Need help catching a raccoon

[Scott Shepherd]

I've got a raccoon that's clearly has a higher IQ than me. I've been trying to catch him for a couple of weeks now, using a trap. On the trap instructions, it said they like crisp bacon, marshmallows, cat food, sardines, and a few other things. So I get the trap, I head to the grocery store and buy some bacon. While I'm cooking it (it said "crisp bacon"), I'm thinking "how come this thing has me cooking for it, and cooking bacon that was $6?".

Didn't touch the bacon.

It rains a couple of days, so I dump the bacon out.

I can't do all the fish and cat food options because there are a couple of neighbors cats that roam around and last thing I want is to catch a cat at 3:00 in the morning and listen to it screaming for help, only to tear me up when I try to open the door on the trap. So no cat food or cat friendly items for me :)

I've been trying for about 2 weeks now and I'm getting no where. I know he's there, he jumps on my roof and wakes me up (he's trying to get into gable vents).

Any ideas on how to catch this thing without catching the cats?

I did catch a squirrel today, eating marshmallows. He was happy for me to let him go and he didn't like the marshmallows after all. I think he was just curious.

I don't want to hurt it, I'll relocate it, I just want to catch it and get it out of here.

[Curt Fuller]

Peanut butter works pretty well for them around here.

[Joe Pelonio]

Don't do like my brother and I back when we were about 12 and 13. We trapped one in a culvert under the driveway. I chased him by yelling at one end and he was ready to get it with a broom, of all things at the other. He got in one or two blows but it didn't bother the raccoon. We were after him because he ate the big goldfish in our pond. You might try buying some of those cheap 20 cent feeders at the pet shop and put them in a shallow bowl in the trap.

[charlie knighton]

they seem to like getting into trash cans, how about beanie wienie cans, empty but do not wash out

[Stephen Cherry]

I would recomend Kentucky Fried Chicken-- load the trap up with chicken, wipe down the outside with gravy, and wait. If that doesn't get it, nothing will. Normal chicken won't work, Kenny Rogers used to be great, but you can't get that anymore.

[Dave Lehnert]

Don't ask me why. Crazy, but had one that would get in my trash can and only take the empty bread wrapper. Kept them up in a tree.

[Scott Shepherd]

I would recomend Kentucky Fried Chicken-- load the trap up with chicken, wipe down the outside with gravy, and wait. If that doesn't get it, nothing will. Normal chicken won't work, Kenny Rogers used to be great, but you can't get that anymore.

Original or extra crispy? :)

How do you keep the squirrels out if you use peanut butter, or the cats out if you use fish?

[Sam Murdoch]

He (she) is not up there looking for food - she is probably scouting for a nest. Just make certain that there is no way to get in. Also check out a recent PBS Nature show for some ideas as to how to keep raccoons from climbing your house http://video.pbs.org/video/2192070266/
Good luck with this. :rolleyes:

[Jim Koepke]

I've been trying for about 2 weeks now and I'm getting no where. I know he's there, he jumps on my roof and wakes me up (he's trying to get into gable vents).

I did catch a squirrel today, eating marshmallows. He was happy for me to let him go and he didn't like the marshmallows after all. I think he was just curious.

Have you seen the raccoon? Are you sure it isn't the squirrel trying to get into your gable vents?

If it is a raccoon, then the live feeder fish idea someone else suggested might be your best bet at getting the raccoon and not the other animals.

jtk

[Sean Richards]

Another not quite so useful video on raccoons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WmIo1eRaaM

[Matt Marsh]

Thats a tough one! Cats and racoons have very similar tastes when it comes to food. Just for the record, I'd be much more concerned about getting torn up by a coon than any puddy tat when you release them from the trap. Maybe after spending a night or two in the trap, you'll get lucky and the cats won't come back either!

My wife and I moved into our current home in rural Northern Minnesota back in 1992. Unknown by us, the previous owners had fed the racoons table scraps on the back deck for a number of years. When the first crew of the entitled little buggars showed up, we thought they were the cutest little critters, but resisted the temptation to feed them. All went well until a couple weeks later when we hung up two bird feeders on the deck. In the middle of that very night we were awakened with a start by what sounded like several ferociously crazed Tazmanian Devils battling it out back there. When I flipped on the deck lights, I was astonished to see at least 15 to 20 of them lined up on the handrail of the deck, all battling for position on the pole that held the feeders. We love the wildlife, but we quickly realized that the racoon population must have been artificially high because of the previous owners. I bought a live trap that next day and baited it with sardines. That was early July. By the end of September I had uhhh... relocated over 50 racoons. They get trap-smart real quick, but there are lots of little tricks you can use to out-smart them. Let me know when you're ready to try the sardines.

[Dan Hintz]

Load it up with the sardines and bacon, then stick the trap on the roof. If a cat gets caught up on your roof (I doubt the cat will go up there on purpose, whereas the 'coon will), he deserves to have a few uncomfortable hours in a cage.

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I know it's looking to nest, that's how this all started :) I woke up in the middle of the night to something moving in my house, in my attic. It had pried open the gable vent louvers and gotten inside. I took a broomstick and tapped it on the ceiling and finally chased it back out. We battle it out about once every few days. I've got it out of the attic, but it doesn't stop it from trying repeatedly to get it. I can here it hit the roof, from jumping off a tall limb that's out of my reach with a pole saw, from my roof top.

