Raccoon for lunch

[John K Jordan]

After almost two years of being left alone, some hungry creature in the area has been enjoying guinea fowl for supper. I've lost six in the last week or so, two just the night before last. About 3am I found the guineas scattered off their normal roosts with some high in the trees so I knew something had spooked them.

Last night I provided an open invitation for any interested predator to dine on a peanut butter sandwich in a live trap. This morning found the biggest raccoon I've ever seen enjoying the accommodations. We worked out an arrangement, perhaps not entirely to his liking. A few hours later I counted over a dozen buzzards (turkey vultures) sharing a racoon lunch at the far end of the horse pasture.

We found peanut butter the best thing to catch raccoon, possum, and skunk without attracting the cats.

JKJ

[Lamar Keeney]

And here I was expecting a recipe.:D

Good idea using the peanut butter for bait.

[Lee Schierer]

We found peanut butter the best thing to catch raccoon, possum, and skunk without attracting the cats.

JKJ

It also works well for mice, rats, squirrels and chipmunks.

By the way there is no such thing as one raccoon.

[Tom M King]

Yeah, that was probably just the dumb one.

[daryl moses]

Good catch John. Believe it or not i've found that honey buns work great for enticing a racoon into a live trap.

[Al Launier]

And so does bacon strips, especially for skunks.

[Kris Cook]

I am glad you have rid yourself of the raccoon but I never understood guineas. I know they eat a lot of bugs but they are obnoxious :D

[Dave Zellers]

We worked out an arrangement, perhaps not entirely to his liking.JKJ

So, you made him an offer he couldn't refuse?

[Kris Cook]

On a related topic - there is a male cat using my under-construction shop building to mark its territory. Very annoying. My wife won't let me "lay in ambuscade" and shoot the cat (I was thinking bb gun). We ordered a gizmo that supposedly will keep critters away. We shall see.

[Al Launier]

Have your neighbor get a female cat.

[Kris Cook]

We have plenty of them around as it is.

[Tom M King]

I would get the cat neutered.

[Phil Mueller]

I had a neighbor who was failing due to cancer. His favorite end of life activity was feeding racoons. Did it for months. Many would roam my yard at night and was becoming quite a nusance, but I liked the neighbor and left his pets alone. After he passed away I began live trapping them (used cat food). There is a nature reserve on my way to wok, so each morning I would drop them off there. Lost count. Maybe 20 or so.

[Dave Zellers]

"lay in ambuscade"
Just learned a new word. Thank you!

[John K Jordan]

By the way there is no such thing as one raccoon.

You are certainly correct about that. The three traps are going out again tonight.

The traps in that location previously intercepted a couple of skunks which I also discourage, especially after one dug into the peacock house, climbed up on the roost, and killed and ate most of a young peahen. I realize skunks need to eat but I wish they would patronize a different restaurant. Some time back I set three traps in the garden bated with peanut butter - in the morning one had a raccoon, one had two small skunks, and the third was a little crowded with three small skunks. That was fun.

The problem with using bacon and other meat in traps is the following morning I often have to release a neighbor's cat or one of my barn cats.

I also use peanut butter to entice deer to lick the electric fence around the vegetable garden. It's the only way I've found to train deer not to approach and jump a 3' fence to get to the good stuff.

I can get the raccoon recipe if needed. Once a vet student friend skinned and dissected a raccoon grown fat on poultry feed and guinea eggs. She saved the choice cuts for her sister who couples an advanced degree in culinary science with an open mind. Our friend also tanned the pelt and made a very stylish coon skin hat.

JKJ

[Gary Ragatz]

We found peanut butter the best thing to catch raccoon, possum, and skunk without attracting the cats.

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Had a raccoon for a pet when I was about 9. Very likable but a mischievous little devil. Lucy was with us two years before the call of the wild proved too much and she left for good. Raised her with an eyedropper from before her eyes were even open. Never could even try raccoon at the wild game dinners. A couple years later, I acquired a Great Horned owl chick and raised it. Igor was far cooler, yet not as cuddly.. Back then no permits, were necessary.

[Mark Hennebury]

I would probably fall for the peanut butter trap.
I had to live trap a ground hog that kept burrowing under my workshop. I guess that he may have been responsible for the mess of cracks in my concrete floor. he moved to a new neighborhood a few miles away.

[Tom M King]

One of the earliest sights that I remember seeing was when I was still in diapers. I had ridden somewhere with my Dad to probably see someone about working. The sight was a Black woman opening a door, wiping her hands on her apron, with a Raccoon on her shoulders, and a red Fox standing close beside her. I was standing on the seat of the truck with my hands on the dashboard. I have no idea how old I was, but it's still as clear as if it was this afternoon. I think the only thing I had on was a diaper.

[Dan Hall]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

Boy howdy me too.

[Marshall Harrison]

Have your neighbor get a female cat.

Give your neighbor a female cat.

[Kris Cook]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

I don't know the answer to that.

