effen raccoons!

[vash]

one of my biggest achievments lately was to completely redo my girlfriend's mom front yard. took out old lawn, installed sprinkler system with timer, and layed awesome sod. the lawn is rockin! but the raccoons have discovered the tasty earthworms under the sod, and they are flipping the pads over to get to the tasty morsels. it will never take root if this keeps up. i may break a few laws soon. i think i can hide on the rooftop with my compound bow, and pin the little suckers onto the ground. jk! what are my more earth friendly solutions? help, any coon hounds for rent?

cliff.

[pwd72s]

Buy sub sonic Long Rifle .22 ammo. It's the breaking of the sound barrier by the bullet that makes the "Crack" of a .22 round going off. Sub sonic sounds like a loud balloon pop. Just be careful of shot placement, but the rooftop scenario sounds good...if you miss, the slug goes into the turf. Helpful hint..."Match" ammo is sub sonic because of it's better accuracy. "Ely" is a popular brand. I have a few of the same vermin bothering me right now. 1 down...2 to go. (edit) Just noticed your location. I may have an advantage. It's 100% legal for me to discharge a firearm to rid myself of vermin. Still, I prefer sub sonic. Why disturb the neighbors or wake up my wife when there is no need?

[Overpaid Slacker]

I bought a Barnet crossbow for a similar problem. Lethality is better than a .45 round.

Plus, crossbows are just plain cool.

JP

[id10t]

Borrow a dog or two, and put 'em in the front yard on loong leashes that are staked to the ground (don't wanna have 'em running loose in the 'hood). Should keep the 'coons and quite a few other things off the lawn.

Or perhaps bribe 'em so they don't even go for the worms. A few whole cheap fish and a bucket of water may be enough to get them away from the grass. Then again, it may be just the right appetizer for worms.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker
I bought a Barnet crossbow for a similar problem. Lethality is better than a .45 round.

Plus, crossbows are just plain cool.

JP

Not quite true. Arrows, even from crossbows, may be as lethal as a .45 round, but take longer to kill. Arrows kill when their intended target bleeds to death. Bullets? One between the spotlight lit eyes, and it's lights out for the vermin. They drop where they once stood. I have a friend who bow hunts...he's good at it. But he's also good at following a blood trail. Lethal? Yes. Silent? Yes. Time it takes for the target to die is another thing. So, you'd like your neighbor, a PETA member, finding a dead raccoon in her yard, a crossbow bolt in it? Hmmmmm... To each his own...I'd rather know where to pick the critter up & dispose of it, and also know I can do so at the time of my choosing.

[vash]

i am getting warm and fuzzy all over! i love hanging with this crowd, you guys have great tactics. coon skin hats anyone?

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by unfixed
i am getting warm and fuzzy all over! i love hanging with this crowd, you guys have great tactics. coon skin hats anyone?

Nawww...it's not politically correct to wear fur these days...

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Hmmm, I'll bet your smarter than the racoons and could figure out a way to solve this problem without killing them. There just looking for a meal, How about trapping and relocating?

[pwd72s]

Tried that here...a "havaheart" trap. It's worked in the past. But this time, after having caught a few neighborhood cats, all of whom were released unharmed, no raccoons. Raccoons probably witnessed the cats in the traps. So, on to plan "B"...

[rammstein]

I 2nd the dogs suggestion. Just make sure they're real big. I seen some big racoons.

[vash]

i actually like having raccoons in the area. i think they avoid the porch light, so i think i may rig up a motion sensor thing on "very sensitive" to see if they scare. i will send my small dog in for calibration purposes. if not, i am going to blast them with a halogen lamp for a bit. i dont want to break my personal hunting rule, only hunt what i will eat....but i bet they taste like chicken.

[nostatic]

depends on the coon. We had a blue tick coon hound for awhile along with our boxer and they treed a coon one night. That thing was pissed, and looked like it could have done some damage.

Then there was the time that our boxer decided to get a bit too close to one of the skunks that lived in our neighborhood. She wasn't very happy, but a friend in PA sent me the secret for destink that worked like a charm. It involved hydrogen peroxide and dish soap.

I don't think I'd do the food bribe since they'd likely come back on a regular basis looking for a regular handout. Lights are the best. I wouldn't do the gun bit...you'd likely go to jail if you got caught.

[dd74]

There's a family of them (and possums) in my area. But they're everywhere, really. Garbage, IMO, is why they're so huge. Coons haven't yet learned about Dr. Atkins, I imagine. And cats are smart about it: they just stare and say "WTF?"

Anyway, understand that if you use dogs, you have to clean up what the dogs leave behind. An old neighbor had a pit bull and some other mongrel as "pets." I kid you not: the pit was strong enough to climb trees like a cat, and did.

Used to be that coons and such would get into this guy's yard and the dogs invariably caught them. How do I know? In the morning, you'd here. "Ah *****!" and the next sound was a shovel scooping up and dumping in the trash "stuff" that sounded like raw meat. Well, I guess that's what exactly it was...

[azasadny]

I got a "Have-a-Heart" trap and used chicken wings as bait to capture raccoons and possum, then took them to our local Animal Control to have them put away, no muss, no fuss, no gunplay in the yard!

[pwd72s]

I guess you guys didn't read me...where I live, rural county area out of the city limits, shooting vermin is 100% legal. Haven't seen any signs of the two remaining Raccoons here for a couple of days, but I did hear some rounds going off. I'm hoping a neighbor did the job for me...

[pohsche]

Water the lawn heavy and rent a power roller. The coons can't pick up the corners and your problem is solved without blood shed. Oh, there is one problem, you can't dress up in your fatiques and play "Rambo".

Alan Poh
'77 Carrera 3.0

[cstreit]

Actually they aren't goign after worms, they are digging for grubs. Long term solution is good grub treatment. When they find no more, they won't come back.

...solution that works for me, but takes a while and dedication: Rather than using the ceramic depository, free your bladder in the areas they dig. Marking your teritory helps. there are also manufactured versions of the same "scent" if you're squeamish..

The sub-sonic .22 while entertaining is probably illegal and I doubt you want to go to jail for a racoon.

[911ctS]

I agree... attack the grubs first. Solve it at its source. Also, have you ever stood at the window and watched the coons? Their pretty amazing creatures none the less. All I ask is that before your release a .22 into their heads you analyze the skills and try to respect the racoon. O ya, remember your the one whos gonna have to pick up their dead carcass the next day with a "chicken $hit" bullet in their skull. Try leaving out some dry cat food and they will go after that way before lifting up the grass. Its worked in my experiences. Just my opinion on the matter.

Clint

[dd74]

...now, if you look like this:



...you might be able to do stuff like this:

[vash]

haha, you guys are great, i got big "soil staples" to tack down the loose edges and i will hook up lights soon. so far they havent come back!