Help Raccoon problem

[A2coins]

I have been helping My Daughter with rent here in Ann Arbor 1,400 per month. She has a new Baby so I bought her a double wide mobile home,the amount it would cost for a years rent.almost the same sq ft as my Home now she just has to pay lot rent 700 per month and can feel good that she is providing for her babywho is a preme which have respitory issues for the first year so I dont want her getting covid by working too much. getting new carpets has new appliances and paint. There is a raccoon in the cieling I called a service they cant get into the roof its to narrow. I have 2 cameras so I can see it coming and going I have a trap with marshmallows and cat food set by the service it walks right by it. They carry lots of bad things plus my Daughter is totally creeped out I need to get rid of it If I close up where it gets in it will find another way so what can I do please any suggestions appreciated. Tommy

 

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[Trezurehunter]

Try putting some nuts and berries in that trap Tommy. If that doesn't work, try some random meat scraps from your leftovers, (fish would be best) but not to many. You don't want a smelling issue besides the raccoon. They are scavengers and eat almost anything. Use gloves when placing the bait. You don't want to much human scent on it.

 

[Red-Coat]

You may have a mother raccoon in the process of building a den. If so, you really need to get her out before she births, especially in an inaccessible space. In those circumstances, there's an inexpensive product that may work. Google 'Raccoon Eviction Fluid' and look for a stockist near you. Good luck.

 

[A2coins]

Thanks I have tried fish cat food marshmallows even put some pine tree limbs on the cage to mask my scent. Ill try berries eviction fluid sounds like a good thing Ill get some today. I think this one is very smart and may have been trapped before I know its not animal friendly but I tried those Rat size glue traps it just walks around them I removed those cause I dont want to trap a squirrel or another Animal rrrrrrrrrr this thing is frustrating plus a service charges 69 dollars each raccoon so if Octamom is up there with babies if I leave them they will probobly stink I would think it wouldnt be hard to catch but come oooooonnn

 

[FreeBirdTim]

My raccoons in the yard love bird suet. They take it every night. Might be worth a shot.

 

[Fat]

...... It walks past a open can of wet cat food? You have a have-a-heart live catch trap that has doors on each end?
Anise oil on small styrofoam craft “balls” poke hole in and wire with bread wrapper twist ties to the pan. Some times one under the pan will help hold doors open. They will eat the foam all gone.
Plywood over the place he is getting in. Seal it up. They can be tough sometimes. Feed better than the he can find in trash and from pet food dishes.
If still no catch $70 might be worth the monies.

 

[xaos]

I use strobe lights...they hate them....works great with rats as well.
Would get cheap ones at spencers gifts...not sure if that place is still around...

Good luck!

EDIT: Did you check and see if animal control will come out and get rid of them? (or Fish Wildlife?)

 

[Toecutter]

I use peanut butter seems to work every time for me, if that doesn't work for ya then I would use a snare trap at the entrance

 

[A2coins]

Im on my way to get all these things .Thanks for the suggestions Im not coming home till its caught even if I end up waiting till it comes out and shoot it with a nail gun or put an electric fence up that i hook to a 220 Ill let you know tonight or sunday its leaving one way or another it is not more stubborn than me just ask my wife.

 

[FloridaSon]

May be the best bet to try and figure out when it leaves the building, if there is only one way in/out and you know its gone, hardware cloth or board it up when you see it leave. Good luck.

 

[releventchair]

Whole intact raw egg can work for bait in a live trap.
Your coon probably eats well , so you need to find something similar to what it prefers for a treat.
Likely there is water near it hits at night. If so , there's more coons. Though a denning mother wants a little privacy a while.

Yes , coons can stink up a place. If it's only a small area in the roof it's nesting , a naptha moth ball might stink it out.
Put it in a plastic container so you can remove it and it's smell after the coon leaves and you close up the entrance.. Those things stink too.
Oh , and have a plan for removing them if you close the coon(s) in when you seal up the entrance....


Might review how it gets to the roof too and make it harder to climb.

 

[Duckshot]

Forget the bait. If she won't go after canned cat food she is getting food somewhere else already.

Find the hole she is climbing in and out of and use screen or make a fence to funnel her into the trap.

 

[Megalodon]

Some good suggestions here. Raccoons are very smart and when something works, they teach their babies. I had momma raccoons shimmy up round porch columns at my last house and reach way over to shake a bird feeder until the sunflower seeds came down (or the whole feeder) to her babies watching on my front porch.

