Raccoons, how do you relocate them ?

[M61A1MECH]

So we had a Raccoon living under the shed for a good little while, really was not a problem until about 6 weeks ago he decided to dig up the wife's flower beds each night searching for grubs and worms. I tried all the typical remedies to deter him from the flower bed, black pepper, red chili pepper, ground red pepper, off the shelf deterrents from Home Depot. Tried to make him move his den elsewhere by pouring ammonia down into his den, vinegar in his den, salting the entrance to his den with the red pepper mixture and his own scat. Nothing worked until last Saturday night when I set a trap baited with dry cat food, honey and peanut butter.

Sunday morning , viola, Raccoon in the trap, easy peasy. Relocated him 3 miles to the west in an area that looked perfect for Raccoons and lots of better homes between there and my house for him to take up residence, but no, this morning a week later, I have freshly dug holes and Raccoon tracks on the sidewalk again. I am making an assumption it is the same one, but who knows.

 

I do not want to hurt the varmint just want him to live and forage some where else, if it is the same one, how far away do I need to take him to keep him from finding his way back?

 

Anybody have experience with Raccoons?

[Stache]

One well placed .22 cal and you can relocate the critter next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

 

So we had a Raccoon living under the shed for a good little while, really was not a problem until about 6 weeks ago he decided to dig up the wife's flower beds each night searching for grubs and worms. I tried all the typical remedies to deter him from the flower bed, black pepper, red chili pepper, ground red pepper, off the shelf deterrents from Home Depot. Tried to make him move his den elsewhere by pouring ammonia down into his den, vinegar in his den, salting the entrance to his den with the red pepper mixture and his own scat. Nothing worked until last Saturday night when I set a trap baited with dry cat food, honey and peanut butter.

Sunday morning , viola, Raccoon in the trap, easy peasy. Relocated him 3 miles to the west in an area that looked perfect for Raccoons and lots of better homes between there and my house for him to take up residence, but no, this morning a week later, I have freshly dug holes and Raccoon tracks on the sidewalk again. I am making an assumption it is the same one, but who knows.

 

I do not want to hurt the varmint just want him to live and forage some where else, if it is the same one, how far away do I need to take him to keep him from finding his way back?

 

Anybody have experience with Raccoons?

[M61A1MECH]

Yeah, that would surely work, but not exactly my style, prefer to humanely relocate, and far enough away so hopefully I do not have to do it once a week.

[SilvrT]

It's the cat food, honey and peanut butter that brought it back! LOL

 

[BlueSky]

I suppose you will have to take it much farther away, hopefully to a place it likes better. Is there a farm about 50 miles away where it can get plenty of food?

[Patmac6075]

I'm not sure about the laws where you live, but here in Wisconsin it's illegal to relocate nuisance animals. You need a permit.

[M61A1MECH]

I'm not sure about the laws where you live, but here in Wisconsin it's illegal to relocate nuisance animals. You need a permit.

 

I think it may be similar here in Florida, I have just not bothered to check, I suppose I could trap it and call someone with the proper credentials to relocate it maybe.

 

I called a local trapper and they wanted almost $300.00 to trap and relocate , I suspect the fine would be less.

 

Going to try trapping him again tonight.

[bongobobny]

Relocate him offshore on an island...

[Kretz]

a friend has done this a few times, he takes them about 12-15 miles away, up a forest service road. The farther the better, it'll be even worse if he finds a mate & they reproduce.

[Patmac6075]

This may be none of my business, but how are we so sure this IS a "he" we're talking about?

Could explain why this animal was so determined to return?

[M61A1MECH]

This may be none of my business, but how are we so sure this IS a "he" we're talking about?

Could explain why this animal was so determined to return?

 

Had the same thought myself, the critter has been around for a while and I have only seen tracks of an adult, no babies, but if I catch it again I will look a bit closer, if it is a she with evidence of babies, I will have to let her go here at the house so she can tend to the babies.

 

But In reality I think I would have seen evidence of cubs if here were any around, but thought did cross my mind when it showed back up this morning.

 

I did find out that I do not need a permit to trap on my property, but I do need written consent from property owner where I relocate the animal, that could be difficult.

[T.J.]

So we had a Raccoon living under the shed for a good little while, really was not a problem until about 6 weeks ago he decided to dig up the wife's flower beds each night searching for grubs and worms. I tried all the typical remedies to deter him from the flower bed, black pepper, red chili pepper, ground red pepper, off the shelf deterrents from Home Depot. Tried to make him move his den elsewhere by pouring ammonia down into his den, vinegar in his den, salting the entrance to his den with the red pepper mixture and his own scat. Nothing worked until last Saturday night when I set a trap baited with dry cat food, honey and peanut butter.

Sunday morning , viola, Raccoon in the trap, easy peasy. Relocated him 3 miles to the west in an area that looked perfect for Raccoons and lots of better homes between there and my house for him to take up residence, but no, this morning a week later, I have freshly dug holes and Raccoon tracks on the sidewalk again. I am making an assumption it is the same one, but who knows.