I had to release a squirrel last night when I got home, but I noticed one thing that I didn't like, and that was the thought of how crazy complicated it was going to be to open the door of the thing with a raccoon in it. Not something I'm looking forward to.

I'd love to put it on my roof, but the entire roof has a pitch to it and I'm not sure how to put a big trap on a pitched roof.

I guess I'll have to break down and try the sardines soon. I need him to leave me alone :)

Oh, and yes, I have seen it several times. I heard some noise one night, I ran outside with a flashlight, only to shine it on the thing, and watch it freak out and rip my gable vent open in a panic to get inside :)

[Rich Stewart]

NOTHING like a honey bun to catch a raccoon.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Just for the record, I'd be much more concerned about getting torn up by a coon than any puddy tat when you release them from the trap
+1 to that.

A guy I worked with once told a great story about his neighboor, the neighboor's Black Lab and the time the neighboor trapped a racoon in the garage.
Long story short - the Lab wanted no part of going into the closed garage, but, the neighboor tossed it in there anyhow.
After 30 seconds of "the world coming to an end",,,,the neighboor opened the garage door.
The Lab came out running at 90MPH and knocked him head over heels.....and...looking right into the face of one really annoyed racoon.

Walt (the guy I worked with) was from West Virginia and had a Southern drawl & would really embelish the story a lot when he told it :D.
It was a real gut buster to hear him tell it and watch all the facial expressions he added :D.

P.S....I always wondered, since Walt knew so many details,,,if there really was a "neighboor" ;)

[John Shuk]

I love how he threw the change at it.


Another not quite so useful video on raccoons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WmIo1eRaaM

[Myk Rian]

We had a Coon problem last year. Set the trap with an apple in it.
Got a big ole' Possum instead.
Took him for a few mile road trip.

Reset the trap and waited. Got him!!!!
Took him for the same road trip.
Big bastard crapped all over the place on the way to his freedom.

[paul cottingham]

It's funny. We lived on a small farm for thirty or so years, and my we had a cat who probably weighed around 8 pounds or so. She lived outside, and every now and then we would hear a hellacious racket coming from the lawn. None of us wanted to look in the am, cause we were sure the lawn would be covered with bits of cat. Instead there would be raccoon fur everywhere, and one very smug looking cat on the porch. This went on for a long time.
Finally, the raccoons and the cat came to some sort of peace, they would come and steal some of her food at night, but leave any that was too close to where she slept. That old cat lived for 22 years.

[David G Baker]

I haven't read all of the posts but have been very successful at catching critters (over 300) alive and transported them to state forest land. I use black sunflower seeds for every critter and they work very well. For raccoons I close the trap in the early morning and open it in the evening, this way I don't catch critters that I don't want. The trap needs to be anchored so that the raccoon can not reach anything outside of the trap or it may hurt its self or break the trap. I use a metal can the size of a tuna or cat food can and use rare earth magnets to hold the can in place in an area where the raccoon can't reach it from out side of the trap. I use the large trap for raccoons and ground hogs and two different smaller sizes for small critters. When I transport them I put the trap in a cardboard box to keep the critters from messing up my trunk. For skunks I use the bed of my pick-up for transport. Some states do not allow transporting live wild critters so check your local laws or be very secretive about what you are doing. Some require you to kill the critters and do not allow live transports.

[David H. Mitchell]

The thing they can't resist is Tuna, just open a can and put inside of trap.


Dave

[Keith Outten]

Geez I despise ground hogs.
I transplant them to the woods with a shovel after I put them to sleep with a rifle.
We have racoons around here as well but they don't seem to be interested in coming close to the house or the trash cans.
.

[Belinda Barfield]

Powdered sugar coated donuts. . . seriously. Cats won't touch them. Our business neighbor (up until last week) was a bread depot. They also handled lots of snack cakes/foods. They threw the goodies past their expiration date in a dumpster at the end of the building. I can't tell you how many times I've watched a raccoon go into the dumpster and come out with a bag of powdered sugar donuts in his mouth.

[Tom Green]

I wouldn't worry about catching the cats, they learn fast. I caught 2 of my cats last summer, just one time each. I also caught four racoons and two possums, all on the back patio.

[Pat Barry]

Live and let live!

[Joe Pelonio]

I have never seen cats go after live fish, they hate water.

[Larry Frank]

I served my raccoon a small lump of lead from an air rifle. He and his friends have not been back for seconds. I have absolutely no use for them as they carry disease and are very dangerous. They are also pretty smart and fast but not quite as fast as as the small lump of lead.

[David Keller NC]

Scott - If you do manage to trap the racoon, be extremely cautious around it. Racoons in the VA/NC region have a very high positivity rate for Rabies. This is a disease that may take months to actually kill the animal, and if you're exposed to saliva (or far worse, a bite), you're in for a very expensive course of Rabies IgG and Vaccine. Depending on your state's public health program, you're looking at about $12k - $15k for the treatment, and it's dang near mandatory - Rabies in humans is 99.99% fatal, and once you actually develop the symptoms, there's little that can be done.

