BB Gun and Raccoons. Do you try anything to keep raccoons away?

[bertha katzenengel]

Some of you may remember my story of shooting myself in the foot with a BB gun (plastic BBs) to see if it would hurt. It did, but only for a few hours, and in the end it left hardly a mark. (Bring on the :dunce: remarks; I've already heard 'em all...)

I shot myself in the foot to see how badly it would, if at all, hurt raccoons. We're using it as a deterrent, hoping they'll get the message and stop hanging around.

Those critters are TOUGH!! They seem to feel it, but they keep coming, even after being shot at several times. They will not go away.

(BTW we don't aim for -- and have never hit them in -- the face.)

Do you try to deter raccoons? How do you do it?

[BrotherBuzz]

1. Deterring raccoons is harder than herding cats and as satisfying as nailing jello to a tree

We are compelled to coexist with them. Fortunately, they are nocturnal and our paths don't cross often, but our neighbor has fun with them and trained them to ring a bell for treats at exactly ten PM every night. You can set you watch by them.

[Tyler Durden]

2. They live in our sewers, so why try? N/T

[Gormy Cuss]

3. "Try " is the operative word.

Once they decide that your yard is a nice late night buffet they'll keep coming back for the entire season.

I've chased them out of the yard with a hose set to stream. That they don't like, but it only stops them for that moment. There are auto sensor water spray devices out there but I've never tried one.

My problem was that they were ripping up lawn and a nematode based grub killer solved that problem. No grubs, no tearing up the sod. They don't seem to like most of my edible garden and aren't much of a problem there because I always plant more than we can eat. The birds and critters can have their share.

Now I understand why you shot yourself in the foot. :D

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

4. Honestly, the only successful way ive heard work is humanely trapping and moving

the raccoons to new territories. If the raccoons are coming to your backyard all the time, they see it as part of their territory. They will defend that territory from anything, cats or dogs, and wont leave till they run out of food, which is hard with you living there, or get moved out. Humanely trapping them and moving them to a forested area is not only safer for you and any pets who wander outside, but safer for them and limits their interactions with humans further. And there are professionals who do this too.

[leftofthedial]

29. many places strongly discourage relocation

for several reasons, including:

1. Being foreign to the new location, the relocated animal is at a serious risk due to predators who know the area and to other dangers. A high percentage of relocated animals are killed shortly after relocation.

2. The new location probably already has critters who fill the ecological niche of the relocated creatures. This can drastically alter the local food chain and have a negative effect on other animals.

Relocation is illegal in the state where I live.

Raccoons are hard ro get rid of. They can be very destructive. Eliminate the food sources that attract them. You'll need something much larger than a BB gun if you want to shoot them. I assume you can't exactly keep a pet mountain lion in the yard or a very large, very aggressive dog. If you have enough space, try to make a raccoon friendly environment away from the part of your property where they are a nuisance and make the place where you don't want them raccoon-unfriendly. If they are still wild-ish, you can scare them away with noise and light, but as they become more accustomed to people and people stuff, even that doesn't work. I had them for years in a suburban yard. We concluded that we just had to learn to coexist.

[guitar man]

5. this is the raccoon and squirrel deterrent

around my place :)

[bertha katzenengel]

12. What is that solid, beautiful animal's name?

i'm in love! :loveya:

[guitar man]

14. Her name is Birdie

she's my hard hittin' biotch that takes care of bidness around my place.

She's 1/2 American Staffordshire and 1/2 Pointer. Best dog that ever lived. :)

[SteppingRazor]

6. An ex-girlfriend's dad who owned/operated a cattle farm had a 100-percent effective method...

but, um, I don't think most of us here are willing to do it. .... poor raccoons :(

[Deep13]

7. Okay, they are in no way endangered.

In fact, the proliferation of human, suburban garbage is why there are so damn many of them. The local animal control office tries to be humane with wild animals, but have three exceptions: raccoons, skunks and, of course, rats. Those they just kill.

