Raccoons

[chickengeorgeto]

The Duke Trap Co. Dog Proof or DP Trap almost totally eliminates by catch or non-target animals being caught. The DP trap will solve your coon troubles and something like a marshmallow is the only bait usually needed..

My cat turns his nose up at marshmallows.

 

[FenikT]

If the neighbors cat is running around loose, I won't lose any sleep over by-catch. There's no such thing as an "outdoor" cat. There's a name for that. Feral.

 

[freevillein]

How do you kill a raccoon (or other predator) in a live trap? If I catch a raccoon after my chickens or ducks, I have no intention of releasing it alive. But I don't have a gun, and can't think of any other way to kill it inside a trap.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The above images should give you some novel ideas on how to handle a trapped coon. Then there is drowning and gassing. It is not at all required that you drown the varmint in a barrel of French Campaign.

A word to the wise. Remember that any coon in a trap it is a cornered coon. If you allow a cornered coon to get to close, you may have to call the fire department to separate the coon from you. In that case please post a link to your local 6:00 o'clock news, we all could use a laugh.

 

[freevillein]

The above images should give you some novel ideas on how to handle a trapped coon. Then there is drowning and gassing. It is not at all required that you drown the varmint in a barrel of French Campaign.

A word to the wise. Remember that any coon in a trap it is a cornered coon. If you allow a cornered coon to get to close, you may have to call the fire department to separate the coon from you. In that case please post a link to your local 6:00 o'clock news, we all could use a laugh.

Best. Post. Ever. Clearly the ball-and-chain style mace is the best option

But point taken. Stabbing or drowning it is.

 

[bobk]

I live in a semi urban area next to an airport and have been disposing of predators for 10 years. So it isn't as bad now that I have chickens. You have to look daily for evidence or damage done by racs and skunks and then spring into action right away. as I sit here in my 7/10ths finished coop I just shot the skunk that moved into my yard a few nights ago. Use a live trap, do not bait it with cat food or fish or you will be catching cats and wasting a good nights trapping. For skunks and racs I use peanut butter on stale bread rye works best but white works well too. I was out of bread last night and put the peanut butter on a piece of scrap wood and it worked fine, skunky is now in a better place .
Racoons are smart, they will bang on the side of a trap to get it t spring shut and then reach in for the bait. you have to modify the trap to get them. 1. mount the trap to a piece of scrap plywood wider than the trap so they cannot tip it, trust me they can easily flip a trap. 2. You have to bend the little rod that holds the trap door open up a little bit, maybe 22 degrees. this is so a little jarring wont make it fall off the door. bend it a little and then rattle the trap and if it stay open you are set. just make sure activating the bottom plate will still spring the trap.

If you have big racs, 20 pounds or more, reinforce the trap front and back all the way around with #14 thhn house wire. A raccoon has 7-8 hours to destroy your trap before you wake up and shoot it. last year I had a 30 pounder tear the back of the trap up, clips and all. I reinforced the trap and got him t next night.

You can also just wait up until sundown if you have a rough idea of where they are living and get them as they come out. Last summer my neighbor had a huge skunk family under his shed. 3 us of sat in the yard quietly at sundown and got 6 in one night.

Lastly, if you approach a trap with a live skunk in it, hold a dark blanket in front of you so it covers your leg and shoes. Be advised it many places it is against the law to relocate or release a trapped skunk so have an end game in mind before you trap.
Bob

 

[bobk]

if you do not want a firearm then get a .177 caliber break barrel pellet rifle. DO NOT use a bb gun they will only make things worse. you should be able to get a .177 approx. 750fps velocity with a cheap scope for around 100 bucks. practice gun safety as these things will go through the side of a house or a car door.

 

[centrarchid]

Even with good coop design and efforts to keep raccoon numbers down, I am advise ensuring the birds roost well away from perimeter of the coop. Raccoon and many other predators will be more inclined to challenge your coop if they know they are close to potential eats. I can keep raccoons out with deer netting so long as they do not think they have an easy meal after forcing their way through. Once they figure out eats are easy, then raccoon becomes a much bigger challenge. Also, the various trapping systems need to be rotated in some manner as the raccoons can be come wise to any given type of trap and they may also learn to avoid some locations. Another idea not covered is the business how feed attracts many predators owing to its sweet smell. I like to have as little ground feed left out at night as possible. The definition of coop is not clear but if a run is involved, I like to have feed placed out in it so it is well away from sleeping birds and also makes so having an additional barrier being sleeping area and run is possible. ALWAYS THINK IN TERMS OF LAYERS OF PROTECTION.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Best. Post. Ever. Clearly the ball-and-chain style mace is the best option

Me thinks, we thinks alike when it comes to dispatching cornered coons. Unfortunately the ball-and-chain mace method of decornering cornered coons tends to reduce the useful life of a Have A Heart style live trap once its found to be harboring a cornered coon.

 

[freevillein]

Me thinks, we thinks alike when it comes to dispatching cornered coons. Unfortunately the ball-and-chain mace method of decornering cornered coons tends to reduce the useful life of a Have A Heart style live trap once its found to be harboring a cornered coon.

Haha...true.