Raccoons: Do they ever leave?

[Folly's place]

For electric fencing, check with Premier1supplies.com! Also, @Howard E and @cmom have excellent advice on this site.
About raccoons; they carry a roundworm that can be deadly to Humans! Raccoon poo is not harmless at all!
It's opossums that carry EPM, a bad parasite causing horses to be sick and sometimes die.
Mary

 

[rehdancer]

Agree with Centrarchid completely. Our rescue Great Pyrenees ignores our chickens but barks enough to notify far and near that he's large and in charge. No bears, raptors, coyotes, wolves, dogs, no nothing !! Having said that I must also say the local bear is still in hibernation, so we may see him in a few weeks (if the hunters didn't get him last year).

 

[jspeese]

I have no love for raccoons or any other predator that comes around poultry either. If I catch it, it's gone!!

 

[lifein1840]

I used to have a raccoon come around but right when I decided I would need to shoot it, my neighbor did it first!! But - he put a whole through his porch floor doing it.

 

[16chicks]

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked!

For the past month or so, after sunset, I have awful visitors also known as raccoons. They either come in pairs (quite chunky) or in triples (a chubby mother and two of her children, I am assuming). They saw at wood. They bite at the hardware cloth. They leave signs every single night.

I have game cams. I have sensor lights/motion detectors. There are predator lights/solar nite guards around the coop and run. I have tried cayenne pepper, garlic powder, powders mixed in water with liquid dish soap, bottle of hot sauce, a concoction of cayenne pepper/jalapeno peppers/onions stewed for 20 minutes and sprayed, rags soaked in ammonia, essential oils... basically, any natural repellents/remedies you can think of, I've tried.

How do you get these awful, obnoxious, persistent, creepy eyes out of your yard? Live trap them? Shoot them? There's the tiny fear that they will continuously reproduce and come back.

Will these raccoons EVER leave? Or is the only remedy a concrete yard?

Thank you so much!

I lost all my girls and I believe that raccoons are responsible. I hate them and those sly foxes. I have new girls coming in April. I’m using cement and hardwire cloth to prepare a safe home before the move to coop. I HATE ALL PREDATORS!! Kill ‘em all!!

 

[Folly's place]

Having a predator proof coop, and run if possible, is the way to go. It's been a long time since we've had problems with raccoons, fortunately. Excellent protection at night is so important!
Now, for free ranging, it's a different story. This is where horrible losses can occur, and might any given day. 2019 was our worst year ever, thanks to one of our own dogs, and a fencing failure. It could have been an outside dog, but it was ours. I don't know which is worse, but neither is good.
Some folks have decided to never free range, and that's a good decision too. Just be aware that disasters can happen if you do free range, and until your coop and run are Ft. Knox.
Mary

 

[peterguy]

They only real sure way is to trap, and kill them or plain shoot them.
pretty drastic I know but I have NO LOVE for raccoons Around my garden or birds. They are great little critters in the wild but sadly they have adapted to life around people. This is the same with coyotes and deer.
when you have eradicated them a new group will take over the area.
the best thing to do is make your coop as safe as possible and hope they do not break in because they will kill most or all of your birds the first chance they get.
Sad but true.

live trap and eradicate. They like cheep cat food in a can.

 

[peterguy]

If you re locate them closer than a mile, they will return and you will have trouble catching them again!

 

[Annasg]

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked!

For the past month or so, after sunset, I have awful visitors also known as raccoons. They either come in pairs (quite chunky) or in triples (a chubby mother and two of her children, I am assuming). They saw at wood. They bite at the hardware cloth. They leave signs every single night.

I have game cams. I have sensor lights/motion detectors. There are predator lights/solar nite guards around the coop and run. I have tried cayenne pepper, garlic powder, powders mixed in water with liquid dish soap, bottle of hot sauce, a concoction of cayenne pepper/jalapeno peppers/onions stewed for 20 minutes and sprayed, rags soaked in ammonia, essential oils... basically, any natural repellents/remedies you can think of, I've tried.

How do you get these awful, obnoxious, persistent, creepy eyes out of your yard? Live trap them? Shoot them? There's the tiny fear that they will continuously reproduce and come back.

Will these raccoons EVER leave? Or is the only remedy a concrete yard?

Thank you so much!

Raccoons got in on mine and killed 5 of them in one night. I set a live trap and caught them but I also killed them. And for those who are against killing them this is how I feel. My chickens give me food that helps me with my grocery bill since I am on SS. The raccoons bring NOTHING to add to my life. I caught 6 in the live trap and killed them. I live on the river so there are more than that I have to try and control. Good luck. Once they feed at your house, they will bring their families and try to move in on you.

 

[LalahCatlady]

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked!

For the past month or so, after sunset, I have awful visitors also known as raccoons. They either come in pairs (quite chunky) or in triples (a chubby mother and two of her children, I am assuming). They saw at wood. They bite at the hardware cloth. They leave signs every single night.

I have game cams. I have sensor lights/motion detectors. There are predator lights/solar nite guards around the coop and run. I have tried cayenne pepper, garlic powder, powders mixed in water with liquid dish soap, bottle of hot sauce, a concoction of cayenne pepper/jalapeno peppers/onions stewed for 20 minutes and sprayed, rags soaked in ammonia, essential oils... basically, any natural repellents/remedies you can think of, I've tried.

How do you get these awful, obnoxious, persistent, creepy eyes out of your yard? Live trap them? Shoot them? There's the tiny fear that they will continuously reproduce and come back.

Will these raccoons EVER leave? Or is the only remedy a concrete yard?

Thank you so much!