@#$% Raccoons!

[WB3JOK]

During the last month, the neighbors at our home in Missouri have been logging their land. The raccoons that lived there have now moved onto our 120 acres with a 4 acre pond, and discovered our chickens and ducks. 

The first evidence was a headless hen one morning. The mode of entry wasn't immediately apparent but we figured out that they had come in through the eaves and then made a hole in the false ceiling (some of which was just foam board). So I fixed that. Two nights later they killed the other two laying hens. Again, it was a subtle entry, most likely from the other side of the building. We put heavy wire (1/2" squares) mesh over all the openings and also lined the three individual pens with it. They made one attempted entry through a corner crack but got tired of eating fiberglass and anyway the opening was too small. Then I had to return to Maine where I still am until this weekend.

Meanwhile, since they were hungry and unable to sleep, they started coming out in the daytime (quite unusual for a nocturnal animal). We thought our ducks (led by a big, mean gander) would be fine... a raccoon actually came out onto the dock and started harassing them. The next day one duck simply disappeared from the lawn, again in broad daylight, while the gander was a few yards away. We found that the coons were sneaking up on them along the heavy weeds on the pond edge, so that was weed-whacked flush.

They are watching her. She can set the trap outside during the day, (with the chickens in the coop), walk into the house, look out the bathroom window and there is one munching away on the bait!

My wife bought a cage trap and caught one coon almost immediately. Locals say chocolate donuts work well, and indeed they seem to. Unfortunately while carrying the cage to a place of execution the door swung open and he ran for it. She shot from the hip with the .410 and wounded him, probably enough so that he either died or another predator had a snack. Got another one the next night and he is definitely RIP. One big one she actually watched stick his head in, eat the bait without tripping the door, and back right out again. She has now got a bigger cage trap. We tried conventional (non-PETA-approved)  traps but they don't work because the little SOBs are smart enough to spring the trap first, and then eat the bait. Yesterday she turned her back for literally ten minutes at 11:30 AM, and another chicken disappeared except for some feathers.

Now she called last night to tell me there was a four inch hole in the heavy 1/2" mesh that I fastened under the eaves! Right through the screen, not lifting a corner! They didn't get through the internal screens into the cages, fortunately. But I'm wondering what on earth to do next. If they can bite through steel wire, or know how to use wire cutters, we're in trouble.

I would poison the baits, but we have five curious cats and the poultry could possibly end up eating the bait too. Another possibility is to snipe them directly with a .22 and scope but we can't maintain guard 24/7 which is what they count on.

I am seriously considering connecting my 3 KV big-iron plate transformer to wires just on either side of the hole they made last night, (and removing the repair patch to encourage reentry).
THAT'll learn 'em. If it doesn't start a fire, that is
 

Any thoughts?
-Charles

[The Slab Bacon]

We used to get $17.50 each for well skinned coon hides around 30-35 years ago. And if cooked properly they kinda tasted like roast beef! Sounds like a little plinking with a .22 is in order. Or invest in a good black and tan coon dog!

                                                   the Slab Bacon

[W1ATR]

Put out some bait at a certain time each day and in the same location. Those damn rats are smart and they'll come looking when they think it's chow time. I think you would have better results with the .223 round as long as the neighbors don't freak out over the noise. A mini 14 with a scope on it will pick them off real easy. Buckshot works on 'em real nice too.

The transformer idea wound be interesting to see however. Drop a plate on the ground with a plastic or whatever standoff right in the middle. Attach the bait to the standoff and fire up the juice. The jolt from a pole pig would make it more spectacular.

SK

 

[WA1GFZ]

.223 rips through the air with a nice sound.

[The Slab Bacon]

.223 rips through the air with a nice sound.

Yea, but it will tear the hide up too badly. for all of the aggrevation, you should at least get a 'coon skin cap out of the deal!!

Instead wasting a perfectly good plate transfoma, how about an old neon sign transfoma??

[KB2WIG]

~ 5 - 7lb raccoon, dressed, not cut up
~ 1/2 lb sausage meat
~ 3 tbsp butter
~ 1 onion, chopped
~ 1 cup chopped celery
~ 2 tsp salt
~ 1/2 tsp pepper
~ 1/4 cup cream
~ 2 cups corn bread crumbs
~ 2 tsp sage
~ 3 tbsp chopped parsley
~ 1 tsp marjoram
~ 1/2 tsp mace
~ 1/4 cup orange juice
~ 1 cup red wine
 
 

In a skillet, saute the onion and celery in the butter.

