Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Raccoons

Apparently I have at least one or maybe even two raccoon families living in an old tree/under a building. They are becoming very destructive so I can either shoot them as I see them or trap them and then kill them. Either way they need to be DEAD! Question becomes is there any money in the skin? Or do I just need to dig a hole and bury them?

Hunting season in IL (north zone where you live) is roughly Nov 5 - Feb 10 (last year) and trapping season was Nov 5 - Jan 20. Again this was last year but expect this year to be roughly the same. That said raccoons are out of season right now and cannot be hunted/trapped.

Ignoring the seasons summer is not the time to collect furbearers since the fur is at its thinnest. Maybe you can get a nuisance permit since they are causing damage to remove them. Call your local DNR office/warden and see if this is possible.

Or SSS shoot, shovel, and shutup.

I feel your pain, with the lower water levels at my pond some food ends up on the shoreline. They are there every night cleaning it up and hunting frogs. They are getting brave and showing up an hour before sunset now. Thank goodness I have a TH feeder. They are trying to get into the feeder and cannot figure out how

They are working the pond, getting into all of our bird feeders every night ,on our back porch knocking down our hummingbird feeders, and diggin for grubs, tearing my yard.

Fun times.

Skunks dig for grubs.....

A good way to catch raccoons is to put out a live trap, lay plywood on the sides, top and back, and put either a can of sardines in oil with holes punched in it, or use cheap fish based cat food in a can. They'll go in a live trap quicker if it's camo'ed like a hollow log. By punching holes in the can rather than taking off the whole top you can most likely re-use the can to catch at least one more.

Good input!

I'll try that when season is in!

Lay a 5 gal bucket on its side, 330 conibear in front and can of tuna in back of bucket. Works great on everything....cats, coons, skunks, possums. Just keep your pets away.

Even better!

If you want to trap them use the Lil Griz raccoon trap. You will only trap raccoons and possums. Not dogs, cats, and worst skunks.

There's also the 'coon cuff or other traps like it. I have caught a feral housecat in one tho!

I have never heard of a coon season. We can do as we please about them in Texas.

Our official season is mid October through the last day in February. But, if they are around the chicken coop, it becomes open season real quick. I've got a variety of live traps, and the larger ones are pretty effective. Of course you have to dispose of it while it is still alive, but that usually isn't much of a problem -- except they are not usually in a very good mood at that point.

Disclaimer .

Many home remedies which work well and may be used or seen used by pond owners are possibly illegal. Not addressing any particular uses or methods just a heads-up. If you want to post those please don't say " I did this or that" as we never know who reads posts here and might try to turn bounty hunter. Pond Boss does not recommend or suggest any non labeled use of any product or methods.

If the neighbor's dog, cat, DNR wildlife, or federally protected animal eats the poison or eats the animal that ate the poison, there could be trouble from various avenues especially if it gets reported to officials. Your actions have liability. Be very careful how one deals with pests.

Thanks guys!

Echo the sentiments from Moderators, but feel I should also state that I know someone really well who tried Brier's method and it worked exactly as he describes. Please bear in mind though there may be unforeseen consequences...please be careful.

TJ:

It sounds like you could be called as a witness if the person you know used Brier's method ever got prosecuted.

That's why the SSS method is in place!

Allow me to restate that, then:

Someone Bing knows very well....

Oh, what have I started? This method is just an old wives tale. Probably not worth your time investigating. Sorry for mentioning such an ineffective method of raccoon eradication.

LOL!!! I am guessing that someone TJ knows very well calls his favorite coon hunter each time he gets one in a live trap so that his friend can use the live coons to train his coon dogs. This is probably animal abuse.

TJ and I know each other very well.

If you accidentally loose your grip on a live trap with a varmint contained while walking the deep side of the shore, and you can't swim, and the closest help is 20 minutes away!

What do you do!!!

They'll never make me drop a dime...provided they don't threaten me with Michael Bolton music

I don't know about the skins. As DD said, in Texas, we don't have a season. I heard that if you put Mint around, a Coon won't come around it. I have a friend that has a house that is getting destroyed by them. We were told by another buddy that if you planted live mint or even just the scent of it around the house, they won't come near it. Anybody else heard this? I didn't belive the guy but he says it works.

Man I didn't think my post would stir this much debate

However it is all informative and since they are not in season, I'll to employ a different strategy to chase them away. I'll fine the worst music and blast it outside to scare them away

Bossone: Per my children, if you want the worst music possible all you need to do is borrow my iPod!