COONS

[grammysharon]

CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO KEEP COONS OFF MY DECK. THEY DIG OUT MY FLOWER POTS AND LEAVE THEIR POOP BEHIND.

[johnl]

Buy a have a heart cage, put bread with peanut butter on the trip lever and you will have the responsible coon in your cage in a few days.
John L

[grammysharon]

Thank, I will try that.

[TomatoLover]

Buy a have a heart cage, put bread with peanut butter on the trip lever and you will have the responsible coon in your cage in a few days.
John L
We used a Hav-a-Heart trap last year with some success to get the raccoons that were stealing our sweet corn. We "relocated" four of them, even though they were not very happy campers. The bait that worked for us was tuna cat food, as fish is a favorite food of raccoons.

TL

[Doc]

Although I have started having a coon challenge and a skunk problem (make sure you know the difference) I haven't tried the trapping. I recently read that someone used marshmellows as bait as other items, including cat food and meats, attracted ferel cats. Which are a whole lot more challenging to de-cage than any coon you've ever faced!

Haven't tried it. . . just another persons experience and opinion.

[drobinson]

My experience with both coons and wild cats taught me a thing or two.
I was after the coon that was eating my ripe figs and sweet corn. I used a live wire cage (medium size) and a can of tuna fish as bait. The coon I caught was a huge male with blood in his eye. I called the game and fish
folks who came out, picked up trap, coon and all and said they delivered the old boy several miles away near a river. They brought the cage back.
It stopped the coon tricks until a mama coon showed up with four little bandits. For some reason, they were only interested in my garbage can. Still, I set the trap again but this time caught a large black cat with no collar. I called the animal control folks and a young policeman came out.
It was clear he had no experience with caged cats and tried to release the cat from the wire cage into a garbage bag. Well, zip and out the cat went clawing and scratching between the sack and the cage. After appologizing, the young fellow promised to be back the next day to try and catch the cat again. Guess what, he didn't show up, but neither did the cat. Now, I've got a new neighbor with a cat that spends most of it's time in our yard stalking the birds at my bird feeders. Anybody got any suggestions for this new problem?

[grammysharon]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was wondering what I would do with the live coon if I caught it. Since we live on a farm, I'm thinking there will always be another one to replace the one I catch. They also eat our corn. I wish there was someway to deter them from coming close. Our dog catches groundhogs, but doesn't mess with coons, they are too mean.

[ceresone]

well, our problem was multiplied since our neighbors -1/2 and 1 1/2 miles away, feed them on their deck.it was a problem we didnt want to foist off on someone else-so-all 4 had to be dispatched. and, no, it wasnt the animals fault, but the neighbors.

[lovetogarden]

drobinson,
About the cat. My neighbors cat had become an issue-. smashing my flowers and pooping in the beds. Sprinkle cayenne pepper around the places it hides.
Cats hate it and avoid the area. My problem stoppped when I did this. Now my
neighbor across the street has the cat problem.

[gottagardyn]

Having had the underneath of our house invaded by Racoons for the past 2 years...(and all the ductwork for hte heating and cooling ripped up in the process) I can honestly say, they are cheeky little devils!!! Eating the catfood,digging up flower beds are nothin until youve heard them fighting under your house all night.(LOL) And we live right in the middle of town!! Ahh the wonderful urban life.....with critters! :D

[Cliff Timmons]

This is a tough question.
I have to ask myself if I'm willing to live with a particular animal or pest or if I feel I need to,...... rid myself of them. :D

We have three big dogs, two bloodhounds and a great pyrenees/wolf mix which keeps everything from coyotes, coons, possums, and other dogs away from our chickens. But once in a while it will get out of hand with the coyotes and I have to step in.

This is kind of off topic but, if anyone is having problems with hawks and chickens, I found that crows will keep them away. I feed the crows with whole corn and they keep the owls and hawks at bay.

[zebraman]

Hey Cliff;A 12-Guage works really well on Coons.-

[Cliff Timmons]

I was trying to be sensitive. :D

But yes they do. I just got a .22 Mag for coyotes too.

