The raccoon thief!

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Pearl

Pearl

Finder of lost things AND The Boss
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Apr 19, 2021
Messages
16,995
Location
North central Texas
My barn cat came up to the back door last night for her snack. I gave her a bowl with some canned food in it and she left a little bit. Opened the door to get the bowl and a raccoon was sitting about a foot away. He grabbed the bowl in in front paws and HOPPED away into the woods, craziest thing I ever saw!!
 
We had a raccoon take up residence in our attic. It was a lengthy and expensive project to evict her, and her offspring. They are not welcome around here.
 
They've killed all my chickens a couple of times, they are my #1 enemy. If I see any evidence at all they are sneaking around my chicken pen it's all out war from that moment! I go after them with everything including the kitchen sink, live traps, steel traps, snares. I bait everything. They love tuna salad, bologna, spam, peanut butter. I even caught one using mayonnaise.

That said, raccoons are amazing little critters. They are so different than other small night time visitors. They can do incredible things with their hands, yes I call their front paws - hands. They are more hand-like than a squirrel's or possum's or... and yes, they are thieving little sob's. They love anything shiny. They are also some what predictable, their downfall. If they find food somewhere, they will be back, usually the next night.

Your bowl will probably be within 40yds of your porch.
 
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..Speaking of 'Post a Photo, a Real Photo', I'll just let this 'series' tell the story of lil 'Nyuk Nyuk'...

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Got 'im! 😂

'Backstory', if / as-of any interest, here: https://www.survivalistboards.com/threads/possum-update.895536/page-7#post-18968940 Lolz..

jd
 
Peanut said:
They've killed all my chickens a couple of times, they are my #1 enemy. If I see any evidence at all they are sneaking around my chicken pen it's all out war from that moment! I go after them with everything including the kitchen sink, live traps, steel traps, snares. I bait everything.
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Now, now, you are supposed to be 'animal-friendly'😉 and use:


That one had to start over, 7 miles from my back patio. :p
 
Possums get blamed for many things raccoons do. Possums are really dumb and they eat grubs. Will they eat an egg or chicken? Yes but it's more of a matter stumbling into food. They don't usually go hunting for chickens etc. Raccoons are smart, they hunt and are very clever when it comes to gaining access to places.

If a critter gets into something here on my farm... I simply ask "did it require cleverness or dexterity? No - possum or skunk. Yes - raccoon.

Lets not leave out the mental midgets of the farm... armadillos, plus they are effectively blind! They can't see a human 10ft away but they can smell one from 100ft. It makes them seem smart. They seem to avoid traps also, smart? No, they are just to dumb to get into most traps.🤣

@Supervisor42 Old riddle, how do you get a raccoon out of a live trap? Put it in the fish pond while you think about it! It'll come to you! :rolleyes:
 
Peanut said:
Possums get blamed for many things raccoons do. Possums are really dumb and they eat grubs. Will they eat an egg or chicken? Yes but it's more of a matter stumbling into food. They don't usually go hunting for chickens etc. Raccoons are smart, they hunt and are very clever when it comes to gaining access to places.

If a critter gets into something here on my farm... I simply ask "did it require cleverness or dexterity? No - possum or skunk. Yes - raccoon.

Lets not leave out the mental midgets of the farm... armadillos, plus they are effectively blind! They can't see a human 10ft away but they can smell one from 100ft. It makes them seem smart. They seem to avoid traps also, smart? No, they are just to dumb to get into most traps.🤣

@Supervisor42 Old riddle, how do you get a raccoon out of a live trap? Put it in the fish pond while you think about it! It'll come to you! :rolleyes:
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We have all 4 down here but you won't see a single one unless you go out after midnight.
They are very 'cultured' critters.:)
The holes they dig in your yard, however will be visible the next morning :mad:.
 
Peanut said:
They've killed all my chickens a couple of times, they are my #1 enemy. If I see any evidence at all they are sneaking around my chicken pen it's all out war from that moment! I go after them with everything including the kitchen sink, live traps, steel traps, snares. I bait everything. They love tuna salad, bologna, spam, peanut butter. I even caught one using mayonnaise.

That said, raccoons are amazing little critters. They are so different than other small night time visitors. They can do incredible things with their hands, yes I call their front paws - hands. They are more hand-like than a squirrel's or possum's or... and yes, they are thieving little sob's. They love anything shiny. They are also some what predictable, their downfall. If they find food somewhere, they will be back, usually the next night.

Your bowl will probably be within 40yds of your porch.
Click to expand...
Yep, found it😃
 
This is why it's important to know which critter is snooping around your property, and why I keep live trapping to a minimum. I only use one when it's very possible that I catch a pet. Birdshot won't hurt a steel trap it'll make a mess out of a live trap. Dad shot up my live trap with a .22 once, spent a couple hours making repairs. He only fired twice.

skunk.jpeg
 
Spikedriver said:
Raccoons must die. That is all...

Skunks, possums, and groundhogs too. None of them may live in my vicinity...
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You left out coyotes. :mad:
They kill small animals (and newborn calves if there is a pack:oops:).
One of a very few creatures that are on my 'shoot-on-sight' list. They go beyond 'nuisance'.
We don't need a single one.:waiting:

@phideaux hates groundhogs and shoots them. He calls them 'whistle-pigs'.
 
