Racoon - The Other White Meat...

[MENINBLK]

No this isn't a post about what racoon recipes you might have,
but I do have a racoon problem and it is :censor: #$%^&*(!@#$ :censor: me off !!!

Two years ago I bought an Easy Set pool for my son for the summer.
You inflate the top ring and fill it with water and presto! instant pool.

But the racoons have other ideas this year.
They are having their own pool party at my expense and I want it stopped.
Four times already, at least one or more racoons have climbed into the pool,
collapsing the side of the pool and allowing almost 50% of the water to run out of the pool.

At first I thought it just might be mischievious kids in the neighborhood,
but every time it happens I find fresh set of racoon prints on the edge of the pool.

I can't keep filling the pool because it is gonna cost me $$$ when I get my water bill,
so I need to get rid of these racoons!!!

What can I do, other than shooting them myself... :help: :help: :help:

[MERCMAN]

Stake out a pit-bull by the pool? :lol:

[jrzygrl]

Buy a "havaheart" trap, bait it with a few eggs, marshmallows or tie a can of tuna in the back of the cage (opened of course). Trust me they work in tandem so tie it in..once caught either re-locate to an area far from your home or shoot em..(my prefered method) depending on where you live. I have to use this technique when they get into my chicken coop. They are using your pool to wash their food.

[Smokie]

No this isn't a post about what racoon recipes you might have,
but I do have a racoon problem and it is :censor: #$%^&*(!@#$ :censor: me off !!!

Two years ago I bought an Easy Set pool for my son for the summer.
You inflate the top ring and fill it with water and presto! instant pool.

But the racoons have other ideas this year.
They are having their own pool party at my expense and I want it stopped.
Four times already, at least one or more racoons have climbed into the pool,
collapsing the side of the pool and allowing almost 50% of the water to run out of the pool.

At first I thought it just might be mischievious kids in the neighborhood,
but every time it happens I find fresh set of racoon prints on the edge of the pool.

I can't keep filling the pool because it is gonna cost me $$$ when I get my water bill,
so I need to get rid of these racoons!!!

What can I do, other than shooting them myself... :help: :help: :help:
Buy an animal trap, they love sardines, Trap'em and call your local animal control.

The other option is shoot'em and bury them.

[MAD-3R's Wife]

I don't know if this will work with racoons (it works for deer), but you could always put hair down. Use either hair from a dog or human hair from a barber shop (not a beauty salon as that has more chemicals then human smell). You would need to put more hair down after each rain or two months.

Of course if the pool is far enough away from your house you can always do what my Great Grandfather did and run a ring of hubcaps around the pool, attached to an electric motor to move the caps and have them make noise. That is a last resort because it is loud and you would need to run it all night long.

[CRUZTAKER]

Yup, what they said^^^^

I use a large trap, you can get at any big hardware store, and catch as many as 6-12 a year around here. The little bastiges try to catch the fish in my pond....my $100+ fish!!!

Anyway, the beauty part, I don't even bait mine. Just leave one side open. They are so stupid and curious, they will just walk in, look around, and snap.
As far as the best bait....cat food. They smell it a mile away.
Be aware!!! Put something UNDER the trap such as plywood or old shingles....they dig once caught....and dig...and dig....they will dig a rut around that cage as far as the arm can reach.

Be aware of your local laws as well. Some cities frown on catching varmits. Other's will provide traps for you. So if YOU get stuck with the disposal, be carefull where you go to cut them loose, and don't let anyone see you.

BTW: The clan may be as large as 6-7, so be prepared for a busy summer!

Good luck!

[woaface]

Trapping and/or a dog sounds good, but also, check Home Depot or something for those things that make a high-pitched noise that drives them away (I've seen them for bugs, but I'm pretty sure they've got them for large rodents too) You just plug it into an outlet or such.

[Ross]

I agree that the Havahart traps work well on coons, stray cats, neighborhood kids (my favorite things to trap!), etc. But here is a totally different take on the subject.
Since you know that the coons will be out there at night, give your kid an adventure. Wake him up at night around the time the coons start coming out. Sit someplace where you can quietly watch for the coons. Kids think it's really cool to see "wild animals" in their own backyard. They will talk about it endlessly.
If your main purpose is to keep the coons out of the pool, why not put out a big water bowl like you would use for a dog? If the water is closer to where the food is, and is easier to get to, the coons may take the path of least resistance and use the water in the bowl.
Just a couple of other options.

[ParkRanger]

Two ideas:

1. Wait until he's doing the backstroke, and when he does the turnaround flip catch his head with a rake and push it underwater. Release after bubbles disappear.

2. On a hot day when you know for sure that the little bugger will be going for a swim - empty the pool and refill with sulfuric acid. When he dives in and you see the expression on his little face -- PRICELESS! :eek:

pr :burnout:

[duhtroll]

Shoot them.

Large caliber weapon will keep the mess to minimum.

Of course you may have to replace the pool.

-A

[hitchhiker]

Coon Soup Anyone...?

Apply 220V 100A Electrical service to the water.

