What is the best bait for raccoons in a live trap?

[aprophet]

this is why it sucks when someone relocates most times to catch the coon in a quick manner you have to change the style of trap used mostly I use fish to catch coon with that and digging a bait hole under the cage trap and centering the trigger over the hole

 

[aprophet]

And chances are the raccoon has come back to his home territory as well. so you could just be creating a revolving door.

before you release them take a can of survey paint , pink and while they are in the cage paint a wide pink stripe down thier back and go ahead drive 20 miles away now realease them and wait 3 days the pink stripe will help you postively ID them when they get back they will not go back into a cage after you release them you will have to use a dp or a coil spring or a bodygrip after this ........

 

[aprophet]

Hauling them 10 miles away and across interstate highways pretty much assures me that they won't be coming back. I've yet to find anymore. I'm really not sure where the arguments are coming from. You do what works for you and I'll continue to do what works for me and we can all be happy. It's really that simple.

Also, to the other poster, possums are just as much a nuisance as coons and are just as likely to carry rabies. I don't know what information you're seeing that leads you to believe that's only true about raccoons.

the rabies virous rarely incubates in possums their body temp is not warm enough check with CDC if you do not believe this see if you can find a case of possum with rabies LOL now for horse folks possums do carr EEE which is very bad juju hauling them across interstates lets someone else do what needs to be done dispatching them however someone running half over a coon and it suffering for hours is not what I consider to be a humane dispatch and I encourage others not to take this approach all the time I charge much like a plumber or electrician to provide said service for what others are not capable of doing .......

 

[scooter147]

I live in a suburban neighborhood. Several years ago I (neighborhood) was overrun with raccoons. The local animal control officer set traps around my coop. We caught numerous raccoons. She would take them and release them along the Missouri River bottoms, approx. 4-5 miles from my house. She spray painted numbers on their backs. We caught numerous ones twice. They will travel back to their home ranges. The practice was stopped and they were then shot. We still have no shortage of raccoons, possums, fox, skunks in the neighborhood. I actually saw one last night cross in front of me on my street driving home.
And these raccoons were safely crossing a 8-10 lane (depending on where they were crossing) freeway to get back.

 

[mfaith694]

Marshmallows

 

[chiknhurder]

the rabies virous rarely incubates in possums their body temp is not warm enough check with CDC if you do not believe this see if you can find a case of possum with rabies LOL now for horse folks possums do carr EEE which is very bad juju hauling them across interstates lets someone else do what needs to be done dispatching them however someone running half over a coon and it suffering for hours is not what I consider to be a humane dispatch and I encourage others not to take this approach all the time I charge much like a plumber or electrician to provide said service for what others are not capable of doing .......

Although rare in possums, rare doesn't mean immune. ANY mammal can get rabies. Why should animals be killed because they're a nuisance? Aren't we, the people, really the problem?

 

[chiknhurder]

I live in a suburban neighborhood. Several years ago I (neighborhood) was overrun with raccoons. The local animal control officer set traps around my coop. We caught numerous raccoons. She would take them and release them along the Missouri River bottoms, approx. 4-5 miles from my house. She spray painted numbers on their backs. We caught numerous ones twice. They will travel back to their home ranges. The practice was stopped and they were then shot. We still have no shortage of raccoons, possums, fox, skunks in the neighborhood. I actually saw one last night cross in front of me on my street driving home.
And these raccoons were safely crossing a 8-10 lane (depending on where they were crossing) freeway to get back.

It's a numbers game, Scooter. You increase the odds and it becomes less likely that they will return. For a possum to travel 10 miles plus having to cross busy highways is how you increase the odds. I eat what I kill so I don't kill possums or coons. I don't kill because some animal is a nuisance.

 

[scooter147]

It's a numbers game, Scooter. You increase the odds and it becomes less likely that they will return. For a possum to travel 10 miles plus having to cross busy highways is how you increase the odds. I eat what I kill so I don't kill possums or coons. I don't kill because some animal is a nuisance.

