Help Raccoon problem

[Megalodon]

You do know they take big game with air rifles, right? What’s wrong with a high velocity .22 pellet gun?

Yes, there have been very powerful air rifles for centuries - but these are not the air guns 99.9% of the population buy and use. And muzzle velocity can be a misleading stat for killing power.

 

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[SusanMN]

Call in a expert and best of luck. If i were you, I move your daughter and baby out and never come back.

Don’t know he should go that far but ripping out and replacing ceiling and insulation above it for sure.

 

[old digger]

Was wondering if throwing some moth balls in the crawl space would change the raccoon's thoughts of sticking around. As long as the fumes from the moth balls doesn't filter down into the living space below.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Only a complete and total jerk would shoot an animal that might have babies. What is wrong with you guys?

 

[DizzyDigger]

Only a complete and total jerk would shoot an animal
that might have babies. What is wrong with you guys?

I agree 100%. A good solution has been provided by several people, and
if done correctly, it will end well for all.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Only a complete and total jerk would shoot an animal that might have babies. What is wrong with you guys?

When it comes to disease-carrying vermin? Hmmm...gimme a minute.

 

[Gare]

When I have a Raccoon problem in my barn. I have a 55 gallon barrel with a removable top. I put a board up so the Raccoon's can get to the top and climb in. Once in they can not get out. I usually used sweet horse feed as bait in the bottom.
In Ohio it is ILLEGAL to RELEASE Raccoons . because of all the diseases they can have

 

[DizzyDigger]

When it comes to disease-carrying vermin? Hmmm...gimme a minute.

Like many mammals (including humans) raccoons can be carriers
of some diseases. A little common sense goes a long ways. Been
around 'em all my adult life, and can't recall ever seeing a sick one.

On the plus side, they clean up a number of pests around my place.
They are good hunters, and can hunt down mice and rats as good as
any cat. We can grow our tomatoes outside now without them getting
eaten up by slugs, and 'coons eat carpenter ants and termites like popcorn.

I would be more concerned with a citified 'coon whose diet consists
of what they can drag out of trash cans. According to Wiki, an average
raccoons diet consists of 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.

Yes, they can carry parasites, canine parvo, distemper, etc. These
are mostly dangerous to your dog or cat, but then most dogs and
cats are immunized against them.

One of the primary reasons for not relocating raccoons is that they
establish a territory, and once established they will defend it against
all other 'coons. You drop a raccoon off in the middle of nowhere,
odds are they're going to have to fight to survive.

No matter...you don't kill a mama critter that has babies unless
human life is at risk...like with moose, cougar and bear, and then
only if no other option is available to you.

In Ohio it is ILLEGAL to RELEASE Raccoons . because of all the diseases they can have

Same law applies here. Getting it to relocate on it's own accord is far
better for the raccoons, and much less work for us than trapping it and
putting it down.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Only a complete and total jerk would shoot an animal that might have babies. What is wrong with you guys?

I killed 10 raccoon last year that were around my chicken coop. There may have been young. Didn't bother me at all. I'm coon free this year.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I killed 10 raccoon last year that were around my chicken coop. There may have been young. Didn't bother me at all. I'm coon free this year.

My sixty year old aunt that is disabled has dispatched almost 50 coon on her property since last year.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Only a complete and total jerk would shoot an animal that might have babies. What is wrong with you guys?

In this case, shooting the animal isn't even the point. Shooting a lactating sow while the 'babies' are inaccessible is the point. She may be the only way the pups come out, without tearing the ceiling apart. If the plan is to tear the ceiling apart anyway to clean it, then it doesn't matter. The pups can be euthanized too. But, for those of you that have had a dead mouse in your wall (stink for a week), imaging that being 3-6 softball size or larger raccoon pups, rotting away.

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

In addition to being filthy, vile, and disgusting, raccoons are incredibly destructive animals. In years past they have completely destroyed our gardens and seed beds. They have knocked potted plants off of our tables and stands, ruined yard ornaments, and wreaked absolute havoc in our yard. I have NO qualms about anyone shooting them, babies or not. I can't shoot them here because I'm in the city and it's illegal to discharge firearms within the city limits.

