View Full Version : HELP! -raccoon problems
The raccoon (which is truly HUGE) that we thought was confined to hissing at us from the neighbors treehouse, seems to have taken up new lodging arrangements under my backyard shed. This would not be a problem but for the fact that I have two small dogs and if the dogs tangle with the raccoon, the raccoon will surely win....and then I'm either off to the vet or to the doggy mortuary.
I've called the city animal control people and they are perfectly useless...unless you are walking your dog off a leash, at which point they are eager to issue a ticket.
So, do any of you have any suggestions aside from shooting it? (which I'd be extremely willing to do, but have no interest in seeing the interior of the Boulder County Jail).
Oh, and although I realize that 'concealed means concealed', I can't even legally trap it and remove it from my property in case I happen to spread disease to a new population somewhere.....but I am welcome to hire a pest control company who will do that for me [Bang]
Any and all input welcome -
buffalobo
06-02-2013, 10:33
A guy at work recently had a raccoon break into attic and take up residence. He and his brother tried for 4 days to trap/capture. Finally gave up and hired pro to take care of it.
Personally I would SSS.
1 of those Hi Power (i post loosely) Air rifles, silent deadly problem gone.
If you trap it you will have to drive at least 40 miles away as they are like a bear in that they will return.
buckshotbarlow
06-02-2013, 11:05
bow or xbow does the trick here...
Great-Kazoo
06-02-2013, 11:10
Like to borrow my suppressed 22mag bolt action? Of course i must be on site, so lunch sounds good.
Just realized you're in boulder, fed it some weed and when it comes out for food, lay a trail over to your neighbors house.
Gamo air rifle will do the trick..
I keep hearing about those live traps and there suppose to work good,but what do you put for bait in one?
Out in NY those buggers use to raid my BBQ grille all the time so they must like burnt hot dogs and burgers..
JohnTRourke
06-02-2013, 11:11
shoot it
a 22LR kills racoons fine and out of a rifle it's pretty quiet, no one notices DAMHIK
Shoot it and then throw it in your trash, problem solved. Send me a PM.
We had a cousin of that giant bugger at our house last year. He trashed our deck like a rock star and scared the bejesus out of us. I'll tell you what sent him packing:
I dumped a liberal amount of moth balls in some of the places I though he was using as a den. Then I got some crystalized coyote pee (found at Ace hardware) and sprinkled that, too. And then I sprayed vinegar everywhere. You could see the stink-lines of my yard from space after that.
(The fact that you have dogs may make you decide against the mothballs; I don't have pets that go outside and I don't want you to chance them snacking on them. If there's a way to shove the mothballs under the shed after the racoon beats feet, then fill in the holes, it may discourage other inhabitants.)
Don't make the same mistake I did- hold your breath and keep your mouth shut until you are well away from the area you've sprinkled this. You will have to avoid that area of your yard for a little while until the stench dissipates. Your little dogs will likely not find it pleasant.
In fact, probably one or the other of those will work; I just panicked and dumped EVERYTHING around to get rid of the critter.
Good luck, man. Let us know how it goes.
So far, I've been told to soak rags in ammonia and stuff them under the new residence, any other suggestions out there??
edit: thanks for the mothball and vinegar idea's, those will be added to this afternoon's shopping list as well!
I understand not wanting to shoot it in Boulder but that is going to be the only surefire way of doing it. Try putting predator urine around and under the shed?
Shoot it and then throw it in your trash, problem solved. Send me a PM.
I live squarely in the middle of town. Killing it, by any means whatsoever (poison, trap, bow, airgun, Etc.), get's me a free 90 day stay in a cement building on the taxpayers nickel. That's simply not how I envisioned my next three months...I'm not opening the gun safe to solve this problem, but thanks.
Well, serious questions.
1) Do you want it gone, or dead?
2) How are your neighbors?
I think the ammonia and moth balls is known to work to get them to move, but just out of the area. It will still be around to menace your dogs, especially once you get rid of the chemicals to let your dogs back out.
