Raccoons severely attack Lakeland woman

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Hey, congrats!! I have caught 2 on 2 occasions. Thought I was the only one. Until last year, I lived on a coon highway. Lot`s of developement in my area and whenever they cleared a new piece of land, all the wildlife was funneled through my chicken yard. I went for months at a time catching 5-6 a week. On 3 different occasions I had a family get trap smart and wouldn`t go near a trap. Lost a lot of expensive birds. Glad you eliminated those 2. Keep that trap set.........Pop

 

[Imp]

I think this time of year the parent raccoons are kicking this years kids to the curb, as they get ready for next years babies. Here's a pix of one lonesome homeless raccoon trying to move in with me. He hung around with the outside cats for about 5 days. Haven't seen him for about 2 weeks now.
On a related note: There was a news story about the raccoons in Stanley Park (Vancouver BC) becoming so used to people feeding them that they were attacking people who didn't give them food. I think one woman had to go to the hospital. And there was a story here in Seattle about a couple that got bit and scratched up in their back yard.

Imp

 

[koifarm]

Quote:
Most havahart traps are designed with a treadle which pops the door shut when the critter steps on it.
a medium to large coon can actually stand with feet off the treadle and reach over it to get whatever bait you have in there.
Easy way to remedy this, take a small can of tunafish, punch two small holes in the side of the can up towards the rim. Take a piece of either copper wire or any wire, even tie wraps and tie it to the far back of the cage. We use cat food or tuna and when placed in the secured can, the critter cannot carry it off and will eventually pop the trigger and you have em.
Another good trick is to lubricate the little hook on the trigger with lip balm or a bit of grease, butter, oil or something slick. another trick is to file the hook on the trigger so it's smooth and then pre load it when you set the door latch so it's just a teeeeeny bit on the wire and any slight bump will set it off.
Good luck and happy trapping....

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Most havahart traps are designed with a treadle which pops the door shut when the critter steps on it.
a medium to large coon can actually stand with feet off the treadle and reach over it to get whatever bait you have in there.
Easy way to remedy this, take a small can of tunafish, punch two small holes in the side of the can up towards the rim. Take a piece of either copper wire or any wire, even tie wraps and tie it to the far back of the cage. We use cat food or tuna and when placed in the secured can, the critter cannot carry it off and will eventually pop the trigger and you have em.
Another good trick is to lubricate the little hook on the trigger with lip balm or a bit of grease, butter, oil or something slick. another trick is to file the hook on the trigger so it's smooth and then pre load it when you set the door latch so it's just a teeeeeny bit on the wire and any slight bump will set it off.
Good luck and happy trapping....

Thanks for the tips!!!! I told my hubby to perhaps crack the egg and leave it in a bowl or something so they have to lick it up.. we tried cat food and tuna a couple of weeks ago and didn't get a hit. We did however get a hit up a tree when we took the dog out to pee.. those two coons have gone on to a better place.

 

[NateinFL]

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Oh yeah, I was so excited when I got them, and I think I also live near a predator highway, a narrow strip of woods behind my property with a stream, and I get stuff EVERY week. My Mom tells me to leave nature alone

, she doesnt understand how valuable my chickens are to me! So now I have just stopped telling her about my catches. And I hate to "play God" with animals, but I'd hate even worse to put the coons on someone else's hands!

 

[mikeksfarmer]

I caught 2 in one trap this summer. They were both pups and the third pup ran up the tree. While they cried their mother kept comming back. I shot her with the 22 but she still ran off. I shot the pup in the tree and the two in the trap. Even shot she came back for her kids. I was very sad that she must go through some thing as she decides they are dead. I would still kill all that come into my yard.

 

[SunnyChic]

Ugh, this happened 12 miles from my house.

In our city park across the street, we see a momma coon & her 4 young frequently in the evenings when we walk the dogs. We're putting the finishing touches on our backyard coop this week, and I'm going to put up a game cam to see who comes to visit.

 

[NateinFL]

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You need to start trapping now. See that's the problem. Predators have lost their fears of humans in many areas and now we have coyotes living in neighborhoods (Jessica Simpson's dog was killed by one recently) I didnt start trapping till I lost my baby goose I was so devastated and I'm going to keep trapping and euthanizing until I get every last one of them off my acre of land. I respect nature but I feel like I'm being overwhelmed by all these predators sometimes.

 

[PunkinPeep]

That's horrifying! I knew i hated raccoons, but that's nuts! They're breaking all the rules! I guess the renegades didn't get the memo. I've always only set a trap when i knew they were hanging around, but now, i think i'm going to start setting a trap again and see what i get.

Last time i set the trap, the nasty sucker actually tripped the trap and still ate the bait, left the container and got away. Must've been a big guy. *shudder* I love the tips about wiring the container to the back of the trap. That's great! I think i'll do that. I usually keep the cat inside at night, so i shouldn't have to worry about him.

I think he's be sure to wake us up if we accidentally trapped him.

 

[barredrockmama]

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Once we caught 4 baby raccoons in our live trap. The mother was waiting outside the cage in the morning and she was ticked!