It IS legal to trap and relocate them here, so that is normally how I handle them. I bet I've transplanted hundreds of them over the years. For those who think they are cute and cuddly, they aren't! They are meaner than hell, and are capable of inflicting severe injury to both pets and humans. I have respect for most all wildlife, buts Coons are an exception for me. Sorry If I offend anyone's sensibilities, but I vehemently despise raccoons!

 

[RGINN]

Coons aren't really turned off by human scent. We sprinkle ammonia around the dumpsters to keep bears away. Mothballs scattered around keep skunks away; might work on coons.

 

[3cylbill]

If you had them breeding in your attic you wouldn't care what it takes to get rid of them . They got inside one of my houses and destroyed everything on a rampage thousands of dollars of damage . They attacked my dog and about killed him so YES I will destroy them if they come around.nobody hunts or traps them anymore and they are multiplying like mad so you guys that are against destroying these vile creatures never had to deal with them..

 

[DizzyDigger]

.nobody hunts or traps them anymore and they are multiplying like mad
so you guys that are against destroying these vile creatures never had to deal with them..

Never had to deal with them? For many years, I was the guy people called
when they had issues with 'coons. Lord only knows how many attic's I've crawled
through in order to get the kits out so we could move them as well as mama.
I've also cleaned up the dead, decaying carcasses in attics and crawl spaces.

In my younger years, as a licensed TRAPPER, I'd take a couple hundred 'coon pelts
to the fur market every year.

Don't tell me I don't know anything about Raccoons...

'Coons got into your house, or attic because YOU left a way for them
to get in. If you had done your job you wouldn't have had those problems.

If you corner a 'coon, or put a dog on it, it's going to fight for it's life, which
is the right of every creature. And yep, they can fight.

What I'm trying to say/show is that there is another way of dealing with wildlife
in urban settings. It's real simple: Don't leave openings in your attic, or crawl space.
Don't leave dog or cat food outside, and put a lid on your garbage can that will
stay put..put a bungee cord over the top as extra security.

90% of the problems people have with wildlife are due to humans ignorance
of how to live around wildlife. Do your job and you won't have those problems.

 

[Swaveab]

I used pepper spray in their direction and they left in a hurry.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Coon hides aren't worth anything anymore. You trappers will remember back in the, I think, late 80's when coon pelts were getting $38 for extra large. The last two times I sold pelts, I was getting $3.00 a hide for extra large.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Coon hides aren't worth anything anymore. You trappers will remember back in the, I think, late 80's when coon pelts were getting $38 for extra large. The last two times I sold pelts, I was getting $3.00 a hide for extra large.

As a high-schooler in 1979 I was getting close to $50 for fresh road-killed boar coon on the hoof. So crazy back then that you’d pass a fresh kill, turn around, go back in 15 minutes and it was already gone. That’s just like $180 in today’s money.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Coon hides aren't worth anything anymore. You trappers will remember back in the, I think, late 80's when coon pelts were getting $38 for extra large. The last two times I sold pelts, I was getting $3.00 a hide for extra large.

I heard that prices came back up a bit in the mid-90's, but it still wasn't
worth the amount of work needed to process the pelt. 'Coons are greasy.

Wife and I have been living on the river here for over 18 years, and in that
time I've been able to study raccoons in-depth. Their feeding habits, mating
seasons, how they care for their little ones..even how they communicate.
Like all critters, each one has their own personality. Plus, it's a lot more fun
tossing them a handful of dry dog food as a treat than having to kill them
because a homeowner failed to block access to their attic or crawl space.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I heard that prices came back up a bit in the mid-90's, but it still wasn't
worth the amount of work needed to process the pelt. 'Coons are greasy.

Wife and I have been living on the river here for over 18 years, and in that
time I've been able to study raccoons in-depth. Their feeding habits, mating
seasons, how they care for their little ones..even how they communicate.
Like all critters, each one has their own personality. Plus, it's a lot more fun
tossing them a handful of dry dog food as a treat than having to kill them
because a homeowner failed to block access to their attic or crawl space.

Never had to skin ‘em if you didn’t want to. My local buyer preferred the whole animal because he could get an extra $ for the carcass. Dog food or people food, he had no trouble selling ‘em.