trapping raccoons

[DARKSCOPE001]

Hello all I have a question for you. and hopefully im posting it in the right forum. Ok so i have raccoons living in my attic and They obviously need to go. Because im a tree hugger I cant bring myself to shoot them or kill them

so I have been setting have-a-hart traps baited with marshmellows in my yard (I have about two at a time set that i borrowed from some friends).

But the raccoons always seem to evade my traps. I wake up this morning, and I dont have to go to class untill 1 so I walked downstairs after my mom called me and told me she heard a bunch of rusteling around and she saw a raccon that wouldnt leave the deck. Went outside and both traps were tripped and closed. But NO RACCOON!

are the raccons reaching through the sides of the traps and pulling the food out? or are they forcing the traps back open? So far I have caught 1 baby raccon, possum and somebodys cat. lol. Can somebody help me?

THANKS
Sean Scott

 

[warmpancakes]

"we used to get ***** up on the porch momma sweep them off with a broom" Forrest Gump

 

[plinker]

***** are strong and can/will onpen or damage traps enough to get out.

Dog/cat food (dry) works really well, along with syurp peanut butter and similar things.

When baiting make sure the bait is all the way back in the trap with a small amount to lure said animal in.


How big are the traps? If they are 15-20lb ***** they may not fit in the trap depending on trap size. We have had some ***** that would not fit in a 14"x14" (approx.) live trap, **** was too big.


Use caution with ***** (skunks too) they do carry rabies

 

[warmpancakes]

On a more serious note a 22 works great

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

ok thanks Plinker I will try that. On the one harbor freight have a hard rip off I taped carboard to the inside so that they couldnt reach in to get the food but the baby raccoon destroyed it so I will have to make it again if this will offer me an edge.

I have been placing a large ammount of food in the back of the trap and tipping it back so that it rests on the verry far edge of the trap corner. with a small trail leading into the trap.

I will have to measure the traps to find out there final dimension but I will get back to you.

THANKS
Sean Scott

 

[warmpancakes]

My dad uses canned cheap dog food also make sure you secure the traps to the ground as the crafty bastards will flip them over to get the food

 

[d33pt]

***** are pretty smart and hard to trap. my friend tried the HF traps, and caught everything under the sun (including birds!), but never the racoon he was targeting. they ate all the koi in his pond and really pissed him off. I will ask him if he was ever successful.

 

[shotgunfatcat]

A teacher of mine from elementary school used to have raccoon's as pets. One turned, and they had to put it down ol' yeller style. I don't think you are going to get them any other way besides a live trap, or shooting it, but as they normally come out at night, that is hard.

Also, just an FYI, skunks I guess can make really good pets, just don't forget to d-bag em.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

Wife had a bunch of ***** as pets when she was a kid (farm family)... it is very difficult to get rid of them. Do waht the others say, keep trying and/or get a very big dog. may also have to bite the bullet and call in an "expert" that has a thick leather suit to wear and hall them out one at a time.

 

[shotgunfatcat]

Wife had a bunch of ***** as pets when she was a kid (farm family)... it is very difficult to get rid of them. Do waht the others say, keep trying and/or get a very big dog. may also have to bite the bullet and call in an "expert" that has a thick leather suit to wear and hall them out one at a time.

They will maul the **** out of a dog no matter what size you get. Unless they get lucky.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

They will maul the **** out of a dog no matter what size you get. Unless they get lucky.

good point, but the dog will usually keep them away (pointless since they have taken up residence)... if the OP is dealing w/ babies and a mommy ****, GOOD LUCK, that mommy will take anything down if she gets provoked. We had a family living in a walnut tree in the backyard a couple years ago, had to leave them for the summer - the mommy would bark and charge anything that came w/n 20ft of the tree. had to keep the daughter away time and again since the babies are so cute (and tasty I have been told).

 

[comedyman809]

maybe its time to man up , and blow them away!!!! get yourself a 22 long rifle.