[Jason Roehl]

Raccoons are responsible for roughly 40% of human rabies cases. They're not "cute little critters". They're nasty, mean pests. I'm almost of the mindset that, after shooting the vermin, it should be lawful to shoot the idiotic neighbors who feed them.

Not long after I moved to my current location, I dispensed with 5 of the beasts (a mama and 4 young--mama was 25-30 pounds). Thankfully, that was BEFORE talking to a local DNR officer at a gun safety class for my boys. Apparently, I was a little outside the law...I'm outside city limits, but there's a season for raccoons, and I'm in a neighborhood. I used a .22 rifle loaded with subsonic rounds (no powder, only the primer drives the bullet). Quieter than my BB/pellet guns.

[Jim Koepke]

They make lousy pets, but nice hats.

jtk

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll try some of the food items in the next few days. I think a live fish, sardines, powdered doughnut, honeybun, sunflower seed, apple treat might just do the trick :)

I don't have an air rifle, and if I were to discharge anything I might have here, I'd end up in jail, which I'd like to avoid :)

I don't want to kill it, I just want it gone from here. Mainly because of what I had read about the disease they carry, which several have mentioned here too. They apparently have a really really really nasty ability to carry some really bad diseases and pass them to pets and humans.

Releasing the squirrel I caught really made me worry about the logistics of releasing a raccoon. The fact that I have to reach down and open the door it'll be leaving through doesn't make me too happy. Calling animal control will probably just get it killed once I catch it, so I'm trying to figure out an easy way to release it and stay safe, along with not exposing myself to anything it may "leave behind".

Maybe I can call PETA to release it :)

[Darcy Forman]

This is an interesting read. I am glad we don't have them where I live in Canada. Must be too cold for them. Or they tried coming north and were all shot. My first advice would be to shoot it. Second would be a 220 conibear trap. No experience with live traps. Good luck I hear they can be aweful pests.

[Chuck Wintle]

This is an interesting read. I am glad we don't have them where I live in Canada. Must be too cold for them. Or they tried coming north and were all shot. My first advice would be to shoot it. Second would be a 220 conibear trap. No experience with live traps. Good luck I hear they can be aweful pests.
yes it is too cold in the Peace river district but in Toronto they are overrun with them and to a lesser extent in Calgary also. Edmonton does not have raccoons but there are plenty of wild rabbits there. One thing to remember about raccoons is they carry a parasite that is very bad for humans...they can cause a lot of damage if contracted.

[Matt Marsh]

If you do decide to try the sardines, buy the plain old sardines in oil, and buy the smallest can that you can find. When you bait the trap, just crack the can open a little bit, just enough to drizzle a little of the smelly oil through the mesh of the trap, in front of the trip pan. If you open the can too much, the coon will manipulate it over to one edge and pick the sardines out of the can with his dextereous little fingers, right through the mesh from outside the trap. It also helps to wire the can to the floor of the trap in front of the trip pan. I've actually had them roll the trap around until the can of sardines slides out the door, or under the trip pan. Set the trigger right on the hairy edge, so even the slightest weight placed on the trip pan will trigger it. Good luck!

[David G Baker]

I had to wrap and wire hardware cloth (material that is made from welded wire with 1/4 inch squares) around the trip area to keep the raccoon from accessing my bait.

[Brian Vaughn]

Or, you could put the trap in the attic and let the raccoon in for one night. That way, you won't catch any neighborhood pests, although you would probably do good to put down a small tarp or something underneath the trap...

[Scott Shepherd]

It's still winning :)

Raccoon-4 Me-0

1) Bacon (cooked) - didn't work.

2) Marshmallows - didn't work.

3) Fresh apples-not interested enough.

4) Honey Bun- not interested enough.


I'm slowly working towards the sardines. I did manage to spray my gable vent to keep it out, only to get woken up in the middle of the night by something screaming, which I thought was the raccoon in the trap. I got up, looked, the trap was still set. I had sprayed the gable vent with that stuff that keeps them away, of course, with it already inside for the night :) It wasn't too happy that it couldn't get out and it let me know it.

I have a trap door that's real small and I have to use a ladder to get into it, and I can't get the trap, me, and a raccoon through it, onto a ladder, without killing myself or ending up eye to eye with the thing as we both go through the trap door, my head and it going through at the same time :) I think I'll pass on that one.....

Can't shoot it, I'll end up in jail. I don't live in the country, so that's not an option. I'm not going to jail over a raccoon.

So I'll give something else a try soon. I'll work through the list until something works :)

[Curt Fuller]

I'm telling you, peanut butter is the secret for baiting a Raccoon trap. Raccoons love it, cats and dogs are indifferent to it. It will attract skunks though. What you've got this time of year is a momma raccoon looking for a place to have her babies. So if you don't get rid of her now, you're going to have a lot of little raccoon problems to go with her.

[Chuck Wintle]

I'm telling you, peanut butter is the secret for baiting a Raccoon trap. Raccoons love it, cats and dogs are indifferent to it. It will attract skunks though. What you've got this time of year is a momma raccoon looking for a place to have her babies. So if you don't get rid of her now, you're going to have a lot of little raccoon problems to go with her.
+1 on the peanut butter.

[jared herbert]

Try ears of corn. The coons around here live on corn, I have trapped a few using corn and that seems to attract them better than all of the other baits, marshmallows, peanut butter etc. You can get ears of corn at places that sell bird seed, etc.