Add the sausage meat and cook until brown. Drain off the fat.

In a bowl mix the sausage mixture, cream, corn bread crumbs, sage, parsley, marjoram, mace and orange juice together thoroughly.

Salt and pepper the raccoon inside and out.

Stuff the raccoon and close up the belly cavity. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and cook for 45 minutes per pound at 300 degrees.

Turn over when half done.

Baste frequently with the wine and the pan juices when they cook out.

Serve and Enjoy!
 
 








People Eating Tasty Animals (PETA)

[WA1GFZ]

If you do use some plate iron be sure to put a series resistor in the primary so the varmit can't hurt the iron on his way to the coon god.
 

[WB3JOK]

Thanks for the recipe. I'll run it by Gladys and see if she feels like cooking one 

Apparently the pelts would not be worth much this time of year because they have shed a lot of fur for the summer and the remaining hair tends to fall out during tanning. At least that's what she's being told locally.

If we go the electric-chair route, and use my good transformer, I'll definitely limit the current and a primary-side resistor (or large light bulb) sounds like a good way to do it. Now that I think about it, though, I have a couple of microwave-oven transformers in the junkbox that will do the job (andthey're cheap anyway). It's going to be a manual-on (pushbutton) system for sure - I don't want to be responsible for someone being electrocuted because the switch was accidentally left on!

Meanwhile she trapped another one in the cage trap and dispatched it this morning. Who knows how many are left, is what I wonder...
 

-Charles

[KB2WIG]

           " I would poison the baits, but we have five curious cats "

Racoons will go after the cats...    klc

[WB3JOK]

That could indeed be a problem for our cats, as we discovered two years ago when a "new" one, spaying status unknown, promptly had a litter after moving in with us. We lost most of the kittens one night to a "Pearl Harbor" coon attack.

But the cats are smart enough to make themselves scarce when the masked bandits come around!  They've learned not to loiter near the birds anyway because if they get within a certain range, the gander will peck them or grab them by the tail (and he really nips hard - it leaves an instant blood-bruise on human skin, anyway).

A couple of our neighbors have raised chickens in the past but gave it up because of this same problem. It really is a guerrilla war. I don't know if we'll be able to kill enough of them to fix this problem or not.

-Charles

[The Slab Bacon]

           
Racoons will go after the cats...    klc

Hmmmm................ years ago some coon dog trainers used to train the dogs with house cats. We had one of those dogs, one night it took off and chased a farmers cat right through the screen door. that took some explaining to get the dog back!! We got rid of him for a really good black and tan.

                                      The Slab Bacon

[The Slab Bacon]

If you do use some plate iron be sure to put a series resistor in the primary so the varmit can't hurt the iron on his way to the coon god.
 

Put a large wattage light bulb in series with the primary, then hang the bulb where you can see it. Voillla- - - when the light is lit, you know you got one!!
                     
                                       The Slab Bacon

[WA1GFZ]

gee sounds like my wood chuck problem in the garden.
but I can't discharge a weapon or I will visit the police station.
yup coon pelts no good this time of the year and I bet they lose a lot of hair connected to B+.  

[WA1GFZ]

Gee if you put a bell transformer in series you could get a gong.
Man we are a smart bunch.......

[wa1knx]

I had the good doers use hav-a-fart traps to remove city coons and
dump them in the state land in princeton mass, where we already had
a working population.  they really over ran our house, tried bottle
rockets to scare, no good. tried a .177 airgun to bab em and actually took one down with it one shot. hit behind the arm, got the pump. rest of them 12 gauge. *end of problem*

[W8EJO]

Yea, but it will tear the hide up too badly. for all of the aggrevation, you should at least get a 'coon skin cap out of the deal!!

We also trapped as kids back in the 50's. Mostly muskrat but also coon & an occasional mink. We used Victors 1 1/2's for muskrat & 2's for coon.

I have a different problem now at my cabin up in N. Mich. In the fall, the porcupines come around & chew on the cabin. You'll be sleeping & you'll wake up to a crunch, crunch sound & you'll know it's a porky chewin' on the cabin.

It's usually around 3:00AM or so. I get up & get my flashlight & my 16 guage & blast away. I use 00 buck in both barrels. I must have shot about 25 -30 in the last 3 years.

Terry
W8EJO

[WB3JOK]

gee sounds like my wood chuck problem in the garden.
but I can't discharge a weapon or I will visit the police station.