Many years ago, I was headed to work one winter morning, went to drop a bag of trash in the plastic trash can. There was a skunk in the trash can, and it sprayed me pretty good. I can tell you smelling skunk spray up close is way different from the waft you get driving down the road. I put a lid on the trash can, drug it across the road, and went in the house and got the shotgun. That trash can full of holes sat out there for most of the rest of the winter.

[Kris Cook]

Just learned a new word. Thank you!


Ha. That is the first time I have ever used that word in writing. I credit Mark Twain with my discovery of the word. I figured he made it up but apparently it is a word.

[Martin Siebert]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

Get a can of starting fluid and a decent sized tarp. With the can and the tarp blocking his view of you walk up slowly and cover the trap. Spray the starting fluid under the tarp until he goes to sleep. Spray too much and he wont ever wake up. He wont spray because he doesn't really see the tarp and a danger. Once asleep, you can do whatever you want with him. Suggest you don't try to tame him and make a pet out of him though!!!

Edit: The best bait for live trapping raccoons is watermelon. They will absolutely risk anything to get to that smell/flavor. I have caught them with just ping pong balls...they think it is some kind of an egg {also one of their favorite foods}.
Mr. Jordan, are you sure it's not an owl killing your guinea keets??? Raccoons are lazy about prey...they tend to partially eat them right where they kill them and leave the carcass. Owls and fox or coyotes fly/run off with it and you wont ever find the carcass. I guess what I am saying is, don't be too surprised if you catch a bunch of raccoons and continue to loose the keets.

[Dave Cav]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

You take them for a swim cage and all.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?Depends.....check state game laws. In Cuyahoga County - Ohio - after you live trap a skunk, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will rake you over the coals for poaching - if they find out.

I heard tell of a guy that had a family of 8 (mother and babies) move into the crawl space under his house. I heard the guy live trapped them one by one, approached the trap with a blanket held in front of him, covered the trap and skunk with that blanket, then tied the trap, blanket and all, on the roof rack of his car & drove them out into a remote part of a State Park. When I...err..I mean he,,,yeah when he got there, he tied a long rope to the cage and tugged it to pen the trap. The skunks, all 8 of them, just waddled off into the tall grass.

On the last trip, a park ranger lectured the guy on the law & told him had he witnessed the release - instead of just seeing a skunk waddle into the grass - and the guy at the end of a rope tied to the trap - the fine for poaching & disturbing a fur bearing animal & keeping a fur bearing animal as a pet - - could run into 4 figures....

ODNR - doesn't have a lot of patience when it comes to people messing with wildlife.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

So disappointed this isn’t a thread about cooking. :-)

Believe it or not, one showed up here recently. We believe it stowed away on a vessel. We are hoping it came alone. That could be a very bad thing if there was a breeding pair. By the way, my favorite term for them is “trash panda.”

[John K Jordan]

I would probably fall for the peanut butter trap.
I had to live trap a ground hog that kept burrowing under my workshop. I guess that he may have been responsible for the mess of cracks in my concrete floor. he moved to a new neighborhood a few miles away.

A ground hog made so many tunnels the dirt floor in my barn started to collapse when I walked on it. I took a heavy steel rod and probed and collapsed the tunnels then filled them with gravel and concrete.

I find groundhogs difficult to trap. What works best for me is cantaloupe for bait.

JKJ

[Keith Outten]

Groundhogs are a horrible menace. I have found that a 22 LR is the best way to defend my property from the rascals. Most of the time I shoot them from my second floor shop window when I can catch them leaving the crawl space under one of my storage buildings. I throw their carcass in the woods so less offensive animals can eat. I also have some skunks that frequent my yard in the wee hours of the morning. It pays to turn on the outside barn lights when I have to go from the house to the shop in the dark.

I have no respect for any local ordinance that protects destructive animals. These are local laws written by people who have never seen these varmints and the damage they can do.

[Jerome Stanek]

Here in Ohio where I live I asked about getting rid of skunks and the game warden said I'm not supposed to trap them but he said to use the 3 Ss shoot shovel and shut up

[John K Jordan]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

I've caught dozens of skunks over the last several decades, some accidentally. I used to be terrified and released them without moving the trap. When I was about 12 I learned not to shoot them. Now take them down to the little pond behind the barn and give them scuba diving lessons. I haven't found any little diving masks to fit them so none have signed up for repeat lessons.

I made a sled from a piece of sheet metal, turned up on the leading edge. A rope is attached to the front. I approach the trap holding a small tarp in front of me and drape it over the trap - if the skunk can't see a clear target it won't spray. I use a pole with a hook (leg crook) to pull the trap onto the sled then hold both ropes and slide the combo to and into the pond. I've dragged traps about 1/4 mile like this with no problems. The only thing that ever went wrong was with the trap with three skunks. After about 5 minutes under the water I pulled the trap out and dumped the contents on the ground before heading back for the second skunked trap. When I got back one was gone! While puzzling about this I noticed one of the remaining two was barely but still breathing. Maybe the first one did some CPR before running off. Since then skunks get a longer swim. In fact, I was so upset when the big skunk killed and ate the young female peacock I left it in the water for 30 minutes and then did some 22 rifle target practice with its head as a target. I figured if it survived after all that it deserved to eat peacock for supper.

