View Full Version : Damn raccoons
Coonzilla has brought two of his gigantic buddies to hang out around our house, trash our deck and porch like rock stars, and take herculean-sized dumps in the backyard. My cats are going crazy inside the house, yelling and howling.
ASIDE FROM SHOOTING THEM, please give me your best method of driving these furry bastards out of my yard.
BTW, the next door neighbors have a pet coonhound. He's not a hunter.
My wife says, in a whisper, Kill them quietly. They'll try to kill your cats.
colorider
11-01-2016, 19:28
Raccoon pee and crap is NOT good around dogs and cats. Google Leptospirosis. Pellet gun the bastards.
Pellet gun. Hm. I honestly hadn't thought about that option. Are they quiet? Are they efficient? What kind? I think I've seen those at Walmart- are we talking AirSoft? I'm sorry for the stupid questions, but I've never had any experience with a pellet gun before. Mo wouldn't let me have a BB gun when I was growing up.
CCI Quiets from a bolt gun at short range can be very effective, but you shouldn't disobey the law, so live with the wildlife [mop]
Trapping and drowning are pretty decent methods of eradication.
.455_Hunter
11-01-2016, 19:59
I second the CCI Quiet out of a long barrel- MUCH quieter than a 600 + fps air rifle, and the 40 gr bullet ensures decent penetration. Just don't use them in a pistol when low noise is important, as they are still very sharp is a short barrel.
USMC88-93
11-01-2016, 20:00
I feel your pain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbT8eizFo78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FOZNYfwpno
NFATrustGuy
11-01-2016, 20:15
A friend of mine told me he's considering a pellet gun instead of CCI Quiets out of a suppressed rifle because he thinks the pellet gun will get the job done and has less ricochet potential. My understanding is that he's right to be concerned with the ricochet potential of .22LR, but I don't know if he's correct that a .22 or .177 pellet probably won't ricochet with much energy.
Any thoughts?
gnihcraes
11-01-2016, 20:17
I was going to suggest .22 pellet. Some decent stuff out there if you can get the head shot.
The problem is that I don't have a .22LR; I have a .22 Magnum. It makes just enough noise that it would worry my neighbors....and I don't want to chance anything going beyond my target. I'm a fair shot, but it's not something I want to gamble with.
I have a wrist rocket, but these were large raccoons. I'm not sure it would have much of any effect.
Firehaus
11-01-2016, 20:19
CCI quiet with a long barreled suppressed rifle. Whisper quiet.
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USMC88-93, the neighbors behind me borrowed live traps from a friend. He set one of them up, went into the house for some bait and when he came back, there was a raccoon in the trap already. He's caught five so far, and they don't show any signs of slowing down. I think someone may be feeding them on our street.
USMC88-93, the neighbors behind me borrowed live traps from a friend. He set one of them up, went into the house for some bait and when he came back, there was a raccoon in the trap already. He's caught five so far, and they don't show any signs of slowing down. I think someone may be feeding them on our street.
What is he doing with them after he traps them? We have them too I am sure.
Both pellet rifle and .22 rifle shots need to be perfect head shots to be effective. I've seen both work, in person. You'll be wasting your time and breaking windows with a sling shot, I've tried. Look into the Gamo Whisper. It is factory suppressed and sold at Wal-mart. It's about the same loudness as a .22 lr CCI Quiet out of a long barrel, but the noise is a loud "SPROING" sound, so people don't hear it and think "gun!"
The most effective is to trap, then shot at close range while trapped. This allows you to control your shot and aim top of head and directly into ground.
Other method is to tree them, then shoot in head. I personally would not feel comfortable shooting a .22lr up into the air in the city, even with the CCI quiet. Don't break the law.
colorider
11-01-2016, 20:38
High powered 22 break barrel pellet rifle. Use a heavy pellet to keep it from going supersonic. Gamo, Benjamin, crosman, take your pic. Big 5 has a good selection. Sight it in at the distance you want to shoot, then get the raccoons. Shoot em right in the nugget. The rifle does make a distinctive sound but not too loud. If you really want to go overboard and be wispy quiet with a pellet gun, get a Hatsan QE series pre charged Pneumatic pellet gun. Whisper quiet and packs a wallop. To the coons and the wallet. But a helluva lot of fun. It's my choice for critter gettin.