[wilderness1989]

To zebraman and Cliff Timmons. Amen I agree! I had a city kid that lived by me, he came over one day and said "there's a beautiful wood chuck in the field by my garden." My reply was "did you kill it?" The next day he came by and complained the something had eaten every on of his green bean plants......I exterminated it for him....no more problems with the beans. The kid went right to the store and purchased his own 12ga. ;-)
Later,
John Gray

[dirtundernails]

Hi,

We have a boy Collie and two girl American Staffordshire Terriors. The Collie sits outside the dog house with his big fur coat, and alerts the girls of any noise, to which they come out snarling and ready to tear into anything. We have not lost a chicken to predators, but did have to train the dogs not to eat them, either. All three were abandonded rescue cases and were starving to death. so I can't say whether these breeds need to be trained off poultry as a general rule.

I concur on the shotgun, and the crows. I LOVE crows.

[Ozark Matt]

Plant 3 sisters (corn,pole beans, and squash planted together) supposidly the coons will not go around the squash. I assume it works since I have never seen a coon near my corn, or garden. My garden usually has squash around the sides which face the woods. I have had problems with them breaking into my chicken pen a few times though.There are lots around my place since we are surrounded by forest land. but garden has stayed clear of them. old Indian legend.

[tashak]

Homemade chicken soup works really well with domestic and feral cats and kittens in those Hav-a-Heart traps, better than tuna or canned cat food.
I met some of the neighbors' cats before I met the neighbors. (My place originally came with a pregnant abandoned cat who attracted other cats. Well, actually it was feeding her in attempt to catch her and her kittens from under the trailer that attracted the other cats. Kittens crawling in heating duct work is not good.)

[flowerpower]

I have rescued several orphaned coons- fed them the bottle and everything.

Coons are very attracted to shiny things. They think it is water reflecting light. Where there is water, there is food. Planting squash might deter them. They don't like the feel of the bristles on their feet.

[Cliff Timmons]

I used to have a pet coon. Don't get me wrong, if they leave my chickens alone, they're safe with me. I can live with them getting into the garden. :p

[Mary]

Hi, I use a product called (Liquid Fence) ,it's a deer and rabbit repellent.Its long lasting-rain resistant,environmentally safe,bio-degradable,will not harm plants or animals. I don't know if it would keep coons or cats away , it might be worth a try.I bought it at a Farm & Fleet store.Their web site is www.liquidfence.com .It says you can spray it on the garden plants ,I go out a couple of feet outside my garden and spray all around, it works, the deer don't eat my veg.It smells awful.hope this helps you. Mary

[Timeless Rogue]

Yes, as a matter of fact there is something that works very well for racoons and other critters small and large ... fox urine. That's right ... fox urine: a product called 'Shake Away' is made up from fox urine in either liquid or powder form that you apply around your garden, deck, whatever you want to keep the little buggers out of and they think that there's a fox hanging out in the neighborhood ... and foxes like eat little critters!

You can check it out online by Goggling 'fox urine' or 'Shake Away' or just check with your local garden center.

[GObug]

Coons and cats will become trap shy after being caught once. A rule of thumb in relocating coons is 25 miles. This may seem a long ways, but you don't want them to return. If the critter has figured out how to get under the house or in the attic, it should be exterminated. Otherwise, you're just giving someone else a nightmare.

Some tricks of the trade for trapping smart coons that are not easy catches: 1) Secure the trap well enough that the coon can't tip it. A smart coon that has been trapped before will quickly learn to get the bait out without going into the trap. A heavy weight, and cables or something to tie it down will help prevent this coon tactic. 2) Some traps have a large enough fabric for the coon to reach in and get the bait from the side. You may need to cover the bait area with hardware cloth to prevent this. 3) Some coons figure out to avoid the trigger by stepping over it. Run a wire across the middle of the cage just in front of the trigger so the coon has to step over or crawl under, thus insuring the trigger is hit. 4) Coons familiar with trash cans may be fooled if the trap appears to contain trash. Put trash (foil, paper, empty cans, chicken bones and such) inside to attract the trash loving coon. 5) I actually caught one coon that figured out how to open and release the trap himself! Monitor the trap and deal with the critter promptly.