A pro varmint guy who will come to your house and remove skunks said he covers traps with cloth and submerges them in a 55-gal drum full of water. I've used this method on animals for the vet students to dissect and study keep from destroying tissue. For other animals that simply have to be put down due to severe medical problems I use gas.

Just to be clear, I very much dislike killing anything, chickens to eat or predators who eat them before I can, even mice and rats. I'd hate to be like my friend's son who always killed the hogs we put in the freezer - once when walking out with a 22 rifle he said "I just love killin' things - it's my favorite thing to do!" Yikes. I worry about that boy.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Depends.....check state game laws. In Cuyahoga County - Ohio - after you live trap a skunk, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will rake you over the coals for poaching - if they find out.
....a park ranger lectured the guy on the law....


I wonder what that officer does when skunks move in under his house or raccoons start killing his peacocks. A nearby farmer lost his entire flock of chickens to a 'possum.

After I caught a beautiful red fox I asked a game officer here about trapping wild animals. He said if you trap a wild animal in TN you have exactly two options: release it exactly where caught or euthanize. What is not permitted is to keep it or move it.

405189

Another game officer told a friend with a severe raccoon problem at her farm the same thing, but added off the record that if she did quietly choose to relocate one always take it east, never north or south. This is for rabies control - rabies in raccoons has been eliminated in TN except an area in the far east.

But if you do move one, make sure you move it far, far away! Our friend moved one about 5 miles and later caught another one which looked familiar. She marked its head with a read sharpie and released it 5 miles away. A few days later she caught the same raccoon!

After catching a baby deer who had been abandoned I found that there are organizations who have permits to rescue, transport and care for wild animals under certain conditions. (I wonder if they will take skunks.) They came and got this tiny fawn. And before anyone questions, yes, before catching the deer we proved with no doubt it had been abandoned - some people don't know a doe will leave a baby alone for hours while she forages, thinking they are helping by "rescuing" the poor little thing.

405195

JKJ

[Tim Bueler]

I had several honey bee colonies that started to dwindle in one of my bee yards. I noticed a slight trail in the grass and some scratch marks on the hives so set out some traps. Ended up trapping 5 skunks. For those who don't know, honey bees are a favorite food for skunks. They come in the night and scratch on the hive. When the bees come to investigate they are eaten. Skunks can clean out even a strong honey bee colony in only a few nights.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I understand a few cities in Germany are infested with raccoons that got loose from someone in the early 20th century.

[John K Jordan]

I had several honey bee colonies that started to dwindle in one of my bee yards. I noticed a slight trail in the grass and some scratch marks on the hives so set out some traps. Ended up trapping 5 skunks. For those who don't know, honey bees are a favorite food for skunks. They come in the night and scratch on the hive. When the bees come to investigate they are eaten. Skunks can clean out even a strong honey bee colony in only a few nights.

I read to prevent that just raise up the hives a bit. How high were yours? As per my bee mentor when I started I keep mine on two concrete blocks with a 2" steel channel on top and so far haven't detected any skunk activity after over a decade. But I wonder if I should raise them higher.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

I read to prevent that just raise up the hives a bit. How high were yours? As per my bee mentor when I started I keep mine on two concrete blocks with a 2" steel channel on top and so far haven't detected any skunk activity after over a decade. But I wonder if I should raise them higher.

JKJ

The best way other than eliminating the skunks is to place 1" square hardware cloth across the front of the hive far enough away that he skunks can't reach the bees.

[Mike Ontko]

I also use peanut butter to entice deer to lick the electric fence around the vegetable garden. It's the only way I've found to train deer not to approach and jump a 3' fence to get to the good stuff.

That is pure genius! I wish I'd come across this point about 6 years ago, when we first moved into our last place that was on the beaten path for the local deer population. I ended up protecting most of my garden crops under hoops and netting, but the baited wire seems like it would have provided an educational benefit for those cloven hooved critters.

[John K Jordan]

The best way other than eliminating the skunks is to place 1" square hardware cloth across the front of the hive far enough away that he skunks can't reach the bees.

I'm not sure that will work. What I've read (but never seen) is the skunk simply scratches on the landing porch outside the hive at night until the bees come out to attack the monster. When the bees come out the skunk smacks them and eats them. Supposedly elevating the hive works since that makes the skunk stand on the hind legs to scratch on the porch. This exposes their tender under portions to bee stings. A LOT of stings!

When one bee is alarmed or injured by a predator (or a beekeeper) she releases an alarm pheromone to alert others. In short order this can snowball and hundreds may join the fray. (I understand africanized bees can come out by the tens of thousands and quickly - fortunately I have no experience with this either since they don't live around us.)

