Need a raccoon defense
General Topic
Need ideas for keeping raccoons away from a corn feeder. Trail cam shows these buggers actually coming down from the tree and chasing deer away. I can't gun hunt in this location. Any successful ideas you have tried??
Louisville Slugger ? Driving iron ? LOL
Get you some coon cuffs, bait them with dry cat food ( with just a little fish oil mixed in ) . You can catch 'em until the others get smart.
Yep, coon prices have been up the last few years. Set some traps.
Havahart traps are easy and when properly baited are a coon magnet.
How about some kind of electric fence. A couple of strands, one about 6'' off the ground & the other one around 12'' high should keep em out. The deer can easily hop over.
Works on sweet corn patches all the time.
Golden Malrin(fly bait) & Coke works too!! Just be sure & put it where the deer can't get into it.
Rick M - sounds like I need to start sending a few dozen pelts your way. Last year was very disappointing for prices.
There are a number of dog-proof traps that work very well, though coons bouncing around in traps will probably scare the deer away.
As per keeping them from climbing up your feeders, the tack strips they put around the edges of rooms to hold down carpeting works if Gorilla taped to the legs.
As per coons getting corn on the ground? ...you're just pretty well screwed.
Put a bunch of these around baited.
That's a great idea! Coon handcuffs! Pretty cool! And dog proof.
I was gonna suggest bear spray until I read the OP.... heheheheh...
You can get them a lot cheaper at a trapping supplier, like $12.00 each and cheaper by the dozen.
Put a slide wire through the swivel and stake it out away from the bait. They won't bother the deer that way.
A 160 Conibear is an excellent coon deterrent.
+1 DL
Or google "lil' Grizz Getter" about the same cost. Just buy a bag of marshmallows or left over fish parts. The raccoons tenacity and ability to use their hands, will be their undoing. Just approach ready to dispatch - it's a no brainer.
Don't trap close to your feeder. If you're 50 feet away you'll still catch them. A live coon in a trap will tear up the site.
I just saw a show using that trap.
Writer, I guess I should not believe what I see on TV:) They were saying that the price of coon was stronger the last couple years? Compared to what I don't know.
Regardless if they are a problem, trapping them can help even if the fur values are nothing.
Talk to ur wco asking him if he knows a trapper. I did this on our farm and it worked for us. Like stated ask him to trap 50+ yds away.. eD
I would use connibears in a bucket set. Place them away from feeder.
If you aren't familiar with set in plastic pails, google it. Put a can of sardines in back of bucket on a wire. No thrashing around with a connibear. They just kill and work.
Does the Conibear kill them at triggering, or just hold them until you get there?
A conibear kills them immediately.
I know its not the answer but something I have had fun doing is coon fishing. Use some 50 lb. test line and a heavy pole with stout treble hooks. We used hotdogs for bait and fished around dumpsters that they were overrunning. A coon has more fight in them then a bass!
Fly bait and sardines(if legal)
if you use conibears, check the rules.. as some state's require u use them only in water. eD
I'm guessing treblehooks and coons would be illegal, dangerous and very difficult.
Poison would be illegal in most places, too.
Conibers are quick, instantly lethal, but not species specific. We had some problems in Kansas with dogs dying in them.
Yeah, conibears are not discriminatory in what they kill. Leg holds, at least, provide the option of of a release and vet visit.
I don't post here often, but I have to agree with writer. Conibears or body grips may not be the best choice for a new trapper. Dog proofs, wether they be z traps, dukes, bridgers etc, would be the direction I would go. About anything fishy or sweet placed in them will take a lot of coon in a short amount of time. I'd place the dog proofs right smack dab in the trails leading to the feeder, don't worry about camoing them in, as the trap themselves act as an acttraction. A person can place 2-4 traps about three feet apart in a row and possibly have that many coons the next morning. Dog proofs are perfect for starter traps, my lil ones are drooling just waiting for opening day of trapping season, as their pile of dp's are painted pink and ready to rock and roll lol. Oh, and check them out at trapping suppliers such as FnT Post to Minnesota Trapline Products. They would sure be able to get you set up or if you need help, just PM me.
Pappa
I don't post here often, but I have to agree with writer. Conibears or body grips may not be the best choice for a new trapper. Dog proofs, wether they be z traps, dukes, bridgers etc, would be the direction I would go. About anything fishy or sweet placed in them will take a lot of coon in a short amount of time. I'd place the dog proofs right smack dab in the trails leading to the feeder, don't worry about camoing them in, as the trap themselves act as an acttraction. A person can place 2-4 traps about three feet apart in a row and possibly have that many coons the next morning. Dog proofs are perfect for starter traps, my lil ones are drooling just waiting for opening day of trapping season, as their pile of dp's are painted pink and ready to rock and roll lol. Oh, and check them out at trapping suppliers such as FnT Post to Minnesota Trapline Products. They would sure be able to get you set up or if you need help, just PM me.
Pappa
Aw jeez, double post, sorry ????
Great PappaSmurf, now we have a Trapping Bow Master/ lol
Getchya some z traps. They are fantastic for a beginner. Marshmallows......
Funny you should post this, as I have been having fits with my Moultie feeder for a yr and a half. My old one had a varmint guard which was a wire basket around the spinner. It mostly worked but needed to be reinforced from time to time as they would break the weld spots. The more recent Moultie feeders available locally have the motor underneath with the timer (compared to the ones with the timer on the side) and the guard basket is whoa-fully inadequate. I had "lots and lots" of corn shoveled out of mine and was finding it hard to keep up. I almost just quit using it. I was even trying to buy some barbed wire to wrap it with but couldn't get less than a 100 yards so forget that. HOWEVER, I finally got so frustrated that I took a real look at the protective basket the other day to see what I could do. LO and BEHOLD the darn thing is just not made with any dang sense. One just has to take a look at it and realize that there IS A LARGE GAP AT THE TOP OF IT ALL THE WAY AROUND where another one or two circular wires should have been placed. I am sure that they were just getting up and reaching in and shoveling. I ran several strands of various wire (some braided and some very thin hard stuff ) around the upper gaping area and the next week all was well again. Long story, but it took me awhile for the lightbulb to go on.