I have seen a coon make a basketball sized hole in the middle of a roof. I have heard of them killing dogs, and causing all types of damage. While I prefer to capture and release, please consider the decision to relocate carefully. There are laws in my state that require permits to move an animal from one area to another intended to protect wildlife in general from diseases and other problems relocation can cause. You intent of kindness may actually cause more harm than good.

That said, if you do decide to dispatch the poor critter yourself, a simple and painless way is to drape a shower curtain over the cage and the exhaust pipe of your car and run the car for a while. Technically this would be illegal for me since I do this for a business, and it not a registered method for extermination. Carbon dioxide is an even better way to exterminate, but it is not as simple as the car exhaust.

[flowerpower]

That said, if you do decide to dispatch the poor critter yourself, a simple and painless way is to drape a shower curtain over the cage and the exhaust pipe of your car and run the car for a while. Technically this would be illegal for me since I do this for a business, and it not a registered method for extermination. Carbon dioxide is an even better way to exterminate, but it is not as simple as the car exhaust.


Are you an exterminator? In NY any animal that can carry rabies will have its head shipped to Albany for testing. There is no relocation if they are trapped by a professional. I worked at a local tourist attraction and it had a skunk problem. I came across one in the humane trap. That poor thing was in the hot sun, no water, no cover. I took a big cardboard box and covered it. Management was not happy when I tried to release it.

A good sized coon is not going to be afraid of a little fox.A wolf or Mtn Lion maybe. Coons are nasty fighters and could easily kill a fox. They have sharp teeth and claws. They will use both hands and feet to scratch both the face and underbelly of their foe. Most animals will back off once the coon snarls.

Then on the other hand, they look as cute as can be...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f46/flowerpower313/coon.jpg

[TennOC]

You can use red pepper powder to keep coons out of certain areas. I would get to know a local trapper if you have a real recurring problem, they will gladly catch and remove them for you. An "ADC" trapper (animal damage control) will usually charge you, so what you want to find is a regular fur trapper.

[flowerpower]

This is farm country. You can kill almost any animal, in any season, on your own property, if it is a "threat" to crops or livestock. These days it is mostly coyote. There is definitely not a shortage of men with guns willing to help.

I am an animal lover. The last thing I would want to see is an animal in a leg trap.

[Pharmerphil]

DOG PATROL...they don't like me puppy!
but I have plenty around me to feed the coons, they haven't eaten but a few ears of coen....ever!

[GObug]

flowerpower
I am an exterminator. I do my best to avoid trapping jobs because I don't like exterminating animals. In some of my contracts, I must, if necessary.

Racoons, especially the babies, are cute. They do not make good pets once they grow up, though. They can turn on their owners, and unfortunately, they will never fit in with the wild racoons because they never learned proper coon behavior. As a result, some of these hand raised former pets become real terrors.

Most good rescue operations either don't try to make them pets so they can be released later, or they cage them for life. It's an unfortunate reality.

[Cliff Timmons]

I heard they make good BBQ.

Just a thought,......... :eek:

[dirtundernails]

Now who's frightening? Hey, the neighbors eat armadillo and opossum for real.

dun

[flowerpower]

Gobug, thanks for replying. I would never suggest for anyone to keep a coon as a pet. It is unfair to the animal to be caged up all the time. This is one of the reasons coons seem to "turn'' on their owners.

[Phillip]

I would the kill the coons. Don't bump them on somone else.

[uncasrabbit]

Have heard that marking territory with human urine is effective. Lots cheaper than buying. Repeat after each rain. Growing vining squash under corn does seem to deter - have been told they don't like getting tangled in the vines. Heard from an "old timer" that you can tape your corn - duct tape, start at the stalk under the ear, go up to the silk area, twisting around ear as you go, twist once or twice at top, then down again to secure where you started. Been told coons can't untape it and can't bite through it. This would only be practical for a small stand, though. Baby coons are darling, adults very destructive. Our visitor this year comes to the porch to rummage around and eat the outdoor cat's food. My husband got the gun ready, dug the hole, and the little critter has not come back since. Think he knew? I have deterred deer from a large city garden by running fishing line (can't see it) in random, high and low patterns all around it. Imagine the critters are smarter and more experienced here in country, though.:D

[johnsonjrbm]

Have heard that marking territory with human urine is effective. Lots cheaper than buying. Repeat after each rain.