On a side note, I just happened to be looking out my front door two nights ago at about 1:30 am when 5 raccoons came up my walk to my front door. It was a mom and 4 babies. The mom, was one of four babies last year. I think my raccoon problem is about to be compounded this summer.
Rat poison worked for me... Look here (http://www.raccoonatticguide.com/poison.html). I just rolled it into meatballs and left it near her nest.
Trap that bitch and take it somewhere to release it. I'd personally shoot it
For trap food, I seem to recall canned cat food or tuna works great?
Well, serious questions.
1) Do you want it gone, or dead?
2) How are your neighbors?
1. -either one works fine.
2. -I live in Boulder.
I've spoken with some of my neighbors to see what they do- and they've all used Shake-Away coyote urine to do so.
Be careful if you're combining chemicals.
Irving: 5 raccoons? Holy crap. Time to make life very unpleasant for them before those babies are grown!
For trap food, I seem to recall canned cat food or tuna works great?
yeah, I suspect either of those are foul enough to do the trick!
I had several neighborhood Racoons and I actually liked them hanging around. [Coffee]
I also did not have them taking up residence in my shed in the back yard or attic. It is a conundrum, if you poison it / kill it and neighbors see it, animals have more rights than people specially in Boulder.
I heard the ammonia thing works most of the time the other thing is the sonic pest controllers work.
I doubted it myself but a coworker had problems with squirrels (worse than Racoons) in their shed and attic and they said they were super skeptical about it at first but it worked and the batteries in the thing worked for half a year.
An alternative register the raccoon as a member of the Tea Party and wanting a tax exempt status, this will have the IRS audit them and send them to jail for tax evasion.......................
All I got.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&docid=DpjbsyP4RbiyaM&tbnid=sSZy9CjqTtKk6M:&ved=0CAUQjBwwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgifs.gifbin.com%2F25yuswsw28295.g if&ei=Xp2rUYmSDYWe9QTj1ICYDw&psig=AFQjCNGBFzp5OsVkAuopY_Ras6RG9b_taw&ust=1370287838248139
'coons are evil little bastards.
I used day old potato salad to catch a raccoon. It was day old when I put it out. I like this option over tuna or cat food, because it didn't attract cats. I hear Peanut butter also works. I tried peanut butter in a live trap once, but the coon just tripped the trap and left it empty for me.
Just be careful whatever you do.. remember this story?
http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_19358749
Witnesses who saw a group of men beating a raccoon to death on University Hill last week -- with a baseball bat, machete and hockey stick -- expressed skepticism about their claims that they were "putting it out of its misery," according to a police report.
And, according to the report, one of the suspects later acknowledged to police that the group was "pumped up" and "excited" about killing the raccoon, which regularly visited their trash cans.
Nicholas Philip Foti, Lucas Holton and August Quinn Noble, all 19, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony aggravated animal cruelty after several neighbors told police they had beaten a raccoon at their residence in the 1000 block of 11th Street.
August Quinn Noble (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)
According to the report, the neighbors who called were visibly upset, with one of them, Allegra Brewer, telling police it was "the most barbaric thing she had ever witnessed."
The incident happened around 6 p.m. Nov. 7.
No one answered the door Thursday at the University Hill home where the suspects live together. Foti did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Foti and Noble are listed as students on the University of Colorado website. Holton told police he attends Front Range Community College.
According to police, Foti told officers he hit the raccoon with a baseball bat to scare it because it was going through his trash. When he realized he had hit it harder than he meant to, he decided to "put down" the animal.
Holton told police he heard noise outside and saw the raccoon squirming after Foti hit it, and Holton used his machete to "put it out of its misery." In a later interview, Holton told police the men also were "excited about it."
Another roommate told police he "got scared and ran around the east side of the house," the report said. "He said he knows that raccoons are 'vicious' and didn't know what it might do."