PS: there is "another brand" that offers an add on of an electrifiable varmint guard. Not a lot of money as I recall. I don't remember how much battery it needed or whether a solar battery would make it work best. That said, I never did it because I was ticked off to find that what I bought was NOT Electrified AS THE SALESMAN HAD SAID, AND NEEDED AN ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENT. To add insult to injury, that particular "other brand " was a piece of s--- and broke fairly quickly anyway. Just an idea to work with and probably easier to rig up than trapping. BTW: I have tried to contact Moultrie several times over several years about a problem, advice, or interests in buying a product. ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NONEXISTENT AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED
"coon cuff" traps are raccoon-specific
Bow and arrow. I killed 3 the other night coming into my feeder at sunset, and it's great target practice.
If on private property, if legal, and no one has been granted permission to run dogs, go with connibears. They are the most humane and what could get into a connibear that you do not want to kill? Set a dozen 220's. Bad things come in groups.
Nothing like the connibear grin in the morning. :)
Ok, no need to say it twice. :)
220 Conibear makes short work of them.
FWIW. I used marshmallows or oatmeal cream pies, for 'coons when I did pest control; fish products and cat food inevitably would get you a stinky situation with a striped 'kitty'.
you can shoot them with arrows as soon as season opens. thats how I cured my coon problems. 15-30$ for each, buys you more corn.
Where there's one there's more.
If you are talking about a feeder on a tripod, I have a simpler method to prevent coons from emptying your feeders. Slip a 6 ft section of 3" pvc pipe around the legs of the tripod. Too slick and too curved for a coon to climb.
When it comes to corn, coons have wings. I have seen them stack upon each other to "4 stories" to get to corn. Amazing animals.
To bad your so far away. I'd offer myself and my pack of Walkers in taking care of your local coon population
Hey something I'm actually good at!! The best way to catch coons and other critters raiding your feeder is to use the dog proof traps as stated above. F&t post has duke DP's for a good price and fast shipping. Buy 6 of those and some rebar stakes (F&T also has them or make your own if you have the ability) 18" stakes will hold a coon well in most soil conditions. Next get yourself some cheap cat food, mini marshmallows, and some liquid smoke. Stake your traps right in the middle of the trails leading to your feeder about 30' or so away so you don't educate other coons if they come in after the traps are full. Take the cat food and fill the trap to just below the trigger and then sprinkle a few drops of the liquid smoke on the cat food and around the trap on the ground to give it a nice smokey smell then place a few marshmallows inside the trap on top the cat food. Return in the morning and dispatch your coons. (.22 is the best and quickest way) Reset and repeat the steps above until you catch all the coons raiding your feeder. If you have any other questions PM me.
Understand, if you catch coons in dog-proof traps you will have raccoons bouncing around all night, and every deer with a 250 yards will hear them.
Conibers are instant and far quieter.
The deer will be back. They get used to noises pretty quick especially if there's a good food source available.
Get rid of the coons in the summer
Lmao. Around here the deer will stomp a coon. Lol
+1 DC...coons are greedy boogers.
WesHunts, Does that count as a double!!!;>)
That is Hilarious! If I'm gonna die I'm gonna die fat. Wait!, Dang it!
Wes, I believe that is Darwinism at its finest!
What's the best way to get a skunk out of a live trap in an area where you can't use a firearm?
ursman, there used to be a young lady on this site, who went by the handle of "Deerdreamer" (her name is Christine, and she is as hard core an outdoorswoman as ever "skinned a griz' pilgrim")
she posted a couple times on the subject, that she'd used a long bamboo pole, with a hypodermic needle filled with Acetone (nail polish remover)
the tale was that the Acetone, administered intramuscularly, caused essentially instantaneous death and was quiet, efficient, and inexpensive. I've never tried it myself.
I like a .22 rimfire with "CB cap" or subsonic short ammo
"What's the best way to get a skunk out of a live trap in an area where you can't use a firearm? ursman"
pay someone else, anyone else, please dear god anyone else, LOL.
Back when I was a teenager one of my friends hounds got sprayed by a skunk. I threw up my breakfast trying to lift the dog into the back of his truck. The other dogs cowered away from ole stinky like he had the plague. My eyes water just thinking about that episode. Mike
funny thing, right after this thread, I got a call from a friend, who had a skunk in a live trap at an elderly neighbor's house......
she asked the same question....
I went over after work and used the .22 rimfire option as described...
a shallow grave for mr stripey, a little sodium bicarb on the lawn and a few days to air the trap out, all will be well :)
ursman- Drag it to a creek and drown it. There are many ways NOT to do it. I know of at least one!
The smell of a road killed skunk smelled from a distance, and smelling one up close are two different things.
Fly-bait dissolved in coca cola. You'll find them laying within feet of the bowl. May not be legal in your local, but it is so darn effective.
If you are looking for those coon traps, I have had great luck with 'Wildlife Control Supplies' (see the link). They have several brands of dog-proof coon traps that would work well. They also have lots of other traps, lures, repellants, etc. I am not a trapper by any stretch of the imagination, but they have helped me get the right products for clients to deal with nuisance critters...
Ben Meadows Supply carries the coon cuffs too