[Bruce Volden]

The Turtleman, Ernie Brown, Jr. : Call of the Wildman : Animal Planet

Seriously, you've never seen him??:D:D

Bruce

[Tom Scott]

When I was young and lived in the country, my brother and I trapped raccoons. Started off baiting with open cans of tuna or sardines. That got expensive fast. Then went to poking holes in the can. That still adds up. Finally settles on cut-up apple wedges. That worked for us.
Careful getting it out. They are certainly nasty little critters, especially when cornered.

[Scott Shepherd]

There's a big, fat glob of peanut butter waiting for it tonight. We'll see.........

[Tom Hardy]

I have trapped alot of raccoon's, and what happens is they get wise to the trap. Place the trap in a large black garbage bag, and trow in a bunch of table scraps. They cant resist a garbage bag, and like the others have said they may look cute but they are very mean, and can cause a lot of damage.

[Dan Hintz]

There's a big, fat glob of peanut butter waiting for it tonight. We'll see.........

Well?!!!!!

[Scott Shepherd]

Nothing!

At this point, I think I'm on "it's rounds" and it doesn't come here every night, or I don't have the trap in the right "path" of it's travels. The trap is in the dark, next to the house, no lights on that area at all. Big fat spoonful of peanut butter in the trap and nothing. Same result with the marshmallows and the honeybun.

[Rich Stewart]

I didn't actually see this, but knowing the guy about whom it was told, I don't doubt it. This feller lives in South Carolina. Ties steel for a living. He gets a 3 foot section of PVC pipe about 12 inch diameter. He buries it at a 45 degree angle in the ground and throws a honey bun in the bottom. That night a raccoon will attempt to get the honey bun and will be stuck as he is unable to back out of the slippery pipe. Next morning the man will reach down and grab the coon by the tail, pull him out and dispatch him with a hand gun. He says if you hold the coon out away from you, it can't get to you although he certainly will try. Not for everyone, I'd say.

[Hilel Salomon]

I have, what I guess, is bad news. A raccoon that has been previously caught in a trap will not enter another one no matter what bait you use. We've had them nest in our attic and the filth and noise were close to unbearable. As others have suggested, you have to see where it is getting in and close it off. Keep in mind that raccoons are very, very strong with flexible fingers and can pull open any screening you use.
Lastly-and perhaps good news-they do not like loud noises and-supposedly hate strobe lights. If you can fix up something before you close the openings, that would be good.
Good luck,

Hilel

[Rod Sheridan]

Since I live in a city I would take a different approach to catching a racoon.

Step 1 Disguise yourself as as BBQ'd chicken wing............................Rod.

[Sam Murdoch]

I have, what I guess, is bad news. A raccoon that has been previously caught in a trap will not enter another one no matter what bait you use. We've had them nest in our attic and the filth and noise were close to unbearable. As others have suggested, you have to see where it is getting in and close it off. Keep in mind that raccoons are very, very strong with flexible fingers and can pull open any screening you use.
Lastly-and perhaps good news-they do not like loud noises and-supposedly hate strobe lights. If you can fix up something before you close the openings, that would be good.
Good luck,

Hilel

Been there done that with the loud noise and lights - no effect whatsoever. If they are nesting - too late - they aren't leaving until the kids are old enough. I have had them unhook hooks and eyes and open the old casement windows just for the fresh air - TRUE!

1" square hardware cloth (thick wire heavy galvanized screen with 1" square weave) double stapled or screwed down with battens is more rugged than any racoon. Though they will surely work at it.

[Scott Shepherd]

Well, I've been feeding it peanut butter for the last week on and off. It likes it. It doesn't even think about going in the trap. It'll walk to the end with the peanut butter and wrangle it to the edge and eat it through the cage rather than go inside the big, wide open door. Last night I was in bed and heard the trap close. I listened for a minute to see if I heard it screaming, which I expect it will do when captured. Nothing. I got up, went and looked at the door. It was standing next to the cage, finishing the peanut butter before it walked off :)

This is a real challenge, trying to catch something with a higher IQ than mine :)

It's on now, now I know it's eating it and I know it's coming around. Time for a little tease of sardines, wired to the middle of the cage.

[Sam Murdoch]

This is a real challenge, trying to catch something with a higher IQ than mine :)



You made me laugh with that one Scott :D

Sam

[Dan Hintz]

Put it in a folded piece of (thick) tin or something similar, prevent it from reaching the PB from the sides of the cage.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Scott.......what about building a "trap" door and installing it over the access hole to the house? The racoon comes out grabs the bait, trips the trap door and now it can't get back in........?

[Scott Shepherd]

Yeah, I really need to get time to fix the place it's getting into the attic. I'm working 80-95 hours a week, for the last 3 months, so by the time I get home, it's 8:30 or 9 at night and I don't feel like going on an extension ladder by myself in the night time, trying to install wire mesh.

As soon as I can get a break, I'm going to solve it's entry point problem.

Until then, I'm providing it with stories for it's family and friends on just how stupid the human is and how the human thinks it can't see the big trap next to the peanut butter.