Sounds like you should go with the HV then .
That's one of the nice things about living on 120 rural acres - you can pretty much do whatever you want. When my wife's son comes to visit, he'll bring one of his full-auto weapons (yes, he has legal permits) and we'll fire off a few clips. One of the neighbors asked about the noise once and we let it be known that we were both ex-military (true) and know how to use such weapons (also true). The local meth-heads don't screw with our property!

Now the trick is to get the raccoons to understand this. After all, they are smarter than the average hillbilly crank addict.

-Charles

[WA1GFZ]

Dean,
I played the have a heart thing till big ones just walked through. I did manage to relocate their children to a nicer place. They are fast. By the time i open the window to get a bead on them they are out of site. must have been the day I was chasing one with a section of pipe.

[KF1Z]

A possibly more effective way to rid yourself of vermin .... though more disgusting...

Set up your outside speaker, next to the aforementioned plate of regularly timed food...... ('bout 8:30pm or so...)


And, at about 9pm est or so, tune to the 3.870, 3.872 area....

[Ed/KB1HYS]

a long time ago on an Army field exercise, we were harassed by 'coons. They carried off a full ruck sack and ripped it to shreds, invaded the medical supplies, and just about everything else we had that  even remotely smelled like it was edible. Generally making a mess and keeping us awake all night long.

The Platoon Sgt kept his stuff in a sack an literally sat on it. Once he got up for a second, and turned to see "Rocky" making off with his sack, in broad daylight!

Well, not long after that, we took a small charge of tnt and wired it up. Placed it in a small hole liberally smeared with c-ration peanut butter and waited.  

Later that night, we heard the party starting, we hit them with a light (to confirm target) and lit off the tnt...  I distincly remember seeing a large coon launched upward of 6 feet high, and run off into the woods smacking a few trees along the way.  His accomplice was stunned and quickly finished off.

No more problems after that.

[The Slab Bacon]

Coon Hunting was a regular passtime for myself and a handful of friends 30 years ago. Picture 4 or 5 drunks, 1 or 2 good dogs, and 1 very beat up .22 rifle tromping through the woods at night armed with climbers and flashlights, and that was us. We used to have a ball!!  Not to mention that @17.50 per hide, that was our drinkin money!!  It was definately a unique experience!  Life was good back then!!

                                 The Slab Bacon

[WB3JOK]

lit off the tnt...  I distincly remember seeing a large coon launched upward of 6 feet high, and run off into the woods smacking a few trees along the way.

You blew him up with TNT and all he did was run away?? That is a lot tougher than I thought they would be

And, at about 9pm est or so, tune to the 3.870, 3.872 area....

<Larry TheCableGuy>
Now that's funny, I don't care who you are, that's funny right there...
</Larry>

It's a good thing I wasn't drinking my coffee when I saw your post, it'd have come out my nose 

-Charles

[The Slab Bacon]

You blew him up with TNT and all he did was run away?? That is a lot tougher than I thought they would be

If you dont think they are tough little critters, you should see one go at it with a good coon dog! Ti is quite a sight to behold. If it isnt a good dog, the coon often wins!

[WA1GFZ]

One night a big coon was going at my trash can. I was putting down slate in my solar room so grabbed a 1 by 2 foot hunk at least an inch thick and bounced it off his back. He looked up at me as if to say are you kidding?
Good thing the lid was tight because he worked on it for a while longer. The next size larger slate was too big for me to throw at him and I didn't want to crack it.

[W3RSW]

Good stories; yeah, coons are some of the smartest critters in the woods.  Send me a tail for my antenna; promise I'll mount it.   The .223 is a nice cartridge but my .243 is more fun to gut them with.  Must be gettin' soft in my adulthood; I have a groundhog living under my house deck.  ...Just don't have the heart to shoot him yet. Think I'll name him George. Probably wind up with fleas-  wish I had my dogs back but they're a pain when you want to go away for anything over a day or so. 

When we first moved here, wife was coming down from upstairs early in morning when she let out a shriek. "What's wrong?"  "Jes..s.  there's racoons in my kitchen sink, a whole family of them coming in off the bushes through the open window." She took a broom to them and they scattered for good, guess they're pretty shy when not wanted, at least as a family unit.

Anyway when we mentioned the fracas to the former owners, the ex-lady of the house piped up, "Oh!, You've met Rocky."  Guess she was feeding them all along.  ....   Yeech..  what a zoo.  -What you get for living in the woods.