questions about damn raccoons!

[mojo2530]

last year raccoons keep getting in the barn which wouldnt bother me all that bad but we have three cats that live out there and my daughter has become real found of them. well the other day one of the cats had scacthes all over his face and a very swollen eye. i thought the cats had been fighting with each other. tonight i go out to the barn and find the cats all sitting out front ( not real unusual). so i go in and about walk into this big a## raccoon. and there is fur from the cats and coon all over the floor. my question is will this thing keep coming back until i shoot it or is there something i can do keep the coons away, with out harming the cats? and can i leagally shot the raccon in fear of family pets saftey?and to be honest i do worry about my daughter, she could easily stumble onto them like i did probably easier because shes young and doesnt real pay attention to things around her( like most little girls).

 

[jd4320t]

When I lived in the country I murdered every varmint that tried to inhabit my buildings. If you can't shoot them you can trap them.

 

[96firephoenix]

x-large Hav-a-hart traps.

16 gauge with birdshot.

any combination of one or more of the above.

 

[gunman41mag]

last year raccoons keep getting in the barn which wouldnt bother me all that bad but we have three cats that live out there and my daughter has become real found of them. well the other day one of the cats had scacthes all over his face and a very swollen eye. i thought the cats had been fighting with each other. tonight i go out to the barn and find the cats all sitting out front ( not real unusual). so i go in and about walk into this big a## raccoon. and there is fur from the cats and coon all over the floor. my question is will this thing keep coming back until i shoot it or is there something i can do keep the coons away, with out harming the cats? and can i leagally shot the raccon in fear of family pets saftey?and to be honest i do worry about my daughter, she could easily stumble onto them like i did probably easier because shes young and doesnt real pay attention to things around her( like most little girls).

The raccoons around my house only come out late at night, eats some of the dry cat food & leaves, never seen or heard them fight

 

[anewrnn]

Let em have it....

Raccoons tear up animals and property. I don't think your cats will have too many chances against them. Once is enough in my opinion. Just bury them or take them for a ride once their down so they dont stink up your property.You can trap them then what.... take them somewhere else and make them someone elses problem? 22 to the head or wherever..

 

[GoBoilers!]

Don't want to rain on the parade, but be aware that racoons are considered furbearers by IN law, and possession of them outside of season could be considered poaching. There are consessions that allow killing if the animal is destroying property, so you would probably be fine if "caught" or reported to local CO. If this is a concern, call the CO first to let them know / get "permission" to exterminate, or you could do what most do, the SSS-method (shoot, shovel, and shut-up.)

 

[Rayne]

Don't want to rain on the parade, but be aware that racoons are considered furbearers by IN law, and possession of them outside of season could be considered poaching. There are consessions that allow killing if the animal is destroying property, so you would probably be fine if "caught" or reported to local CO. If this is a concern, call the CO first to let them know / get "permission" to exterminate, or you could do what most do, the SSS-method (shoot, shovel, and shut-up.)

^^^ What he said.^^^ Our CO doesn't want to know about it, but legally you should inform either before or after that you had to kill a destructive/nusciance animal. Check this link for the explination.
DNR: Raccoon

One thing you might try that we've had luck with is setting out a pie plate of Big Red soda pop. They love it and will lap it up until they can't hardly move. Do this for a couple days and your problem should be solved. You see racoons don't burp and rarely send gas out the other end either. The carbonation expands their stomachs and will either kill them or give them such a bad experience they don't come back. Either way your racoon problem should be taken care of. I don't particularly like this method, but have used it when I'm trying to keep them out of my sweet corn.

Coons can carry rabies, so you have a lot to be concerned about if your daughter likes to play with the barn cats and they are not vaccinated for rabies. So IMO you really need to take care of that coon or get those cats vaccinated.

 

[mrjarrell]

There's nothing wrong with a racoon that a .22LR can't solve.

 

[Leadeye]

Cage trap to trap them, 22lr to kill them, garbage bag at the curb to finish the job. Repeat because you will never get rid of them, only control them.

 

[Willie]

I would just kill it. Trying to trap it you would be catching your cats too.

Right now you have to noitify the county CO. A time consuming process that is really not needed.

There is a proposal to do away with that reporting requirement.



Public hearings scheduled for proposed rule changes on furbearers

A public hearing on proposed changes to rules on furbearers will be held on April 4 in Plainfield in Hendricks County.

The Natural Resources Commission will conduct a public hearing on proposed changes regarding the possession of both the carcasses and untanned hides of furbearers, as well as furbearers kept alive during the trapping season.