 

[shotgunfatcat]

I would shoot it if I had a family to worry about, Actually I have two little dogs, which I worry about, but I haven't seen a ****, well in a ****'s age, on our property anyways, used to all the time, maybe your dog theory is somewhat correct (although I used to have larger dogs, back when we had *****, so I don't know. If I was in an area where guns weren't allowed I would get a high powered pellet gun. ***** can be nice or nasty, and the baby ones I guess are cute, but fear for family or pets, and they would go down without a second thought.

 

[istephen]

I used to work for CRITTER CONTROL. Did lots of jobs like this. Your trap should work if it is a pretty big one. sometimes they destroy the door, but overall the havaharts work a little better than the tomahawks. I don't know anything 'bout harbor fright traps. The best place to trap them is up on the roof so you don't catch the neighbor's cat. But don't leave them up there all day in the sun, OK? Don't set the trap unless you will have time to relocate the guy in the morning.
Also, you may have laws around you concerning relocation of animals. Plus, keep in mind the survival rate for relocated racoons is really really low.
(starting to make the .22 sound pretty good, eh?) Sorry about that.

OK, back to the project.
Nail trap to a piece of plywood about 1 foot bigger than the trap all around so the racoon can't reach the shingles. use heavy wire to attach a board on top of the trap and across the back too. (shelter for the animal and reduce reach-ins) Leave the sides open so they can get a visual on the bait.
Now go up on the roof and nail that trap securely to the roof. Bait the trap with something sticky like grape jelly. What? They didn't go for the Jelly? the last ditch effort bait is smoked fish. It doesn't take much.

set the trap and check it in the morning. While they can't usually bite you though the cage, they will grab onto your pant legs and stuff as you carry the trap to your truck so wear gloves and long pants. Plug the nail holes in the roof with plenty of roofing goo and roofing nails.

Think you have caught them all? Paper the hole.
Find where they get into the house look for clues like muddy footprints and hair. Any hole bigger than your fist is big enough. wad up some paper and stick it in the hole. tight enough that the wind won't blow it out, but loose enough that a raccoon can push it out of the way. Now you'll know if there is anyone still coming and going up there. After a few days of undisturbed paper, repair the hole in the house.

If you lock a raccoon in, or momma out with babies in the attic, They'll tear a new hole in your house and maybe take half the shingles off the roof just because they are pissed off. Make sure they are gone before you cover that hole permanently.

You also have to get up in the attic to do some inspection. Check carefully for baby raccoons and look for poop and the nest. You may have to simply roll up the contaminated insulation or scoop it into a trash bag and get it out of there.

 

[mrholeshot]

About the time you open up a kitchen cabinet an find a rabid raccoon jumping out at you you will stop playing nice nice with them.

I live out in the country and we have a lot of them. Have run into several rabid ones over the summer. My dog will chase them but learned early on not to corner one up. They come out fighting like nothing you have ever seen. I don't enjoy killing anything but I have to exterminate them because my Grandkids play out in the yard. A Rabid Raccoon will run you down to attack you. My Sister In Law foiund one in he kitchen cabinet and it attacked her. She is a stone cold county girl so she grabed a knife and attacked it back. Turned out it was rabid and she had to have about 30 stitches and a series of rabies shots. The Raccoon wasn't as lucky.

 

[porcupine73]

So far I have caught 1 baby raccon, possum and somebodys cat. lol. Can somebody help me?

Well you're doing better than me. I put a havahart trap outside for squirrels, and the dang racoons made of with the entire trap. I mean gone, not to be found anywhere. It was too small for them to get into I guess so they just took the whole thing to get the peanut out of it. I'm not for killing some animal for no reason, but when it comes to rodents/pests the 22LR stingers, minimags, or velociters work great.

 

[oldgoaly]

Raccoons love dog food, really have been easy to catch here in a hav-a-heart trap.
Then after dark we take them to town, country view estates (trailer park) they like that area. Possum are easy too, ground hog are the worse and do the most damage. Saving the gunfire for the "2-legged" squirrels .....

