I don't want to write a thesis on "Law in America"...I just want to kill these coons. haha. Thanks for all the good info above. I do have possums too...but my neighbors' new pond has brought a bunch of coons in. My son sees them late at night (I am asleep). Maybe they are smarter than me???

Trapping, shooting... That's all good, but the easiest way to deal with them is a medium to large breed dog or two. No muss or fuss.

You'd be surprised how many people admit their dog chewed off, broke over, or otherwise damaged trees and then ate the fruit. If they're chasing coon they'll run over anything.

I have a family of racoons living in the garage behind my neighbors house.. 40 feet from my fish pond and 20 feet from my garden. (25 x100 foot city lots)

I also have a fi-shock electric fence around the pond and around the garden.. the racoons go out of their way to avoid setting foot in my yard.

It is on a timer so it comes on at 8PM and shuts off at 8AM.

I occasionally move it around a little in the spring but it is easy to do.

keepitlow; if you think there is a possibility of it being a possum or even a coon/possum combo, follow swampsnaggs advice on the peanut butter/jelly sandwich. That's what a lot of folks here have used for coon and possums love it too. Probably possum would go for the marshmallow too, but I think the PBJ might be more effective. It smells strong, possum are nearly blind...they go on smell.
Truth of the matter is both will eat damn near anything.
How many of you have caught a skunk in your traps? Bet that's a good time.

Swampsnaggs, raccoons being attracted to other raccoons' scents would explain why I caught a 2nd raccoon one day after the first, even though I hadn't gotten around to baiting the trap. It surprised the heck out of me.

A couple days ago, I got two in the trap at once, a first for me. I use apple cores, with a smear of peanut butter. It seems that most things (like raccoon, squirrels, and groundhog (sometimes)) will go for it. Regrettably, it hasn't worked for a rabbit which has been eluding me for more than a year and chomping on my garden.

I've gotten 2 skunks, but haven't been sprayed yet (*knocks on wood*). I've tossed a tarp over the cage so they couldn't see me and it seems to have kept them calm.

Seems like folks having lots of problems. Guess I should count my blessings that we have no raccoons in my area. Also thankful we have no rats or groundhogs either. Or earwigs...

Rabbits and squirrels could be an issue though... haven't caused any problems yet, but definitely around and something to watch for. Got slugs, wish I didn't.

I was panning through the documentary section on Netflix streaming and found this one about them.Nature:Raccoon Nation.It was interesting and I learned a few things. Brady

Here is a link that might be useful: Raccoon Nation

BTW, KIL, coons eat only ripe or nearly ripe fruit- when green fruit is taken it is generally the work of squirrels.

The reason the pros around here use marshmallows instead of sardines or pet food is that you are less likely to trap skunks or farrow cats. I've noticed that skunks don't usually go after MM,s except during drought when I assume there isn't much for them to grub out of the earth.

I caught this critter last year in my coon trap. The beauty of live traps is that you can open the door and release non-target animals, which of course I did. As Hman mentions, I sometimes catch feral cats and release those too.

I use plain old cat food as a bait. Coons/possums seem to like it well enough. Marshmallows would probably minimize trapping non-target animals, but since I release non-target catches anyway, the cat food works OK for me.

Olpea, that works for you because skunks are in your vermin category.

It's illegal here to trap and move a coon to a new home. They taste better than beef to me. They are a delicacy to some people here in the south.

I do have skunks too. If I catch one in my trap...what to do??? I don't want to get sprayed for sure. haha

I hope you don't get a skunk in your trap. When I was about 6 years old my little friend and I found two baby skunks in the field. We thought they were too young to spray. We threw some kinda chicken wire box over them to try and trap them and Surprise! we got sprayed.

This post was edited by zackey on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 11:11

Marshmallows have worked good for me and coon. But that was before I got 2 Dachshunds. I haven't tried since.

Skunk in your trap, hopefully it's too small for them to turn around. Approach from the front and cover with a tarp. Drop the trap in water (big blue plastic tub works for my trap, better than trying to shoot anything through the trap and tearing it up). Look up the recipe for the hydrogen peroxide skunk odor remover and have that on hand.

