I don't think a BB would get through all that fur...but I bet it would scare him good. Worth a try.

They can be pesty things....We had them visiting here nightly for their fix of cat food.

So I started feeding the cat earlier in the evening and taking the bowl away until the next day.

The quit coming around.

patti

You could borrow a live trap, trap him and drive him to a park or woods far away from your home and others. That's what we do when they get too peskery. (We made up that word.)

Please don't use the BB gun. I used to volunteer for a wildlife rehab group and it is sad to see these animals become infected because of a bb gun shot. Are the feeders on poles? If so, try putting some kind of grease on them to make them slippery. You can usually discourage them with light or noise (radio) as well - although neither of these things may be practical - depending on where they are located. If this hasn't been an ongoing thing it may be temporary.

Awwww ..... I know he's "peskery" but he sure has a cute face. lol

Move the food source for awhile and he'll probably waddle on.

Do you have an Animal Control in your area? If so, call them & they should set a trap for you & take him to a new homesite! 'Cute little devil, huh?

I had a mom & several babies living in my tree & of course I'd feed them now & then--Well, my neighbor put a stop to that & AC came banging on my door & gave me a lecture----bad me!

Donna (^_^)

I'll send Daisy over!! She is a great racoon scarer awayer!!! LOL One tried to come in our house last night through the doggie door and she, all 3lbs of her, was not going to let him in. It's a wonder he didn't hurt her because she was biting at him and grabbing his fur!
She may be a teeny tiny little yorkie but she think's she is a very big dog.
Your guy sure has a cute face, but they are pesty critters.
I think you better trap him and find him a new home.
Guess we will set our trap tonight.

He's a cute little bugger! Maybe set up some cat food for him on the ground and he'll leave the bird feeders alone. We have a large feral cat population in our area and there is a group that takes care of them by trapping, neutering and releasing. They notch the cat's ear before release and that way it's known that the animal is neutered and vaccinated. Anyway, long story short, they feed these cats daily and the racoons are very attracted to that cat food! This isn't a very good picture from my cell phone, but this little guy was so cute. He had a whole sidewalk all to himself with evenly spaced piles of cat food. He would scoop up a handful, eat, wash his hands in the dish of water and start over again! LOL!!!

~Betsy

Don't get me started on 'cute' raccoons'. They trashed my cabin trailer. Nested in it in the winter/spring. Dug 6 big holes in the ceiling (probably while making their nest). Besides they'll also climb nestbox poles and eat birds eggs. Greasing the poles is a good idea, but you have to keep applying the grease. Best to live trap them and haul them about 10 miles away. They'll be back if you do it any closer.
Leslie

I think if I put cat food out for him he'd bring his entire extended family to set up housekeeping under my porch!

He actually did the damage to the bird feeders last year. By spring, my most expensive feeder was destroyed. I had to take the feeders down anyway to avoid attracting bears, and I figured the raccoon would eventually get the message that there are no goodies here. I thought he did, because I didn't see him all summer. But come fall, he showed up immediately.

I think Animal Control would have a good laugh if I called them in this rural area. Wild animals are a fact of life here, and most of the time I like it that way. I do have a Havahart (sp?) trap, and one year we trapped three small raccoons (one at a time) and set them free on a mountain a few miles away. My DS told me yesterday that he saw a bigger Havahart in the barn, so maybe that's the way to go.

Glad to know about the BB danger before I bought a gun.

thanks, all!

Here's another pose:

Trapping and relocating is probably the best idea.

I've had raccoon problems a few times, they were destroying my hummingbird feeders. I'd bring the feeders in every night which was a pain but the raccoons finally went away.

I know I shouldn't be putting my nose in since I am just passing through, but I am. I totally sympathize with you but wanted to let you know that it is most likely that a relocated raccoon will not survive a new habitat which is most likely another raccoons territory. Before taking drastic measure try spreading a wide strip of talc or lime around the area and that will most likely deter it.

Good luck.

How brave are you about firecrackers? I think its your dogs tho that don't like them, am I right? I'd throw out a few boomers and I bet he'd run for the next quiet birdfeeder!

1. Take the feeders in at night.

2. Only put out as much food as the birds will eat during the day.

3. Use eye hooks set into the tree branches, or use thick wire to form a solid loop around the branch. Do not use open hooks. Then attach hanging feeders (the heavier the better) with carabiners (sp? - those clips used in mountain climbing, etc). You can find sturdy ones just about anywhere for about a buck apiece. The coons around my yard haven't yet figured out how to open them or chew through them.

