I thought the troublemakers were going to steal my car for a second!
For those that like to see raccoons
- Thread starter Heyok
- Start date
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Hey, that looks like the same gang of bandits that roam my back yard most every night! Man they travel quickly.
LOL ... My avatar in action, especially when they are inspecting the boxes!
Ssayer
BIT Beta Team
Sybertiger
Known around here
What ever you do, don't shake the trees....
I had a single raccoon destroy my back yard digging for worms. I now have two dedicated raccoon cams that send me a critical alert if anything moves on the ground in my yard. First time he came back he got a .22 pellet. Ran off and hasn't come back since.
Ssayer
BIT Beta Team
That's where we differ. Don't get me wrong, Raccoons and Groundhogs are NOT my friends as they are way too destructive. But... as much as I dislike them, I have no desire to have them suffering because of me. I prefer they get one shot to the kill zone and if necessary, one shot to the head to end it quickly. From there? Landfill...
It was an air rifle from ~50 yards meant to chase him away and hopefully remember not to come back. If he did come back, plan is to get a trap and do exactly what you said.
TheWaterbug
Known around here
Humans are lucky that raccoons don't have opposable thumbs.
healthy coons in those neighborhoods, ya feed em well, only had to trap 1 so far,
our place is run over with tree rats, every year, 50-100 that takes the trip.
our place is run over with tree rats, every year, 50-100 that takes the trip.
Ssayer
BIT Beta Team
Hey! I wonder if they have anything inside that I can pilfer! Oh wait, is there anything on that table? FWIW, this is one of 5 offspring from one raccoon this year. His/her/it's mama ended up in one of my traps about 20 minutes later just off of the deck. Still 5 to go from that gaze...
View attachment DeckSVC3.20220810_020014_1.mp4
View attachment DeckSVC3.20220810_020014_1.mp4
Mike A.
Known around here
- May 6, 2017
- 4,199
- 7,067
They used to come in through the cat door to get to the food dish. (Pardon the crappy old cams that I had at the time... pitiful. lol) Wouldn't even slow down coming in. They knew it was there and how it worked from other houses I suppose.
Used to see a lot but haven't seen any around lately. Seems to have been a inverse relationship between the populations of rabbits and raccoons and the big increases in fox around here in more recent years.
Used to see a lot but haven't seen any around lately. Seems to have been a inverse relationship between the populations of rabbits and raccoons and the big increases in fox around here in more recent years.
Ssayer
BIT Beta Team
TheWaterbug
Known around here
My parents have raccoons as well! Healthy population:
I've got at least one family of raccoons run through my yard nightly, and like to climb up on my deck railings to grab a drink from the bird bath. While taking a drink, they always dip their paws in and give a quick wash as well.
I use to have a pair that never caused any problems, and would just run around my yard and play. Haven't seen them in a while. What does damage where I live is the damn possums. I can't have flowers, because the little turds eat them! But I live with it because I haven't seen ONE copperhead, centipede or tarantula in my yard since we have lived here. And there are LOTS of copperheads in my area. So its a form of detente between us! 
I have several opossums as well. My neighbors try to trap them etc.. I'm like, are you guys idiots? They eat all kinds of pests and other crap you don't want in your yards and you're trying to kill them?
Most of my neighbors think that any wild animal needs to be immediately removed or killed. They have zero idea that most of these animals HELP us.
Most of my neighbors think that any wild animal needs to be immediately removed or killed. They have zero idea that most of these animals HELP us.
Smilingreen
Known around here
When I was building my house, I had one big Coon that would climb up on my tractor at night and take a big ol crap, right in the middle of the seat. I finally caught him after a couple of months, in the cross hairs of the scope mounted on my old Marlin 60. Never had any more coon turds, after that.
Smilingreen
Known around here
I have several possums that roam my farm and come up to the house. They, like coons, are scavengers. We have one that is missing his tail completely. We nick named him stubby. He is a beta possum. There are some alpha possums running around that he is scared of and will retreat and leave the food he was eating when the alphas approach. My wife dumps all the food scraps out in the front yard. About dusk, they make their daily trot up through the yard to see what kind of treats they can find for the evening. We have several large coons that roam, too. As long as they don't bother anything around my house or out buildings, I leave them alone and let them do their thing.
Now, Squirrels, on the other hand, I have a total hate/hate relationship with those bastards. They chew on anything and everything, from steering wheels on equipment, to fuel lines, any type of plastic body panels to siding on the barns and anything else they decide looks like something they can hone their teeth on. Living in 25+ acres of mature woods, there is a never ending supply of moving targets.