll just keep coming back.
Any advice would be very greatly appreciated.

I think that if you will invite Alexander the great with his infinite number of arms he would solve the problem!

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Will a hot wire work on top of a fence if the critter not touching dirt, grounded?

Gary

If the fencing is metal and it is grounded, yes.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I run 500-700 traps (foot holds, conibears, dog proofs, and box traps) across 15k acres in 3 counties. And was a member of a international committee to help establish wildlife laws in a foreign country, where I advised them on how properly trap (foot hold and live trap) and translocate multiple species (ocelots, margay, and various other predators and prey) into a high fenced facility for an eco-tourism establishment.
.

What do you think about Collarum traps? Sounded like the cable would have to be replaced a lot.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have a charger that was used for electronet. I was convinced that it was not working effectively (hooked to 12 V deep cycle battery.) I could grab hold of the fence, and barely feel a thing. Then, I tried taking my shoe off, and poking my toe in the damp grass, while touching the fence. UM... yeah, it worked very well. Curled my hair

OK, now that makes more sense.

My meter says it's putting out 10 jewels, but yes it felt like a flick or pinch that I described earlier to my hand. I didn't take my shoes off though, I might have to go try it!

Good to know, thanks for sharing.

 

[Folly's place]

TenJ will be very impressive! Let us know if you actually try it (I wouldn't)! Mary

 

[Howard E]

Me neither either (try it by grabbing it). Which is why I use a fence tester.



The poor man's version of this is to hold (ground) the shaft of a plastic handled screwdriver on a ground rod (like a steel T post) and then touch the tip of the screwdriver to the wire. If it's hot, there should be a spark jump across the gap. The hotter it is, the bigger the spark. I like to see a nice blue flame and an audible SNAP!

 

[rjohns39]

It's been touched on here, but I use portable electronet from premier 1 with a 1 joule solar charger. It's been fairly successful at keeping critters away from the chickens. On my portable shelters I run hot wires every three inches, starting 3" off the ground to discourage the little buggers.