4. Re-work your feeder set-up. Use a sturdy pole or post with a raccoon baffle (a long metal tube that prevents racoons from climbing the pole it is on and that they can't get around the outside of - you can get these baffles for both metal poles and 4x4 posts) and set it up in an area that is clear for at least six feet in all directions (top, sides and bottom). Make sure the feeders hang high enough that they can't be reached from the ground, and make sure that the pole/post is well-anchored in the ground so that it cannot be pushed over.

5. Shooting or relocating wildlife may be illegal in your area; check with your Animal Control Officer (in my area accessed through the local police department) to see by what method you are actually allowed to "dispose of nuisance wildlife". Just remember: it doesn't work. Another racoon will simply take over the territory of the one that was removed. Not to mention that if you "humanely" relocate an animal, you have pretty much effectively killed it by removing it from its territory.

6. Taking a break from feeding the birds will not work. I had coons tipping feeders within five days of putting them out after a lapse of five years. If you have coons at your feeders, they are well-established in the neighborhood and it's just a matter of time before they'll be back.

7. Do not use grease. Enough of it has the possibility of doing some serious physical damage to animals. (Think about oiled animals resulting from oil-spills, folks...) Grease up fur and you've ruined an animal's natural protection against the elements at the very least.

If you want to feed the birds, you have to accept that you are supporting a whole web of wildlife by doing so. I'll never understand how some people who claim to love the birds in one breath will blythely consider killing some other kind of wild animal doing what comes naturally with their next breath... Provide the habitat (or remove the habitat that should have been around in the first place) - the food and water - and you get everything directly and indirectly associated with it. That's the way the natural world works. You aren't going to be able to change an animal's ways, so you have to change yours.

Oh, and take at least a moment to enjoy and appreciate those cheeky masked buggers!!!

Wren
Biologist/Naturalist

But they are sooo cute! We had one crawl on our window screen by my bed last year I opened the blind and I don't know who scared who the worse but never saw him/her again! Stacy

Wow--thanks for all the advice. I thought about the firecrackers, but I'd have to get ear protection for myself. I already have tinnitus as it is.

Would the talc/lime harm the birds/chipmunks/squirrels/cats?

Wren, I'll study your suggestions on reworking the feeder setup and see what I can do. I'm hindered by being by myself and, after a knee injury last winter, trying to minimize my trips to the feeders in snow and ice. I have large-capacity feeders for that reason, but I see your point.

Taking the feeders in at night might be the way to go. A nuisance, but life is full of nuisances. If we have two or three feet of snow on the ground, or a wicked ice storm, I can just leave them up and so be it. (There you have my philosophy of life, or at least of bird feeding.) :-)

Thanks,
Susan

Any other ideas?

Yes, but I can't post them here.
:-)

What's making me crazy in the bird feeders is the possums. We can't grease the pole because our feeders are mostly on trees so that DHs squirrel can get to them.

We have our share of coons. They eat a lot of the corn we put in the two feeders for the deer and turkey *sigh* but at least they quit tearing the screens out of the building we store it in.

{{!gwi}}

You don't want to know what we do with raccoons.
Have I mentioned we don't find them cute at all?
You mentioned he's bared his teeth at you...stay away.
Those guys are mean and their bubble isn't very big.
In other words, they don't need to be in a corner to fight.

I have to laugh at Jenni's Daisy thinking she is big enough to take on a raccoon but it's really not funny. Raccoons can and have killed (full size) dogs and maimed many more. They are dirty fighters.

If you can't bring yourself to shoot him dead, trap him and haul him off. Don't worry about him not adjusting to his new habitat. Raccoons are not that dainty or delicate. They can live anywhere. Generally they hunt but would rather scrounge dog, cat and bird food; it's easier. They like kittens and puppies too. My mom found one in our barn years ago eating three week old puppies. It had injured the mama dog to the point we had to put her down. Mom swung an ax at the raccoon; he hissed, grabbed the ax handle in his teeth and took it away from her, almost pulling her down in the process.

Lori

I believe that there is no known danger of using talc. I also believe that lime is safe for cats and dogs, not so sure about smaller animals. I would be careful not to put it too close to their food if you chose to try this method. If it doesn't work be prepared for a ton of white footprints all over your yard and trees LOL.

