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Joined: May 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Ok we have had some issues lately with the Raccoons getting in our feeder. First they were taking of the lid but now they seem to just be getting it out feeding mechanism.
So my question is there anything we can do to keep them from getting into the feeders and eating all the food.
Or better yet keep them away all together.
We have moved the feed to another location and have used some grease and red pepper to make it a little harder to climb but they wipe it off.
Please let me know of other ideas and solutions as the food is just too expensive to feed the coons.
Thanks
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 221
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Mar 2010
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With feed prices being what they are, a brick of .22 is starting to look more and more attractive for these instances of invasive socialists. Have you considered using an electric fence controller and solar panel to give the raccoons a little "jolt?"
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I had 'coon problems too until I switched feeders. Now they climb all over it and try to get the food out, but they can't. Both the Texas Hunter directional and AquaPro directional feeders have proved to be 'coon proof.
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Joined: May 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Clayton, the .22 may be an idea if we lived there, the fence may be an option, but not sure how much sun would hit the solar panel.
Esshup,
If cost was not an issue and we lived there Texas Hunter would be nice, but the cheap feeder is what we can afford now.
The funny thing is we have never had issues before this year, or ever with the deer feeders.
Maybe there are some other ideas out here, that one can use without going too extreme.
Thanks for helping out.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I'd look into the solar fence. You can put the solar panel anywhere there is sun, and run an insulated wire to where you want the fence to start from the charger. That's really the best option unless you want to sit and wait for the 'coons to come at night with the .22.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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Cut a hole in the the bottom of a 5-gal pail that matches the size of the feeder's slinger-port. Align the bucket's new hole over the feed-slinger hole and attach the bucket to the feeder with a dozen sheet-metal screws bored through the remaining OUTER PERIMETER of the pail's bottom (using fender-washers help a lot). Mounted in this manner, the bucket's wide mouth shouldn't affect the slinger's pattern. Coons trying to access the feed-slinger hole invariably fall off of the bucket's curved-horizontal surface. Works extra-better if the feeder is stationed over water (mounted on a dock) with the bucket's mouth extending out over the water; since the coons fall completely off of the dock and into the water. Grease applied to the bucket's upper/outer surface makes the coons' attempts even more comical. After a few times, they give up - or, keep falling off if they're really stubborn. BTW: Running the screws around the pail-bottom's perimeter and through fender-washers helps to keep the screw-heads from pulling through the pail's plastic bottom under the weight of a heavy coon.
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 98
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Sep 2008
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We live on some acres, the coons are here but usually stay away from the house. If I start to see things being messed with or feeders torn down, I put out live traps. There is usually one or two ringleaders and I re-locate them to the next county. Suprisingly, the trouble usually stops for a good while.
A friend of mine was telling me he had a very bad problem with destructive coons around his house in a residential area. He tried the flybait and cola method. He said it was soooo effective he would not dare use it again, ever, and hopes his neighbors don't find out it was him. A half dozen coons, two oppossums, and a fox. In one night from one pan. This was summertime and he said the stink was awful.
I'm not suggesting this method, I'm saying if you get desperate and someone suggests this, Know what will happen.
Jeff-
Last edited by TennJeff; 08/30/11 03:50 PM. Reason: spelling
1 acre pond, slopes to 15ft depth. Has BG and few LMB plus a half dozen pesky sliders.
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Joined: May 2011
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Joined: May 2011
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Can't you simply shoot them? Racoons shouldn't be protected by any strict laws (correct me if I'm wrong).
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
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You need to get out more...
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829 |
In indiana, nusiance animals like raccoons can be taken care of. A new law goes into effect starting this 2011 hunting/trapping season: 5) Removes the requirement for resident landowners or tenants to notify a conservation officer within 72 hours of taking a nuisance mammal listed in this rule (312 IAC 9-3-15). This eliminates the need for thousands of Hoosiers to call conservation officers every time they capture one of these species of nuisance wild animals and clarifies that the animal that is captured cannot be kept as a pet, sold, traded, bartered or gifted.
I don't know many people that do call, they just take care of what needs to be taken care of and go about their business.
Last edited by esshup; 08/31/11 11:32 PM. Reason: added new law that goes into effect
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Lunker
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Lunker
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If we lived there my buddies and I would sit out and have some target practice, but this is land that we just have permission to use, and have a feeder on. So not there at night much. I think we may try to get a trail come up to see how many we are dealing with so to see if the trapping and transferring is an option. Plus who knows what else may be eating the food.
What is the (flybait & cola method), I sorry but not familiar with that.
I like the idea of the bucket but we have the hanging type cheap feeder, so that is not much of an option.
I guess some sort of poison may work but when attempting this not sure what you could use that deer would not get into.
I assume deer do not like fish food. (Or do they like GFC or AM)
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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In indiana, nusiance animals like raccoons can be taken care of. A new law goes into effect starting this 2011 hunting/trapping season: 5) Removes the requirement for resident landowners or tenants to notify a conservation officer within 72 hours of taking a nuisance mammal listed in this rule (312 IAC 9-3-15). This eliminates the need for thousands of Hoosiers to call conservation officers every time they capture one of these species of nuisance wild animals and clarifies that the animal that is captured cannot be kept as a pet, sold, traded, bartered or gifted.
