Two separate raccoon problems.

[shmccarthy]

I have two problems going on right now with raccoons. I have a live trap set out in the brushy area of my property, trying to catch a fox and not succeeding. I noticed the trap has been getting robbed a lot. The animal (I presume raccoon) is trap wise and will go in, steal the food, without stepping on the trigger and get away. It's happened quite a few times now. How do I prevent this?


Next question.
I have a ground blind, and hunting spot nearby that I am preparing for bow season. I have my trailcam on the site and I have been putting out record rack brand corn for the deer to munch on and stay plump so we have meat in the freezer this winter. It started with one raccoon coming to eat the corn. Then there were two, then three, and more keep coming every night! Usually I would stake them out and shoot them, but I really don't want to disturb my hunting area and scare the deer off from coming. The raccoons come at very late hours of the night usually and eat a lot of corn. I don't want to feed them, I want to feed the deer. How can I get rid of these guys? I need to make sure I don't disturb the area too much and ward off the deer I already have coming, or the new ones that will come in. Any input or ideas are appreciated.

 

[Folly's place]

For your live traps: attach the bait to the trap with wire, so that the coon has to enter the trap to get the treat. You can also wire a dish to the floor of the trap, and/or surround the bait end of the trap with a tarp or something so it's a cave to climb into. Sorry, no pictures. I think you're not going to be able to bait those deer without also feeding everyone else. Consider a month without free corn so the coons give up on the area. If you must feed the deer, do it much later, not now. Mary

 

[Folly's place]

For your live traps: attach the bait to the trap with wire, so that the coon has to enter the trap to get the treat. You can also wire a dish to the floor of the trap, and/or surround the bait end of the trap with a tarp or something so it's a cave to climb into. Sorry, no pictures. I think you're not going to be able to bait those deer without also feeding everyone else. Consider a month without free corn so the coons give up on the area. If you must feed the deer, do it much later, not now. Mary

 

[thomasboyle]

I trap my coons by zip tie-ing an empty tuna can to the bottom of the cage (drill 2 holes in the bottom of the can to thread the zip tie through), centered so they can't get at it from the sides. Stuff 5-6 large marshmallows in the tuna can and check the trap after a few hours. I almost always have a coon a few hours after dark. They love marshmallows, and if you stuff them in the can tightly, they have to work at getting them out and they will trip the trap.


As for feeding the deer and not the coons, good luck with that! I've never seen a coon pass up free food, and they usually bring their friends!

 

[James the Bald]

Next question.
I have a ground blind, and hunting spot nearby that I am preparing for bow season. I have my trailcam on the site and I have been putting out record rack brand corn for the deer to munch on and stay plump so we have meat in the freezer this winter.

It started with one raccoon coming to eat the corn. Then there were two, then three, and more keep coming every night! Usually I would stake them out and shoot them, but I really don't want to disturb my hunting area and scare the deer off from coming. The raccoons come at very late hours of the night usually and eat a lot of corn. I don't want to feed them, I want to feed the deer. How can I get rid of these guys? I need to make sure I don't disturb the area too much and ward off the deer I already have coming, or the new ones that will come in. Any input or ideas are appreciated.

I think it's funny that they call it "deer corn" thinking that only deer will eat it. My BroNLaw has pictures of deer standing there looking at dozens of coons hoarding the corn. Here is what I did six or seven years back, and it worked like a charm for bow season... I had raked up a ton of acorns from under a white oak tree. One of the ways I was able to get acorns was to ask neighbors if I could rake the leaves from their yard... but only if they had oak trees. When raking the leaves, I put the leaves in black garbage bags, but I toted the acorns away in 5 gallon buckets. I would spread them along the perimeter of my tree stand, and the deer would snack out. I collected enough for two 5 gallon buckets that I kept in the freezer for the following year for that period of time before the acorns start to drop. I've had some medical issues and haven't picked up my bow since last year. The squirrels had their share of the acorns, but they didn't go crazy on them like coons would on corn. I hope this works for you.

 

[shmccarthy]

That's what the coons have been doing to me. They'll eat all the corn while the deer watch. I tried my luck with a live trap last night baited with cut up hotdogs and I caught this

Haha who knew squirrels liked hotdogs?
I think I'm gonna try the acorn idea because the big tree in our yard drops a lot of them.

 

[shmccarthy]

I caught one of the little guys! My dog was going insane when he found the raccoon. He was practically lunging at the trap like "lemme at em!" I think he might be fit for training to be a coon dog well, lets see if I can catch the other two!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Peanut butter smeared directly onto the trigger plate works well for coons smart enough not to set them off. I'm having an issue with a trap smart raccoon as well, except he's smart enough to get out of my trap after he sets it off! Very frustrating!!!

 

[shmccarthy]

Peanut butter smeared directly onto the trigger plate works well for coons smart enough not to set them off. I'm having an issue with a trap smart raccoon as well, except he's smart enough to get out of my trap after he sets it off! Very frustrating!!!

I never thought of that, I'll have to try it! If only I could keep those darn squirrels out though..I'll have to try the peanut butter idea tonight.

 

[quigley257]

Usually a sprung trap with nothing in it is a sign of coons reaching in and setting it off from the outside. Build a box to fit around the sides of the trap to prevent "reach-ins" and your catch rate will go way up. Stake or weigh your traps down. Coons are insanely strong. Wire your bait cans down or make a small cage out of hardware cloth to protect the bait. Good luck!!