I understand that this is effective only if you eat meat, as they are not repelled by urine odor from non-carnivorous mammals.

[HOD]

So, just eat meat.... and Shake away! :eek:

I mean USE shake away... :rolleyes:


Hod

[johnsonjrbm]

Coons = dark meat
Possum = white meat

[springfever]

I'm kind of mixed on the coon subject. When we first moved here, I thought they were so cute and tried to get one to come here and stay. Then I got my chickens. I had to catch a few and take them off to the woods. Then, a couple of years ago, they started coming on our porch. We have those thin, tall windows. They actually tore out our screens trying to get in the house. My husband said, that's enough. We shot 18 in no time. I hated it but it was getting crazy. I have 2 little house dogs and I mean little and they were scared of the coons. It seemed every day we were replacing a screen. Now I have a neighbor that has a coon that comes and goes as it pleases. It came there as a little bitty thing. I adore it. She sits on my neck or did but now she is huge! So, when I catch one trying to get in my chicken house, I put the live trap out and catch it and take it to my friends pond.

[springfever]

Oh, cats don't care for black pepper or moth balls.

[Greensmith]

I am new to this forum (actually, to any forum!). I have been reading this Neighborhood's comments and think that this is a place I would like to be. I, too, have a horrific coon problem, and have had for 4 years. We have gone from our first simple little chicken coop to a practically posh, completely enclosed yard and high rise chicken condo. We have poured six by six inches of cement around the outside of our enclosure and STILL have coons that rip up the tin roof to get in and not only kill one hen, but wipe out all of the. We also have rolling and tumbling pidgeons and they enjoy those as well when they can get them.

The problem now is how to catch the trap-wary, highly intelligent, forward thinking coon from hell. We have caught and released many over the years, resorting to finally exterminating the animals. We have tried fox urine (no change), liquid fence (they scoff at me), cayenne pepper (rolled dead hens in it for a cajun flavor), and human urine (husband, son-in-law, daughter's bf had a pee fest after bbq and beer dinner), all to no avail. I am stubbornly rasing 12 new chicks and hope to move them in in a few weeks, w/o fear of predation at our Ozark Wildlife Bed & Breakfast. Why are we so plagued?! Poison is not an option as we have cats and small dogs. Any help is welcome.

[Tomgirl]

I have some nasty coons myself. My Maltese will bark and growl and go nuts. (she's 3 pounds of fighting foo foo heck) My Shiloh Shepherd, 90 pounds of sweetness will yelp like a puppy until I let her in and away from those big bad coons. Does that make her smart or just scared?

The raccoons took my turtles of out my pond. We found shell :(, and nothing else. It was terribly sad-the turtles were so friendly, I'm sure they just swam right up to meet the raccoons. The Coons get into the garbage every night, and no lock will keep them out.

I have a green house for my vegetables-I would have to put aside the cute factor, and the crying children factor and put them down if they got my vegetables!

We also have possums, but those are just road pizza every morning.:rolleyes:

[johnsonjrbm]

We also have possums, but those are just road pizza every morning.:rolleyes:

That trendy vodka marinara sauce would have to be ladled on pretty thickly to sanitize one of them buggers. :)

[LarryS]

Poison is not an option as we have cats and small dogs. Any help is welcome.


Coons ARE a serious problem, Greensmith. We have tried twice to start a guinea flock, and
the raccoons killed every one. In one case, they gnawed through chickenwire into the
holding cage and killed the birds.

And they will devastate your corn crop, figs, and other things.

I have used the HavAHeart traps, baited with Honey Buns, and that works pretty well.
(I do this instead of using steel leg traps. Those can be very painful for the coon. I
have also used beaver traps for the coons, but have also caught a few of the neighbors
cats in them. These beaver traps are very powerful and kill the animal essentially immediately)

After I have caught them, I dispose of them....permanently, but humanely.

We occasionally do resort to poisons. There is a commercial type that will get rats, mice,
rabbits, raccoons, and the like.

At the end of the day, we garden to produce food for ourselves. I have a very short tolerance for marauding wild animals.