I have an outdoor cat who adopted me two years ago who has an insulated and heated cat house on the porch (would be inside, but wife says no...). He is fed on the porch and the leftover food attracts other cats, possums, and yes, raccoons. Even with the game camera down, its easy to tell the coons visited because they dirty the drinking water.

Surprised the raccoon(s) ignore the cat food. Your animal control officer might also loan you a better trap. A game cam could help you find out how they are getting inside.

 

[Squirrel322]

Hey Tommy, I don’t know if this will work in your situation but it’s definitely effective in evicting critters. If possible, wait till they are gone then Pour some ammonia in a open container and place in inside the space the raccoons are getting in. Something like an empty cottage cheese container (or two) or anything that will allow the ammonia to really vent will work great. They won’t want to go anywhere near that space. My folks had a BIG detached garage that some raccoons were living large in. I did this and it kept them from returning so I could seal up the place they were entering.

Being a structure your daughter and baby live in you obviously need to careful if you attempt this. You don’t want to evict your girl! Maybe You could have them stay with you for a day or two while you evict the raccoons. You don’t want to much ventilation in the problem spot or the ammonia vapor might not be potent enough to be a deterrent. Once the coons are gone air-out the entire trailer really good.

If there are baby coons in there that the mother will have to move, start with a small enough amount to bother them but not prevent her from returning to retrieve her babies!

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

I use dry dog food kibble, and a Havahart trap. Works every time.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Tommy..yes, you need to get her out of there, but no, there's
no reason to kill her. You've got a mom getting ready to give
birth, and she's just looking for a safe place.

See a few of the suggestions, above. Also, she wants nothing
to do with a dog..so maybe borrow one for a night, and make
sure it pees around where that coon is walking up to the home.

Once you know she's out of the attic space you can cover any
entrances using chicken wire, BUT, make sure there aren't
babies in there first.

'Coon babies are born deaf and blind, and it's several weeks
before their ear canals open followed by their eyes.

If she's still going in and out frequently, she probably hasn't
given birth to the cubs yet, but I wouldn't wait on encouraging
her to go elsewhere. She's likely got a couple alternative sites,
and if you make the attic uninviting she'll move out.

On the plus side, raccoons are hard core rodent hunters, and they'll
chow down on every termite, carpenter ant and slug they find.

 

[Roger Mn.]

If you have a live cage trap just put a couple slices of tomato and some ice cream on something.
You will catch it in a day or two.
They love ice cream.
rd

 

[DizzyDigger]

If you have a live cage trap just put a couple slices of tomato and some ice cream on something.
You will catch it in a day or two. They love ice cream.

Problem is, if you live trap her and she's already had the cubs,
then you have babies somewhere that are going to starve.
If she hasn't had the cubs yet, the stress of being relocated
and without a den might cause her to kill the pups when they're
born.

Best for all is just to encourage her to move elsewhere, and she'll
move those babies right along with herself. Everybody wins..

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Problem is, if you live trap her and she's already had the cubs,
then you have babies somewhere that are going to starve.
If she hasn't had the cubs yet, the stress of being relocated
and without a den might cause her to kill the pups when they're
born.

Best for all is just to encourage her to move elsewhere, and she'll
move those babies right along with herself. Everybody wins..

Dizzy gave the best advice. How many of you guys are professionals? Almost anyone can catch a raccoon, but right now is past the birthing season and the pups are most likely present. If there is no access to the pups, DO NOT kill the sow.
I do wildlife control for a living. You don't want dead pups in the ceiling. You could get lucky and it's a boar, then no problem with making it disappear. Tommy, feel free to give me a call, I'll talk you through it. PM sent.

 

[Megalodon]

Dizzy gave the best advice. How many of you guys are professionals? Almost anyone can catch a raccoon, but right now is past the birthing season and the pups are most likely present. If there is no access to the pups, DO NOT kill the sow.
I do wildlife control for a living. You don't want dead pups in the ceiling. You could get lucky and it's a boar, then no problem with making it disappear. Tommy, feel free to give me a call, I'll talk you through it. PM sent.

I agree. In a long career in Natural Resources and with advanced degrees, I still learned a lot of practical applications from our licensed wildlife control operators. In fact, I included wildlife control operators in the development of our management plans. I have a lot of wildlife but have enough room to provide better habitats for them than my home. Just one example: While my neighbors burn their brush, I have brush piles under which box turtles overwinter and where other wildlife shelter. I still have to stifle a chuckle to be polite at the fishermen and hunters who think they know more than a biologist just because they can catch a fish or take a deer.