[John Lifer]

You need to get that thing out of the attic. Mother had 2 get into her storage room and then attic last week. Peanut Butter and tuna worked on those two. Another older one showed up a couple of days later and tuna worked on it. Stank to high heaven! Sorry, if I was having trouble getting it into a trap, and it was on the ground by the trap, one shot would be all it'd take. no one can determine where shot came from if you are only firing once and put gun up.

[Scott Shepherd]

Oh, it was a great night last night. I got home around 8:30, decided I go into my attic and put up some wire mesh. Looked all around, didn't see anything, sprayed pepper spray stuff all over the place as I went. Got to the gable vent and put the screen back up and then put the wire mesh on it. HA! All is good.

Woke up at 1:00am, heard it trying to get in. Put my clothes on, ran outside with a flashlight to catch it in the act. Nothing. Went back inside and listened, heard it again. Ran back outside. Nothing. Went back inside, listened again. Great, I just locked 2 of them in the attic................

So there we are, I now have 2 stuck in my attic :) I haven't figured my way out of this one yet. I'm not crazy about going back in there when I KNOW they are there. It wasn't so bad when I didn't know they were there. Plus I'm wondering just where in the world they were when I went up there. My attic is empty, so I should have seen them, but I saw no sign of them when I was there.

Dang things...........

[Dan Hintz]

Will the trap fit IN the attic? Now that you have them in a confined space, they'll be more interested in food, so getting them in the trap should be a bit easier, regardless of what you bait it with.

[Jerry Bruette]

I agree with Dan, now that you have a captive audience...pun intended, only this time I would have a big old dose of Golden Malrin fly bait in whatever you want to feed them. Skip the trap though you won't need it with the fly bait meal that will be their last.

Jerry

[Myk Rian]

I agree with Dan, now that you have a captive audience...pun intended, only this time I would have a big old dose of Golden Malrin fly bait in whatever you want to feed them. Skip the trap though you won't need it with the fly bait meal that will be their last.

Jerry
And now you have to wait till they start stinkin the attic up, only to find you have to tear the floor up to get them.

[Sam Murdoch]

so there we are, i now have 2 stuck in my attic :) i haven't figured my way out of this one yet. I'm not crazy about going back in there when i know they are there. It wasn't so bad when i didn't know they were there. Plus i'm wondering just where in the world they were when i went up there. My attic is empty, so i should have seen them, but i saw no sign of them when i was there.

Dang things...........

woooo hooh - live action :D

[Jerry Bruette]

And now you have to wait till they start stinkin the attic up, only to find you have to tear the floor up to get them.

Trust me with the proper dosage of fly bait they won't be any more than four feet from where they ate it. Only problem is the stuff is non-selective, but hey we've got a captive audience here.

[Brian Vaughn]

Whatever you're going to do, I'd do it quick....they're not going to be happy stuck up there, and will find a way out, whether it's through the eaves, or through the ceiling drywall and into your house.

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm trying to figure out how to tame it and teach it to do things for me. I went home a little early last night, decided I'd take the extension ladder home and instead of me trying to go into the attic, I'd go from the outside, take a board and jam it through the vent to break the wire mesh and the screen back loose so it could get out. I thought that was much more logical and safe for me :) I threw the ladder up, put my flashlight on my head, went up the ladder with a board. Got to the vent and saw the little critter had beat me to it. I guess it yanked on the wire mesh and screen until it pulled the staples out. It was all peeled back enough for it to get out.

That's one smart animal and a hard worker at that :)

I think this is about round 36 that it's won and I've lost.

I've been working crazy hours, along with being sick, so I'm sleep deprived at the moment and not setting the trap, because I have a feeling I'll catch it next try around and last thing I want is to get woke up at 2:00am by the thing screaming and not shutting up, which would mean I'd have to get dressed and dispose of it before getting some sleep.

I didn't try trapping it in the attic because it's just a small trap door in the ceiling and if I put a 6 ft ladder up, it's 2 feet from the opening, so I'd have to manage to get me and it out that trap door, while my feet dangle, looking for the ladder, and I felt sure with my luck, it would poop while it's over my carpet :)

I'll get it in the next few days.

[Conrad Fiore]

You could always lower the trap down from the attic with a rope. And if you do manage to catch one and you are worried about it defecating on the rug, put down a tarp first and then you can wrap the trap with it as you flee the house and drive it down the road to release.

[Bill Boehme]

I have a Havahart live trap that I have used for years to catch coons, skunks, and possums ... uh, oh yeah, one very mad stray tomcat. I have caught at least a hundred animals and have rarely missed or taken more than a couple hours. My record shortest time is under a minute for one very hungry possum. Forget about peanut butter unless you are wanting to catch a mouse. Also, racoons need water with their meals so you need to have a bowl of water next to the bowl of dry cat food -- if you don't provide water, you may just be spinning your wheels. Dry cat food is the universal food of all critters including cats if they aren't too finicky. Cats might not like being caught, but they will usually forgive you if you give them some treats to make up. Make sure that the trap is adjusted for a hair trigger or otherwise you might just wind up feeding stray animals. Usually when you buy a trap, the trigger is pretty stiff and might require something like a bear to trip it -- properly adjusted, even a mouse could trip the trap door. I used to take the critters to a local lake and release them, but now it has been all developed and folks might not like me releasing wild animals in their front yards. Fortunately, our city now will pick up the animals and take them somewhere (I don't ask and they don't tell) and they have my trap back to me within the hour.

