# Cute but Unwanted Guest



## Chucky

I was watching TV last night and heard something fall out on my deck. Here's some pics of an unwanted guest. Sorry they are not better, I had to take them through the screen.






















Tonight the trap will be in place and he will be moving to a new neighborhood


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## Jacqui

How do you decide what neighborhood to gift? Don't you worry she may have babies somewhere that will starve?

Sorry just curious as to how others decide on these matters after having problems last year with coons in my chicken house. I bought the live trap, but then started thinking. I couldn't trap one not knowing if it had young depending on it.

Then where to release it. I live in the country and folks from the city always think they should bring problem animals out to the country to dump. Folks thinking hey this is a wild animal, it should be in the country where it can be free and safe. However, I think maybe the reverse is true. In the city there is a lot more trash and pet food left just out in the open, so it wouldn't have to work for food. You don't have coon hunters and trappers to worry about, so city life should be safer.

For me the end choice was simple. I never used the trap. Instead I stayed up guarding the chicken house a few nights and actually got to watch those coons. I came to have an entirely new appreciation of them. Meanwhile during the day, we covered our outside pen and reinforced any place in the chicken house they might squeeze in. Costs us more money and time, but I ended up feeling it was the best thing for all involved. 

As a side note, we had actually at least three coons visiting.


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## Itort

I have a sheltie farm dog that makes life a neverending hassel for the visiting coons, so they avoid barn and henhouse, to much trouble to raid with her raising a ruckous and calling me out with shotgun or long pole. As long as they stay in woodlot and eat rodents, everything is cool.


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## Crazy1

Yep chucky that's one guest you won't want around your torts let alone your house.
A friend of mine had one that came through her doggy door and was going into here cubboards in her Kitchen. Even the dog was scared. He too was trapped and moved to a new neighborhood were hopefully he will not get into trouble again. Good Luck with the trapping.


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## Chucky

I'm really an animal lover but when it comes to destroying my property, eating my Koi and endangering my pets, they must go. We usually have 10 to 15 of them every year and take them out to the woods which is only about 5 miles away. I think they come back. Last year we caught a mama and 3 little ones and took them all out and released them.


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## Jacqui

Itort said:


> I have a sheltie farm dog that makes life a neverending hassel for the visiting coons, so they avoid barn and henhouse, to much trouble to raid with her raising a ruckous and calling me out with shotgun or long pole. As long as they stay in woodlot and eat rodents, everything is cool.



I think that's why we don't get them here at our house too, because of the dogs. We don't keep any dogs down at the brown house, which is where the horses and poultry live. 

What I found interesting was I would allow them to get near to the chicken house, then I would burst out the chicken house yelling, screaming, and chasing them away. Yet within less than an hour, they would be snaeaking back in again. This would go on several times a night. They became more cautious, but never gave up trying.

They also one night came in before dark and sat there watching us from about eight feet away. I just happened to see them out of the corner of my eye as I was working on the building. There lacked the fear of us that I expected.

Am slowly putting covers on all our outside habitats, just because I know the day will come when they will be entering the yard here at the house too.


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## Itort

Jacqui said:


> Itort said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have a sheltie farm dog that makes life a neverending hassel for the visiting coons, so they avoid barn and henhouse, to much trouble to raid with her raising a ruckous and calling me out with shotgun or long pole. As long as they stay in woodlot and eat rodents, everything is cool.
> 
> 
> 
> I have also used hotwire around the poultry and am going to put it around perimator of tort enclosures ( 12" and 24 to 30" up). It seems to work to the critters (possums and coons). Of course this is not an option for city ( little Johnny may be stung).
> 
> I think that's why we don't get them here at our house too, because of the dogs. We don't keep any dogs down at the brown house, which is where the horses and poultry live.
> 
> What I found interesting was I would allow them to get near to the chicken house, then I would burst out the chicken house yelling, screaming, and chasing them away. Yet within less than an hour, they would be snaeaking back in again. This would go on several times a night. They became more cautious, but never gave up trying.
> 
> They also one night came in before dark and sat there watching us from about eight feet away. I just happened to see them out of the corner of my eye as I was working on the building. There lacked the fear of us that I expected.
> 
> Am slowly putting covers on all our outside habitats, just because I know the day will come when they will be entering the yard here at the house too.
Click to expand...


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## Chucky

That one came back 3 times within 2 minutes after I chased it off. He was not really afraid at all. Even when I chased him away, he didn't run, just walked a little faster than normal.