Don't screw around with capturing live raccoons. You will only risk displacing an existing raccoon family in a new location and the void in your yard will be filled soon with new raccoons. Plus in handling them you risk rabies. (Also the reason why the city kills skunks.) If you can't figure a way to keep them out of your trash or whatever, just shoot them. If you can't do that, find some other way to kill them. The unwillingness of the raccoons to be deterred by BBs is a lesson to us all. In the wild, comfort and convenience are irrelevant. Only survival matters. If they are gone, others will risk the danger and take its place.

[SteppingRazor]

8. That would be the method I mentioned in my post, above.

He used BBs, just like the OP ... but, you know, they were metal BBs. And there were a bunch of them in each shot. And, instead of a BB gun, he used a 12 gauge. But, other than that, the two methods are quite similar.

[seemunkee]

9. bologna coated with cayenne has worked for me.

A couple of times and they decide their are easier and less spicy pickings else where.

[bertha katzenengel]

11. Now that's an idea.

Hmm.

Only thing is the cats would get it if we left any out after we went to bed. Maybe there's a solution...

:hi:

[Taverner]

10. Firecrackers

Throw a couple near the raccoons and they'll go away, never to return.

Of course you have cats - so that may not be an option...

[cwydro]

13. I don't think that is a good idea

The wound could get infected and the animal could die a painful death. I mean kill them if you have to...better to get a dog to hang out a few times at your place. A friend of mine had a problem with raccoons and every now and then I take the dogs over for an evening or two. They usually stay away after that (and my dogs never kill anything).

[bertha katzenengel]

17. Hi, cwydro

There's no wound. I shot my foot -- the muzzle was about 18 inches away from the top of my foot, and I was wearing Crocs -- nothing but a layer of plastic between my skin and the projectile. I had a welt for a few hours, and the next day it was gone, with no residual swelling, no bruising, no tenderness, nothing.

I don't know what a raccoon's skin is like. The skin on the top of my foot is very thin.

Rocky has a very heavy, thick coat, and I have seen these white plastic BBs bounce right off that fur.

I appreciate your post and your concern for the animals. With who I am . . . jesus, if I thought these guys were being hurt -- punctured, broken bones, whatever -- I wouldn't do this.

[cwydro]

18. I still cannot believe you shot yourself!

:rofl: You remind me of my sister...and I mean that in a good way.

I can bring my pooches over to visit sometime. They'll see those varmints off!

[bertha katzenengel]

26. But, but, but . . . I did it to see if it was hurting Rocky!

:blush:

I know my reply sounded like a big fat rationalization. Of course, that's what it was. But honestly, if I though I was hurting them, I wouldn't do it.

Hmm. Florida. That's just become my number one vacation spot. May I ask where?

[cwydro]

33. Sure you may

The Keys.B-)

Come down and visit sometime (but leave the gun at home)!

[bertha katzenengel]

35. aaahhhhhh... the Keys....

Mrs. V. and I spent several days in Hollywood Beach in March. I am still fighting with myself over whether to try to make it home to CA (to my family!) this year or to go back to Florida. :banghead: I would love to visit sometime.

Tell me (maybe a stupid question): Obviously the Keys are much farther south than Ft. Lauderdale, but can you say when's the best time of year to avoid south Florida?

[cwydro]

36. Well.

most people would tell you to avoid south Florida in the summer.
Because it is damn hot here and of course, there is that whole hurricane thing. But summer is my favorite time of year and it was August when I first visited over 20 years ago.

For the most part the tourists are gone in the summer, (though this is when the Europeans visit) the hotel and resort rates are low and it is just a great time of year.

I would avoid south FL from Jan through April and that way you miss the traffic and the spring breakers.
But, that is the time of the best weather. So there ya go. As long as I can be in the ocean, I'm happy. I literally live right on it...the dogs and I are about to go for a swim.

btw, the raccoons swim everywhere down here!
:hi:

[Zoigal]

15. After letting the dogs

out a couple of times when the masked bandits were sitting on

the back wall, they seemed to get the idea that our yard

wasn't all that exciting place to visit. Russian Wolfhounds

can do nasty things to little, furry critters unfortunately.

