raccoon or malicious spirit

[Folly's place]

Raccoons are malicious spirits!
Punch holes in the cat food or sardine can, and wire it inside the trap. It's cold, it won't get awful anytime soon.
I agree that you may be dealing with a trap wise critter, or more than one of them. Maybe the duke traps would be worth a try, and a larger live trap. Sometimes big live traps are available to rent at hardware stores or rental places too.
Then shoot!
And thanks for the update, do keep us posted.
Mary

 

[Geena]

This is what my son came up with for those pesky raccoons that steal the bait without tripping the trap- a plastic jar, zip tied to the back so that they have to go all the way in to reach down into the bottom, works great!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

After raccoons got all 20+ of my neighbors free-range chickens & guineas over a period of several months, they tried to move in on my flocks. Neghbors had no luck catching the coons (which they saw hanging around in trees) in a cage trap. Neither did i. Even after ziptying the bait to back of trap, the buggers still removed the bait without setting off trap. I SAW a raccoon one early morn a few weeks ago. Then a few days later saw "it" again. Heard my dogs going barking crazy. Coon seemed pretty determined to challenge the dogs; reluctantly climbed a tree and stared down at me as i approached. (My neighbors have guard dogs too.) Knew i needed to address issue asap, so researched "duke dog proof trap" and watched how-to videos on youtube. Bought 2 traps, filled & set with tuna & dog food. Next morn-2 raccoons with stuck paws. Dispatched and re set traps. Next morn caught a raccoon & an oppossum. Dispatched & went and bought a 3rd trap. Reset set all 3 traps. Next morn one coon caught & 2 traps untouched. Have since caught one more raccoon; traps otherwise untouched. Dogs have also been much quieter except for alerting me to the skunk that recently wandered through. (Dogs also alert to coyotes in the fields, but those killer coons were braver than coyotes!) Am now a Huge believer in the duke dog proof traps! Fyi no realistic way to release the coons alive, which i would never do anyway. Yes a game camera would allow you to know for SURE that you are dealing with a raccoon(s), but i believe u are right in guessing that you are. And likely more than one due to the mass killings. I say get at least 2 dog proof traps asap; they are fairly inexpensive. And also get the cheap trap setter tool too also, unless u or the trap setter has VERY strong hands. The professional trapper videos i watched on youtube most all recommended filling the trap with tuna & dog kibble, so thats what i did. Dont hesitate or fear using the dog proof traps. Research, purchase, set, & get rid of those malicious raccoons!!

 

[roosterhavoc]

After raccoons got all 20+ of my neighbors free-range chickens & guineas over a period of several months, they tried to move in on my flocks. Neghbors had no luck catching the coons (which they saw hanging around in trees) in a cage trap. Neither did i. Even after ziptying the bait to back of trap, the buggers still removed the bait without setting off trap. I SAW a raccoon one early morn a few weeks ago. Then a few days later saw "it" again. Heard my dogs going barking crazy. Coon seemed pretty determined to challenge the dogs; reluctantly climbed a tree and stared down at me as i approached. (My neighbors have guard dogs too.) Knew i needed to address issue asap, so researched "duke dog proof trap" and watched how-to videos on youtube. Bought 2 traps, filled & set with tuna & dog food. Next morn-2 raccoons with stuck paws. Dispatched and re set traps. Next morn caught a raccoon & an oppossum. Dispatched & went and bought a 3rd trap. Reset set all 3 traps. Next morn one coon caught & 2 traps untouched. Have since caught one more raccoon; traps otherwise untouched. Dogs have also been much quieter except for alerting me to the skunk that recently wandered through. (Dogs also alert to coyotes in the fields, but those killer coons were braver than coyotes!) Am now a Huge believer in the duke dog proof traps! Fyi no realistic way to release the coons alive, which i would never do anyway. Yes a game camera would allow you to know for SURE that you are dealing with a raccoon(s), but i believe u are right in guessing that you are. And likely more than one due to the mass killings. I say get at least 2 dog proof traps asap; they are fairly inexpensive. And also get the cheap trap setter tool too also, unless u or the trap setter has VERY strong hands. The professional trapper videos i watched on youtube most all recommended filling the trap with tuna & dog kibble, so thats what i did. Dont hesitate or fear using the dog proof traps. Research, purchase, set, & get rid of those malicious raccoons!!

Move your traps a little further away or at least to a different area if you can and change the bait. You’ll pick up a few more.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Ok tu for advice i will move the traps to a different spot in the woods! I HAD wondered if i got all the chicken-hunting raccoons (for now), or maybe that any raccoons that may remain got savvy to the dp traps, same as they do cage traps. I do have to be careful where i place the traps due to my dogs. Cause while it is true they cant get their paws caught, i am concerned they might mess up the trap trying to get at the delicious smelling tuna. Also hmmm what else to use in traps? (Also asking this question since op may face same issue after catching a few in dp trap).

