skip to main content

Can raccoons climb over torpedo baffles?

15 years ago

Ever since I switch from a hanging feeder to a feeder on a pole and install a squirrel baffle, my feeder has been squirrel free. Recently I have notice that the feeder has been removed from the feeder pole. Tonight, I figure out the culprit, a pair of raccoon managed to get around the squirrel baffle and is raiding the seeds.

Currently, I am using a dome baffle. Obviously, this is not working. I am wondering if I switch to a torpedo baffle, will this prevent the raccoon from climbing to the feder?

Paul

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

Elly_NJ
15 years ago
Maybe a real torpedo?

Joking! Iam amazed they get around a baffle. Maybe you need a bigger one?

Is there any way they are getting there from the top?
paulsiu
Original Author
15 years ago
With raccoon attempts to rip up my siding to get into the house, I often wish I could just explosive booby traps :-). Seriously, I think they grab the edge of the drome baffle and shimmy its way up the edge. The squirrels try it, too but are not big enough. I figure a torpedo baffle may be wide enough that they can't get their arms around it.

They can't get to it from the top because I move it far enough way from the trees Thankfully, Raccoon's can't jump very far.

Paul
Related Discussions
How can I keep raccoons away from my apple tree?
Q
Comments (24)
This is a very old post but I would just mention that where the OP lives, killing raccoons is illegal and any trapping must be done only with live or Hav-A-Hart traps. And then you have the issue of what to do with the trapped coon........ Electrified fencing is effective and relatively easily done. Friends who lived almost in downtown Seattle - a highly populated urban area - had a small fish pond in their entry courtyard that was decimated by nightly visits from raccoons until they installed an electrified fence around it. Urban dwelling raccoons are highly adaptable and intelligent animals. And with few natural predators aside from cars and the occasional dog. I live in a much more rural area very close to Seattle and raccoon issue are much less of a concern here as the coyotes keep populations in check (as do cars....too many raccoon bodies along the side of the road). I rarely have any issues with raccoons in my garden but the deer are another problem altogether!! And do far more damage than any raccoon!!
...See More
earliest I can pick peaches / plums? (raccoon issues)
Q
Comments (6)
An update, 5 days later, they're beginning to ripen up nicely, and we made a pie yesterday. The interior color is still a light shade of green, the exterior color remained the same. It would seem my issue, here in the dry climate, is maintaining more moisture around the picked fruit as they do seem to shrink. We had a commercial, organic orchard 30 miles west of here a few years back, that didn't have refrigeration. I visited several times during the harvest season to buy their culls. They picked them unripe, boxed them, and shipped them to Texas, and they ripened along the way or something. I wish I knew more about it. Probably some high-tech way of checking brix levels, or maybe just squeezing 'em. Anyway, I have 5 or so bushels, and we'll get something out of it. I've caught 3 raccoons in 5 days as well. They seem very well fed.
...See More
Floppy fence keep raccoons out?
Q
Comments (1)
Leaving the top of the fence unsecured could cause what ever climbed up there to fall back, and often drop off the fence outside of the garden. They may decide that trying to get in is not worthwhile and go away or they may think this more of a challenge and try harder.
...See More
Do I need a baffle?
Q
Comments (8)
Thanks :) I've been on GW for 6 years and used to spend some time on the Bird Forum, lurked around here. I could never get blues anywhere else, we are military and move a lot, but I have seen blues here!! Pretty regularly actually in the summer (from mid July on, that's when I moved here). I had a lot of issues with HOSP and Starlings at my feeders when I lived in DC, that's when I first started on this forum. I know there is a contrast between the two forums and how to deal with those issues. Switching bird seed actually took care of most of that issue at the time. BTW, I'm in the northern inner banks of NC. My DH got the bluebird house up 10 minutes ago!!! Here is a pic, it is getting dark and this is the best I can do :) The pole is 3 inches wide, would a baffle work okay on those? I've read about greasing the pole, would that be as effective as a baffle? Thanks for your input, I started a post originally on the bird forum, but moved over here now that I've decided on a Bluebird house other than a purple martin house. Christy :)
...See More
paulsiu
Original Author
15 years ago
The answer is apparently no. Yesterday night, I heard the cries of raccoons and looked out the window. I can see the raccoon climb the baffle. It didn't stop the raccoon at at all. Below is a picture of one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Topedo style Baffle
Olychick
15 years ago
I have a torpedo baffle with the squirrel baffle above it. The raccoons cannot get up the pole...it also depends on the height you hang the baffles. Make sure a big, long raccoon cannot stretch up and reach the top of the baffle to hoist himself up. It needs to be far enough off the ground that they cannot do that.
terrene
15 years ago
I bought squirrel/raccoon baffles at Wild Birds about 4 years ago. They are stovepipe style, guess that's the same as "torpedo"? The difference between squirrel/raccoon and just a squirrel baffle is that they are longer - 2 feet instead of 1 foot (explained to me by a WBU employee). They're black metal and hang on a piece of hardware attached to the feeder poles. I installed them on the poles about 4 1/2 feet high.