 

[willy3486]

I agree with dog food being a good way to get them. I have a trap thats about 30 inches long by abouut 12 inches tall. Its the type they trip a piece and the door falls down. I put dog food in a old tuna can or one about that size. The trick I found out is the wire catch you set I put it to where its on the edge . That so when they barely touch it the door will pop down behind them. I have no problem catching them. Ihave caught skunks,cats,ground hogs,raccoons and other stuff. I usually have a string on the back of the door. I just push a stick on the door to release it and pull up on the door with the string. But they will run out fast. I did it once and let the raccoon out. The thing run out and straight into a big rock about 50 foot away. I could hear it hit. It dazed it but it still run off. Good luck with it but be careful. They are wild animals even if not rabid.

 

[dualsub2006]

Had ***** 2 years ago. Mommy and 2 little ones living in my tree. I live in the city and couldn't use a gun so I used a crossbow. My wife wanted to trap her after a dust up with my dog. I'll ask you the same question I asked her, once she's in the trap then what am I going to do?

Nailed mom getting in to my garbage can. The next morning the babies were so hungry they jumped in to the trap to get the dog food. Problem solved.

 

[jay50]

1.Go to farm/feed store. Buy one container of Golden Maldrin (Fly bat)
2. Open container of fly bait and pour about 1/2 cup of it into a disposable bowl.
3. Open a bottle of cherry cola. Pour about 1/4 cup of cola over the fly bait until it is a slurry mixture.
4. Stir well with disposable plastic spoon.
5. Place bowl with majic mixture outside, near the house.
6. Lock up all dogs.
7. Start digging a hole
8. Next morning, you will find at least one dead **** within 10 feet of the bowl.
9. Bury dead **** in hole you dug in step 7.
10. Repeat steps 1-9 until **** problem is eliminated.

BTW, I have not seen a **** footprint anywhere at the creek behind my farm in over 3 years.......

 

[trbomax]

They will maul the **** out of a dog no matter what size you get. Unless they get lucky.

Have to call bs on that one. I have watched my siberian run one down,grab it by the back of its neck,shake it ONE time, and drop it on the ground-------dead. She did this 2 times this spring.She did try it with a porky once and that didnt work well.She took out a skunk a couple weeks ago and did not get sprayed,the dumb assed aussie helping her did though! She ran a really big **** up a tree,caught it by the tail a couple feet off the ground,separated the tail completely. Ive seen the **** since,funniest damn thing with no tail!This summer she caught 2 of my wifes chickens in mid flight,from behind,they never knew what hit them.

Since I dont loan "pretty" out,I would reccomend a nice bowl of antifreeze along side thier lunch (the *****), but be certain its in a secure spot,dont want any other animals stealing it!

Heres "pretty" and "aussie", lounging. "Pretty " also will pick,husk,and eat her sweet corn when she wants. Here we are hard at it digging up a ground squirrel.

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

Ok guys thanks for all the input. To answer some questions When I catch a raccon (or possum) I load him up into my trunk and drive it down to my girlfriends house and we release him in the back yard into the forest (she lives on 15 acres) So finding them a new place to go is not a problem.

I dont want to kill them If I can avoid it so I armed the traps with a sandwich leftover from lunch. some chicken dip (makes a good snack on crackers ) and I was outside arming the traps and I could see the little ******* sitting up on my roof watching me. I shined my flashlight up at him and His two eyes glowed bright amber.