I might need a stronger stomach to skin and dress coon. Deer are hard enough for me. I was raised in suburbia and the only flesh we harvested and cleaned ourselves was fish. I'm probably the only family member in many generations to even skin a deer or own a gun capable of killing them.

Skunk is said to be pretty tasty as well, isn't it?

Do not drown the poor skunk if you don't keep bees or have good reason, at least if it's just because you are afraid of being sprayed.

Easiest thing is get a trap with a separated locking door on the trip side. These traps allow you to free the varmint without exposing your hands much and it is easy to release a skunk without getting sprayed if you use a tarp. Gemplers carries them.

If all you have for a door is a spring front, just wear rubber gloves. Rarely does the skunk spray in the process if you move slowly anyway, especially if you through the tarp over and come back in a few minutes.

Usually the skunks are so mellow they don't even rush out of the traps and seem to appreciate the tarp to help them snooze. They might just hang out until night time it you don't shoo them out.

Thanks all. I have caught random stuff in my traps. Amazing what comes around at night. The neighbors cat was not happy when I released him from my trap. The opossums can get grouchy too. haha

Possums- you let possums go? They are fruit destroyers on par with coons.

I think it's still illegal to release a skunk in IL. Too many with rabies.
Of course it's illegal to trap furbearers without a license, and skunks are a "protected" species so I don't know how the two laws mesh if you're trying to catch something unprotected like a feral cat and get a skunk.

Drowning (preferably in running water like a stream) is how you kill them for fur.

"Olpea, that works for you because skunks are in your vermin category."

Surprisingly, I've only caught a couple skunks in many years of trapping. I did destroy those two skunks (one by shooting, the other by drowning. The one I drowned was completely unconscious at the time. I knocked him out w/ ether. I think this was the most painless way to euthanize the animal) because my neighbor keeps bees and skunks will visit the hives at night to eat the bees. I know that sounds freakish, but skunks will visit hives at night and scratch on the entrance. When bees come out, they snap them up. I've read skunks have been examined and found to have dozens of bees stings in their mouths, but apparently it doesn't phase them.

That said, I think if I catch any more skunks, I'll let them go. They are beneficial in their own way. Even though I like bees, skunks are purely carnivorous and don't eat any fruit. Plus they are just interesting animals.

I've eaten coon, and prepared properly, it can be quite good. I prepared it for my family once (with a coon I shot in a live trap). It was good boiled, then barbequed, but my kids didn't eat much. They couldn't get over the fact they were eating coon. My wife refused to even sample it.

Interesting to me how psychology plays into our food choices. I doubt I'd ever eat insects (unless I was next to starvation) regardless how tasty they were prepared.

This post was edited by olpea on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 21:09

Olpea...skunks are omnivores.
Just throw out some watermelon rind and watch them go to town.
My family once had a pet skunk...I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. My grandfather and father actually operated on it using chloroform as anesthesia. They removed his spray gland (sac) so he couldn't spray. They knew of the process from a very old book my grandpap had called "Practical Fur Farming". I think the procedure in the book was for muskrat or mink (they have scent glands too). According to my Dad they still smell pretty bad even after the surgery, but cannot spray. They secrete an oil from their skin, much like a ferret does.

Sardines for coon bait. At a teen we trapped for fur. You can eat about any animal, but omnivore meat must be thoroughly cooked.(wild hog, bear, coon etc) trichi-something is the food borne illness risk there. But that probably dos not need mentioned, no one orders their coon steak medium rare.

Thanks for the info Appleseed. Didn't know skunks were omnivores. Still probably let them go, as I don't think they eat fruit.

Thanks too for the caution cckw. I am familiar w/ trichinosis. Undercooked home grown swine are the traditional caution, but it's a good post as a reminder for wild game too.

When I've cooked coon, I boil the meat for a good while, then bake in BBQ sauce for several hours. Probably the greatest risk is rabies during the dressing.

I never cooked it myself. We have game night once a year at church and it was the mystery meat. I wouldn't have eaten it otherwise. I thought it was black bear. We used to have raccoons as pets.

