I have a raccoon that has homesteaded under my back yard storage building. I'm wondering if spraying under and around the building with ammonia might send him on down the road. Any one have a better idea short of shooting, I'm in a city so that is out and he doesn't show himself except late night and other than the odor the only clue to what he is are his tracks. RM~
What does raccoon odor smell like? Can you chase him down with a fish net? Do NOT pin him in a corner, especially if foaming at the mouth.
If he likes you enough to move in, he is getting to your food and/or garbage. Lock it all up.
havahart live trap, move to new far away location.
secure shed so no resident cant move in
Pellet gun-- or use 22 BB cap or CB cap from a rifle-- next to no sound...
I second getting a Hav-a-hart and make sure you get the one suitable for a large raccoon.
I like the pellet rifle. Rabies pose a threat. What about the new house-wife taser? Pack and re-load.
I've never had luck using a Hav-a-Hart for trapping raccoons nor groundhogs (I usually get a possum or squirrel). An electric fence stopped the groundhogs from getting into my vegetable garden (beating a groundhog over the head with a shovel handle did NOT work!) The most frugal solution would be chicken wire, will last many years, and nearly invisible. I'd rather deal with any of the animals than a skunk.
Far away as in several tens of miles. They are smart little buggers and good navigators. A buddy at work relocated the same raccoon about 3 times (he marked it with paint), and it kept coming back. He finally said the hell with it and shot it.
Note that in many areas, relocating by other than DNR or licensed professional is illegal, so be discreet.
-- aem sends...
Reminds me now of pictures I took a few years ago:
I am aware of endemic rabies around here and handle carefully.
Frank
A radio works. Amonia will work, then seal up the entrance.
No, he likes my fish. We live on a 7 acre residental lake and my storage building is about 15 ft from the shore. RM~
My Dad used to Havahart trap and release squirrels. He finally described it as like trying to scoop a hole in the ocean by dumping from one side of the boat to the other.
Securing around the shed makes more sense. How about a couple big fistfulls of moth balls thrown in?
Hire Bill Murry for night ambush. Him and Chevy Chase can occupy the bunker together, along with Sylvester Stalone.
I'm remembering a couple years ago. The one city west of the river had a major racoon problem. So, the started a trap and release program. They'd drive the critters over the river, and let em go in the woods.
Next year, the city on the east side of the river, the mayor announced that due to the recent surge of racoon problems, they were starting up a trap and release program. Plans to release them on the west side of the river.
============================================== Good Idea guys, I'll throw some moth balls in on top of the ammonia I've already sprayed. Actually I've been re-spraying twice a day. Don't want him getting too comfy. RM~
Why on God's green earth don't you put some ammonia in a bowl then? Spraying it, it's going to smell like ammonia for a few minutes until the fine mist dissipates and what little got on things evaporates. A large bucket or bowl of ammonia will hold the smell longer.
I also agree that he's there because you've got food. Get rid of the food source, put out the stinky ammonia, and he will move on.
Just to add my .02:
The city where I live no longer lends humane traps. They say they will not trap any "healthy animal". !!!!
So the raccoon that has taken over our lives used tocome in and mess up the cat feeding station -- you know how THAT looks!
Got to the point where we have to block up the cat door every night. So the cat comes in through my bedroom window, staining paint on the outside and wrecking wallpaper on the inside. There was a scare in town where a criminal was entering houses and terrorizing older women. So I wrote to the police chief, asking him to instruct Animal Control to trap the raccoon. What did His Nibs do? Sent my appeal to Animal Control, which send me a fat package of useless information that I already had!
Hanging a bag of mothballs outside over the cat door makes it unnecessary to block up the cat door until the mothballs sublimate (is that the right term), whereupon the invasion resumes. Meantime, the very spoiled cat will not condescend to use the smelly cat door; just keeps on using the window. I have installed window "blocks" so it won't open more than a certain amount, which I hope is enough to deter a would-be criminal.
Can't use poison for obvious reasons.
If I had a gun...
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