I grabbed a couple tent stakes out from my garage and made it so that the one trap cant be moved or rocked. Because When I went out this morning there was a bunch of dirt and stuff inside one of my traps and the ground underneith the trap was all dug up and tore up. I dont know if the guy rocked the cage back and forth and got it to open up or if it was from him digging at it but hopefully I will have a **** in the morning

THANKS
Sean Scott

 

[rcjohnson]

Golden Maldrin is the way to go. I had ***** in my barn and they destroyed life jackets from my boat, chewed handles off my fishing rods, and they even ripped open a 20lb. bag of charcoal and either they ate it or took it outside to grill the sweet corn from my garden. One day I was fed up and told an old man that had done a lot of trapping over the years that I was taking a pistol to the barn and cleaning house. He suggested that I use a shotgun instead. After hearing of how mean these critters can be, I chose the pump gun. I even taped a flashlight to the barrel and climbed the stairs to send Rocky to wherever!!

Never did see them so I bought a havahart trap. My friend told me that I might catch one but that was it. Another friend has a farm and he raises sweet corn. He is the one who told me about the fly bait and it works right now! A can of it costs less than $5 at any feed store.

By the way, in Ohio it is against the law to transport a nuisance animal anywhere and release it.

 

[KEH]

Releasing a nuisance animal just makes it someone else's problem. What about the people next to the GF's 15 acres?

KEH

 

[ZRX61]

Because im a tree hugger I cant bring myself to shoot them or kill them

THANKS
Sean Scott

In that case, you'l just have to learn to live with them...

 

[ZRX61]

Have to call bs on that one. I have watched my siberian run one down,grab it by the back of its neck,shake it ONE time, and drop it on the ground-------dead.

My wolf hybrids used to do that with coyotes....& any cat dumb enough to walk up to their food bowls...I stopped em counting after 2 years....

 

[mrholeshot]

We cook them and eat them here, Little BBQ Sauce on the grill cooked slowly,If you cook it right it taste like pulled pork. Yummy

 

[Tool Pants]

And speaking of raccoons.

I have a second house that I have owned for 15 years. It is mostly rented but I have live in it from time to time over the years, in between tenants. This is not a rural area.

Last year the tenants said there was damage to the roof. This old cottage has 2 roofs on it. They sent me these pictures. There are 2 layers of shingles and it was down to the plywood.

I thought the tenants got up there with a pitch fork. The rental is about an hour away and I did not have time to go there to look at what was obvious damage to the roof. I have a friend in that area and he asked if the tenants had seen raccoons. I had never seen raccoons the times I lived there, but that does not mean there is not a visitor.

The tenants said they had not seen raccoons, but had seen black birds on the roof. I could not see how a bird could tear off 2 layers of shingles. I also could not see how a raccoon could get on the roof unless it had a ladder.

I hired a local guy to patch the roof. He actually had his son do it. Still do not know what caused the damage.

The trees you see in the background are from the property behind me. I have no trees that overhang the rental. Maybe a flying squirrel.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

^probably one of these guys:

 

[shotgunfatcat]

Have to call bs on that one. I have watched my siberian run one down,grab it by the back of its neck,shake it ONE time, and drop it on the ground-------dead. She did this 2 times this spring.She did try it with a porky once and that didnt work well.She took out a skunk a couple weeks ago and did not get sprayed,the dumb assed aussie helping her did though! She ran a really big **** up a tree,caught it by the tail a couple feet off the ground,separated the tail completely. Ive seen the **** since,funniest damn thing with no tail!This summer she caught 2 of my wifes chickens in mid flight,from behind,they never knew what hit them.

Since I dont loan "pretty" out,I would reccomend a nice bowl of antifreeze along side thier lunch (the *****), but be certain its in a secure spot,dont want any other animals stealing it!

Heres "pretty" and "aussie", lounging. "Pretty " also will pick,husk,and eat her sweet corn when she wants. Here we are hard at it digging up a ground squirrel.

Raccoon's can be very mean animals, your dog is good at taking them down or lucky, I never said the dog wouldn't win, in fact, I would pick a dog any day, though most wild animals will stand their grounds, I would be worried about a tamed dog fighting a wild **** any day, but that is for safety of my pet. Just remember one bite from or to a rabid **** and then your dog has rabies and treatment is expensive.