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

That is pure genius! I wish I'd come across this point about 6 years ago, when we first moved into our last place that was on the beaten path for the local deer population. I ended up protecting most of my garden crops under hoops and netting, but the baited wire seems like it would have provided an educational benefit for those cloven hooved critters.

I use a plastic fork to put dabs of peanut butter on the electric wire maybe 8 ft apart. I do this several times in the spring after planting and again in the summer. Jiffy smooth, of course. :)

I once observed a deer approach an electric fence in the horse pasture and stick her nose out and get zapped. She jumped backwards so fast it looked like she flipped! She ran at full speed across the field until she got near the fence on the other side, slowed and stopped, then ran back across. She did this several times before I saw her cautiously tip-towing up along one fence looking for a way through. I guess she forgot she had jumped the fence to get in! Must have figure it out since the next time I checked she was gone.

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

For those who thought this thread was about a recipe for raccoon, Here you go. Maple Bourbon Glazed Grilled Raccoon Recipe (https://www.realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/maple-bourbon-glazed-grilled-raccoon-recipe)

[Steve Demuth]

And here I was expecting a recipe.:D

Good idea using the peanut butter for bait.

Roasted one once. It was edible, but not something I'd bother with twice.

[Martin Siebert]

Here is my answer to the raccoon thing:405219

[Dave Zellers]

Here is my answer to the raccoon thing:405219
Get in my BELLY!!!

[Brice Rogers]

I like the comments about the variety of effective baits. Good advice.

But, I would like advice on the most effective way to get rid of gophers. I've tried Macabee traps, gopher bait (used to be cyanide based) applied into their tunnels with a tubular applicator, chlorine/ammonia, smoke bombs (sometimes home made) and once a HF flame thrower. They all work a little, but my batting average is about 10% and last year they decimated my vegetable garden.

I am now considering putting in galvanized 1/2" wire/cloth under each garden patch. I saw a company selling stainless woven wire but the cost was around $2 a square foot. Galvanized is cheaper but I'm not sure how long it would last. Would I also need to run it above ground so that the gophers couldn't just walk in and dig down. I'm also considering growing in raised beds.

Any advice?

[Dan Hall]

I used to take my shotgun with a 12 gauge goose load in the chamber, put the barrel into the burrow opening, and pull the trigger. I may have only annoyed them but it satisfied me. I lived in a rural area where such things were not only tolerated but generally encouraged. The shock wave was at least inconvenient for the little buggers.

[John K Jordan]

I am now considering putting in galvanized 1/2" wire/cloth under each garden patch. I saw a company selling stainless woven wire but the cost was around $2 a square foot. Galvanized is cheaper but I'm not sure how long it would last. Would I also need to run it above ground so that the gophers couldn't just walk in and dig down. I'm also considering growing in raised beds.


I don't think 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth would last long in ground contact. I had some rust away in the bottom of a rabbit cage. 1/2" is typically 19 gauge but I've seen 16 ga, nothing larger.

Maybe you could get some heavier gauge wire. I've never seen a gopher - will it get through 2x4 welded wire fencing? A 100' roll of 48" is about $100 or less, depending on the gauge. 14ga is common but 12ga would last a lot longer. You can also get 1x2" welded wire galvanized fencing. Don't buy it from Home Depot but at an ag/farm store.

JKJ

[Mel Fulks]

Brice, here is some good news ! If you killed 10 percent of them and they "decimated" the garden ...it's a tie game !

[Tim Bueler]

I read to prevent that just raise up the hives a bit. How high were yours? As per my bee mentor when I started I keep mine on two concrete blocks with a 2" steel channel on top and so far haven't detected any skunk activity after over a decade. But I wonder if I should raise them higher.

JKJ

John, mine were about 8" to the landing board. I don't know if elevating more would work to deter skunks but it would make it harder to get the (hopefully) full honey supers off. Part of my deal was it was summertime and the strongest colonies were bearded on the front of the hive at night. I'm sure the skunks feasted for several days on just that. Scratch marks were minimal. We had around 100 colonies in 4 or 5 yards for 15 yrs, thankfully that was the only skunk problem we had.

Funny/strange how some of the guys were looking for racoon recipes but not one asked for a skunk recipe. :confused::):D:D

[Gary Ragatz]

Funny/strange how some of the guys were looking for racoon recipes but not one asked for a skunk recipe. :confused::):D:D

Tim,

If you google "skunk recipe," there are all kinds of them available on the internet. Of course, they're all recipes for solutions to get rid of the smell. :p

[Brice Rogers]

John K Jordan: most gophers are about the size of a small potato. They are about the size of an adult rat. 2 x 4 welded wire wouldn't even slow them down. I think that 3/4" wire would be very good. 1" might be a little big for younger gophers. I've had trouble too, with galvanized "chicken" wire rotting where it touched the ground.