Try to figure out the racoon's routine and place the trap at places that it frequents. Try to use places that cats are not likely to go like an elevated platform attached to a tree trunk or underneath some shrubs. Cats will usually stay away from the regular haunts of wild animals. Set the trap just after dark and check it every half our or so, but without going too close to it. It would be best if you can see it from a window. If you can manage to stay up late, if nothing has been caught by about 11:30 PM close the trap and try again another night. The odds of trapping anything after about midnight are pretty slim.

The main reason that critters come around your home is availability of food. If you have pet food, bird food, or garbage cans outdoors, they are all reasons that animals come around. I recently watched a young skunk and young possum work together to get the seed out of a bird feeder. The possum went up the tree jumped on the feeder and shook it until all of the seed had dumped on the ground. Then he ambled back down and joined the baby skunk in devouring the bird seed.

[ben searight]

+1 on the fly bait. Wicked stuff, you'll find them lying right next to the bait most likely. Not sure how legal it is but it is VERY fast and effective.

EDIT: Actually it's not legal at all, but who's going to know.

[Roger Bullock]

I had the same problem with a coon on my roof and the fear of if I was successful, how to release it without bodily harm. First thing in catching the coon was to give him a free lunch to make him feel comfortable. I placed the cage on the roof secured with a rope so it would not slide off the pitched roof. I did not set the trap door open the first day but did spread out sardines around it...free lunch and made the coon not fear the trap. Second day set the trap, added a couple of free sardines outside of the trap and the remainder inside. Boom...caught a big sow coon.
On my way to the country to release and hopefully not get bite in the process, I passed by a sporting goods store. I pulled in and asked the owner if he knew of anyone that would like a live coon. He called a friend that has coon dogs. This guy had a couple of young dogs he was training so he wasted no time coming to retrieve the coon. He even offered to pay me for my troubles. I said I didn't want any money but if he had any deer antlers he could get rid of, I could use them to make pens. Once I got the antlers, I turned him a pen.
Win, win, win. Got rid of the coon, made a new friend, happy dogs, happy trainer, lots of free antlers and most of all HAPPY WIFE :)

[Joshua Culp]

Scott,

Greetings from one hour up I-95 in Stafford County Virginia.

Please be aware that "in Virginia it is legal to trap raccoon on your property outside of the trapping season within the incorporated limits of any city or town and in the counties of Arlington, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Henrico, James City, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Roanoke and York (4VAC15-210-51 (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+4VAC15-210-51))."
Also please be aware that "In Virginia it is illegal to transport, release, or relocate a raccoon anywhere other than the property it was caught on 4VAC15-30-50 (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+4VAC15-30-50), and poison any animal (including raccoon) other than rats and mice on your property 4VAC15-40-50 (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+4VAC15-40-50)."

The best and legal way to get rid of the coon once you have it trapped is to submerge the trap in a trash can full of water.

[Sam Murdoch]

I had the same problem with a coon on my roof and the fear of if I was successful, how to release it without bodily harm. First thing in catching the coon was to give him a free lunch to make him feel comfortable. I placed the cage on the roof secured with a rope so it would not slide off the pitched roof. I did not set the trap door open the first day but did spread out sardines around it...free lunch and made the coon not fear the trap. Second day set the trap, added a couple of free sardines outside of the trap and the remainder inside. Boom...caught a big sow coon.
On my way to the country to release and hopefully not get bite in the process, I passed by a sporting goods store. I pulled in and asked the owner if he knew of anyone that would like a live coon. He called a friend that has coon dogs. This guy had a couple of young dogs he was training so he wasted no time coming to retrieve the coon. He even offered to pay me for my troubles. I said I didn't want any money but if he had any deer antlers he could get rid of, I could use them to make pens. Once I got the antlers, I turned him a pen.
Win, win, win. Got rid of the coon, made a new friend, happy dogs, happy trainer, lots of free antlers and most of all HAPPY WIFE :)

Hope you aren't also posting on the Raccoons On Line forum. They might have a different view of your "win, win,win" :D

[Scott Shepherd]

It's been a while since posting. For a while I thought it was gone and freaked out from getting caught in the attic that one time. I didn't see or hear it for about a week or 10 days. Then, just after I finished telling some friends how it hadn't been back because it was freaked out about getting caught in the attic, it came back. Since then, maybe 3 weeks ago, I'm guessing, it's made me feel as stupid as my first days in Algebra class.

It's taken me to school, repeatedly. A few nights ago, I took a paper towel roll and smeared peanut butter inside the ends and tossed it inside the trap. It sat for two days. I checked it before bed, it was there, I checked it the next morning about sunrise, the trap was open and the paper towel peanut butter roll was gone. What the heck? How in the world did it get that out of there without springing the trap?

Last night, I wired a piece of acrylic to the bottom of it, I smeared a big glob of peanut butter on it and went to bed. Woke up around midnight, it was trying to get in the house. I jumped up, threw some clothes on, grabbed a flashlight and ran out the front door. Nothing on the roof. No where. This thing is killing me......

Woke up at 4:00am to a noise. Hey, that's outside, on the ground, not over my head. I listened and realized it was in the trap and caught. I went down and took a look, and it was caught.