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## Laura

It appears to be eating dog food out of the bowl.. you need to remove the food sourse so it goes away...Trapping and relocating is actually illegal to do. Or highly frowned upon. The adult could have babies, racoons are very wormy and by releasing one into another envoroment, they are now spreading the parasites to another group, the food sourse is different and they may not know where to find foo, andif its a problem animal,, it may be a problem in the new area as well.. once one is trapped they are very hard to trap again.. best to critter proof as best you can or sadly euthanize them. We have a county trapper to take care of problem critters.


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## Chucky

It was the cat food that's been there all winter on top of the table. The Raccoons don't come around until springtime. The food is now in the workshop locked up with the cat as well. 

So what's more cruel, getting rid of the raccoon or keeping your pet locked up so the raccoon won't kill it. So now that the food is gone, it will go for the fish. BTW it is not illegal here to trap and relocate them. Matter of fact it's the preferred way from what I hear. 

They are a big problem here and are living and multiplying like rats. On any night if you drive down a street you will see 2 or 3 of them diving into the sewers. Doesn't sound to healthy to me. The reason they're here, easy pickings. The forest of 1000's of square miles is just a couple blocks away and that's where they belong. 

Oh yeah, he came back tonight and smelled around and didn't find anything so he left


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## Jacqui

Chucky, I don't think anybody is saying to not do what it takes to protect your animals. Larry is just pointing out that you need to not make your yard into a buffet line. Petfood left outside and garbage cans with no lids or poor fitting lids are asking coons to stop for a bite.

Sounds like with the numbers you have in your area, they are going to be heavily diseased also. I would worry about what they could be spreading to your animals, such as rabies to the cat (and yourself). Can't recall if distemper is transmittable between the cats and coons. With those densities already there, I think actually it would be more humane to kill the coons who come into your area.

I know that seems cruel, but think of it in tortoise terms. Would you want a Desert Tort that has been in captivity and carrying a high chance of disease, to be relocated into a wild Desert Tortoise population?

Living in the city, your raccoon is almost a captive animal. It has changed it's living arrangements, food supply, learned to not fear humans/dogs, and has increased it's population within a small area way above what would naturally happen (thus the disease blooms). It looks like it's wild country cousin, but doesn't think/act like it does.

Glad he left, am sure he knew where other easy pickings were found.


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## Chucky

Oh no, I wasn't really getting defensive about the food, I always keep it inside the shop during the summer, it just snuck(is that a word) on me. I did go out and buy an air rifle to do just that but just can't seem to get myself to do it. It's like, ok, give them another chance before taking drastic measures. 

As far as being city dwellers, I think half of them just walk in and out from the forest when food gets scarce. They all seem to disappear before and after the breeding season. Maybe they come in just because of the babies and it's easier to feed them. 

BTW, the one visiting me now is a male probably in the 2 year old range according to his size.


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## Jacqui

Chucky said:


> I did go out and buy an air rifle to do just that but just can't seem to get myself to do it. It's like, ok, give them another chance before taking drastic measures.



  You sound like me. My son's friend stopped by while we were working on the chicken pen and offered to either shoot or trap the coons for me at no charge. (He and his dad do a lot of hunting/trapping during the winter). I could no more have him harm them, then I could a few years back have the foxes hurt that eventually wiped out the chicken flock. I figure they were here before me, it's up to me to try working with them (the animals) to fix the situation so everybody ends up surviving.


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## Itort

Out on my place we do have coon control. We have a thriving population of coyotes, horned owls (I've found young skulls and bones under butcher tree), and I suspect bobcats (I live approx a mile from some river bottoms). So we have natural controls but sometimes the shotgun is called for.


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## Chucky

The main problem or should I say cause of so many of these critters is that we do live so close to the wilderness and right on the edges are many vineyards and pear orchards. Here's 2 pics I shot today. The first one is looking from my deck and into the beginning of the many 1000's of square acres of nothing. The second pic is just my back yard. If you notice, I have a net over the pond to try to keep the Heron from getting my fish. Of course it's no problem for the coons, they just yank it off. Since the 6 years we've lived here, we have seen Elk, deer, coyotes, geese, mountain lion and bear in the field in that first pic. So far none of them have made it into our yard but we did have a black bear in our neighbors back yard last year. The authorities were called in and they used a tranquilizer gun and took him back to where he belonged..a long way away


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## Jacqui

Our places are located with the brown house (where the chickens are) is right next to a cornfield. Actually the back of the chickens pen is the fence line to the field. The field is maybe a fourth a mile wide and then you have the nicely wooded riverbank. Our house proper has a house between us and the cornfield/river on two sides of us. Of course we don't even have 90 folks living in my village.

