Tips on live trapping raccoons?

[JewelBirds]

Recently lost a duck, with another badly injured due to a raccoon. My plan was to use a live trap to capture it. Not sure I'd want to use something that kills/injures because of stray cats. Looking for any tips on what bait to use and how to set up the trap, etc.
caught it on the camera the next night

 

[DarJones]

To catch a raccoon, the trap should be beside something solid. A wall for example works very well. Put the bait in the back of the trap where the raccoon can't get it by reaching in from the side. Tie the trap down so that the raccoon can't overturn it. The raccoon will walk around the trap, eventually find the opening and go in.

If you happen to have 2 live traps, set and bait both of them and put them beside each other facing opposite directions. Tie them together so they can't be rolled. Raccoons will investigate an opening beside the bait and the rest is history.

If there is one raccoon, there are many raccoons. While they are territorial to some extent, there will often be a dozen or more per square mile. The highest I've ever seen was over 200 raccoons coming to a dumpster near an apartment complex. Someone in the apartments was feeding them.

 

[Geena]

feeding them

Probably this ding-a-ling

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Unless your raccoon is living in your attic, they will visit every third day. This means the raccoon you photographed isn't the one who killed the chicken the day before.

I'm going to argue that isn't set in stone. They never signed a contract saying that they wouldn't come sooner if they had a smaller meal

 

[JewelBirds]

To catch a raccoon, the trap should be beside something solid. A wall for example works very well. Put the bait in the back of the trap where the raccoon can't get it by reaching in from the side. Tie the trap down so that the raccoon can't overturn it. The raccoon will walk around the trap, eventually find the opening and go in.

If you happen to have 2 live traps, set and bait both of them and put them beside each other facing opposite directions. Tie them together so they can't be rolled. Raccoons will investigate an opening beside the bait and the rest is history.

If there is one raccoon, there are many raccoons. While they are territorial to some extent, there will often be a dozen or more per square mile. The highest I've ever seen was over 200 raccoons coming to a dumpster near an apartment complex. Someone in the apartments was feeding them.

Thank you, that is informative

@DarJones is spot on. Anchor those traps!

@Blue Raptor is correct. Mini marshmallows are quite loved.

We’ve used live traps. Shoot them dead bc It is often illegal to relocate an animal. We’ve also used Ztraps - only will catch raccoons. Sometimes the raccoon is strong enough to distort the live trap and escape, so anchoring it is helpful to prevent them from twisting the trap. You want to trap them successfully the first time otherwise they will be less likely to get trapped a second time.

The plan isn't to relocate them, just plan on catching them alive and then dealing with them afterwards. Thank you, I will make sure to secure it

 

[Isadora]

One tip for the live trap:
Sometimes raccoons will purposely avoid the trip plate in the center of the trap. Whether they don't like the look of it or they suspect it's not good footing, I don't know. But if you just run a stick or an iron bar or something similar through the bars of the live trap right in front of the trip plate, it makes it so he doesn't really have a choice and has to step on the trip plate.

 

[drummondfarm]

Unless your raccoon is living in your attic, they will visit every third day. This means the raccoon you photographed isn't the one who killed the chicken the day before.

I would also argue this fact because we have security cameras pointing at our coop and back garden area and the coons have a routine almost precisely every single night. This is how we managed to finally start trapping them by knowing route they take and exactly what time.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Recently lost a duck, with another badly injured due to a raccoon. My plan was to use a live trap to capture it. Not sure I'd want to use something that kills/injures because of stray cats. Looking for any tips on what bait to use and how to set up the trap, etc.
caught it on the camera the next night
View attachment 3167366

Marshmallows (surprisingly), wet cats food (stinkiest is better), bacon, fresh fruit, canned tuna or salmon, a whole egg, fatty meats and corn on the cobs are what I read are the best things.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

A neighbor used the rest of the bird killed the night before

 

[Acre4Me]

@DarJones is spot on. Anchor those traps!

@Blue Raptor is correct. Mini marshmallows are quite loved.

We’ve used live traps. Shoot them dead bc It is often illegal to relocate an animal. We’ve also used Ztraps - only will catch raccoons. Sometimes the raccoon is strong enough to distort the live trap and escape, so anchoring it is helpful to prevent them from twisting the trap. You want to trap them successfully the first time otherwise they will be less likely to get trapped a second time.