I build my own live traps but the metal wire ones in the picture work the same way. I found if you chum the ground around the trap and into the trap with popcorn it gets them into the trap. With the wire trap in the picture that might be all you need for bait. Mine I trigger with 30lb fishing braided line tied to a hanging onion bag with all kinds of bait like chicken hot dogs, peanut butter, or what's ever on hand. The other end of the braided line is tied to a ten inch lever on the top. At the bottom of the lever I tie another line to a large spike that goes through a hole in the bottom of the trap door. I use 1/4" steel for the lever set it so it's just about pulled the nail out with it leaning just passed the upright position. This way when they pull on the bag it doesn't take any effert to pull the lever down and the nail comes out right away. I used to leave the garge door open and set the trap in the garage with a glass beer bottle on the top in the way of the lever. Then when I here the bottle bouncing on the concrete I know I got one. I also learned I could just put it in the back of the van with the doors open. Then when I got up in the morning I could close the van doors and drive away. I make the frame out of 1x2 and sheet it with 3/8 ply. The trap door is just a guillotine inside a 1x2 channel that sticks up so it can hold the door when in the up position. It's illegal to transport the animals but I don't like shooting them. I have shot lots of them. They eat my grapes every year, and this year they destroyed my red raspberries. Ground hogs climb trees too. They climb way up into my mulberry trees and eat the berries before they are ripe! They go way out to where the branches are tiny and can run on horizontal branches and down the trunks. I have big trees and catch them in them all the time in the spring. They are very fast and allusive. They do lots of damage!

Olpea...I think you're doing right by releasing the skunks. I would think they do far more good than any slight harm they may cause. I have seen them under my plum tree eating drops before, but they never bother anything else. They also from what I'm told will capture and kill moles/voles also. If that's true that's good enough reason for me right there to leave them alone. My wife (foreign born) thinks they are beautiful animals, and you know, they really are. I read once that a skunk was the cleanest animal in the woods.

I HATE RACCOONS!!! They are nasty critters and my husband and I have been at war with them in our backyard for years. We worry about roundworm infection, our dog getting into it with them, distemper/rabies, etc.......they are just totally freaking gross, worthless animals and there are WAY TOO MANY OF THEM!!!! We had beautiful grape vines covering our arbor, which we used to love to spend time under, until the battle started....grapes were removed. Then, we had a beautiful weeping willow tree, the only tree in our yard. Came home from a 1 week vacation last summer, and one of their little faces stared back at my husband from a hollow spot in the trunk. GROSS! Tree was cut down 2 days later. I HATE RACCOONS!!!!! No good advice for you, as all we came up with was to remove things we loved about our yard out of frustration from trying to defend those things from them. Although, we do use carpet tack strips on top of our fence now, because I've read they have very sensitive feet, and that may have helped. But my guess is removing their home (the tree) and their food (the grapes) is what has really decreased their constant traffic through our once lovely backyard. Good luck, so sorry you are dealing with this too. They SUCK!!!!!!

We have lots of groundhogs. I've never seen them climb a tree though.

I was going to wait until next spring as was recommended to start trapping the raccoons. Now that that ate all my orchard clean they started getting into my attic crawl space. I'm going to buy the traps tomorrow and get to work. I got some stinky Thai fish sauce. It reeks, I hope they like it.

I can assure you that groundhogs climb trees. They've climbed my Asian pear trees and my Mammoth sunflowers. I wish I was fast enough to take pictures. They have good hearing and can hear you from far away.

Mine are very difficult to bait. So far, only ripe cantaloupe has worked. I still have more to trap.

I'm curious: once the coon is dispatched, how do you dispose of the carcass if you have no intention of skinning/eating it?

I ask because although racoons are not a problem in my yard yet, I have seen them around and know it's just a matter of time. I toss squirrels/rats in the trash after they are stuffed in a zip lock bag along with a bit of baking soda then triple bag that with plastic bags. That mitigates the smell for almost a week. But if its been a productive week of trapping, the bin gets pretty ripe so I don't think that would work with a coon.

I only trap for about 2 days prior to trash pickup. But I do have two locations for disposal so that covers most of the week.