Noble initially told police he never hit the raccoon,
Lucas B. Holton (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)
but after he was identified by witnesses, he told police he hit it with a hockey stick as it ran past him. According to the report, police took the bat -- a Louisville Slugger -- and the machete as evidence. Foti then repeated that he killed the raccoon to be humane.
"Yeah, it's not like we were trying to brutally murder it," Holton told police.
"Well, it was kind of brutal," Foti said, according to the report. "I'll give you that."
When told that the suspects claimed they were putting the raccoon out of its misery, the neighbors who saw it said it didn't look that way to them.
"They were goofing off, having a good time," Carly Friedman, who witnessed the incident, told police. She said the men were laughing and saying "Get it!"
Brewer, another witness, said the men looked like they were having fun.
"They were proud of what they were doing, saying 'Yeah, go get it!'" Brewer said, according to the report.
A necropsy performed at Colorado State University found the raccoon died of blunt-force trauma, according to police.
Under Colorado law, someone commits aggravated animal cruelty when he or she "knowingly tortures, needlessly mutilates, or needlessly kills an animal."
A hearing for filing of charges against Noble is scheduled for Tuesday. Foti and Holton are scheduled to be charged Dec. 2.
"Animal cruelty cases are a priority for this office," said District Attorney Stan Garnett, who has assigned a prosecutor to specialize in such cases. "We haven't charged this case yet because we haven't closely reviewed the facts yet."
I've trapped dozens of raccoons and more than a few skunks, it's a pretty easy solution and safer than shooting at night. It's not really fair to relocate them, you're just dumping the problem on somebody else. It is lawful to trap and euthanize coons and skunks on your property, no license necessary. It is not lawful to relocate skunks, and not lawful to relocate coons without a permit from CPW.
Pest control trappers typically drop a trap with the coon or skunk into a 55 gal barrel along with a chloroform soaked rag, the cover the barrel. The DOW/CPW uses CO2 gas in an enclosed plastic box. The animals go to sleep permanently. Water works well, too. 30-60 seconds, problem over.
Be very careful to wear heavy leather gloves when handling a trap with a raccoon inside. They can get you through the wire; many carry feline distemper and some carry rabies.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Animals/RacoonTrapped.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Animals/RacoonTrapped.jpg.html)
(http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Animals/RacoonTrapped.jpg.html)http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Animals/ThisStinks.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Animals/ThisStinks.jpg.html)
water in a trashcan works, but takes about 6 mins, and it's not on the up and up....
Make sure you only use collected rain water.
Coons have a nasty parasite that eats the brains of rabbits, (and humans) Its rare, but you don't want it. Coon poo is DEADLY. So is coyote poo, or it can be.
Kraven251
06-02-2013, 16:17
Raccoon bait = RED GUMMY BEARS, they love the damn things. then when it comes out you shoot it in the head with 1100+ fps pellet rifle, problem solved, problem staying solved [Beer]
skullybones
06-02-2013, 16:17
Like to borrow my suppressed 22mag bolt action? Of course i must be on site, so lunch sounds good. Just realized you're in boulder, fed it some weed and when it comes out for food, lay a trail over to your neighbors house.
Ha.
Kraven251
06-02-2013, 16:21
the problem is always if it is under the shed anything you do that results in its death, outside of trapping it, means there is potential that it will die under the shed or your house.
Live trap it and deal with it in private, It's what I do for all the pests.
If you use mothballs, put em in a plastic bag with holes in it, so they can be retrieved if you want to in the future.
rockhound
06-02-2013, 19:46
division of wildlife says you can do basically anything you want to with it, no tag needed. you cannot however relocate it without permission. they would rather you trap it and shoot it.
http://hrcaonline.org/Portals/0/docs/PDF/Backcountry/Coyote/NuisanceWildlifeLaws.pdf
1 of those Hi Power (i post loosely) Air rifles, silent deadly problem gone.
If you trap it you will have to drive at least 40 miles away as they are like a bear in that they will return.