Whoever said "Plant extra for the wild animals" is not a realist. If you plant more and leave them to it, they just reproduce more and come back in droves.

[Tomgirl]

Just put the poison in the garbage cans, and leave the lids loose. That'd probably do the trick for you!

[LarryS]

Just put the poison in the garbage cans, and leave the lids loose. That'd probably do the trick for you!

Unfortunately, we also have to use it against rabbits. They have devastated our crops in the past.

I almost hate to admit it because it seems very cruel, but we cannot allow the animals to
eat us out of our crops. None of the organic methods of deterrence have ever worked so
very well for us...We have applied chili powder to some plants and that WILL deter the animals, until it rains, or the powder blows away. And chili powder is not cheap.

We have to revert to the methods our forefathers used to control the animals. We dont
shoot and eat the raccoons and opossums and rabbits even though I understand they can be quite good to eat. There is a familial taboo about eating "unclean" animals...

We have had problems with deer as well, but manage to keep most of them out with a 7 foot
high electric fence. They CAN get in if they want. We dont shoot and eat them either, as the problem of CWD is in the back of our minds. Costs about $75 + to get an animal checked.

We have ferile hogs as well, but they stay in the bottom/swamp land so far. Thank goodness!
Those rascals can do a ton of damage, and get to be large and dangerous. I am told by local
hunters that 3-400 pounds is not unusual, and animals near to 800 pounds have been reported.

There may be a few bear here, and there are certainly bobcats and coyotes (maybe even wolves), but being carnivores they do not normally pose a problem.

[Tomgirl]

Unfortunately, we also have to use it against rabbits. They have devastated our crops in the past.

I almost hate to admit it because it seems very cruel, but we cannot allow the animals to
eat us out of our crops. None of the organic methods of deterrence have ever worked so
very well for us...We have applied chili powder to some plants and that WILL deter the animals, until it rains, or the powder blows away. And chili powder is not cheap.

We have to revert to the methods our forefathers used to control the animals. We dont
shoot and eat the raccoons and opossums and rabbits even though I understand they can be quite good to eat. There is a familial taboo about eating "unclean" animals...

We have had problems with deer as well, but manage to keep most of them out with a 7 foot
high electric fence. They CAN get in if they want. We dont shoot and eat them either, as the problem of CWD is in the back of our minds. Costs about $75 + to get an animal checked.

We have ferile hogs as well, but they stay in the bottom/swamp land so far. Thank goodness!
Those rascals can do a ton of damage, and get to be large and dangerous. I am told by local
hunters that 3-400 pounds is not unusual, and animals near to 800 pounds have been reported.

There may be a few bear here, and there are certainly bobcats and coyotes (maybe even wolves), but being carnivores they do not normally pose a problem.

Wow-you do have a varmint problem! I always say "family first" and if those little (and not o little buggers) are taking food from you and your family-they must be dealt with. As much as I love a cute bunny, it's not going to eat my children's food!
We only have the coons, possums, rabbits, and the occasional deer (along with it's lovely ticks!) come in our yard. They don't get into the greenhouse, but they are a pain nonetheless with the mess!

[oldgaredneck]

Racoons are actually quite tasty - My dear old Mom used to make a hash with them, similiar to but way better than beef stew. I've also eaten racoon bbq, which is also delicious.
I always looked at it as payback for all the crops they raided.....

[Billy B]

Make sure when trapping Coons in live traps that you steak out the traps. The coons will roll the trap over if not steaked out. I know this from having this done to me. when they roll the trap the door springs open and the coon gets out. They are very very smart!

[johnsonjrbm]

We dont shoot and eat the raccoons and opossums and rabbits even though I understand they can be quite good to eat.

Although I understand from family that grew up during the last Depression that possums are edible, I don't recall the term "good to eat" used at at any time...:D

However, the way the economy's going these days, I might have to find out myself...:eek:

Bobby

[Greensmith]

We have ferile hogs as well, but they stay in the bottom/swamp land so far. Thank goodness!
Those rascals can do a ton of damage, and get to be large and dangerous. I am told by local
hunters that 3-400 pounds is not unusual, and animals near to 800 pounds have been reported.