I call them "targets". Only problem is they usually will only appear when I don't have a rifle with me.

I shoot at coyotes too but I give them a certain level of respect. They may be the jerks of the animal world, but they're the most adaptable, most intelligent critters I've ever seen. They've learned to follow the farm equipment through the fields during harvest now. When the fields are almost done and there's only a few rows of corn left, the coyotes will run next to the combine and wait for the bunnies to run out of the corn ahead of it. They'll also follow the hay rake through a hay field to catch the mice that get kicked out. That intelligence is what makes them fun to hunt...
 
We have a local coyote hunt each year, they walk the farms. A local guy down the road (Jordan's Harvest) puts the hunt on youtube. Kind of funny to watch when I can spot the farm they're at.
I dislike raccoons alot. They've taken out 5 of my meat chickens and 11 of my guineas this year. Possums just like to see if there's any dry cat food leftover. But they are gross, giant rats.
 
My take ....

Raccoons are not good for anything except thievery , carrying rabies, and killing domestic foul. Shoot everyone I can.

Whistle pigs are useless. Only destructive to property. Tunnels and holes everywhere, I shoot every one I can. They can see you blink your eyes at 100 yards. Hard to hunt.

Skunks , I leave em alone...period.

Coyotes are useless also, carry rabies , fleas , ticks, and are murders of young livestock.

Possums, they're the most useful of the bunch. They clean up all your ticks and fleas, do not carry rabies , no destruction of property, will not harm any other animals.
Yes, ugly , but I leave them to do their thing.


Armadillos are now invading KY. Only ones I've seen have been roadkill.

King snakes are my friends ...the bigger the better.

Jim
 
phideaux said:
My take ....

Raccoons are not good for anything except thievery , carrying rabies, and killing domestic foul. Shoot everyone I can.

Whistle pigs are useless. Only destructive to property. Tunnels and holes everywhere, I shoot every one I can. They can see you blink your eyes at 100 yards. Hard to hunt.

Skunks , I leave em alone...period.

Coyotes are useless also, carry rabies , fleas , ticks, and are murders of young livestock.

Possums, they're the most useful of the bunch. They clean up all your ticks and fleas, do not carry rabies , no destruction of property, will not harm any other animals.
Yes, ugly , but I leave them to do their thing.


Armadillos are now invading KY. Only ones I've seen have been roadkill.

King snakes are my friends ...the bigger the better.

Jim
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Good wisdom.

Let's not forget racoons also carry leptosporosis.

Ben
 
phideaux said:
My take ....

Raccoons are not good for anything except thievery , carrying rabies, and killing domestic foul. Shoot everyone I can.

Whistle pigs are useless. Only destructive to property. Tunnels and holes everywhere, I shoot every one I can. They can see you blink your eyes at 100 yards. Hard to hunt.

Skunks , I leave em alone...period.

Coyotes are useless also, carry rabies , fleas , ticks, and are murders of young livestock.

Possums, they're the most useful of the bunch. They clean up all your ticks and fleas, do not carry rabies , no destruction of property, will not harm any other animals.
Yes, ugly , but I leave them to do their thing.


Armadillos are now invading KY. Only ones I've seen have been roadkill.

King snakes are my friends ...the bigger the better.

Jim
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Perfect answer

I trap coons, single .22 takes care of them. Somehow got 2 at once last summer. I thinned them out last year. Only got 2 this year. Possums I never mess with. Ugly, but good critters.
 
SoJer said:
..Unless they get into yer rented-house Attic - and turn it into their Roman-toilet / Orgerium... :mad: Then the Only solution is CHK-CHKK! 👍

jd
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Possums also carry a nasty, nasty type of horse disease. They spread it by getting in the barn and crapping on your hay. EPM, some type of Encephalitis. My ex was terrified of it and would throw away any hay bale that had critter poop on it. That got expensive, because there's as many possums as people in my area.

Possums need killed too, just on general principles.

I will agree on leaving most snakes alone. They don't hurt anything. I have a rather large personal space when it comes to danger noodles though, and I would kill those in a heartbeat. I would have to go about 80 or 100 miles south to find one though...
 
Terri9630 said:
Danger noodles?
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He's talking about venomous snakes.
They are everywhere down here. Short, fat, and black, water moccasins (AKA: Cottonmouth).
Also one of the very few on my 'shoot on sight' list. We don't need any of those :waiting:.
Agkistrodon_piscivorus_leucostoma.jpg

If you see one, shoot it. If not, the next time you see it, it may be sending you to the emergency room :oops:.
 
Bacpacker said:
We have copperhead around here. Nasty temper. Rattlers too, but they aren't nearly as aggressive. Like Jim, I'll gladly let king snakes hang out. They keep the bad guys away
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I always hear that! Don't kill your mom poisonous snakes they keep the poisonous ones away! I can't,t agree with that!! They all live in harmony at my place. Even had a bull snake and a copperhead under the gas grill together this past summer, they both had to die!!🐍
 
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