Careful with this. We have a bad rabbit problem... Well, the rabbits are cute but the rattle snakes they attract are not... and I looked into buy a trap to trap them and relocate just West of us over a berm into the foothills. Turns out that relocating wild animals like this is actually against the law and if someone catches you you can get punished heavily for it. Something about upsetting the delicate balance... blah blah blah. I see it as the hawk and snakes thanking me for a slight increase in vittles for a few days.
Edit: reading the rest of the thread it looks as though this may have been covered already. In an attempt to make up for my useless post here's a funny, topic-related picture that I was reminded of:
http://www.wildjackcasino.com/files/wj/images/hilarious%20internet%20meme%20of%20cat%20found%20p oster%20that%20is%20raccoon%20or%20some%20animal.j pg
Boadie30
06-03-2013, 10:58
I had a Fox that kept frequenting my house at night trying to get my wifes elderly cat.. I got my bow out one night... Grabbed it from where I premounted it to the garage column to specifically take out this Fox.. I had an extention cord wrapped up in my hand on accident during the excitement... On a full draw the extention cord forced my hand into the garage column I was near. Bloody mess on the knuckles... Couple of nights later I got him!
Like to borrow my suppressed 22mag bolt action? Of course i must be on site, so lunch sounds good.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Winner^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^
Just realized you're in boulder, fed it some weed and when it comes out for food, lay a trail over to your neighbors house.
Sorry, my only suggestion is to shoot it, especially if you are seeing it out and about in the daytime. A well placed subsonic round with a suppressed .22 will be the most humane and quiet method.
I've trapped and relocated dozens of raccoon and skunks with nothing more than dry cat food.
Our neighbor was feeding them for some time on her back porch two houses down from us. After a momma coon brought her seven youngsters into our back room, I bought a live trap. I had no idea there were so many in the neighborhood, but after 2 years of trapping, I believe they are all gone - for now. Final count was 27. We also had a mess of skunks. When I saw one was nesting under our shed, I put the trap out again, and 17 skunks later, they're gone. Along the way, I captured two young fox.
The first time I used tuna, one of our cats was trapped for the night. I tried it again weeks later, and the same cat was trapped - he figured it was worth it.
Dead squirrel works well for fox, but you have to really anchor the trap - fox and coon will paw at the trap, often springing it prematurely, before entering. I just place an old 25 lb plate on top.
The worst part is catching a skunk and having it spray. I started out with an old bed sheet to shield me, but it is a one time use. I then used a tarp, but again, you can't ever get the smell out. I then build a box out of plywood. It had one end open for the door, the bottom open, and a hole cut in the top to pass over the trap handle. I was able to sneak up on the door side of the trap and slide the box over the trap. The skunk still sprayed half the time, but having them marinade in their own stink is somewhat satisfying. I would place the box covered trap in the back of my pickup and release the skunk on my way to work. It was amusing watching the cars around me roll up their windows at stoplights when I had a freshly squeezed skunk in the back. The gate guards at Peterson also gave me some second looks as I drove by.
Good luck, and if you see one, you have several near by.
Well, I soaked about 50 rags in two gallons of ammonia and stuffed them under the shed, tossed three large boxes worth of mothballs under there, and did the Shake-Away coyote urine stuff all over the place. I can't imagine it's pleasant under there now but I haven't had an opportunity to look with a flashlight just yet today.
generalmeow
06-03-2013, 12:58
Coons? Well raccoons tried to get in our back porch, Momma just chase 'em off with a broom!
I had some set up shop in my neighbors chimney at my last house. I climbed up on my roof to find out where they were and bam, found this guy looking at me like "WHOA...how'd you get up here?"
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/182818_10150884995007424_837659192_n.jpg
Uhm, the trick with skunks is to build a box small so they can't lift up their tails and spray [Coffee]. Forgot what the measurement was, I think like 12". Ours went away on its own so I never got that far.
A). Air rifle, bow & arrow will do the trick.
B). Get out of Boulder!!!
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