 

[roosterhavoc]

Ok tu for advice i will move the traps to a different spot in the woods! I HAD wondered if i got all the chicken-hunting raccoons (for now), or maybe that any raccoons that may remain got savvy to the dp traps, same as they do cage traps. I do have to be careful where i place the traps due to my dogs. Cause while it is true they cant get their paws caught, i am concerned they might mess up the trap trying to get at the delicious smelling tuna. Also hmmm what else to use in traps? (Also asking this question since op may face same issue after catching a few in dp trap).

If I were you I would still try to avoid your dogs. I’ve never had an issue and most others haven’t but a dog can get caught by the tongue. Dog food is still a good option because most dogs get tired of the food they eat every day.

dog food with syrup, molasses or honey works good. I rarely put anything nasty in the trap I just drizzle whatever you’re using on the rim. This time of year isn’t too bad but in warm weather they can get pretty caked with crud and a pain to clean out.
Commercial raccoon lures while not necessary will improve the catch too.
i use earth anchors driven into the ground around my yard to attach the traps and just keep the traps set all fall/winter long. If for some reason I have an issue it take about 20 minutes to bait and set 15 DP traps. Easy peasy.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Per youtube professional coon trappers advice, i pushed tuna under the trap pull pin with a tree twig, filled rest of "tube" with dry dog kibble, then dribbled tuna juice in trap, put some tuna on rim of trap, & sprinkled some kibble around trap. Even tho temps have now cooled, i did see ants around the traps on a couple of recent warmish days. I will rebait the traps using honey instead of tuna, & see if i catch any more. Hopefully op will also benefit from our discussion, since i have no doubt they are also dealing with multiple raccoons, due to the mass killing devastation they experienced.

 

[quaasi]

Apparently you have know idea what the predator is. Have you put up a camera/cameras. I have several up on my property. As of late I haven't been seeing much but in the past I was seeing predators nightly on at least one of the cameras and often times more than one camera. That is the only way you're going to truly know what you are dealing with. All of the other measures you have taken are good. I love my cameras. Here most of the predators roam at night. I collect the memory cards in the mornings and switch out the cards and then check them on my computer. This is a bobcat outside the chick/grow-out coop a couple of weeks ago. Good luck...
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i mean it’s something that can climb and has grasping hands small enough to fit through the gaps in a catch em alive trap, which i can only assume would be a raccoon - my roommates have a game camera but have yet to set it up for reasons i do not know, i’d do it myself but i’m several states away and will be until spring

Find some other way to anchor the traps if you use them. Lawn staples aren’t going to cut it. You do that and you’ll catch the raccoon but he’ll be gone with your trap. If people are going to recommend using certain traps they should also recommend how to use them properly.

i mean.... of course using lawn staples on a dog proof trap is a bad idea and thats definitely not going to happen, i was referring to using a few of them on the catch em alive trap, which is a big metal box cage, since i doubt the thing is going to run off with the trap while it’s totally encased inside the trap, you know? lol, anyway

Maybe the double ended trap where the bait is in the middle? though I guess it could reach in the side... so maybe reinforce that somehow. And I always use sardines (or the dead chicken but sounds like you're out of those).

Have you considered an exorcist?

You have great roommates doing all this for you!

ah yeah we can’t bait with dead chickens but we’re definitely gathering as much info as we can and will try different bait and place the traps in different places, and yeah they’re great roommates! i wish i could do more to help them but out of state for the winter 8s i can at least be in charge of asking for advice and relaying the suggestions to them!

 

[quaasi]

Per youtube professional coon trappers advice, i pushed tuna under the trap pull pin with a tree twig, filled rest of "tube" with dry dog kibble, then dribbled tuna juice in trap, put some tuna on rim of trap, & sprinkled some kibble around trap. Even tho temps have now cooled, i did see ants around the traps on a couple of recent warmish days. I will rebait the traps using honey instead of tuna, & see if i catch any more. Hopefully op will also benefit from our discussion, since i have no doubt they are also dealing with multiple raccoons, due to the mass killing devastation they experienced.

thanks for the advice! some dp traps have been ordered and will be set near the coop since that’s where it seems to be focusing 99% of its attention, and will be continued to be set even if they end up catching it just in case there are more

 

[cmom]

i mean it’s something that can climb and has grasping hands small enough to fit through the gaps in a catch em alive trap, which i can only assume would be a raccoon - my roommates have a game camera but have yet to set it up for reasons i do not know, i’d do it myself but i’m several states away and will be until spring

It probably is a coon or a family of them.