There may be a few bear here, and there are certainly bobcats and coyotes (maybe even wolves), but being carnivores they do not normally pose a problem.



This is my first response, so someone please let me know if I am sending something confusing or incorrectly.

Larry S, I am very curious about where you live. I see you are in zone 8 and am guessing maybe Texas or Louisianna. I live in south-central Missouri and we have a big problem a little further south with both ferral hogs and black bear. While bear has mostly just been a nuisance (so far) the hogs are actually quite dangerous. They say (conservation gurus) a ferral hob can completely devistate an acre of land in less than 30 minutes.

[Greensmith]

Last November my dad called me and told me he had just harvested his peached. She was a 102 lb doe!

[LarryS]

This is my first response, so someone please let me know if I am sending something confusing or incorrectly.

Larry S, I am very curious about where you live. I see you are in zone 8 and am guessing maybe Texas or Louisianna. I live in south-central Missouri and we have a big problem a little further south with both ferral hogs and black bear. While bear has mostly just been a nuisance (so far) the hogs are actually quite dangerous. They say (conservation gurus) a ferral hob can completely devistate an acre of land in less than 30 minutes.

I live in the northeast part of Texas, near the Louisiana border. Bears were extinct here for
a hundred years or so, but have been reported to have returned in recent years, particularly in the river bottom land. (Other strange critters live there as well, some having two feet:) ) They dont seem to bother anybody as yet.

I took the tractor down the logging road to our bottomland a day ago, and the hogs are back
and moving closer to the farmhouse and garden site. As you say, they have really torn up the ground, like a bulldozer almost. They work mostly at night, and are apparently very intelligent and cautious. People here run them with dogs, sometimes, but often just set pig traps made of cattle panels. Poison, strangely enough, is said not to be very effective on these animals. I was told these hogs are crosses between domestic hogs and Russian wild boar, but it would take DNA exams to be sure what they really are. They do get large, and can be very dangerous.

[Denninmi]

Although I understand from family that grew up during the last Depression that possums are edible, I don't recall the term "good to eat" used at at any time...:D

However, the way the economy's going these days, I might have to find out myself...:eek:

Bobby

The Clampett's always seemed to enjoy Greens and Possum Gizzards, perhaps you could find Granny's recipe somewhere?:D

[Greensmith]

I know they are extremely dangerous, and suprised that anyone would poison them as the meat is supposed to be very good. My brother-in-law goes down southeast Missouri/Arkansas and bow hunts for them. Luckily, they have not made it as far north as I live. We definitely do hav black bears, tho' and even a few local numbskulls that actually feed them, almost always ending with the bear needing put down.

[Emerald]

Even domestic oinkers can become very dangerous if they get loose and are not caught.. they will grow the big tusks and corse hair and become very feral... A hog farmer near here lost about 10 little ones one year (about 100lbs when they got loose) and they caused so much damage that the DNR and He had to go and take a few fellas and hunt them all down.. they were killing dogs and small sheep at a neighboring farm.. I wonder if they ate them?? Would be tastier than store piggy.

[Angelatheart]

I live in the South . My dad and I use to coon hunt alot. We had great coon hunting dogs. It was alot of fun! The coons are probably looking for food. Do you fertilize your plants with bonemeal or bloodmeal? They also like to get in garbage cans and they love to dig in water for insects. Try putting a piece of wire around one of your potted plants to see if this helps. Also a motion light may help they rarley are out during the day. I have also heard of people leaving a radio on outside on the deck or in the garden the noise should scare them away. Good luck

[flaquita]

we have "rehomed" multiple raccons with a live trap. We had one big boy that busted out of the trap, but we got him the next day. We use cat food as bait, since "our" racoons come to the barn where the barncats live and eat. Since we have 8 dogs racoons and oppossums stay away from around the house (dog pee keeps them away).
I've tried something called "shake-away" for an armadilli that dug up my tomato plants and it worked. This stuff is supposed to work on racoons as well. As far as I can tell it's coyote pee...Good luck, since you live in the country either the original racoon or other ones will probably come back, but usually you get quite a while peace. We haven't had a problem in several months since the last relocation of a little young one, who was very scred. I do kind of feel for them, wher can they go? the humans are everywhere..