One summer I was growing super sweet corn. I checked on it daily to time the picking. On the day that I showed up to pick I had about 30 ears of corn - - each of which was partially eaten. There wasn't a single ear that was not spoiled. So I husked an ear or two and put them in each of my two live traps. Over a period of about a week, I collected a total of 17 gray ground squirrels. But it was mid summer and squirrels (like rabbits) may have parasites in them during that period. So, we didn't make any squirrel pie.

[Flamone LaChaud]

My parents can attest to the effectiveness of a pair of Jack Russel Terriers in getting rid of most kinds of varmits . . .moles, voles, gophers, rabbits, mice, and the occasional squirrel.

[Steve Demuth]

I understand a few cities in Germany are infested with raccoons that got loose from someone in the early 20th century.

Both Germany and Japan. In Japan, a 1970s cartoon raccoon named Rascal led to imports of raccoon kits as pets, leading inevitably to the release of adults into urban and rural habitat. They are now a major pest. There is a section in a longer film about urban wildlife, which I can't unfortunately find a link to right now, about the clash between the live-in-harmony-with-all-things mindset of Buddhist monks and temple-destroying raccoon marauders at the 10th century Buddhist temple of Byodo-in.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Here is my answer to the raccoon thing:https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=405219&d=1552013938&thumb=1 (https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=405219&d=1552013938)

Looks like a Treeing Walker(?) & a Blue Tick(?) - is that correct? We have a pair of Treeing Walker/Great Pyrenees mix (litter mates) & a Blue Tick/Great Pyrenees mix. All three hounds are goofy as all get out. The Blue Tick is known as "Crazy Girl" at the doggie daycare - since she goes flat out - all day long with no let up.

[Phil Mueller]

Regarding gophers, my Dad always used the Macabee trap. Highly successful. Make sure you enlarge the hole so if the gopher is pushing dirt, it won’t set it off. He also would cover the hole with burlap...swore that attracted them. Not sure about that, but can’t argue with success. And of course tied well to a stake. I do recall he lost a trap or two.

[Mel Fulks]

When Disney does a remake of DAVY CROCKETT the raccoon problem will subside for decades. Natures balance.

[John K Jordan]

When Disney does a remake of DAVY CROCKETT the raccoon problem will subside for decades. Natures balance.

How about some big movie that makes 'possum pelts a big thing. The big trap that caught the big raccoon the other day had a big 'possum this morning.

[Jason Roehl]

This thread is one of the best.

I may have to consider the peanut butter/electric fence deal for my garden. We're in a neighborhood on the edge of town, but lots of wooded area and fields nearby, so the deer run rampant. And even though there is only about 40' separating my house from the one behind me, that's where my garden is, and it's a thoroughfare for deer.

As for the other varmints, when at all possible, I prefer inoculating them with high-velocity copper and lead.

[Mike Cutler]

I have no respect for any local ordinance that protects destructive animals. These are local laws written by people who have never seen these varmints and the damage they can do.

Yeah, sometimes you just have to do, what needs to be done.
Many, many years ago, a house we were renting got invaded by raccoons, and they were destructive as all hell.
One night, enough was enough and I opened up with a Remington 1100 at 1:00 am. That were trying to get through the screens and windows and into the house.
I killed six or seven in about 5 minutes.
2 weeks later my neighbor, whom I thought didn't know what I has done, showed me the damage they did to his car. Some type of a convertible classic fro the 60's.They tore up the interior and trashed his garage.
This all happened in Mystic Ct.

[Bruce Volden]

This is an interesting thread!!! I live 40 miles from any town of consequences (BORGs, Supermarkets, car dealers), I have a nice acreage with the usual ground hog, possum, coon....mix.
I have coyotes! I love shooting!
Have a dog,, border collie/rottweiler mix who roams the premises and has kept critters at bay thus far since she's young.

I watched a PBS show awhile back which went into depth of the NUTRIA problems in the gulf states. I think I'll stay with my problematic critters.

Bruce

[Jacob Reverb]

I don't think 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth would last long in ground contact. I had some rust away in the bottom of a rabbit cage.

Dunno. I guess it depends on your soil pH. I've found the stuff buried here at least 20 years in good shape...I suspect the problem with it on the bottom of a rabbit hutch (I've had it rust out in that application, too) is all the ammonia in their urine...

[John K Jordan]

Dunno. I guess it depends on your soil pH. I've found the stuff buried here at least 20 years in good shape...I suspect the problem with it on the bottom of a rabbit hutch (I've had it rust out in that application, too) is all the ammonia in their urine...

I suspect you are right. I would clean regularly and hose out the cage but could see it get worse over time. I replaced it with heavier gauge which outlived the rabbits.

[John K Jordan]

A fun-loving forum-ite has added a poll to this thread. I wish I'd been that creative! I wonder if I can vote if I log in as Carl Coyote.

Also, I forgot one excellent bait for raccoons, skunks, and 'possums - eggs. I started using them when a guinea or peacock was chased off a nest and the marauder had poached eggs for breakfast.