I've taken out 5 so far this yr and they've quit showing up. Once the occupants of a territory are gone it takes a while for another pair to move in. Another area might have constant pressure. From now on I'm trapping whenever I see evidence. I'm not waiting for damage.

Raccoon disposal option:

Dump raccoon onto the hood of your late-model automobile, placing it toward the front of the vehicle such that it won't immediately slide off. Drive slowly and cautiously to the nearest roadside disposal area, making sure no traffic will be affected and no cars are behind you. Slam on the brakes directing the carcass off to the side of the road, simulating an actual road kill. Rinse hood with a bottle of water.

They are like weeds and need to be managed as such.

I had thought of the simulated road kill scenario, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Very creative. ;) Thanks!

I was so surprised by not seeing the easiest raccoon cure, I had to join the forum. 1/4 cup Golden Maldrin fly bait dissolved in a sugared can of soda pop, placed in a plastic open container around what you don't want raccoons in. This mix works so quickly that raccoons don't usually get more than a few feet from the empty container. Pets or other wildlife won't get close to the stuff and raccoons never develop fear or resistance to it. It works for sweetcorn, chikns, fruit, garbage, you name it. Raccoons just can't resist.

Thanks chikn- I forgot about that old farmers remedy although I first read about it on this forum several years ago. I prefer trapping and shooting them just because a pellet to the brain seems more humane.

Well, I made a big mistake. My Charentais melons are coming ripe now, and you can smell them halfway round the world. I picked the first two yesterday and decided to leave one more that was just starting to color and didn't have much of a scent.

This morning, it's gone.

And now, of course, the varmint will be back for more every night.

Well, down here in the south...and rural, this is how we deal with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Cook a Raccoon

Well, down here in the south...and rural, this is how we deal with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Cook a Raccoon

That's an interesting idea using Malrin.People may want check their local laws about using it though.
I found this discussion on another forum about possible legalities involved. Brady

Here is a link that might be useful: Malrin to Poison Coon

if you catch a skunk in your trap approach it slowly holding a piece of canvas tarp or a large beach towel in front of you & lower it over the trap. you can then carry the trap to your drowning container or open the door & prop it open & walk away. if you drown them add the water After putting them in your tank or they'll spray. I'm a beekeeper so I drown them. in Missouri & a lot of states it is illegal to trap & relocate coons. I like them barbecued myself.

If you use an electric fence for raccoons, what is the best spacing for the wires?

dbarron I was told raccoons taste bad because they are scavengers. Did I get the wrong info?

My neighbor has a couple cats that roam around. Will malrin be a problem with the cats?

Well, that may be so...or maybe there's a best age/sex to cook...but the one that we once DID cook, wasn't nearly as bad as the opossum that we also tried once.

Hey, if you don't try something, how do you know you don't like it?
For that matter (reply), pigs are scavengerous omnivores, and we love bacon!

We've never had cats interested in our raccoon "fix". This works on skunks also.

In Maine it is standard practice for farmers to protect their crops from wildlife threats. I think most states have laws to help farmers. We are exempt from the season and bag limit thing. With deer and some other game animals you can contact your warden service and they will help. They generally don't want to bother with coon, squirrels, wood chucks, skunks etc. With wild geese you can get a permit to shoot a few and hang up the carcasses and the rest will not come back. For years I shot a crow for pulling up corn. Hung it up and no more problem. I now find light twine over the top of the garden 10 feet in the air also keeps them out. We don't eat coon due to rabies but do trap and kill them to keep them out of the corn. Farmers should always know their rights in protecting their crops! Having said that it is not a good idea to go down to the local coffee shop and brag to animal rights activists that you had to trap 15 coons. Those people do not care about your fruit or garden!

This is how I deal with them.

I didn't see any one mention using sardines for bait in a live trap. That is what I have always used or fish flavored canned cat food.

Its quite difficult to deal with the raccoon which have already entered in our property. These raccoons once entered in my property and wreak havoc my garden every night. I have heard that it might be little dangerous to deal with raccoons alone as it is not safe. Then I had to call the animal removal company from Toronto to get rid of this eerie creature.

I saw the video "Raccoon Nation" and I think Toronto was named "Raccoon Capitol of the World". Brady