I don't know many people that do call, they just take care of what needs to be taken care of and go about their business. WHAT? You mean I've been dispatching nuisance animals all these years without even knowing that there was a "requirement" involved? I may not be able to sleep tonight. I don't know of anyone who followed that law either.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829 |
In indiana, nusiance animals like raccoons can be taken care of. A new law goes into effect starting this 2011 hunting/trapping season: 5) Removes the requirement for resident landowners or tenants to notify a conservation officer within 72 hours of taking a nuisance mammal listed in this rule (312 IAC 9-3-15). This eliminates the need for thousands of Hoosiers to call conservation officers every time they capture one of these species of nuisance wild animals and clarifies that the animal that is captured cannot be kept as a pet, sold, traded, bartered or gifted.
I don't know many people that do call, they just take care of what needs to be taken care of and go about their business. WHAT? You mean I've been dispatching nuisance animals all these years without even knowing that there was a "requirement" involved? I may not be able to sleep tonight. I don't know of anyone who followed that law either. Yep! Mom & Dad have a house on the local lake. Houses ring the lake, with a lot of city folks there on the weekend. One weekend Dad had the livetrap on the tray under the birdfeeders. Sunday morning there was a pretty good sized coon in the trap. Since Dad didn't want to startle the neighbors with a .22 @ 6:30 a.m., he drowned the coon in a large drum of water. One of the neighbors had friends out from the city and they saw it from the 2nd story window. Around 10:00 a.m. a Conservation Officer rolls up and talks to Dad. Dad showed him how he had to wrap hardware cloth around the birdfeeder to protect it from the squirrels and 'coons, and showed him the dead coon. The CO just said "call next time and it'll save me a trip, or take it around the other side of the house before you give it swimming lessons". No ticket or written warning issued. I think Dad and I caught 18 of those bandits that summer off that tray under the feeder.
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Joined: May 2002
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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KD you never seize to amaze me. Nice fix.
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Joined: May 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Is there anyway to poison them without the deer getting into it?
If so recommendations please.
Are there any other wildlife I should be concerned with eating poison.
Thanks
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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Is there anyway to poison them without the deer getting into it? You might want to send your clothing-size to the local incarceration-facility before you pursue such a plan. And don't bother specifying a color-preferences.
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Poisoning is allowed in some places. Plus coons like rat poison -- ?
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Posts: 28,508 Likes: 829 |
I rarely use poison (the only exception to that is in the crawlspace of the house for mice). Non-target animals are too easily killed, and my dog has full run of the property that isn't wooded (I keep an eye on her so she doesn't leave the property), but she could grab some poison if it was by the feeder. The only poison that I use on a consistent basis is a type of lead poisoning administered in high velocity packages.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Poisoning is allowed in some places. Plus coons like rat poison -- ? Really? As in "sanctioned", or "folks sorta look the other way type of allowed"? Where? And, which poisons are legit for targeting critters besides rodents (nutria, gophers, mice, rats) and livestock-predating canines. Zinc phosphide, sodium fluoroacetate/1080, strychnine, sodium cyanide? I worked for an ag-chem manufacturer many years ago (remember Bopal, India?). Anyway, in the mid-80s, a Texas rancher illegally used one of our granular ag-insecticides to target lamb-killing coyotes. The rancher laced a lamb-carcass with the product and left it as carrion for anything that came along (others have done the same with water melons). Little did the rancher realize that bald eagles will scavenge - just like buzzards. I think that rancher is still wearing striped-apparel; after two eagles, a dozen buzzards and various other critters met their demise. Federal LEAs were heavily involved.
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
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Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
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While I don't recall ever having to resort to poison to control a varmit problem, (aside from mice), I probably wouldn't hesitate to apply a liberal dose if I felt it was the best solution for the problem at hand. I have mentioned here before my penchant for the three S's: Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
I'm not condoning or recommending any illegal, or questionable behaviour by anyone else. I think that everyone should decide for themselves what they consider an appropriate answer to their critter issues.
Myself? What happens on my land, stays on my land. Mum is definitely the word.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: May 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
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If you encase exlax in whatever the racoons are eating, those that have a meal will not touch that food again.
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Joined: Sep 2008
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Lunker
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Lunker
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What is the (flybait & cola method), I sorry but not familiar with that.
I googled it after my buddy told me about it. Apparently granular fly bait is some bad juju. You mix it with cola to get the pests to eat it. He said several coons died right there at the pan and several juust a few feet away... that's powerful. Unfortunately, anything attracted to sweet cola will eat it... and die. He had a fenced in yard and only left it out overnight so he thought it was "controlled". P.S. I have no doubt that most effective extermination methods are illeagal. Be careful.
Last edited by TennJeff; 09/03/11 09:50 AM. Reason: ps
1 acre pond, slopes to 15ft depth. Has BG and few LMB plus a half dozen pesky sliders.
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Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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If you think that you can get away with anything, just take another look at Kelly's post. FEDERAL time!!
BTW, he had this same discussion with me about 7 or 8 years ago. Ever heard about being "scared straight"?
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Live traps (like hav-a-hart) are relatively inexpensive. Raccoons are real suckers for food (like fish food, cat food, apples, dead fish) left at the end of a live trap. If you get the wrong critter, you can always let it go. If it is a raccoon, well . . .
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