Wren - I did grease a pole once but lightly and it seemed to work. I never realized that is was potentially a hazard to furry animals. Thanks

Listen to Lori about how mean they are. One of the guys from our church trapped a coon and was going to haul it off and release it. When he got to the new location and opened the cage, that thing came out and mauled the poor man. He had to have a series of rabies shots just in case...

Lori brings up another issue that I'm concerned about. Our cats have always been indoors only, but that changed last year when we adopted Annie and Pogo, who had lived in a neighbor's barn. They're indoors most of the time now, but Annie often slips out when someone enters the house, and she's been known to stay out all night. She's a great mouse hunter, but I wouldn't want to pit her against a raccoon of any size.

We had them pesky critters also and they ate DH Koi from the pond,not once,but twice.We now just have some plain ol' fish from the lake that DGS caught.Havn't seen the coons for awhile now,maybe the coyotes got them.
Kathi

Susan, don't feed him. Like others said, you will have the WHOLE family before long, and even their extended cousins!

My friend tried that method. She ended up with such a HUGE coon population coming for food, it turned ugly.

She even took all the bird feeders indoors at night to keep them from being torn up.

Just try that for a while. Take the feeders in overnight, maybe he will leave?

Good luck.

Moni

Like okwriter said, I have ideas but, can't post them here. You know, when they're fixed properly they taste alot like pork. Just kidding ;-)
Ron

Good grief! You would think you lived in the woods or something! Have Joey drag out the big Havahart. Do you have any coyotes around?

Three years ago I noticed that the chipmunks had chewed a hole in my mahoghany deck. I bought a Havahart trap and without even putting bait in it I captured over 25 chipmunks in 2 months and relocated them. I'm sorry if they didn't survive in their new surroundings but unfortunately that's the way it goes.

Things were fine for awhile but this summer I had to resort to the trap again. The chipmunks like to tunnel next to the foundation of the house and when it rains the water was running down their tunnel and seeping through the foundation of the house. I relocated another 20 chipmunks and 10 squirrels. Now I'd be a really happy woman if I could only get rid of a couple of rabbits and the huge ground hog that resides underneath my shed.

meet herbert
we were feeding her for awhile and she even brought her babies
once we got lola we had to start feeding her over the fence
the greyhounds never had an issue with her but lola wanted to get up close and personal the neighbor 3 houses down feeds them so I don't see them in any yard anymore

Didn't y'all see that episode of Animal Planet where the woman had been feeding raccoons and finally had to call the animal control people because she had something like 50 raccoons hanging around her house and she didn't know how to stop feeding them.

We have a problem with them lurking around our fish pond. The fish seem to be able to go deep enough to avoid being caught, but we gave up on the koi and switched to the cheaper goldfish. Occasionally we relocate one or two. They are very mad and scary when in a trap. Sometimes we get a skunk too.

i have to disagree that light or noise will stop them! when we put in the kitty door they came right in the house and after eating the cat food, took a stroll into the living room! that's where i found one! they also came thru the window (my first kitty exit)and goodness knows they're sure not shy!

i'd be very leary of any animal baring their teeth at you...sadly toons and skunks are high risk critters...(rabies)

A raccoon tore the lid off of our neighbours trash bin last night. This is a big, heavy lid. He shone a flash light in it's face and it could have cared less. It just slowly waddled off. I finally got rid of my groundhog by stringing a line with empty tin cans so they would rattle when he crossed it. He didn't like the noise and moved on across the street to a neighbours yard!

Cayenne Pepper. buy it bulk food at at Costco and mix it in with your bird feed. The birds cannot taste it, mammals can. Good luck!

I had a raccoon as a pet for two years and I love them. Sure they are pests but what animal isn't when it interferes with man? I live in a town and all I have are many squirrels, chippies and skunks and opossums and I welcome any and all. Sure the squirrels have knocked down birdfeeders and tore up porch cushions for their nests but I like them so I deal.

Someone mentioned the cylinder baffle. We have two, and they sure work for squirrels so it might be worth a try. The feeder has to be on a pole. Wild Birds Unlimited has them. They aren't cheap, but they DO work to keep the squirrels off the feeders, unless of course, you have sturdy sunflowers growing nearby that they just climb up and jump onto the feeders :-0

Another thought is a motion light.......