They definitely work to keep the raccoons, squirrels and other critters off the feeders. Occasionally I go out and one of the poles seems to be listing a little bit to the side, so I presume a raccoon has climbed the pole and tried to get past the baffle, but no luck! Haha.

I've posted this pic before, but here's what they look like -
paulsiu
Original Author
15 years ago
Actually the bottom of the baffle is 2 feet off the ground. I can see the Raccoon climb up the pole and the somehow get to the top of the baffle. It only took it 30 seconds to get to the top. It was too dark for me to see how it did it.

Frankly, I am shocked. The baffle is made of metal. I can't see how it's able to grip it. I am thinking that perhaps the raccoon was long enough to span the distance from the bottom of the baffle to the top.

Paul
Olychick
15 years ago
I don't have pics, but mine is like the one posted by terrene, but I also have a large cone baffle above it
(same metal). The bottom of it sits about 6" above the top of the raccoon baffle. I had to get an extension for the pole to make them both fit. (Squirrels previously were getting up the cylinder baffle). Nothing has made it up and I have very clever critters, too. Perhaps one of your raccoons is giving the other a boost? :-) I'll bet if you raise it 6" or more, you'll solve the problem.
paulsiu
Original Author
15 years ago
I talked with my garden store. The manager said the baffle failed because it was too short. Raccoon is able to reach around the baffle. Unfortunately, he does not sell the long ones, so I may need to mail order it.

Paul

Related Stories

FENCES AND GATES A Deer Fence Can Be Decorative as Well as Protective

You need a monster-size fence to shelter your garden from deer, but it doesn’t have to look like a monstrosity

LIFE How to Outsmart Backyard Critters

By Tiffany Carboni

Learn to think like a raccoon, skunk or squirrel to keep your home safe and your garden intact

LANDSCAPE DESIGN See 5 Unexpected Ways to Use Vines

By Falon Mihalic

Vines can grow over slopes, trail off pergolas and add seasonal color to the garden

FENCES AND GATES 12 Delightfully Different Garden Walls and Fences

By Matthew Ankeny

If pickets seem picked over and you shrink from chain link, try these full-of-personality fencing alternatives

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING How to Make a Pond

By Mitchell Parker

You can make an outdoor fish paradise of your own, for less than you might think. But you'll need this expert design wisdom

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Koi Find Friendly Shores in Any Garden Style

By Marianne Lipanovich

A pond full of colorful koi can be a delightful addition to just about any landscape or garden

LIVING ROOMS 8 Reasons to Nix Your Fireplace (Yes, for Real)

By Laura Gaskill

Dare you consider trading that 'coveted' design feature for something you'll actually use? This logic can help

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Innovative Home Reunites Generations Under One Roof

By Annie Thornton

Parents build a bright and sunny modern house where they can age in place alongside their 3 grown children and significant others

KIDS’ SPACES A Place of His Own: Boy's First Bedroom

By Becky Dietrich, Interior Designer

Colorful, creative, themed or not, boys' bedrooms like these encourage happy times

GARDENING GUIDES Garden-Friendly Native Alternatives to Overplanted Exotics

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

There are lots of gorgeous, wildlife-friendly native plants ready to make an appearance in your garden

Sponsored

More Discussions

ID OWL IN S.E. MICHIGAN z5b

0