OT trapped a raccoon

Just open the trap from the backside and he will run like a bat outa hell.

When I did that, I used welder's gloves to load the trap in the Suburban on a sheet of plywood. On the other side of the river, I held a .45 on the critter and explained to him that if he didn't exit in an appropriate direction I was going to blast him. I doubt he understood, but he departed in the desired direction.

Pete Keillor

There was a great plan for a coonskin cap in an issue of _Boy's Life_ from around 1958 or 1959. You could look it up.

You can release the latch on top of the trap with your fingers without the 'coon being able to reach you. Put a stick between it and the cage to keep it up and out of the way.

Now you have a choice. You have to push the spring-loaded wire bail back from the front of the trap. The 'coon still won't be able to reach you. But now you want to be careful.

If your trap is like mine, there's a hole in the door that's made so you can loop a piece of wire into it, to tie down the spring-loaded bail. Tie it down (the coon still can't reach you). Tie a long piece of string to the spring on the bottom of the door. Unwind your string and walk away with it. Now you can just pull the string and the door will lift.

'Coons are very smart. He'll run out. Unless he's rabid, it won't be towards you. Other animals are sometimes too dumb to get out. You'll have to leave them with the door open for a while before they get the idea.

With squirrels and cats, I just aim the open end of the trap away from me and do all of this with my hands, holding onto the outside of the door while the critter runs out. Squirrels may sit there and look at you for a while before realizing they're free.

Have fun! Report any bites. d8-)

Oh, BTW, you can eat the 'coon. I've never tried it so I can't recommend it.

One more thing: If you put the trap with 'coon inside in the trunk of your car, to haul him away, put a big plastic bag on the floor of the trunk first, and cover it with multiple layers of newspaper. This is for obvious reasons...

.22 CB short out of a revolver has just enough umph to go through his skull at point blank range and its not excessively loud. Coons are very strong but in general smart enough to run away from you. If it has any signs of rabies call animal control and keep your distance rather than releasing it.

Be glad its not a badger. He would destroy your cage and then come looking to kick your ass just because he can. Nah, not really, but they are really tough. 3 of those little bullets through the skull doesn't always stop those. Ask me how I know. LOL.

Looks nasty:

Be careful Iggy!! My dog trapped a coon under our house. Dog lost the battle. Coon 'bitch-slapped' him (big dog, a fighter) and my dogs upper lips were mere dangling ribbons of flesh. Healed OK and lesson learned.

Ivan Vegvary

I had almost the same experience, but worse. I came home from a job at

I didn't get sprayed - there was no spraying - but my heart rate sure did get up there!

The woodchuck was finally dealt with when my wife bounced a rock off its ass, and it waddled away indignently, never to be seen again.

If your trash has been tossed recently or you have farmers growing corn near you, the vote would be for the coup de grâce.

I remember a Disney movie I watched as a kid. A couple coons get into a cabin and trash it. It was a bit funny then but now I know it wasn't funny.

Wes

you, the vote

I have learned my lesson and keep trash locked up in a plastic shed. Raccoons are much less annoying now.

I had a bad experience with raccoons living in my attic and refusing to leave in my house in town. Since it was in town I wasn't allowed to shoot them so now that I live in the country I don't attempt to release them alive. I caught some in my live trap, tied a rope to the trap and threw it in my pond. Pulled it out a couple of hours later and released the raccoon, they get pretty stiff, just kind of rolled out. Anyway, it's silent...

On the house where they were in the attic, I got them out by using moth balls, seems they couldn't tolerate them.

RogerN

Clever. 3 minutes would proably be enough. And you probably burned the dead raccoon in the burn barrel, which is another thing that I cannot have.

Moth balls in the attic is a really bad idea. They are dangerous not only for raccoons, but for people also. I keep mothballs in the shed, and in the generator control box, but would never use them in the house.

Roger, what do you do with the rest of the moth? Dispose of it?

Ivan Vegvary

What is the danger? Curious since grandma used them in closets that I played in sometimes as a kid.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

The vapors of mothballs are harmful. All mothballs come with huge warnings about this. Their smell gives me headaches.

_Plastic_ shed? I dunno - 'coons can be pretty assertive about getting what they want. At one time I had garbage in a steel can with a tight fitting lid. When they pulled the lid off I put a piece of chain from one side handle, through the lid handle, and clipped to the other side. They rolled the can around the yard until they dislodged the lid enough to get the garbage (leaving a trail of garbage that wasn't good enough for them). Then I chained the can to the house & I had no more trouble.

At an apartment house I had the coons tore shingles off the roof, trying to get in. Must have looked like a good place for a den.

Then there was the rabies epidemic and I haven't seen a coon in, what,

Bob

Skunk instead of groundhog happened to us twice already. In fact, we keep an old plastic shower curtain handy for whenever that happens. They tend to get "goofy" in the presence of a walking shower curtain that eventually comes to rest over the trap. The last one took five minutes before leaving the trap after it was opened. When it finally came out we had to chase it away. It didn't want to leave and this was in broad daylight.

A sticky situation. Let me tell you, those can be mean MF's. They are very commonly rabies carriers, too. I'd shoot the thing, wait about an hour until you are damn sure it's dead, drop it out of the cage, all the time wearing waterproof gloves, power wash the cage, and don't do anything like this again.

Like the man sez, be thankful it wasn't a badger. Or a skunk.

What were you thinking? These things can be a serious PITA if they like it around your house, or find a girlfriend. They can tear up a dog, and make a full sized man squeal like a pig. And they're pretty smart, too.

Steve

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A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

I just threw the racoon in brushy area for the coyotes or whatever to eat.

Probably a bad idea but when other raccoons got in the attic, the one dwelling in there got in a fight with it and a raccoon fell through the ceiling in my son's bedroom. Luckily my son was staying with grandma that night. That was such a stressful time I was ready to burn my house down to get the damned things out. I tried loud music and everything else I could think of, a few moth balls did the trick. I probably would have tried gasoline and matches but the damned animal probably would have escaped. For what I have put up with raccoons I would get pleasure out of putting gasoline on them and lighting them. Other than that I like them to test ammunition on, haven't shot one with my .264 Win mag or .338 Win mag yet.

RogerN

The thing to remember (and the thing I forgot) is that groundhogs/ woodchucks only come out to play during the day, and skunks (almost) only at night. Actually, if you see a skunk in the daytime, there's a good chance it's rabid.

Therefore, don't leave your traps set at night.