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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 10:48am
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I mentioned raccoons at the cabin have been giving my dog fits lately. Yesterday I noticed a bag of uncooked rice I left out had been torn into, so last night I put the camera down low on the front deck. Sure enough..
Doing a little reading, I see they will eat almost anything. I don’t leave meat out, but sometimes raw fruit or veggies. Trash is inside, but grill of course stays out on the deck.
So what to do? Doesn’t really bother me, doesn’t make a mess, but I guess they can spread disease? The motion light I put under the cabin seems to help, dog hasn’t been sniffing around under there. Could put more around. Do a better job of dinner cleanup. Distracting odorant such as soap, pine sol?
Or just live with them?
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 11:31am
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Raccoons are terrible and being as smart as they are a serious challenge to deal with... Soooo many people have tried literally everything imaginable.
1) Keep any attractants managed & controlled.
2) Waste always into Steel garbage cans with latching lids (they get into all others)
Also keep an eye out for rabbies etc, if you see any acting "weird" or looking weird keep yourself & dogs away ! Do not underestimate a Rabbid Coon ! I did once as a kid and had to go through the long rabbies treatment in the day...
Like all wild critters, they carry fleas, ticks, mites and a host of other nasty critters. Even coming in contact with their feces could pass things along...
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 01:31pm
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The roads don't keep the population enough in check and live traps expose you to all kinds of ills while only relocating the problem.....
A few more 'missing' wont hurt if you can bear the more 'permanent solution'. They are not in danger of extinction.
I mostly like critters and prefer to coexist peacefully with them, but when they are intruding into 'my territory' I draw the line.
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 01:54pm
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Quoting: gcrank1 I mostly like critters and prefer to coexist peacefully with them, but when they are intruding into 'my territory' I draw the line.
Bingo.
The pic Paul posted is a nuisance raccoon.
This one is no longer a nuisance!
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 02:02pm
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Racoons are crafty/smart. I literally watched live on camera, a racoon unhook 2 screen door hooks to open the door on my chicken coop.
Also don't underestimate what they might do to your dog, if confronted.
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pabear89
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 02:38pm
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Short of a 22 round to the head, we used to put a pint of vinegar to a gal of water in a Hudson sprayer and spray around the exterior of the cabin.
That and keeping any food source put away helped them move along.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 03:25pm
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We should not leave any kind of food outside, including food for our dogs, if we do not want to attract wildlife.
It is not fair to the wildlife to leave edibles laying about and then get upset when they find them as they forage for their next meal.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 04:00pm
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I use a large havahart trap baited with peanut butter a small paper plate. I take them about 10+ miles down the road and release wearing heavy leather gloves. Two coons, 5 ground hogs, and a cat later, no problems. Put a trash bag under the trap when you transport a coon, seems pooping is their defense method.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 09:30pm - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Quoting: darz5150 Racoons are crafty/smart.
They have 4 fingers and a thumb, that thumb is a game changer as to what they can get into.
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2024 11:23pm
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https://youtu.be/xkfZFmMyzH8?si=gLzwaADbA5NJxF7u
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2024 08:34am
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Anything they eat should be removed. They will find some where else to go.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2024 08:40am
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For last night, I tried a couple of things. I put a motion light on the deck. Raccoon set it off. I also left a plate of enchilada sauce that way too hot and spicy for me. No other food outside. Dog always eats inside.
So it showed up around 2:50am and again 20 minutes later. Didn’t eat the hot sauce.
Thinking of spraying some vinegar around next.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2024 08:43am
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They are such a cute looking animal. I would eliminate the food source, when its gone, they will move on.
Just looking for an easy food source is all.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2024 09:49am
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech I would eliminate the food source, when its gone, they will move on.
Yep! Well, kinda sorta! We get them coming around our place in AZ. We used to leave food out for feral cats (1 has become a pet).... once we started bringing that dish in every night at dark, the coon problem slowed way down. The next door neighbor still feeds ferals but tries to only put out food each morning so it's gone by evening. The racoons still come around once in a while, I suppose just to check on a past food source. None taking up residence as they did in the past. Now we see them infrequently.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2024 10:33am
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A buddy of mine has a classic 1946 Ford Buisness coupe in his garage and his Tundra truck in driveway. Neighbors feed gray squirrels and they are all over burying peanuts and bringing in mice. I told him to get the "Mouse Blocker" and he did, set one up under hood of truck and has the large garage one, he says he sees no more squirrels, not even cats, place is almost void of life. So maybe something to ponder,
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2024 10:20am
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech get the "Mouse Blocker" and he did
Yeah I saw those for sale.. my shop down the hill from the cabin has the old Corvette, nothing so far but no food there either.
