Raccoon - no deaths yet

[Echilde]

So I have had this raccoon hanging around for a few weeks. I have set traps daily and he never flips the bar, but takes the food! Frustrating! He has even taken a food container that was on my deck inside a bench, unscrewed the lid and enjoyed. But he has not attacked any of my animals, yet.

Tonight, I was awakened by a chicken screeching and falling of the roost, so I knew the damn raccoon had found a way in. I ran outside to the coop, opened the door and there he sat. He was just sitting on the roost, behind the chickens, not moving at all. I scared him by beating on the floor and watched where he left from...a hole about 3x3 that he had ripped hardware cloth out of! So I did a temporary fix, since it was 1:40 in the morning and reset the trap, but now what?!

In the morning I will resecure the coop and add to it, but will wolf urine deter him you think? How else can I trap him?

I have 49 chickens in that coop, one stubborn broody hen who is sleeping with the goats, ducks in a separate pen and silkies in their own coop. I am sure it's just a matter of time before he realizes the chickens are for eating.

 

[cavemanrich]

Are you sure you are setting the traps correctly.
Seems something is wrong if raccoon is able to sneak out food out of trap sooooooo many times.
Post a pix of your trap, and describe how you set it and bait it.
I know I could catch him.
Raccoon may also be a juvenile , and not a hunter, but an opportunist looking to steal eggs.
If I see pictures, I may be able to give you advice on ideal setup, and bait.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[centrarchid]

What is being used as bait and how is it distributed in trap? To increase odds a raccoon trips trap, you can tie a large chunk in place or make to raccoon needs to lick around a lot.

You can also use dog proof traps.

https://www.flemingtraps.com/duke-d...GqQETYtSvVJZ6bVMF_elEEoGEXVCL79caAlADEALw_wcB

 

[Echilde]

Are you sure you are setting the traps correctly.
Seems something is wrong if raccoon is able to sneak out food out of trap sooooooo many times.
Post a pix of your trap, and describe how you set it and bait it.
I know I could catch him.
Raccoon may also be a juvenile , and not a hunter, but an opportunist looking to steal eggs.
If I see pictures, I may be able to give you advice on ideal setup, and bait.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

It's a humane trap and yes it is being set correctly. I have trapped about 12 already with the same trap. The bait I have been using ranges from cat food to steak lol. I originally thought that it was a smaller raccoon, since it hadn't attacked anything, but after seeing him up close and personal last night, he is actually a large one.

I was thinking of setting my large trap, fox sized, and seeing if that works. Maybe he is holding the door open somehow since he is big. I don't know.

But in the meantime, I'd like to keep him away from the coop, if possible. I have a floodlight that is on all night, but that obviously doesn't matter to him so any ideas for that?

Coop in pic. He entered from the top rear, which is about 12 feet off the ground!

 

[Echilde]

What is being used as bait and how is it distributed in trap? To increase odds a raccoon trips trap, you can tie a large chunk in place or make to raccoon needs to lick around a lot.

You can also use dog proof traps.

https://www.flemingtraps.com/duke-d...GqQETYtSvVJZ6bVMF_elEEoGEXVCL79caAlADEALw_wcB

Thanks. I will try staking a hunk of meat in place. I am also going to try setting my fox trap too, since he is rather large.

 

[centrarchid]

Thanks. I will try staking a hunk of meat in place. I am also going to try setting my fox trap too, since he is rather large.

If big, then I would go straight to dog proof traps. They are more trouble to setup, but very effective. I am betting you are dealing with more than one as well so do not get complacent after getting your guy. With traps out constantly now, I count it as lucky that I have not caught any in over a week. Most here not getting past my fencing, but I am culling herd so lower risk when weather or deer take out fencing again.

 

[cavemanrich]

He entered from the top rear, which is about 12 feet off the ground!

They have no problem climbing up. I suggest that you try and secure the openings with Hardware Cloth, and possibly 2 x 4 welded wire fencing in addition.
That raccoon, (and there may be more like Centrarchid mentioned above) may be a semi-domesticated one that peeps fed as a young, and he lived in the neighborhood. That is a possibility why he is not KILLING CHICKENS YET.
Securing your coop should be priority #1 and catching Rocky should be #2.

 

[aart]

It's a humane trap and yes it is being set correctly. I have trapped about 12 already with the same trap.

Are you releasing them?
Would love to see pics of hole where it got in.

 

[clembone]

Is shooting out of the question?

 

[moniquem]

Smith & Wessons work really good....