What is he doing with them after he traps them? We have them too I am sure.
He drops them off near the reservoir (all except one berserk coon that he ended up putting down).
Firehaus
11-01-2016, 20:43
They taste good and make great hats!
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Thanks, Irving! That's good info.
Colorider, I appreciate the suggestions. And you weren't kidding about the wallet taking a hit with those Hatsan QE series!
Firehaus, you're welcome to come and get these beasties for hats and stew. They're terrorizing the neighborhood. :)
It is Raccoon season, so as long as you have a small game license, you should be able to show up to the taxidermist to get hats. I would rock the hell out of a real coon (or skunk) skin hat!
Jeffrey Lebowski
11-01-2016, 21:02
Raccoon pee and crap is NOT good around dogs and cats. Google Leptospirosis. Pellet gun the bastards.
I lost a beloved dog to this. :( That said, TheGrey's avatar will have the same thing. But I agree with your last thought.
I lost a beloved dog to this. :( That said, TheGrey's avatar will have the same thing. But I agree with your last thought.
I’m sorry for your loss. I’d never heard of Leptospirosis before.
Squirrels don’t last long around here. We had a red-tailed hawk snatch one in our front yard last week.
Great-Kazoo
11-01-2016, 21:10
A friend of mine told me he's considering a pellet gun instead of CCI Quiets out of a suppressed rifle because he thinks the pellet gun will get the job done and has less ricochet potential. My understanding is that he's right to be concerned with the ricochet potential of .22LR, but I don't know if he's correct that a .22 or .177 pellet probably won't ricochet with much energy.
Any thoughts?
To everyone suggesting a pellet gun,why? Discharging a firearm in city limits is the same penalty be it pellet or real gun. Buy some suppressor 22, i might know someone who would drop by and eliminate said vermin. Bolt action with suppressor is quieter than a pellet gun, more effective.
This.:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Animals/RacoonTrapped.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/COHummer/media/Animals/RacoonTrapped.jpg.html)
With the potential for this:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g292/COHummer/Animals/ThisStinks.jpg
Good luck, and have fun!
(P.S.: you don't need a small game license to trap, euthanize and bury raccoons or skunks on your own property. It's not legal to live trap and release them elsewhere.)
Coons? Well raccoons tried to get in our back porch, Momma just chase 'em off with a broom! - Forrest Gump
Firehaus
11-01-2016, 21:21
Ultimate raccoon set up...
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161102/4d14a763250cbddd65616bd80ad36b3e.jpg
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Great-Kazoo
11-01-2016, 21:27
Ultimate raccoon set up...http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161102/4d14a763250cbddd65616bd80ad36b3e.jpg
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Ruger Rimfire with what looks like a TBA can. What form of NV is that ?
I have a 77/22 with TBA , poof, Hit! ;)
Firehaus
11-01-2016, 21:38
Ruger Rimfire with what looks like a TBA can. What form of NV is that ?
I have a 77/22 with TBA , poof, Hit! ;)
Armasight Gen 2+ HD Night Vision Clip-On System.
I can't wait to get my integrally suppressed cz out of jail.
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Get a tall trash can and fill with a couple feet of water and put a 2x1 over the top of it with a chicken leg hanging down into the can. Make it easy for the coon to walk up to the top but when it goes to get the food it falls in and you have it. I used to trap coons for a living in Kansas way back when, they aren't too hard to catch.
Firehaus
11-01-2016, 21:39
Got bow?
Risky for backyard pest control. All you need is a raccoon running onto the neighbors porch with an arrow hanging out...
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Suppressed .300blk. I mean if there were food on the grill we could make it an event
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I have cops and retired cops living in the neighborhood on my street; I bet more than one of them has preternatural hearing when it comes to a suppressed shot. I don't want to chance any penalties. I didn't realize a pellet gun brought the same result. Dammit.
I may just have to get live traps or try stevew's way of doing it.
If I lived somewhere a bit more countrified, I'd set up the grill and we'd have a raccoon roundup, like Monky suggested. As it stands, we have some hand-wringing pantywaists making "they live here too!" noises on our Nextdoor site.
....I just found out my neighbor's neighbor has been setting out food for the raccoons and feral cats.
[Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang]
Great-Kazoo
11-01-2016, 23:41
I have cops and retired cops living in the neighborhood on my street; I bet more than one of them has preternatural hearing when it comes to a suppressed shot. I don't want to chance any penalties. I didn't realize a pellet gun brought the same result. Dammit.
I may just have to get live traps or try stevew's way of doing it.
If I lived somewhere a bit more countrified, I'd set up the grill and we'd have a raccoon roundup, like Monky suggested. As it stands, we have some hand-wringing pantywaists making "they live here too!" noises on our Nextdoor site.
I guarantee they will never hear anything.
Regarding steves way. While it works. To me there's something inhumane about drowning, anything.
....I just found out my neighbor's neighbor has been setting out food for the raccoons and feral cats.
[Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang]
Report them to animal control.
OR trap one, let it loose in their garage. People who feed the local fauna, in urban areas, tend to do other stoopid things. Like leave their garage door open. Open enough one can see they also left their door to the house from garage open too. Usually they're also the same ones with NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH signs littering the window.
pickenup
11-02-2016, 01:00
(P.S.: you don't need a small game license to trap, euthanize and bury raccoons or skunks on your own property. It's not legal to live trap and release them elsewhere.)
Need a trap and a 55 gallon barrel?
Live trap.
Barrel of water.
Trash bags.
Problem solved.
Risky for backyard pest control. All you need is a raccoon running onto the neighbors porch with an arrow hanging out...
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Yeah, even with a clean headshot one could still go cartwheeling into the neighbor's yard, or someplace where someone else can see it. Bad juju.
KevDen2005
11-02-2016, 02:18
I feel like there's a good Forrest Gump reference here.
BPTactical
11-02-2016, 05:29
I feel like there's a good Forrest Gump reference here.
Neva been done befo.....
I feel like there's a good Forrest Gump reference here.
Ahem... https://www.ar-15.co/threads/159276-Damn-raccoons?p=2025708&viewfull=1#post2025708
Coons? Well raccoons tried to get in our back porch, Momma just chase 'em off with a broom!- Forrest Gump
StagLefty
11-02-2016, 07:31
A friend had the same problem recently and his Dad told him to get some human urine in a bottle and sprinkle it around the area where they were known to be. He swears he hasn't had a problem since. Sounded crazy to me but if it works you haven't taken any chances with shooting them.
He also found out the little old lady down the street was putting food out for them !!!
You're telling me you guys don't piss outside already anyways??
You're telling me you guys don't piss outside already anyways??
I know right? Sorry Stag, that's a myth.
I think someone may be feeding them on our street.
All it takes is a neighbor that puts out food for their dog in a bowl.
....I just found out my neighbor's neighbor has been setting out food for the raccoons and feral cats.
[Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang]
Maybe the animals would like some decon with their food!
....I just found out my neighbor's neighbor has been setting out food for the raccoons and feral cats.
[Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang][Bang]
That's beyond stupid in several ways.
KevDen2005
11-02-2016, 10:35
Ahem... https://www.ar-15.co/threads/159276-Damn-raccoons?p=2025708&viewfull=1#post2025708
Dang it, I thought I read through every post and I thought I was so clever.
Our neighborhood is infested with raccoons and unless every neighbor was on the same page in terms of wanting to control the problem (which will not happen), it's a battle that can't be won in my town where private ownership of chickens is now fairly popular and a known temptation for raccoons. Raised porches and decking seems to be a favored coon condos around here where very few of the backyard decks don't have racoons residing under them (easy enough to see with a flashlight even at noon).
While trapping them is effective in terms of capture, I highly suspect they breed faster than trapping reduces overall populations. Irrespective of the legalities of taking a trapped coon elsewhere, a few knowledgeable people I've spoken to suggest that in order not to have that same racoon return to the same neighborhood, they need to be taken at much as 20 miles away - which is a bit of a hassle.
Back when we had two little dogs that were not much bigger than the local racoons, our veterinarian warned us more than once that our 15# dogs tangling with a raccoon would very likely mean the end of our pet. As such I took to hating racoons. Mothballs sprinkled around where racoons live seem to drive them away for a bit, as do rags soaked in amonia.