 

[mrholeshot]

^probably one of these guys:

What the hell is that and how does it taste?

 

[mrholeshot]

Raccoon's can be very mean animals, your dog is good at taking them down or lucky, I never said the dog wouldn't win, in fact, I would pick a dog any day, though most wild animals will stand their grounds, I would be worried about a tamed dog fighting a wild **** any day, but that is for safety of my pet. Just remember one bite from or to a rabid **** and then your dog has rabies and treatment is expensive.

My dog weighs 160 lbs and will bark non-stop at night if she isn't locked in her pen. Her pen is 12X12 chain link with a Chain link top and canopy. The raccoons will get into her cage at night and eat her food. I had to close in the top with chain link because they would climb over the 7 foot sides and eat through the canopy. Every once in a while a few will dig their way in and she raises holy hell. I have to go out and shoot them when the dog has them in a corner. After her first attempt to kill one in the pen she knows to keep some distance. She isn't afraid but she has a healthy respect for them. They can be be quite aggresive. A few rounds out of my Kimber Super Carry Pro and it's off to the woods and raccoon heaven

 

[Bolster]

I went through this with opossum. Found out the hard way that you get fined if you let them loose anywhere else but your own property (I let mine loose in a public park at night...got caught). The laws are written so that you're basically screwed, if you have a trapped wild animal, whatever you do. I hate killing animals too, but after all the trouble I realized it was pretty much the only viable option. Never did figure out a humane, fast way for the next time, though. Here in So Calif if you fire off a .22 you'll have a swat team on your *** before your second hand makes a complete revolution. And I'm sure a silenced .22 would earn you life in jail. I read somewhere that just having parts that could be used as a silencer was a trip to jail.

I've been considering a pellet air gun, but I don't know if it has the power to get the job done on a **** or possum.

 

[mrholeshot]

I went through this with opossum. Found out the hard way that you get fined if you let them loose anywhere else but your own property (I let mine loose in a public park at night...got caught). The laws are written so that you're basically screwed, if you have a trapped wild animal, whatever you do. I hate killing animals too, but after all the trouble I realized it was pretty much the only viable option. Never did figure out a humane, fast way for the next time, though. Here in So Calif if you fire off a .22 you'll have a swat team on your *** before your second hand makes a complete revolution. And I'm sure a silenced .22 would earn you life in jail. I read somewhere that just having parts that could be used as a silencer was a trip to jail.

I've been considering a pellet air gun, but I don't know if it has the power to get the job done on a **** or possum.

Buy a Benjamin Marauder .22 caliber pellet gun. It's bad ***! Real quiet as well

 

[ZRX61]

Here in So Calif if you fire off a .22 you'll have a swat team on your *** before your second hand makes a complete revolution.

Depends on the neighborhood I had a large bird destroying my swamp cooler. Throwing things didn't deter it, shot that fucker right off a roof from inside my garage

 

[Bolster]

Depends on the neighborhood I had a large bird destroying my swamp cooler. Throwing things didn't deter it, shot that fucker right off a roof from inside my garage

I assume the bird didn't stop the bullet, so where did the bullet land?

 

[mrholeshot]

I assume the bird didn't stop the bullet, so where did the bullet land?

You could use a Colibri .22 short and the bullet will stop inside and they are nice a quiet. Many pellet rifles are louder

 

[Bolster]

I'm not psychologically capable of firing any firearm up into the air, for fear of where the bullet would land. If I can't see a sizeable backstop, I don't fire.

However I might make an exception for an air gun.

 

[pep]

I think the only answer is to pick up the raccoon by the scruff of it's neck, roll up a newspaper, and swat it on the behind.

 

[RAYJAY]

You could use a Colibri .22 short and the bullet will stop inside and they are nice a quiet. Many pellet rifles are louder

.22 shorts sound like a screen door slamming ..........

here we use either the 243 with the wood chuck rounds or if its really close to the house the 22 will do ..........