Author Topic: Raccoons (Read 2646 times)

Loony · « **on:** July 06, 2010, 01:37:29 PM »

Something raided our birdhouse and mourning dove nests last week. I told DH it had to be a raccoon. Sure enough, there was a mama and 5 babies in the attic of the house next door. They caught mama the first night they set the trap, but have not had any luck catching the babies. DH called me this morning to tell me that he scared 3 of them out of the garage when he left for work. He wanted me to check for them before I let my dog out. Those little guys have stuff knocked over everywhere in the garage! DH said they were frantic to get away from him and scrambling all around his legs. I guess we'll be going to Tractor Supply after supper to buy traps. I am really afraid my dumb little yorkie is going to tangle with them and he won't come out on top of that fight. Wish me luck, theses babies need to go now! So far they haven't done any damage to the pond.

Jerry · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2010, 04:26:48 PM »

good to see you posting again.

Loony · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2010, 07:00:43 PM »

Thanks Jerry. We set two traps, now we just wait until morning and keep our fingers crossed.

Loony · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2010, 05:12:17 AM »

We caught one little guy last night. He'll have to stay in the cage until this afternoon because I have to go sit with my mother-in-law for the day. The dog knows there is something in the garage, but I won't let him in to investigate.

Esther · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2010, 08:03:39 AM »

Be careful. Raccoons can really bite or scratch and usually both.

Loony · « **Reply #5 on:** July 08, 2010, 07:02:13 PM »

Esther, the poor little guy was just scared. DH poured water in the trap because he figured it was probably thirsty. He said that poor little guy tipped his head up and lapped it up. When we took him out to release him he stayed pretty calm. As soon as the door was up, he darted out into the woods.
We struck out last night. Maybe the others saw their sibling in the trap and wised up to it. I know they were in the yard because they knocked the birdhouse out of the tree and tore up some flowers. Maybe we'll have better luck tonight.

Loony · « **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2010, 11:50:33 AM »

Caught another one yesterday. That little fella was MAD! He was growling and barking at me when I got near the trap. I didn't even know that raccoons barked. He carried on the whole time we were driving to release him. Then while we were trying to get the trap out of the car and to the edge of the woods, he was hanging on to the top of the trap upside down. It was really kind of funny because he wasn't very old or big, but he sure had a lot of fight in him. He was still barking as he ran into the woods.
The only thing we caught last night was my idiot yorkie Buster. I let him out to do his business and he just had to get to that tuna! Joe said I should have taken his picture before I let him out.

Jennie in MT · « **Reply #7 on:** July 10, 2010, 11:57:11 AM »

Oh Loony. Good luck with your capture and release! And Buster...what a great mental picture that one is!

Kittyzee · « **Reply #8 on:** July 10, 2010, 07:34:36 PM »

Great story Loony! You should be able to trap them all--just be persistent, he'll come get the tuna. I'd have a passle of cats and kittens in there if it was MY garage!

SueSTx · « **Reply #9 on:** July 10, 2010, 07:51:51 PM »

Last ssummer we set a Have A Heart trap in the garden to try to catch the Coon...first morning DH saw something black in the trap...thought of heck how am I gonna get rid of that skunk...it was a Tom Cat...he was mad. Next night caught the Coon and Dh said he was so heavy he could barely lift the trap to relocate.

Loony · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2010, 08:30:12 AM »

Sue, the mother coon was really big. I'd guess the babies are about 2-3 months old. They are bigger than my 8 pound dog, maybe 10 or 12 pounds. No luck last night, I'm hoping to get them all relocated before we leave for vacation Friday.

Kittyzee, we only have one cat and she never ever leaves the house. I'm thinking I might put some fruit in the trap tonight along with the tuna. Kind of like fishing, when one bait quits working, switch to another!

Esther · « **Reply #11 on:** July 11, 2010, 08:38:01 AM »

Sure hope they are old enough to take care of themselves.

Loony · « **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2010, 11:47:21 AM »

Esther, I wondered the same thing. The neighbor just caught the mother and relocated her. I guess he didn't think about the babies or care...

Kittyzee · « **Reply #13 on:** July 11, 2010, 01:46:41 PM »

Yes those babies are old enough to take care of themselves--racoons are opportunistic hunters--any and everything is at their disposal for their consumption! They'll be fine and prosper no doubt!

Mikey · « **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2010, 09:50:51 PM »

The fetching Mrs. Mikey thinks raccoons are cute....... But then again she has not had to patch the liner after they chewed a hole in it nor clean up the mess from numerous potted plants that they sank to the bottom of the pond nor climb up onto the roof and chase them off nor......... There's a reason why God gave them those masks to wear.....

Loony · « **Reply #15 on:** July 12, 2010, 05:06:24 AM »

Mikey, so true! They are cute to look at. I had two holes in the liner I had to patch. There is an area where the stream widens then drops down into the pond. It must be the perfect place to stand and fish or wash their food.

We caught another last night. This one is much more docile and didn't freak out when I approached the trap.I'll try to get a picture later, before we release it. Lucky for us there is a state park about a fifteen minute drive from our house. We have been releasing them in an area that is marked as a wildlife diversity area.

Mikey · « **Reply #16 on:** July 12, 2010, 07:24:48 AM »

Quote

I had two holes in the liner I had to patch. There is an area where the stream widens then drops down into the pond. It must be the perfect place to stand and fish or wash their food.

Very interesting. The hole they chewed in my liner was in the same location, an area where the stream widens just where it empties into the pond. I spent several days taking small flat river stones and gluing them to my liner along my stream areas. Let them eat stones!

Jerry · « **Reply #17 on:** July 22, 2010, 09:30:12 AM »

I posted this under pond chat, but it fits here. Last night!

Loony · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2010, 10:40:35 AM »

Gee thanks Jerry! I'm sitting here at the beach hoping that those little bandits are all gone. I'm almost afraid to go home and see if they are really gone.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2010, 11:00:59 AM »

Oh that would just infuriate me so much---I would have to declare war I'm afraid...

moondivatx · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2010, 04:55:42 PM »

Hope you got all of them. Coons wreak havoc of everything...gardens, ponds, coops...homes.

Argos5 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 27, 2010, 11:38:18 PM »

Raccoons are unionizing!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fonion.com%2FagA0HO&h=1c068

Julles · « **Reply #22 on:** July 29, 2010, 07:08:08 AM »

Some neighbors (with a pond, baby turtle, vegetable / fruit garden, young child) had a trap in their yard and caught two stray cats. They took the cats to the pound. Before accepting the cats and caging them to await their fate, the pound always checks for microchips. They were, indeed, microchipped. Turns out they belong to a couple who live on the next street over.

You can bet these neighbors are now NOT speaking to one another!