When the coon touches it you'll have 'coon-soup'

Make sure that the pool is NOT grounded.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[R Dean]

Barbecued Raccoon

1 Racoon
1 bn Celery
3 cl Garlic; chopped
2 lg Red onions; quartered
1 lg Apple; quartered
3 Hot red peppers
1 c Vinegar
3 tb Salt


BE SURE LYMPH GLANDS OF RACCOON ARE REMOVED!!! Have someone who is experienced remove the glands as well as the skin. Pull celery apart and wash. Place all ingredients in pot with enough water to cover raccoon. Bring to slow boil and cook until tender or until fork goes in easily, about 1-2 hours depending upon size of raccoon. Remove meat from pot, cut off front and back legs; cut remainder into four pieces. Place on rack, brush with your favorite barbeque sauce. Place in 400 deg. oven; turn and baste frequently with barbecue sauce until a golden brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6.



Just Game Recipes is located at www.justgamerecipes.com

[Patrick]

Two ideas:

1. Wait until he's doing the backstroke, and when he does the turnaround flip catch his head with a rake and push it underwater. Release after bubbles disappear.

2. On a hot day when you know for sure that the little bugger will be going for a swim - empty the pool and refill with sulfuric acid. When he dives in and you see the expression on his little face -- PRICELESS! :eek:

pr :burnout:

3. What about filling with Piranhas???

[woaface]

Billy could sit on the roof with his rifle and knock 'em out one by one:uzi:

[2003 MIB]

What can I do, other than shooting them myself... :help: :help: :help:


Okay Pete, I know folks are enjoying this thread and I don't mean to be a buzzkill by being serious but here's the humane solution:
Go to the local hunting supply store (or search the net) and obtain a bottle of Predator urine to sprinkle around the pool. The bag of human hair works great for deer but will NOT have much effect on a racoon. Not to complicate matters but coons typically throw a litter of kits in the month of May. You wouldn't want to trap a Mama away from the kits or relocate her away from the litter. I would also suggest a motion activated lamp with the brightest honkin' bulb you can find. The intent is to make the area the least appealing in the nieghborhood.

[ParkRanger]

3. What about filling with Piranhas???

Patrick:

Yes, I thought of that one. The problem is what to do with the piranhas after they lunched on Rocky?
You start with ten piranha, after a week you have fifty, etc. Big problem!

PR :beer:

[CRUZTAKER]

.....obtain a bottle of Predator urine to sprinkle around the pool. The bag of human hair works great for deer but will NOT have much effect on a racoon.The racoons in my area, and likely N.Y. AREN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING! There are no local predators, and unless you have coyotes, bobcats, or wolves in your area...the fear won't be inbread, and it won't do shat. These city coons fear one thing, the sight of humans...and some aren't even afraid of us!



1. Wait until he's doing the backstroke, and when he does the turnaround flip catch his head with a rake and push it underwater. Release after bubbles disappear.OMG!!! I never expected that from you!!! But flippin funny...ROTFLMAO :lol:

[Haggis]

... I would also suggest a motion activated lamp with the brightest honkin' bulb you can find. The intent is to make the area the least appealing in the nieghborhood.

You could even hook up a horn of some type to go off when the light comes on.

Or go with hitchhikers idea of "coon-soup" and you have a meal for the family.

[Bradley G]

Wait till dark, Dress up in a large racoon suit, hide behind Naaaaaaa!!:lol:

[merc406]

Yup, what they said^^^^

I use a large trap, you can get at any big hardware store, and catch as many as 6-12 a year around here. The little bastiges try to catch the fish in my pond....my $100+ fish!!!


Be aware of your local laws as well. Some cities frown on catching varmits. Other's will provide traps for you. So if YOU get stuck with the disposal, be carefull where you go to cut them loose, and don't let anyone see you.

BTW: The clan may be as large as 6-7, so be prepared for a busy summer!

Good luck!



Ditto on the traps, our local law said you can trap them in the house, not outside, found that out when I called to get one of them picked up after I trapped him on the back deck. :flamer: Anyways I used a Rabbit cage to trap a whole family of them, (they were to smart for the small traps) used cat chow for the bait and a string on the open door, yep had to sit there and wait, but it wasn't long, they can't resist the smell of the food.
Took them across the E-way to a neighboring city, he-he and let them go. :rasta: That was 5 years ago.
Now it looks like I got them in the garage, door won't close cause the 63's to long, sucker's climbin the door frame and walkin all over the Marauder. :bigcry: Guess I should have saved that rabbit cage :shot:

[MENINBLK]

If your main purpose is to keep the coons out of the pool, why not put out a big water bowl like you would use for a dog? If the water is closer to where the food is, and is easier to get to, the coons may take the path of least resistance and use the water in the bowl.

I put out a Home Depot bucket 3/4 full of fresh water and it worked for ONE NIGHT...
The water was FILTHY the next day...

[MENINBLK]

Patrick:

Yes, I thought of that one. The problem is what to do with the piranhas after they lunched on Rocky?
You start with ten piranha, after a week you have fifty, etc. Big problem!

PR :beer:

Not really, the bigger piranhas will eat the smaller piranhas until we have 10 REALLY BIG PIRANHAS left !!!

[jrzygrl]

I'll be out East in July.......I'm used to this kind of thing, I'll come over and take care of the little buggers for you..... :uzi:

[jaywish]

I'd let you borrow Petey the Pitty but he just had a tooth pulled.

Plus he'd probably just watch them and see if they dropped any food.

[Bluerauder]

"...snip..". The little bastiges try to catch the fish in my pond....my $100+ fish!!!"...snip..."
$100.00 fish??? I don't eat that well.
:lol:
Special Koi (sp??) I suspect. ;)