And what one thing do skunks and raccoons have in common? They are the two favorite animals of a young lady from Italy who stayed with us last summer. She thought they were both SO adorable and wished she could take one home. Apparently neither are found in Europe, or at least Italy, or at least Northern Italy. I must admit I've never once thought of a skunk as adorable. Maybe its mother did when it was a baby.

JKJ

[Jim Koepke]

I watched a PBS show awhile back which went into depth of the NUTRIA problems in the gulf states.

Someone told me about 10 years ago there is a bounty paid on Nutria tails around here. Some trapper types make a bit of money at it.


And what one thing do skunks and raccoons have in common? They are the two favorite animals of a young lady from Italy who stayed with us last summer. She thought they were both SO adorable and wished she could take one home. Apparently neither are found in Europe, or at least Italy, or at least Northern Italy. I must admit I've never once thought of a skunk as adorable. Maybe its mother did when it was a baby.

But they are so cute! At least that is what some women say. Even possums can look a little cute from the right angle.

One of my memories of 'cute' raccoons was driving to work one day and seeing a family of them running down the street near my home. Driving by a storm drain the four of them were hanging inside a drain looking out at me driving by. It would have made a great picture.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

The poll needs another answer for me to give it my honest reply.

Maybe if someone paid me enough they could get me to take a bite.

The are cute, but if they are on my porch and there is a weapon in my hand, they may be turned into a hat.

We no longer have chickens and we no longer feed our cats outside. That and taking down two very large cedar trees they used to hide in has got them to look for a better home.

jtk

[Curt Harms]

A fun-loving forum-ite has added a poll to this thread. I wish I'd been that creative! I wonder if I can vote if I log in as Carl Coyote.

Also, I forgot one excellent bait for raccoons, skunks, and 'possums - eggs. I started using them when a guinea or peacock was chased off a nest and the marauder had poached eggs for breakfast.

And what one thing do skunks and raccoons have in common? They are the two favorite animals of a young lady from Italy who stayed with us last summer. She thought they were both SO adorable and wished she could take one home. Apparently neither are found in Europe, or at least Italy, or at least Northern Italy. I must admit I've never once thought of a skunk as adorable. Maybe its mother did when it was a baby.

JKJ

People do keep skunks as pets. Usually they're found as babies and de-scented. There is a woman that works at a farm store that had one (or more) as a pet that wasn't de-scented. I can't believe she kept it (them) indoors though. She said she could always tell if they were about to spray, they stamp their front feet. I have no intention of verifying the accuracy of her claim. Of course there's a site for that:

skunk.com

As to the original topic, I recall hearing years ago that raccoon is edible if parboiled first. Never ate one knowingly though.

[John K Jordan]

...
One of my memories of 'cute' raccoons was driving to work one day and seeing a family of them running down the street near my home. Driving by a storm drain the four of them were hanging inside a drain looking out at me driving by. It would have made a great picture.


At my previous residence we began to have a problem with the big plastic trash can on the carport getting dumped and spread all over. This happened ever night so I stayed up and watched a family of raccoons - one climbed on top and started pushing the can away from the wall, assisted by two others, one on each side. A big raccoon stood back and supervised.

A series of trapping events with what I now know as illegal relocation solved the problem. When I finally caught the big one it was so ferocious I was wary of opening the trap so I rigged a rope in the back of the truck to pull it open while I stood back. He came out of the trap, cleared the side of the truck in one leap, and ran down the hill and jumped into the lake. In a couple of minutes he was half way across the river.

JKJ

[Don Coffman]

I must admit eating 'coon. In my younger days fellow hunters/trappers banded together after seasons closed and supplied a wild-game feast to the public at no cost with donations to local community groups. Almost all game was pit barbecued, there was raccoon, opossum, muskrat, beaver, deer, duck, turkey, goose and a few others I'm sure I'm missing. I recall 'coon as being a somewhat stronger gamy flavor, more so than I preferred. To my surprise was beaver, the meat was very dark cooked, with a mild flavor .. many I would not eat, most folk would sample only to say its was tried.

Oh, this is my first post here .. I'm a 67 yo retired safety engineer, living in West TN, making piles of sawdust, and enjoying the outdoors.

[John K Jordan]

I must admit eating 'coon. In my younger days fellow hunters/trappers banded together after seasons closed and supplied a wild-game feast to the public at no cost with donations to local community groups. Almost all game was pit barbecued, there was raccoon, opossum, muskrat, beaver, deer, duck, turkey, goose and a few others I'm sure I'm missing. I recall 'coon as being a somewhat stronger gamy flavor, more so than I preferred. To my surprise was beaver, the meat was very dark cooked, with a mild flavor .. many I would not eat, most folk would sample only to say its was tried.

Oh, this is my first post here .. I'm a 67 yo retired safety engineer, living in West TN, making piles of sawdust, and enjoying the outdoors.


Welcome to the forum, Don! What kinds of things do you like to do that make sawdust? Any woodturning? Around Memphis way? I don't get out to that end of the state much but I was asked to do a woodturning demo in Arkansas so I'll be driving through at some point.

