Raccoons: Do they ever leave?

[aart]

my dad thinks its due to the lack of bobcats (true or false?).

Possible.
Wild animal populations ebb and flow for a number of reasons, including keystone predators.

Thus, I understand I can live catch BUT I am only legally allowed to have the great pleasure of releasing these jerks in the same location.

Then don't bother trapping.

The best offense is usually a good defense, 'fort know' coops and runs,
of which hot wire can be an important and effective part.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

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.

Yup. Dad calls it, “High-speed lead poisoning”. One got shot in the head and was up fighting the dog after and needed another bullet.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Also, deer haven’t been a problem but coyotes are sometimes. Never killed one.

 

[ColoradoPip]

cayenne pepper/jalapeno peppers/onions stewed for 20 minutes and sprayed

Sounds like salsa! Of course they come back...with chips!!

I also vote for electric fence if you can.

 

[genrail1]

Coons are the worst predators for poultry; they literally torture birds when they kill them (and yes, I know how much literally is overused, but chewing the bill off one my nesting ducks qualifies for torture in my book). Solution: a first class coop/ run that you roundup all of the birds in every night. Even better: a fence around your yard backed up with two/three electrified strands. The damned coons can't stand getting zapped; you can put a timer on the charger to turn it off in the day time.

 

[Folly's place]

If you use an electric fence, it's best to have it on all the time, unless you are working on it. Make it hot, and a constant threat, not an intermittent item that's forgotten.
Mary

 

[HotDesertChick]

Raccoons are incredibly intelligent, and extremely dextrous with their small tootsies.

Once upon a time, I stole a baby raccoon (eyes weren't even open) from a nest. She grew up to be a wonderful pet, with amazing skills as a "break-in artist". Took her home from college (many thanks to Shakey's Pizza to this day, for warming baby bottles), but she never became a pest with my parents' free-range chickens. Was totally free and followed her people everywhere.

But.....that doesn't mean that Tulip was an "ordinary wild varmint". Unfortunately, many people feed feral animals, helping them to become an absolute nuisance. And many a rural dog has met a formidable opponent with an adult raccoon (these guys can fight viciously , and may).

Never, never relocate any wild animal !!! As others have said, it merely creates problem for someone else, or a return to YOU. Raccoons can often have a high incidence of rabies among the population (in the SE they often carry deadly parasites for horses too). As others have said, releasing from a live trap only serves to make a "trap-wise" animal. Again...raccoons are SMART & adaptable.

In some states (largely because of the possible rabies exposure) a rural USDA office may offer assistance with coons and skunks (also common harbingers of rabies).

Rule No 1: Varmint proof your coop! And don't leave ANY food out for wild critters, including in bird feeders.

 

[Rosebud25]

How about putting out some poison bait

 

[Tony O.]

chickchickster said:

"my dad thinks its due to the lack of bobcats (true or false?)."

False! Bob cats can be just as bad as coons.
The only cure for coons is air conditioning. (Holes in the head)

 

[erinem]

I know a lot of people have already mentioned a hot wire, but I wanted to add that this has the best chance at being effective if you “train” the raccoons to the wire/fence. I take little pieces of aluminum and fold them over the wire about ever 5-6 feet like little flags, then put a smear of grape jelly on each one. This way any coon wandering by will be attracted to the free jelly snack first, he’ll encounter the fence with his sensitive little nose first, and get a quick lesson about what a terrible place this is for him to hang out. Without this, you run the risk of him being in full chicken-hunting mode when he grazes the fence with his well-insulated furry parts and barely noticing as he heads toward his chicken dinner. I installed my hot wire bc we had a big, nasty coon digging tunnels that you could roll a bowling ball through. I watched him on our security camera get popped a couple times, come back an hour later to stare at it, think it over, touch it one more time and then RUN for the woods. He’s never gone near the coop again, even though I know he’s still in the area because I catch him in our trash every now and then (he’s got a notch in one ear that makes him easy to ID). They’re territorial, so once all your area coons learn that the coop is dangerous, the amount of new coons testing your security will drop off drastically.