As guaranteed a reply as "shoot them" is when this topic comes up on firearms related forums, I'd not risk the penalities when there are potentially other methods of abating the problem.
newracer
11-02-2016, 11:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBTQyZLuut0
[snip]
Back when we had two little dogs that were not much bigger than the local racoons, our veterinarian warned us more than once that our 15# dogs tangling with a raccoon would very likely mean the end of our pet. As such I took to hating racoons. Mothballs sprinkled around where racoons live seem to drive them away for a bit, as do rags soaked in amonia.
As guaranteed a reply as "shoot them" is when this topic comes up on firearms related forums, I'd not risk the penalities when there are potentially other methods of abating the problem.
Exactly. Which is why the "animal lovers" are beyond stupid.
I think the same as with coyotes. It should be legal to take them anywhere in civilization when it can be done so safely. These are nuisance animals. And the bleeding hearts that have criminalized doing what is necessary cry when their pets get sick, or worse, are taken.
We had our an elevated wood walkway pulled this month for that reason (mainly rabbits but also concerned about what comes with them). Replaced by concrete and I'm very happy with the work/lack of maintenance and worry. I pulled four dead rabbits out of our back yard this year, no thanks! I'll keep working next year to eliminate bushes/scrubs and other places for critters.
We haven't had any issues with the little bandits returning since I borrowed a paintball gun loaded with pepper balls and lit the little fuckers up one night about a year ago...
StagLefty
11-02-2016, 12:09
I know right? Sorry Stag, that's a myth.
Thank goodness,now I can stop drinking so much water. [Sarcasm2]
Sage advice and anecdotes, guys. I suspect there are more than a few dens around here- just about everyone around here has a raised deck. The last time I had this issue, I went the ammonia-and-moth-balls route, and it drove them away (and prevented us from using the deck for the remainder of the year.) I'm going to do a multi-faceted attack on the issue:
1. Nextdoor posts, enlightening people on the dangers of these pests. There's a lot of fooferaw about coyotes, but I don't think people realize their ankle-biter dogs and their outdoor cats and their kids are imperiled by the continued and encouraged presence of the raccoons.
2. I'll try and talk with the neighbor that's feeding them. I know she's not the only one leaving food out, and I know that "she's been feeding her wild friends since Hector was a pup, and she's never had a problem" so I don't really expect her to change her mind. But I will try, nonetheless. Maybe I can get her to at least bring the food in when it gets dark out.
3. I need to make this yard less raccoon-friendly. I'm pretty pissed about their presence in this section of the neighborhood; our yard is the staging area for the fox to squabble over territory/mate, and there are a hell of a lot of mice around this year. The raccoons' presence is preventing that from happening.
Dammit. This would happen during the busiest time of the year.
Have a neighbor that had coons getting into his garden. He electrified the top of his fences and other points of ingress. That seemed to discourage them. Too bad raccoons are practically monkeys when it comes to getting into areas you don't want them.
I would emphasize that while she may not have had any problems, the rest of the neighborhood now has a problem. I wish I still had some pictures of raccoons tearing through a roof all the way into the attic. When it rains raccoon urine in her living room, then perhaps she'll wise up. In my experience though, she won't.
Bailey Guns
11-02-2016, 17:14
Maybe the animals neighbor would like some decon with her food!
**DISCLAIMER: Not legal in all states. Please check with your local law enforcement agency to determine the legalities of spiking your idiot neighbor's food with rat poisoning.**
Problem with poison is that it is indiscriminate and often kills animals other than those intended.
Call animal control and ask whether they would like to trap and destroy and if not, would they approve of you taking care of the problem. They may breed fast, but they can be trapped and destroyed faster than they can breed.
spqrzilla
11-02-2016, 18:51
I'd rather have 'yotes in the neighborhood than raccoons.
Great-Kazoo
11-02-2016, 18:53
Problem with poison is that it is indiscriminate and often kills animals other than those intended.
Call animal control and ask whether they would like to trap and destroy and if not, would they approve of you taking care of the problem. They may breed fast, but they can be trapped and destroyed faster than they can breed.
Animal control tells us Sorry, not a dog or cat not our problem
They suggest we contact one of the wildlife control folks on line.. So that mean i can't shoot them? Umm discharging a firearm in city limits is prohibited.. great have a fun day.
poof, drops off neighbors roof. Hypothetically of course.
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