JKJ

[julian abram]

Ok, I've been watching this thread and since no fellow Arkies have mentioned this I guess it's my responsibility. There is a community coon dinner annually the second week of January in Gillett, Arkansas. This annual event has been sponsored by the local community since the 1930-40's. Over the years it has evolved into a political event attended by state and national politicians including Bill Clinton. If you are an Arkansas politician, you will be talked about negatively for not attending this prestigious event. Current attendance runs around 1,200. Preceding the event, several hundred raccoons caught, cleaned, smoked to be served at the dinner.

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3827
https://amppob.com/gillett-coon-supper-ready/
https://www.facebook.com/events/gillett-coon-supper/272012643217412/

[Richard Jones]

Guineas: Superb watchdogs, great bug eaters, eggs are really rich and make great ice cream. Also, grab your favorite beverage and a laser pointer and watch them chase the red 'bug.' Good times!!

(But, yeah, they are obnoxious)

[John K Jordan]

Guineas: Superb watchdogs, great bug eaters, eggs are really rich and make great ice cream. Also, grab your favorite beverage and a laser pointer and watch them chase the red 'bug.' Good times!!

(But, yeah, they are obnoxious)

But they are so entertaining! And dumb. One or more will run up and down the fence, looking for a way to get through especially frantic if I'm throwing meal worms on the other side. But they can fly! I've watched them fly several hundred feet and high into the trees but they can't think to fly over the fence.

I have never thought of trying a laser pointer with them. I did use a laser with the horses, though. When the mare got too far away from the blind gelding he would cry when he couldn't find her. When she would ignore him for too long I could run her down to the other end of the field with a green laser pointer out the upstairs window, easily visible even in the daytime.

A friend said they would see their guineas running around with baby copperhead snakes in their beaks - might be a reason to keep them. We have no trouble selling every one we hatch, as chicks or grown.

JKJ

[Don Coffman]

John,
Lets see I have a modest lil' hide-out its 14x40, I've built a fair bench, been remodeling a '40s farmhouse we live in, built a few boxes, seems Adirondack chairs are demanding my attention as of late. I do have a lathe a Jet 1236 I don't spend much time on it due to too many projects and outdoor activities. I'm actually 15-20 mi north of Jackson, TN.

[Al Launier]

Just curious - what's the next step after you successfully live-trap a skunk?

I took a large trash bag, cut along one edge to double its size, approached the cage (skunk in) with rain gear on, draped the bag over the cage (large hav-a-heart trap), shrunk remained quiet, carried it to a 100 gal stock tank & then immersed the entire cage, bag & content. The buried the skunk well into the woods behind my home.

[Steve Demuth]

At my previous residence we began to have a problem with the big plastic trash can on the carport getting dumped and spread all over. This happened ever night so I stayed up and watched a family of raccoons - one climbed on top and started pushing the can away from the wall, assisted by two others, one on each side. A big raccoon stood back and supervised.

A series of trapping events with what I now know as illegal relocation solved the problem. When I finally caught the big one it was so ferocious I was wary of opening the trap so I rigged a rope in the back of the truck to pull it open while I stood back. He came out of the trap, cleared the side of the truck in one leap, and ran down the hill and jumped into the lake. In a couple of minutes he was half way across the river.

JKJ

I am married to a lovely Buddhist priest, who of course frowns on using death and destruction as a control mechanism for anything. So, we've put a lot of effort into non-lethal mechanisms for discouraging racoons, deer and other wildlife who see our place as a well-maintained buffet and hotel. With racoons, though, every June, when the sows have big, mobile litters of kits to feed, it all breaks down. They'll defeat most anything if there is food on the other side. 'coons are smart buggers, particularly when hungry. Some of my favorites:

- One who dug under the footing boards on a pole construction fowl house just enough to roll an entire clutch of eggs out from under a goose setting her nest next to the foundation on the inside of the coop. Goose was still there on her nest the next morning with a 3" hole in the center of the nest. Yard was littered with emptied egg shells.

- A sow with a late litter who wanted to fatten them on grapes in August. Had a nice welded wire (buried) with two electrics on top around the vineyard. So she finds a tree reaching out over the fence, crawls out on a limber branch until it cracks and bends low enough she and the kits can disembark to the vineyard. Next morning, when it's time to leave, she goes back to the branch, pulls it all the way to earth, and the kits, the the sow, clamber back over the fence via the branch.

- (My favorite) - Some years ago, raccoons take to ransacking the bird seed feeders and hummingbird feeders every night. My wife responds by bringing the feeders in at dusk, but the she's gone one weekend to her monastery, and I forget to bring them in. At about midnight, I hear a hell of a racket and discover there are two kits climbing up the bedroom window screens, and banging them in and out. So I load up the 20 gauge (5 shells) and head out with gun and flashlight to deter the marauders. There are two sows and about a dozen big kits on the window screen, in the trees, on the roof, and on the ground. One old sow is on her haunches on a branch 12 feet above the ground, hauling up a hummingbird feeder that is hanging by a 7' rope, hand over hand, just like you and I would a bucket of water. The other has removed the platform feeder to the ground for the benefit of her kits. 13 racoons in all. I got 9 of them with the magazine plus some shells I'd stuffed in my pocket.

