i have had a raccoon kill 1 chicken 2 ducks, and injure 1 other chicken. ever since i patched the latest problem with the coop it has left them alone. i am hoping it has no other way in. the raccoon eats my cat food most of the time. my wife is buying a live trap soon. i carry my m9 out every time i go out there at night, but it's only my wife who ever gets a glimpse of that pesky creature. any other advise on how to help will be greatly appreciated. ps: please do not mention antifreeze and soda, i have some dumb cat or chicken or dog that would end up drinking some.
Live trap and then be certain that they are killed. You don't want to drive them off somewhere to become someone else's problem. Yup, I've killed a raccoon or two in my day and I never once felt badly about it.
In addition to live-traps I am using two 55-gallon drums, each with a board that raccoon can walk up. A small amount of smelly trash is kept in at all times as bait. Raccoon can get in but not out. This needed for me with trap=wise coon that uses neighbors home as shelter from my dogs. The drum trap is actually cheaper than the live-traps I use.
Though I prefer the old #1079 havahart live traps (think it's model 1089, now), One can pick up 2-3 Duke dogproof traps for the price of one havahart. They are effective. They require a bit of ooomph to set and slightly more upkeep (catch and release is not an option).