Sounds like you have the same major predators as we do Larry. I was not prepared for a Bobcat when I saw the first one. Wish I could see one of the rare reported, but never confirmed mountain lions we are suppose to get.

Chucky can I have one of your mountain lions and a bear or three?  Those are two animals on my "Wish List to See in the Wild".

Great view Chucky!


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## Itort

Jacqui, what part of Nebraska are you in? The mountain lion has been confirmed in eastern part of state as well as a road-kill wildborn tom outside Atlantic, Iowa and a train hit one in southern Ill. They are apparently dispersing east out of Black Hills area. Personally I'll pass on big cats and bears (which I have plenty of experience with).


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## Chucky

Come on over and take as many as you want


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## Jacqui

Itort said:


> Jacqui, what part of Nebraska are you in? The mountain lion has been confirmed in eastern part of state as well as a road-kill wildborn tom outside Atlantic, Iowa and a train hit one in southern Ill. They are apparently dispersing east out of Black Hills area. Personally I'll pass on big cats and bears (which I have plenty of experience with).



The closest confirmed ones have been in Omaha. Here we have sightings, but no bodies or tracks. I live down the the Southeast part of Nebraska. If you look on a map between Beatrice and Fairbury and a couple of miles from the Kansas border


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## purpod

Perhaps now that the food is gone, he will come to realize that your property is a no win situation..? 

The issue of speading disease is a good point to keep in mind, tho ~ better to care for your critters & avoid such a risk, no?

{I have always liked raccoons from since I was a kid camping, and they would come over, wanting a marshmellow, and would have a very hard time killing such}

Anyways, bestest luck with your ringed friend ~
Purpod


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## Chucky

As far as I know, he did not come back last night. Probably went to my next door neighbors


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## Itort

"Oh gee, you're no fun anymore" Rocky Raccoon.


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## Chucky

Now it's about time for the Herons to show up again


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## Chucky

I hate it when I'm right but something got into my Koi pond last night or early this morning. The net was all messed up and laying in the water. I don't know if they got any of the fish or not(too many to count) but they tried.

Oh, I did catch something in my trap this morning also...My cat! He wasn't too happy but he's probably learned now NOT to go in it


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## Jacqui

Dang!


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## Itort

Well, it could been a skunk in the trap.


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## Chucky

Yes, it could've been a skunk...Eeeewww

We do have from what I'm told porcupines also but I've never seen one.


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## purpod

Chucky said:


> Oh, I did catch something in my trap this morning also...My cat! He wasn't too happy but he's probably learned now NOT to go in it



LOL, err.. well, not for the kitty, but just had to note thanx for the smile! Bestest wishes!
Purpod


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## Itort

Chucky said:


> Yes, it could've been a skunk...Eeeewww
> 
> We do have from what I'm told porcupines also but I've never seen one.


Now that's a prickly subject.


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## Laura

I believe the distemper they get is K9, and of course rabies and internal parasites. Its epidemic in some areas, If its in your area. Im sure you would of heard of it. 
Make it as negative as possible for them and they should move on.


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## Chucky

I can and have put all food inside but the fish pond is still there and they love fish. Even if I got rid of that, in this town 1 out of every 5 houses have ponds with fish so it's almost impossible to keep them away. I just do the best I can.


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## Jacqui

Itort said:


> Well, it could been a skunk in the trap.



Maybe the smell would have kept away the coon.  

I know Chucky this is a serious matter for you, just wish there were simple solutions that worked for everybody and everything.


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## Chucky

With my situation, there is not much I can do except for keeping the food put away which I always do anyway. The turts and torts are secure but the fish are up for grabs. I'm just more concerned about the cat and dog meeting up with it someday.


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## Itort

The bottom line is coons are smart and have hands. Begrudgingly you have to admire them for their adaptability. The dogs they avoid and the cats they ignore.


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## Jacqui

Itort said:


> The dogs they avoid and the cats they ignore.



As long as they don't bother them or they aren't cornered. Then they can do some serious damage.


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## bacaraj

Just a thought for you about scaring away most of the mid level predators, down here we have used fox urine or coyote urine liberally sprayed around the perimeter of the property to keep the coons, opossums, and feral cats at quite a distance and it also keeps rabbits and deer out of the garden areas. You can get bottles of the urine from Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Wal Mart, Kmart, or any bow hunting shop, hope this helps.


