jimgood
Well-known member
CLIFF NOTES: Found a product that repels raccoons (at the very least) and works as advertised. "Bonide Shotgun Repels-All". And no, it's not a shotgun.
We have an 80 x 100 indoor riding arena. We've had a terrible time with ground hogs, skunks and raccoons burrowing under the walls. The ground hogs were the worst as they actually dug tunnels under the footing and horses were punching through. We're lucky none got inured. It got to the point that we spent $3500 for a ground penetrating radar survey to find the tunnels so I could fill them in.
I was able to snipe the ground hogs and they have stayed away for a while but then raccoons moved in. They were climbing up into the rafters and pooping on top of them. The poop piles were so big that I had to get up on a ladder to scrape them off. Every morning, there are fresh '**** tracks in that building.
This guy was pissed off because I was in there with the tractor dragging the footing:
View media item 52987
Yes, I could have sniped them also but I really don't enjoy killing the wildlife. I prefer to live and let live until it gets to a point where there's no choice. And this is about how I was able to solve the problem without all that.
Yesterday, my wife was hosting a big retreat for a women's business group. We had to do a lot of prep and set up on Thursday afternoon because they were going to arrive at 8:15 on Friday and we didn't want the raccoons climing all over the lunch tables and everything.
So, while we were prepping on Thursday, I remembered seeing a product on the shelf at Tractor Supply that was supposed to be a repellent. I decided to make a run to the store, pick some up and give it a try. There were actually several products on the shelf and the one I had originally seen was an Ortho product that only claimed to repel a few animals. There was another product called "Repels-All" so I read the label and it included damn near every kind of critter imaginable. So I bought a jug and high-tailed it home.
I sprinkled the granules around the entire perimeter of the building, paying special attention to gaps and obvious holes where they were gaining access. I also sprinkled some in the 3 holes on the inside of the building. It's smells like garlic, which makes sense as that's one of the main ingredients, so I guess it repels werewolves too (or is that vampires).
I dragged the sand footing so that it was all uniform and called it a night. The next morning I went down there and was blown away. Not one single foot print. The stuff worked. Same thing this morning.
The stuff is supposed to last for a couple of months unless it rains hard. I plan to keep some on hand all the time and just do a maintenance sprinkle every few weeks just to be sure. But this definitely seems like a good alternative to trapping or shooting. Shooting them requires time laying in wait, unless I happen to see one and can get a rifle before it disappears, which is really rare. And trapping requires checking traps several times a day. This repellent took all of 5 minutes to apply. I can live with that.
Repels-All lists rats as one of the critters but doesn't specifically list mice. But I'm going to try some around my house too and see if we can't keep the mice out this winter. I set six mouse traps in my basement and have not caught a single mouse in several days so I'm not sure if they're outside enjoying the beautiful weather or what. But it can't hurt to try this repellent too. Oh, and the barn. Can't forget the bar. Tons of mice in there.
Hope that helps someone in a similar predicament.
We have an 80 x 100 indoor riding arena. We've had a terrible time with ground hogs, skunks and raccoons burrowing under the walls. The ground hogs were the worst as they actually dug tunnels under the footing and horses were punching through. We're lucky none got inured. It got to the point that we spent $3500 for a ground penetrating radar survey to find the tunnels so I could fill them in.
I was able to snipe the ground hogs and they have stayed away for a while but then raccoons moved in. They were climbing up into the rafters and pooping on top of them. The poop piles were so big that I had to get up on a ladder to scrape them off. Every morning, there are fresh '**** tracks in that building.
This guy was pissed off because I was in there with the tractor dragging the footing:
View media item 52987
Yes, I could have sniped them also but I really don't enjoy killing the wildlife. I prefer to live and let live until it gets to a point where there's no choice. And this is about how I was able to solve the problem without all that.
Yesterday, my wife was hosting a big retreat for a women's business group. We had to do a lot of prep and set up on Thursday afternoon because they were going to arrive at 8:15 on Friday and we didn't want the raccoons climing all over the lunch tables and everything.
So, while we were prepping on Thursday, I remembered seeing a product on the shelf at Tractor Supply that was supposed to be a repellent. I decided to make a run to the store, pick some up and give it a try. There were actually several products on the shelf and the one I had originally seen was an Ortho product that only claimed to repel a few animals. There was another product called "Repels-All" so I read the label and it included damn near every kind of critter imaginable. So I bought a jug and high-tailed it home.
I sprinkled the granules around the entire perimeter of the building, paying special attention to gaps and obvious holes where they were gaining access. I also sprinkled some in the 3 holes on the inside of the building. It's smells like garlic, which makes sense as that's one of the main ingredients, so I guess it repels werewolves too (or is that vampires).
I dragged the sand footing so that it was all uniform and called it a night. The next morning I went down there and was blown away. Not one single foot print. The stuff worked. Same thing this morning.
The stuff is supposed to last for a couple of months unless it rains hard. I plan to keep some on hand all the time and just do a maintenance sprinkle every few weeks just to be sure. But this definitely seems like a good alternative to trapping or shooting. Shooting them requires time laying in wait, unless I happen to see one and can get a rifle before it disappears, which is really rare. And trapping requires checking traps several times a day. This repellent took all of 5 minutes to apply. I can live with that.
Repels-All lists rats as one of the critters but doesn't specifically list mice. But I'm going to try some around my house too and see if we can't keep the mice out this winter. I set six mouse traps in my basement and have not caught a single mouse in several days so I'm not sure if they're outside enjoying the beautiful weather or what. But it can't hurt to try this repellent too. Oh, and the barn. Can't forget the bar. Tons of mice in there.
Hope that helps someone in a similar predicament.
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