What do you use to get rid of raccoons?

[Dragonfly]

I've never had this problem before (So Cal). Any suggestions are appreciated.

[agla]

Are they in your building, or raiding you?

[Fine Edge]

Put your trash in the neighbor's yard!

[Dale Wiley]

Go to a hunting supply store or Cabelas and see if you can get some wolf or coyote urine. Sprinkle it around and the coons and every other animal will steer clear of the yard.

I have 2 wolf / malamute dogs and we have no trouble with any intruders 2 or 4 legged.

[familyguy]

A local senator got in trouble for using a .22

[Ston Wurks]

I don't know about trapping, it seems like I jst read something where in Ohio you have to put down any trapped raccoons-no catch and release.

[Dragonfly]

They are tearing up a clients annual beds.

[NCSULandscaper]

have they actually seen that its racoons tearing it up?

[Pelican]

Firearm of your favorite caliber. I've used a mag-lite to dispatch possums, but a racoon is probably to quick for that.

[Timber Lane]

If feasible, use electric fence with fiberglas poles. It can be put up temporarily, and after a few weeks (or less) the raccoons will have learned their lesson and be gone.

I fence my property with electric fencing supplies from Kencove. I run a strand of wire 5" above the ground, then another 10" above the ground. Once they put their little nose on that 11 volts of juice, they won't come back. It's easy to set up and plugs into a 110 outlet.

I also have a strand of wire at 24" and another at 48", and this definitely turns back the deer. I run 600' of fence X four strands and the whole works cost me between $200 and $300. I swear by it!

[Dragonfly]

She has seen them, electric fence is not an option, discharge of a weapon in an urban area gets you a trip to jail for 10 years no if ands or buts.:cry: Dale I will try your advice first. I can't wait to have to explain "urine treatment" on her billing.

[Mark Oomkes]

You could try a silencer. :woot:

Or a high powered air rifle would take care of them.

Might not make the billing explanation any easier.

[NCSULandscaper]

set out traps and catch them, take them somewhere down the road and let them loose in the woods

[ckcland]

I live in a rural area and many neiboring farmers simply use oatmeal and rat poison. Be carefull if dogs are present!!!

[cutntrim]

Trap and release is probably the best option. A friend of my father-in-law has caught and released half-a-dozen raccoons into a local provincial park already this season. He's also trapped and released 17 squirrels, which I find funny, but he doesn't want them digging up his flower beds for nuts.

If you can't find the wolf urine, just tell her husband to pee in his garden every night. That'd probably keep them away too...although I'm not sure how it'd go over with the neigbours.

We had raccoons using the side of our house as their own litter box for one summer, and I lined up my footballs outside the back door for some target practice each night around 9:30 when they'd come around (whole family of them). Didn't keep them from coming back but it was alot of fun. Eventually my neighbour left a couple of Warfarin (rat poison) tuna sandwiches for them in her yard, and that was the end of them.

[Raj Venugopal]

Grenades
Pit full of sharpened stakes
Moat filled with sharks
High wall around the bed with iron grates
24 hour manned guard post (Joe Lieberman may be on the market soon)
tigers
Hire some goons to rough up the raccoons a bit...a broken leg and maybe a good beating.

[gonefishin]

Raccoons... Boy oh boy!

I, personally, don't know anyone who has had as much trouble with raccoons as myself. I'm positive other people have had a much worse time with them...but I don't know them personally.

I would have a family of raccoons that would visit daily. I actually got to the point where I learned their personalities. I also learned "some" of their habits as well. I had mixed feelings about their visits. On one hand it was neat to watch their little minds work! I would see them try exactly what had worked previously (to get in the trash) and one faced with a new problem that I threw their way...they would problem solve their way around anything I could throw their way. I was out smarted by raccoons for years.

I've tried the live skunk traps (which we also had). But the main provider (the raccoon that would always provide the food to the others) was huge! He would be the only one to get the food and trow it to the other raccoons. The problem with the live skunk traps was that the large raccoon could squeeze into the trap, yet he was still big enough that when the door was tripped...it couldn't close because his large body was sill in the open doorway. He would clean the trap and back out every time!

I had heard that spreading hot red pepper flakes would deter them. Nope...not at all. I had also heard that ammonia would keep them away. Well, one time I heard the wrestling. So I looked out of my "observation window;)" and saw the big boy inside the can. So I move to the garage door that was near the garbage cans and make some loud noise to scare him off. He runs under the deck. I then pour in almost a full gallon of ammonia, then observe. I watch him come back...jump in the can and he lets out a large shiver/quiver. I thought...A HA, I got you! But no luck. He quickly continues what he normally does...passing the food out to his buddies.

I could remember having a problem with rabbits one year as well. They'd always dig their nests in my nicely manicured super thick front lawn. One time I decided to get some fox urine. I sprayed a heavy amount of fox urine around the perimeter of my yard (whew did that smell!) I then doused the rabbits nest with a large amount as well. In less that five minutes I watched the rabbit not only cross my fox urine perimeter, but also sat right down in it's fox urine soaked hole. I brought the stuff back for a refund.

For me...the wolf urine worked just as good for the raccoons as the fox urine did for the rabbits. I sprayed the garbage cans and the big guy didn't skip a beat. We also used to have a female Siberian husky. We would often hear her downstairs whimpering and whining. Most times we would go down to see what she was doing...but find nothing. Once we caught her in what she was doing. She was face to face with a raccoon with only a window between them. They would go nose to nose following each other. Once one of them would move to another spot....the other would follow to be nose to nose (thru the glass) again. After the wife and I had watched this for a while (and took some pictures) I decided...enough was enough. I banged on the window to scare the raccoon off. It started to waddle off the deck and down the stairs toward the woods. I then figured I would yell out the door to really scare it off, for at least that night. The second I opened the door to scare it away...I had never seen a raccoon move so quickly directly toward the door I had opened. I closed it barely in time to keep the sprinting raccoon out of the house. I then watched the raccoon open my completely close screen door only to be stopped by the glass French door. Our sun room, which is also attached to the deck has a sliding door on it as well. The door was open with only the screen door closed(not locked). The raccoon had started to make his way over to the screen door and you've probably never seen me maneuver through the house so quickly to close the sliding door.

I've got sooo many other raccoon stories...but I won't bore you any further. My question to the poster is this...

What's attracting the raccoons? What are they after?

I couldn't outsmart my racoons...but I solved my problem when I did what I said I would never do. I brought my garbage cans in the garage.

good luck!

dan

[bricknblock]

nasty varmits....had one climb up on my balcony a couple nights ago, and I'm on the third floor!