[bicentennial_baby]

16. Posts like this remind me of how country I am...

Where I'm from, raccoons come around, they leave...You might find an opossum in the garage one night, a bear in the back yard the next...A moose standing in the middle of the road a week later. Weird...I've never thought to make raccoons go away. I guess if you remove what's attracting them, they'll leave. :shrug:

No offense Bertha, just me rambling...Good luck! :hi:

[wavesofeuphoria]

19. Some friends got the raccoons to leave by playing loud

music. The raccoons were living in the crawl space. Seems they moved to a quieter neighbors house ;)

[Blue Diadem]

20. Unfortunately Bertha, they're very hard to get rid of short of drastic measures.

Even with trap and release or death, others will come. As long as they have a reason to visit.. accessible food or river areas, they'll be around.

I'm far enough away from the area they frequent that I only get one coming around occasionally, and then it's usually an injured one. My son gets them at his house..but his neighbor baits and traps them(paw/leg traps..absolutely awful!). My granddaughter's other grandparents get numerous visits..largely due to them having chickens, geese and feral barn cats and keeping feed in the barn. Those critters can chew through hard plastic containers to get to food. They've dumped over metal barrels to knock off the lids. My former sil, shoots them. His family used to have a wolf hybrid..that didn't deter them. She was in a very large enclosure close to the barn..the raccoons would climb right in and meet their fate.

I still have a plastic garbage can that one bit through years ago..and we lived in the city on 30ft wide lots! We were less than 1/4 mile away from a river though and they'd often try to get into the garbage or take refuge in garages.

[Blue Diadem]

23. Bertha, here's a link to coyote urine granules..

http://www.critter-repellent.com/raccoon/how-to-get-rid-of-raccoons.php?source=GoogleAW

If you use it and it works..let me know please. Then I'll let my son know so he can use it and then maybe his idiot neighbor won't be able to trap them.

[Lil Missy]

21. Mothballs

Seriously, it worked for me.

[bertha katzenengel]

30. Where did you put them?

[Lil Missy]

31. In my case, they were tearing up the roof

I put them in the gutters and around the base of the house.

[Blue Diadem]

32. Bertha, mothballs may work but they are also toxic

I know you also take care of feral kitties and mothballs are often used to keep cats away too.

[bertha katzenengel]

34. Ooh - okay, thanks. But I'm glad this method worked for Lil Missy.

:hi:

[Orsino]

22. They're after food and/or shelter.

lock 'em out of those, and they shouldn't bother you. What are you having trouble securing that they might want?

[bertha katzenengel]

28. Nothing, anymore.

We have bird seed in a big garbage can out there. That's locked up tight with a bungie cord. One of the bird feeders, too, has a bungie wrapped around it. The suet feeder is locked with hook-and-eyes.

We do have strays & ferals, and we try to give them just enough food for the day - so the food will be gone by evening. We don't feed them outside at night (usually).

The only thing we can't control is if a cat has eaten its kill on the deck, and Rocky is drawn to the scent of old blood.

[petronius]

24. I think the only effective way is to remove whatever is attracting them

Even if you find an effective way of 'discouraging' them, eventually another batch will show up and you'll have to repeat the training...

[skygazer]

25. When I first moved in with my SO, the place was crawling with raccoons

Why? Because he fed the damn things. :wtf:

I got him to stop putting food outside for them and to stop feeding the cats outside. We put bungie cords over our garbage cans so they can't open them and don't ever leave anything remotely edible or smelling of food outside.

It took a couple of years but I haven't seen a raccoon at our place for at least 2 or 3 years. I see them in the road, at the neighbor's, in the woods but they don't come around here. There's nothing for them to eat and that's what they come for.

If I had a lawn or something that they dug in for grubs or whatever they eat, I'd shoot them. Sorry if that offends anyone - raccoons are pests, they can carry rabies, they can easily kill a cat or small dog and they are by no means an endangered species. And if you shoot enough of them, the others figure out that your place is not a good place to be (even pigeons learn this).

[Coyote_Bandit]

27. Somebody I know just evicted coons

that had nested in the crawl space under their house.

They used the following combination of methods:
1) fox urine;
2) mix of Tabacso and cayenne spread near the nest via a spray gun;
3) battery powered radios turned up loud and set to different stations;
4) battery powered lights under the house.

Took them a while to leave. They are nocturnal and don't like light. The noise seemed to upset them. And the smells made their nest area unpleasant and threatening.