We have over 25 acres of land and all the critters to go with it, fox, , skunks, raccoons, possums, deer and a I am sure few we've not seen. We also have ponds, including a 5,000 gallon koi pond. So far, everyone gets along. We feed everyone and have several bird feeders. The raccoons have torn down a few of the feeders over the years, but all in all not a big deal. They leave the koi alone, probably due in large part to the fact that we designed the pond with that in mind.

I've learned much from Marilyn C over the years, among those things is to not relocate a male raccoon, they do not do well being moved. And I would not ever shoot an animal with a bb gun, I'd fear infection for them. Good luck with your beasty, I would opt for the bringing in of the bird feeders, pain in the butt for sure.

Wren and raeanne are right. You can't relocate raccoons. Oh, yeah...people do it, but you don't stay around to see what happens. You think that is a kindness? It is cruel.

Take down your feeders at night and don't leave food out for them.

I moved to a spot that has many raccoons...never had one try to attack me. Oh, yeah...trap one...perhaps it was a mother with babies, haul it off somewhere, scare the crap out of it, and I bet it will try to take a chunk out of you when you let it out of the trap.

I am always hearing about people that are attacked by wildlife. I have never heard a case where it happened that someone hadn't tormented them in some way...and yes, trapping them is tormenting them. They are wild animals, not pussy cats. Have a little kindness in your heart. We have taken so much from wildlife.

I totally agree. We have taken so much from wildlife. The creatures all deserve a life too. We have encroached upon their habitat for so long. I have two koi ponds and have net strung over them. This isn't for raccoons but hawks or egrets. I feed the squirrels corn and they leave food for the birds. I used to feed a little skunk every night and stood beside her as she ate.

We had a coon for a pet till it started to really turn wild. DH took it to a reservoir and turned it loose. We even have a picture of out two year old grand daughter carrying it across the lawn.

Words of warning, folks.

Raccoons, especially in the East, are a HUGE rabies vector.

I agree with Raeanne, NO BB guns, please.

You can squirrel/racoon proof a pole mounted bird feeder. Use plastic plumbing pipe of 4 inches Inside Diameter or larger. Merely lift the feeder off its pole and slip the pipe over the pole and remount the feeder. For a little extra deterrent, add an umbrella shaped guard at the top, one that made for the skinny pole. Carefully determine the length of the pipe and cut. Cut the pipe a bit long for the first try, temporarily assemble, and measure for the final cut.

The pipe will be in the way for getting to the normal clamps for mounting the feeder. To fix this, fasten a pipe flange to the bottom of the feeder and screw in a short length of water pipe. Use a size that just slips inside the aluminum feeder pole. A pipe lenght of 5 inches or so will work. To mount the feeder, put the pipe inside the pole and let the feeder rest on top by its own weight. There's no need to clamp it in place unless you wish to hurricane/tornado proof the installation. Mine has stayed in place in wind gusts up to 60 mph.

As an alternative, the pipe could be used in place of the aluminum pole that comes with most feeders. However, you'd have to devise a way to mount the feeder and the pipe would require a larger hole in the groud to install. The lazy way is to slip the pipe over the existing feeder pole.

I have deterined by experiment that the pipe must be 4 inch or larger. Racoons can get enough grip on a 3.5 inch pipe to climb it. The pipe must be one piece with no joints. A joint ring or seam may aid the animal's grip.

The pipe soon pays for itself in reduced loss of bird feed and feeder damage. The racoons will be greatly frustrated for the first few days until they resign themselves to what drop to the ground. They will, however, dig and tear up the ground under the feeder. Evetually, their visits will diminish.

If the racoons have a nest nearby, they will continue to attempt to thwart any barrier between them and food or shelter. Make sure they do not have any way to gain access to a roof of your buildings. Both squirrels and racoons will enlarge any small opening they find on a roof structure to gain entry. Trim away any overhanging tree branches; Remove vines.

Jem, I use PVC pipe on my Bluebird nestboxes. You can glue a top piece/lid to the PVC pipe with a hole the size of the feeder pole in the middle. Take feeder off the pole, slip a hose clamp over the pole, and wrap some duct tape around the hose clamp, then add the PVC so it rest on the hose clamp. This allows the PVC pipe to wobble and rock when they try to get a grip. Then put the feeder back on the pole. I get my PVC from a plumbing company in town. It's scrap pieces from job sites, and free.
Leslie