The proposed changes also remove the current requirement for resident landowners or tenants to notify a conservation officer within 72 hours of taking a nuisance mammal on their own property, and clarify that the animal captured can neither be kept as a pet nor sold. The proposed rule language can be viewed at: http://www.IN.gov/legislative/iac/20110126-IR-312100614PRA.xml.pdf

Individuals can provide comments at the public hearing scheduled for Monday, April 4, at 6 p.m. at the Plainfield Public Library at 1120 Stafford Road in Plainfield. Submit comments regarding these proposed changes to the NRC at http://www.IN.gov/nrc/2377.htm by clicking on "Comment on Proposed Rule" next to the “furbearers possession and taking rule amendments.” The deadline for submitting comments is Friday, April 8.

Comments can also be mailed to:

Natural Resources Commission
Indiana Government Center North
100 North Senate Ave., Room N501
Indianapolis, IN 46204

All comments sent to the NRC regarding these proposed rule changes will be provided to its members and DNR staff and will be publicly disclosed and searchable on the Internet and in a paper docket as part of the final report.

For more information: Linnea Petercheff, (317) 233-6527

 

[eldirector]

I currently use a live trap for the raccoons and possums that try to take up residence under my shed. My wife makes me relocate them (yeah, yeah, they are someone else's problem now. sorry). If they come back this spring, I may just get a pellet gun and fertilize the garden instead. I also have a cat and a little girl, so rabid critters either stay outside of the fence or get "taken care of".

 

[snowman46919]

There's nothing wrong with a racoon that a .22LR can't solve.

I emptied 11 hollow points into a coon that kept on a trucking, had to go back to the house and get the 12 gauge. I am pretty sure it was the same coon that shorted the fuse on the transformer outside the house and lived through it. Must have been part cat.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Arrows are very quiet. And they give you handle to pick the wasted critter up with.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I think if those of us who trapped nuisance critters on a regular basis made a concerted effort to call DNR every time we got one, that law would quickly get changed. I'd have to have them on speed dial.

I used to like raccoons, being mostly ambivalent about them. Until I started losing chickens to them.

Also what's the harm in releasing them near someone you don't like as long as it is far enough away from your own place

I may or may not have done that in the past. Now I may or may not SSS as a .22lr is cheaper than getting in the truck and driving a couple miles down the road.

 

[Hardscrable]

Agree with most everything previously said !
Am a lifetime farmer and had many coon "experiences." With arrival of warm spring weather, may soon leave on it's own. If not, it will become permanent tenant until you fix the problem.
They can be very vicious, especially if cornered. Also are/can be very destructive . Would not normally attack a cat or child unless rabid or cornered. I regularly have to deal with one that my lab and / or pit bull have "engaged." 1 or 2 22LR to the head do the trick.

 

[rjstew317]

Maybe another reason to own a suppressed .22lr?

 

[moischmoe]

When I lived in the country I murdered every varmint that tried to inhabit my buildings. If you can't shoot them you can trap them.

Good advice.

I like to shoot them. I'll put the food where I can see it, and sit and wait for them to come. If I don't see them for several days, I put the trap out. If you think you have one coon, you probably have more. One summer, I got 12 of them. The next summer, not so many.

 

[Marc]

i use dog proof traps that target only coons possums and skunks, no other animal bother them, the dog proof is designed specifically for animals that grab their food so you cant catch dogs, cats and other animals. its designed to allow blood flow and reduce damage to the animal and also reduces the chance broken bones like using a foot hold trap. the dog proof trap is universal for all sizes of coons where as if you are using a #1 long spring foot hold and you get a big boar coon he can pull out but if you use a #2 coil spring trap and you get a little coon you can break its bones where as the dog proof trap is a one size fits all, and the trap will hold and not damage the animal. wit foot holds and cages you have an extremely higher chance of catching an animal you arent targeting

 

[anewrnn]

Hilarious, never thought of that.

Also what's the harm in releasing them near someone you don't like as long as it is far enough away from your own place
That is funny as hell, thanks for the chuckle...

 

[762Mike]

i use dog proof traps that target only coons possums and skunks, no other animal bother them, the dog proof is designed specifically for animals that grab their food so you cant catch dogs, cats and other animals. its designed to allow blood flow and reduce damage to the animal and also reduces the chance broken bones like using a foot hold trap. the dog proof trap is universal for all sizes of coons where as if you are using a #1 long spring foot hold and you get a big boar coon he can pull out but if you use a #2 coil spring trap and you get a little coon you can break its bones where as the dog proof trap is a one size fits all, and the trap will hold and not damage the animal. wit foot holds and cages you have an extremely higher chance of catching an animal you arent targeting

That is NICE! Busted with his hand in the cookie jar. Now.. how do you pick him up and take him away without being scratched or bitten? Or, does the trap just hold him still so you have plenty of time to leisurely walk back to the house, enjoy lunch or dinner, read the paper.. then return with the .22?