I laid awake until time to go to work, constantly debating relocating it. I just couldn't figure out a way to safely bend down and open the door it would be walking through when it exited. With my hands, legs, feet, and face, all within 15 inches or less, all I could think about was releasing it, having it scratch or bite me, then walk off into the woods, never to be seen again, which would mean I'd be heading in for rabies treatment. I really didn't want to do anything other than relocate it. I even thought of all kinds of places with water and woods, all great places to be a raccoon.

In the end, I thought the risk for me, personally, was just too great. I called Animal Control when they opened and they came and got it and left my cage for me.

In a way, I'm sad. It's been like having a enemy you battle with. You don't want them to be gone, you just want to defeat them.

So it's gone.

Now, if I can stop thinking about what the Animal Control Officer said to me.........."There's rarely just one......"

At least I can button up my house now and not have to worry about trapping something in, like I did before.

[David G Baker]

I have trapped over ten raccoons and never had a thought of danger to myself. They all behaved normally while trapped and were very anxious to leave the cage after the door was opened. The Animal Control Officer was correct when he said that "there's rarely just one". The important thing to remember is to never leave things out that may attract them. Pet food, bird food, and access to nice cozy places to live and raise their young. I still have visitations from them on occasion but when they don't find anything available to make their life easier they tend to move on.
Congratulations on catching your first critter, it gets easier the more you do it.

[Keith Westfall]

In a way, I'm sad...

We're sad too! It's been a great story (at least for us!) as we've followed along with your efforts.

Seriously, hope your troubles are behind you. Thanks for the great read...

[Jim Tobias]

"So I get the trap, I head to the grocery store and buy some bacon. While I'm cooking it (it said "crisp bacon"), I'm thinking "how come this thing has me cooking for it, and cooking bacon that was $6?"."

This has been a great story!! The opening paragraph(above) had me laughing and hooked from the beginning.

Jim

[Phil Thien]

"So I get the trap, I head to the grocery store and buy some bacon. While I'm cooking it (it said "crisp bacon"), I'm thinking "how come this thing has me cooking for it, and cooking bacon that was $6?"."

This has been a great story!! The opening paragraph(above) had me laughing and hooked from the beginning.

Jim

+1.

I nominate this thread for the Best of the Creek.

[Bill Cunningham]

Having been plagued by raccoons over the years, and suffering incredible damage to my property, the guy is right, there is NEVER just one.. But the one thing I did discover, and it cured my problem once and for all.. Although they can do a Super amount of damage, Raccoons are mortal, and they are NOT faster than a speeding bullet! Once in the trap, a .22 rifle combined with a sub-sonic cartridge placed against the head,and fired. Even in a built up area, no one will hear the shot.. Put on gloves, dump it in the back your pickup, or trunk of your car and deposit on the side of a rural road.. Coyotes will clean it up.. Sounds cruel, but it's the only thing that will work 100%, and prevent thousands in damage to your property. As a side note, Raccoon crap is considered highly toxic, it contains a parasite that can cause you a world of grief and sickness.. I know, everyone want's to save the pooor widdle animals, but enough is enough.. their vermin, get rid of them the same way you would a plague carrying rat..

[Jason Roehl]

Amen, Bill.

[Scott Shepherd]

Put on gloves, dump it in the back your pickup, or trunk of your car and deposit on the side of a rural road.. Coyotes will clean it up.. Sounds cruel, but it's the only thing that will work 100%, and prevent thousands in damage to your property.

So now I have to buy a 22 AND relocate to a place that has coyotes? Man, this thing is getting expensive for me :) I guess I'll go call my realtor..........

[David G Baker]

It is a pain but I use a pump up pellet gun for most of my kills. It is very quiet and effective except for when the critter isn't killed with the first shot. Reloading and pumping up the gun lets the critter suffer too long. I also use a low load 22 once in a while but I have neighbors so I have to be very careful where I point the gun when I shoot. Trapping is still the best option in my opinion.

[Bill Cunningham]

So now I have to buy a 22 AND relocate to a place that has coyotes? Man, this thing is getting expensive for me :) I guess I'll go call my realtor..........

Coyotes are everywhere Scott, and 'everyone' should own a .22 at the very minimum ;)

[Myk Rian]

It is a pain but I use a pump up pellet gun for most of my kills. It is very quiet and effective except for when the critter isn't killed with the first shot.
Same here. I wore out a Crossman pump taking care of chipmunks. Great for building up the pecs.
I bought a Ruger Air-Hawk break-barrel. At north of 1000 fpm, it sounds like a 22. Not as quiet as I thought it might be, but it takes care of a "munk just like the 22 does.

[David G Baker]

Myk R,
Ah a fellow traveler. Chipmunks, ground squirrels and red squirrels are a real challenge here where I live. One year I trapped or shot over 70 of the little critters. They have the potential of doing a lot of property damage. At first I thought they were so cute then the damage starts and the cuteness wears off. I am not that good of a shot so I mostly live trap and transport. I have been thinking of getting a 410 or a 20 gage with varmint loads. Haven't seen a chipmunk yet this year but the ground squirrels are digging tunnels so out comes the live trap until I get in a shooting mood.