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## Chucky

That might help bacaraj but I wonder if my dog would go around and remark it? 

BTW, the coon was back last night, stood up right in front of the glass door and looked at me. It looked as if he was trying to say...'Hey! where's that cat food at? I'm starving here!'. He then left and didn't see him the rest of the night.


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## Jacqui

Chucky said:


> BTW, the coon was back last night, stood up right in front of the glass door and looked at me. It looked as if he was trying to say...'Hey! where's that cat food at? I'm starving here!'. He then left and didn't see him the rest of the night.



He may very well have been doing just that. He may have already learned from well meaning softies, that begging equals food.


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## Jacqui

bacaraj said:


> Just a thought for you about scaring away most of the mid level predators, down here we have used fox urine or coyote urine liberally sprayed around the perimeter of the property to keep the coons, opossums, and feral cats at quite a distance and it also keeps rabbits and deer out of the garden areas. You can get bottles of the urine from Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, Wal Mart, Kmart, or any bow hunting shop, hope this helps.



Okay I am gonna come clean here. When I was having the problem with the coons, I recalled hearing about the urine thing. I had wondered if human urine would work the same way and since I was spending so much time down there on guard duty, I decided to give it a shot.

Figured it didn't cost anything and I lost all my pride long ago , so I started "marking my territory".  Not sure if it worked, but I never saw them go by those points again. Of course maybe they couldn't without rolling on the ground laughing themselves silly at the dumb human, so they avoided the spots.


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## purpod

Jacqui said:


> Figured it didn't cost anything and I lost all my pride long ago , so I started "marking my territory".  Not sure if it worked, but I never saw them go by those points again. Of course maybe they couldn't without rolling on the ground laughing themselves silly at the dumb human, so they avoided the spots.



  ROTF! 
The cost of internet: $30. a month
Belonging to TF: $0.
Reading Jacqui's post: Priceless!

 Purpod


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## Chucky

Ok, you're a certified nut case Jacqui 

You never know though, it may have worked but I don't think the wife will allow me to do that.
BTW, he was back again last night. Stood up on his hind legs and looked right at me again then the cat
came up on the deck and he left.


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## Yvonne G

computer tells me that I have reached my quota for attachments and won't allow me to attach any more. I'll try it through photobucket and see if it works that way.


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## Jacqui

Ahhh! *melts* That is sooooo adorable!


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## purpod

That really is a cute "capture" ~ Thanx for the share!

Purpod


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## Chucky

Hey! Did you come over to my neighborhood to take that pic?


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## Laura

Its the protein in predators urine that helps keep prey animals away.. SO... guys.. go eat a steak dinner... and go mark!!! Wait till the sun goes down tho! 
Suppose to keep deer away too.. never tried it.. I tried Cougar Poo around my flower bed out front.. it worked for a bit...


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## Jacqui

Laura said:


> Its the protein in predators urine that helps keep prey animals away.. SO... guys.. go eat a steak dinner... and go mark!!! Wait till the sun goes down tho!
> Suppose to keep deer away too.. never tried it.. I tried Cougar Poo around my flower bed out front.. it worked for a bit...



Hmmm so maybe it did help!  What?! I was suppose to wait for the sun to go down? Dang I just never get it completely right.


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## bacaraj

I thought it was right when the sun comes up .... that strong morning flow.


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## Itort

This thread is labled a strong PG-13.


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## Chucky

and it started out so nice..... 

Excuse me while I go outside


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## Jacqui

Chucky said:


> and it started out so nice.....
> 
> Excuse me while I go outside



LOL Chucky did you mean that the way I took it? Cuz it sure made me chuckle. If you did, I am getting a whole new respect for you.  

But yes, your right, this thread is starting to become a little pissy....


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## Chucky

I wondered if anyone would understand my humor Jacqui 

BTW, is that a French version of the name Jackie? I wondered because that's
my mothers name, oh excuse me...It's Jacqueline. She'd kill me if she knew I called her Jackie


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## Jacqui

Mine name is Jacqueline too, but I would kill ya if ya called me that.  
Unlike your Mom, I much prefer the Jacqui. Being called Jacqueline means I am in big trouble... not that I ever get into trouble....

Actually the spelling is because as a kid I went by Jackie. That's how everybody spelled it and I wanted to be different and special in some way. On TV, I saw somebody who spelled it JacquE. I liked that, but took it a step further and went with an "i". Since then have known a few others who spell it my way.


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## purpod

ROTF


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