[Malcolm McLeod]

... I got 9 of them with the magazine plus some shells I'd stuffed in my pocket.

Good shootin', Tex!

[Ed Aumiller]

In the late 70's I had 3 teenage sons...
A friend came home from the army with a descented skunk...
His wife said NO WAY...
Bought it for $25 and took it home...

It only took ONE day and it was house trained !!!
It acted just like a big ole trained cat/dog..
Definitely a lap dog... would follow kids everywhere...
Was really a great pet...
Only problem was every February it (he) wanted outside (mating season) and would get kind of unruly...
Made harness for it and kids would take to when we went to Pennsylvania and they would walk around town with it.. (we lived in mountains, still do)...
People would freak out when they saw it until they realized the could actually pet it, etc...

Had it almost 5 years until one February it got outside and would not come to any of us... disappeared into woods.... never to be seen again

Now in Virginia even descented skunks are illegal because they can carry rabies but not have rabies..

In reality it was a very good pet, very loving, but up all night running in the house making noise....

He would bend into a "U" shape to try to spray (but nothing came out) if startled... that is how they are so accurate when they spray, they are looking at the target...

If legal, would consider another one... descented of course...

At time, never thought to have it neutered... wish we had... it may never have disappeared looking for a mate... will never know...

[Rob Luter]

Dad told me my Uncle had a pet raccoon when he was a lad. I guess it was a good pet until it dismantled by Grandmother's kitchen pantry looking for snacks. It was history at that point.

I grew up in a rural setting and there were plenty of the little buggers around. They never bothered our poultry though. Mostly they'd get into trash.

We did have issues with Opossums. They were indiscriminate killers. They'd kill half the chicken house and just drag one back to the nest. We'd follow the trail of feathers back to the tree and dispatch them with extreme prejudice. As primitive as their nervous system is they're tough to kill. Usually a 12 Gauge 3 inch mag with #4 shot would do the trick. Full choke barrel of course.

[Mark Blatter]

I had skunk problems about 12 years ago. The first two I shot about 10 p.m. at night, first with a 9 mm and the second with a .38 thinking it would be a little quieter. My neighbor called and asked if I had heard a gun shot the second time so it was likely louder. I lived in the Helena MT valley and my closest neighbor was about quarter mile away. I was shooting towards my barn with plenty of backstop and aiming down towards the ground so never an issue with safety. However after the second one, I borrowed a trap and caught the last one. I had the trap set with a tarp half over it and once I knew I had him, I covered the trap fully with the tarp. I backed my truck up to the tarp covered trap, put a hose from my tailpipe under the tarp. In about 15 mins, I had a peacefully sleeping skunk that took a long nap. Last I heard he still had not woken up. He never sprayed because he never felt threatened. The two I shot sprayed, so trapping is definitely the better way to go.

[John K Jordan]

...put a hose from my tailpipe under the tarp. ...The two I shot sprayed, so trapping is definitely the better way to go.

The exhaust sounds like a good method if you can get the vehicle close to the trap.

But when you said "trap" it reminded me of a different type of trap. I was maybe 11-12 years old when I set a spring-loaded leg trap, banned now in many places. I thought a raccoon was destroying our corn but what I caught was a skunk. I stood well back and sent him to the afterlife with my trusty 22 rifle. As you said, that released a powerful skunk odor. I built a fire and put the trap in it long enough to cremate the skunk but the smell on the trap was still strong. Then I soaked the trap in the river over the Pennsylvania winter and it STILL smelled of skunk so I threw it away. I later realized that trap would probably have been perfect for predators such as coyote since it might help mask any human smell. But you don't always think things through when you're 12.

I always disllked killing things, even skunks. We could all coexist nicely if we could get them to respect some "No Skunks Allowed Past This Point" signs. :)

JKJ

[James Runchey]

Speaking of Nutria, back in the 60's I was the bookkeeper for the worlds largest mink ranch, and part of he diet mixed daily was Nutria. At the peak season after the kits were born we were feeding 125,000 mink a day and a good part ofthis was nutria. We were mixing 56,000 lbs of feed per day. At that time they were butchering wild horses fo feed also. We also had many semi loads of whale meat come in, as well as slunks [unborn calves from slaughter houses] loved that name, very descriptive. A very interesting job.

[Rollie Meyers]

Neighbor has a palm tree that is home to some coons they come to my house to dine on my cats dry food, started bringing it in at night but does get forgotten from time to time. Coons are cute but have no desire to tangle with one, same applies to bears. BTW, the German word for Raccoon is Waschbär, which translates to Wash Bear.

[Rob Luter]

BTW, the German word for Raccoon is Waschbär, which translates to Wash Bear.

Around here the word Raccoon translates to Trash Panda :D