[Scott Shepherd]

Did you all really think this thread would go away? Prior to leaving this world, apparently Drifter (I named it that from this point on) updated it's Facebook page to tell everyone how sweet a crib it had. Apparently it left directions and photos.

Got the familiar wake up noise around 4 last night. Yup, right over my head, rummaging around.

Got up, beat on the ceiling until I got it away from the area where I was TRYING to sleep. It probably found a nice place at the other end of the house and enjoyed a little sleep. More than I did, because I didn't get back to sleep.

So, I think I'll call this one Rascal.

Rascal, I hope your weakness is peanut butter..... because I'm not cooking you bacon.

I'm heading home to see if I can rig the cage some how to open easy without me being near it so I can do a catch and release on Rascal.

[David G Baker]

A never ending saga.

[Jerry Bruette]

Two words Scott.....Fly Bait

[Scott Shepherd]

Where's the fun in that? :)

Well, I took off heading home to get the trap out and devise a way to open it without my limbs being close to the exit point. As I turn the corner, I look at my house and something doesn't look right. As I get closer, I see something on my chimney (old chimney used for long gone oil burner). I'm thinking "What in the world is that?". Keeping in mind, it's daylight.

As I get close, I realize it's the raccoon, with it's head in the flue (sp?), looking down into it. I pull into the driveway it doesn't phase it. Doesn't move a lick. I pick up a rock and throw it and it hits the roof near it. Dumb move. That made it go into the chimney...........Great thinking Einstein.........

So I go out back, get the trap out and it starts pouring rain, but the sun is out. So I walk back out front where I can see it and it's gone. I stand there and look for a minute. Something's still not right. Sure enough, I see 2 feet hanging onto the top rim of the chimney. That thing is hanging in there. I think I named it right when I named it Rascal.

The rain stopped, I took my last bit of pepper spray solution and went and soaked the end vent, then I went and set the trap with a peanut butter buffet.

I can just imagine it in the flue (sp?), coming into my house via an old, disconnected furnace. I guess I'll sleep with one eye open tonight ;)

[John C Lawson]

I have never seen cats go after live fish, they hate water.
We had a cat that would catch and eat frogs (everything BUT the legs!) He'd come home from hunting muddy up to his belly from wading in the pond.

[Scott Shepherd]

Rascal is quickly living up to it's name. Woke up around 2am with noises. Got dressed, went outside with the flashlight. It's no where to be found. Got the ladder out, opened the attic trap door and sprayed with the "Anti-Raccoon" spray that they seem to actually like rather than not like. That was the last I heard of it. Woke up this morning, looked out to see the trap completely empty. Not a hint of peanut butter to be found. How in the heck these things keep doing that is beyond me. I have a piece of plastic wired into the bottom of the cage. A nice, smooth, 4" x 6" piece to smear peanut butter on. I took a big glob, probably 2 ounces of peanut butter, smeared it onto that. Completely gone this morning, the trap still open.

Oh, it's on now.............

[Bill Cunningham]

Even when their in the trap, it don't mean you can keep them there till you can dispose of them.. This one FORCED his way out under the door by bending the top and bottom in the process.. I fixed the trap, and put a concrete block on top to hopefully keep him from bending the trap top and bottom in the next escape attempt trail cams are great for seeing whats 'really' going on after hours.. the picture was taken in Feb. and he has since got out of it twice more when I forgot to put the block ontop of the trap.. I'm going to check who manuf. this thing and send them the pictures.. Maybe can they start building better traps.

[Myk Rian]

Haven't seen a chipmunk yet this year but the ground squirrels are digging tunnels so out comes the live trap until I get in a shooting mood.
I have a Munk that just started coming around. It was sitting on the deck where the steps are. Took a shot with the Ruger break-barrel. Hit the wood under him. Not sure if I grazed him, or not. There is no "Body of evidence" nearby.

When I let Coons and Possums go from the trap, I just set it on the ground, and open the door. They amble out at their own speed, making a beeline to the nearest brush. No need for me to be worried of attack.

Try covering the trap ends so those little feet/hands can't get to the goodies. Forces them to go in the door. I wrapped and taped an old towel around mine.
I put a piece of hardboard on the trigger. Makes more area to trip it, and a lighter touch to do so.

[David G Baker]

I covered my food area with 1/4 inch metal hardware cloth and wired it so it can't be moved. Raccoons are extremely intelligent and it takes a while for humans to learn their tricks and ways to defeat them. I haven't had one escape from a trap yet. I also set the trap on the ground, open the trap door and they leave the trap at their own speed and head for trees or brush. No chipmunks yet this year but I did see a ground squirrel the other day.

[mike kellar]

go to your local hunting supply store and ask for predator urine (coyote piss). put it in film cannisters or pill bottles with paper towel in the bottom. place them around your yard to repel the critters. worked for me!

[Myk Rian]

Heck, why buy it? Just catch a Coyote while wearing a scary mask, and scare the piss out of it. :D

[David G Baker]

Myk, You got my vote, but I don't need a mask. :D

[ray hampton]

if you feed the coyotes regularly , they will mark their new border with urine

[Bill Cunningham]

Ya ..when it comes to coyotes, just don't stand in your yard and go meep...meep.. and NEVER buy anything made by ACME, their anvils can be very dangerous.. :D