The other side of the relocation is that you have put a raccoon or any animal for that matter in the territory of another.
There will be fights and typically the rights holder to that territory wins thus sending the loser off or killing it.
You may have dumped your problem onto another, its extremely stressful for the relocated animal, there is the also the risk of spreading disease. The fact that these coons had to travel across a extremely busy freeway surely was a death sentence to many anyway.
I did not ask for animal control to come trap the raccoons on my property. They came to me as they were having numerous complaints about raccoons getting into trash, attics, garages, sheds etc. My coop is very secure and I lock the coop up each and every night. So the raccoons didn't bother me. I was actually shocked at the number of raccoons caught between me and my neighbor.
I have to register each year that I have chickens. The animal control officer has chickens as well (lives in another town) and knows I do as well as well the guy across the street, she often just stops by to talk chicken.
So she knew catching raccoons around coops would be a sure way to have a steady supply of raccoons to help reduce the numbers. Fortunately or unfortunately we do not have coyotes to help keep the numbers down. So like with much of wildlife these days man has to step in and be the predator.
I realize this a subject that touches nerves on both sides. I lean on the side of the most humane way is to dispatch the animals that are trapped.

 

[chiknhurder]

The other side of the relocation is that you have put a raccoon or any animal for that matter in the territory of another.
There will be fights and typically the rights holder to that territory wins thus sending the loser off or killing it.
You may have dumped your problem onto another, its extremely stressful for the relocated animal, there is the also the risk of spreading disease. The fact that these coons had to travel across a extremely busy freeway surely was a death sentence to many anyway.
I did not ask for animal control to come trap the raccoons on my property. They came to me as they were having numerous complaints about raccoons getting into trash, attics, garages, sheds etc. My coop is very secure and I lock the coop up each and every night. So the raccoons didn't bother me. I was actually shocked at the number of raccoons caught between me and my neighbor.
I have to register each year that I have chickens. The animal control officer has chickens as well (lives in another town) and knows I do as well as well the guy across the street, she often just stops by to talk chicken.
So she knew catching raccoons around coops would be a sure way to have a steady supply of raccoons to help reduce the numbers. Fortunately or unfortunately we do not have coyotes to help keep the numbers down. So like with much of wildlife these days man has to step in and be the predator.
I realize this a subject that touches nerves on both sides. I lean on the side of the most humane way is to dispatch the animals that are trapped.

And that's where we differ. People who kill animals because they are a nuisance always have a million reasons why it's the humane thing to do. I don't believe that God ever intended for us to be the deciders of what lives and what doesn't. I'm not judging you for wanting to kill the animals but I choose to give them a chance. With your way, they have absolutely no chance.

An added note: I don't have problems with coons. I trapped and relocated 8 possums in a week because they were sleeping in my garage in my cat's bed and eating her food. I have only seen one coon around here as well as possums, red foxes, coyotes, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, owls and hawks. Only the neighbors dogs and a hawk have been a problem for my chickens. My coop is also very secure and as long as I'm there to lock them in at dark, I never worry about them. When they're out during the day, that's a different story. I've lost 4 to the neighbors dogs and 1 to a red-tailed hawk while out of their pen.

 

[Wrooster]

From only the first page of hits Googling "Relocate raccoon". Even the animal-friendly organizations don't like the idea,

"...It's a popular myth that the animal that is a nuisance on your property can simply be "relocated."...

"...relocating a raccoon to another location is usually a death-sentence. ..."

http://wildcaresolutions.com/the-truth-about-trapping-and-relocating-wildlife/

http://www.raccoonatticguide.com/relocating.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070507045811AAr9E2Q

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/raccoons.html

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/relocating-wildlife/

http://www.spca.bc.ca/welfare/wildlife/urban-wildlife/raccoons.html

http://www.eapl.com/wildlife_problems_raccoon.html