I’m at the city house but left the camera on the cabin deck last night. No food or cooking there yesterday but sure enough, caught the critter up there again. Not ready to move on yet I guess. We’re going back later today, thinking I’ll spray some vinegar around.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2024 11:16am
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Maybe vinegar with red pepper flakes?
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Irrigation Guy
Member
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2024 09:18pm
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Quoting: DaveBell I use a large havahart trap baited with peanut butter a small paper plate. I take them about 10+ miles down the road and release wearing heavy leather gloves. Two coons, 5 ground hogs, and a cat later, no problems. Put a trash bag under the trap when you transport a coon, seems pooping is their defense method.
My great uncle used to do this with squirrels. I started to suspect they were coming back so he started spray painting their tails with bright colored paint. Sure enough they were back in a few days.
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2024 09:36pm
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We had the same thing happen years ago.
Painted a blue stripe down the back of a coon.
Took it 4 1/2 miles away to a lake that we deer hunted at. About 2 weeks later, the racoon was back.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2024 10:31am
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Quoting: darz5150 Painted a blue stripe down the back of a coon. Took it
Wish I could try that but I’d have to catch one first. Back again last night, despite thorough cleanup. I do leave the Playmates and fridge is outside, shut tight of course. I did make up a spray batch of 50% water/vinegar but haven’t tried it yet. On the vertical surfaces I guess.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2024 02:54pm
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if nothing else it may clean things
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Grizzlyman
Member
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2024 05:07pm
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“They have Illinois plates! If they’re from Chicago we’ll be eating good! LOBSTER TAILS! …AND A S*#TLOAD OF RAW HOTDOGS!!”
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2024 12:14pm - Edited by: paulz
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Tried the vinegar last night. Sprayed the cabin walls near the ground, and left some in a bowl. Looks like it sniffed but didn’t drink. Came twice. You can see the motion light lit up.
Kind of getting used to it, even the dog didn’t wake up. Just the same, I could do without.
IMG_2330.jpeg
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2024 08:58am
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Well no raccoon for two nights now, even bbq last night. Maybe the vinegar helped, but one more thing: I take my evening pee at the closest tree, 50ft away or so. This time I went in a bucket, and set it on the porch. Maybe that helps. Free and easy..
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 1 May 2024 09:20am
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The best anti raccoon thing I’ve tried so far is a simple news radio going on the cabin deck. Can’t hear it at night in the cabin, and it’s even nice to have going daytime when working outside. Guess they don’t know it’s not live human voices.
Figuring they might have moved on, I left the radio off the other night, and accidentally left a bag of raw corn on the cob outside. Sure enough, the dog barking that night, next morning bag torn open and corn gone. So lesson learned, radio on, no veggies outside.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 24 May 2024 01:17pm - Edited by: ICC
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My son had a raccoon visiting nightly and climbing the fence where it could access hummingbird feeders. It would empty them every night.
Trapped and the county animal control gave it a free trip to a remote mountain location some miles away.
$70 trap, free handling by the county
(Picture date is wrong . He never set the time/date correctly. All this month in the past week.)
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 24 May 2024 04:24pm
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Does that plate hinge up when it gets inside? How feisty are they afterward?
Been pretty quiet at my place, except I bbq’ed shrimp the other night, had one come by.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 24 May 2024 05:49pm - Edited by: ICC
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The entry plate is held up and the end open when the trap is set. The raccoon grabs the bait (marshmallow) and that releases the plate which falls to closed. There is a catch that prevents the raccoon from being able to push the plate up. But the trapper can easily release that catch to allow the raccoon to exit at the right time.
The raccoon eas not happy but it was easy enough to move the trap with the raccoon inside. It has a new home by a pond in the forest.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2024 01:56am
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Hf trap
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2024 02:09am
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