 

I do not want to hurt the varmint just want him to live and forage some where else, if it is the same one, how far away do I need to take him to keep him from finding his way back?

 

Anybody have experience with Raccoons?

 

I live in a village and trap many Skunks, Coon, and Ground Hogs in my back yard and my neighbors when asked to. A Coon has to be taken a minimum of 5 miles away or they will return. I take and release on state land near me. State law in Michigan says I am not to do that but to drown the animals because it is to stressful on them to relocate them. Go figure.

[chabicheka]

Build a wall.

[revks]

around here we have found that relocation doesn't work.

We relocate them to somewhere 40-50 miles away and the people there relocate them back here.

 

In the church we just baptize and confirm them and they never come back.

[djh3]

Steve the state loves their critters and welcomes them. Just take the varmit up to the Ocala forest or one close by you. There will be campers and hikers that leave food out and it will be fat and happy.

[mraf]

A few years ago my mother-in-law trapped one and wanted me to get rid of it. So I told her she would have to ride along with me when I do it. We took off in the truck and after 5 miles she asked where I was going. I told her not much farther and stopped at a intersection. I got out and let it go. She asked why did I chose here to release the coon. I told her to look at the road sign naming the road. She started to laugh, it was COON ROAD. I figured the road wasen't named Coon road for nothing. It never came back.

[cowpuc]

So we had a Raccoon living under the shed for a good little while, really was not a problem until about 6 weeks ago he decided to dig up the wife's flower beds each night searching for grubs and worms. I tried all the typical remedies to deter him from the flower bed, black pepper, red chili pepper, ground red pepper, off the shelf deterrents from Home Depot. Tried to make him move his den elsewhere by pouring ammonia down into his den, vinegar in his den, salting the entrance to his den with the red pepper mixture and his own scat. Nothing worked until last Saturday night when I set a trap baited with dry cat food, honey and peanut butter.

Sunday morning , viola, Raccoon in the trap, easy peasy. Relocated him 3 miles to the west in an area that looked perfect for Raccoons and lots of better homes between there and my house for him to take up residence, but no, this morning a week later, I have freshly dug holes and Raccoon tracks on the sidewalk again. I am making an assumption it is the same one, but who knows.

 

I do not want to hurt the varmint just want him to live and forage some where else, if it is the same one, how far away do I need to take him to keep him from finding his way back?

 

Anybody have experience with Raccoons?

 

Heck yea,, had lots of experience with em.. Always wanted one for a pet when I was a kid.. Couple buds and I went tent camping on our motorcycles (that bad habit has been a flaw in my charector for many years).. Ended up camping overnight up on the white river not to far from where @bluestar99 and his wife live here in Michigan.. Sitting around yakking by the camp fire, cooking Hot Dogs (had that flaw back then too) and my buddy Dan jumps up and says "you hear that?".. The three of us jumped up - thinking we are being attacked by the Hells Angles (it was late 60's and we were patch wearing bikers (I still have my Levi jacket covered with patches from that time period - if anyone is interested I will see if I can find it and post a picture of it) = Hell's Angles were everywhere back in those days looking for kids like us to beat up).. I saw a little raccoon run behind a tree when I flashed my flash light his way.. I chased after him and yelled to my buddies to help me cause I always wanted a pet coon.. The little feller climbed up an oak tree, got about 2/3 way up, went out on a branch and was staring down at me with a funny look on his face.. Told my buddies I was gonna climb the tree, nock em down and I wanted them to grab my sleeping bag - unzip it, open it up and use it to catch the critter when I knock em down (like fire men do when people jump out of a window). They did and I did..

The little coon watched as I climbed closer and closer. He walked out farther on the branch as I crawled closer to em.. He got way out there where I couldnt go without snapping the branch off and falling down (I didnt trust my buddies to catch me with the sleeping bag = not a good idea). Got far enough out on the branch that it begin sagging way down and I started bouncing up and down on it to knock the little feller off the branch. The little coon had a really good grip on the branch but one by one his fingers and hands started letting go - he was hanging on by one hand - still staring at me with that strange look on his face as his body was catapulting up and down being only snagged by one set of fingers when I yelled at my buddies to get ready - he was coming down!! Last jump on the branch I saw the masked bandit go flying thru the air like a flying squirrel - he was now looking at the ground and no longer staring at me!!

As expected, my motorcycle tent camping buddies missed catching my pet coon with the blanket but my friend Dan used his body to break the fall of the coon and caught him like a football!! I watched from my perch on the oak tree branch as my two buddies wrestled the little coon to the ground in a valiant attempt to wrap him in the sleeping bag.. Rob, my other buddy screamed "OUCH - THE SON OF A "BAD WORD HERE" BIT ME!!".. For some reason, I found that part of this story kind of funny and almost fell out of the tree laughing - those two buddies of mine were always joking around even when I was trying to do something as serious as catching a coon..

After climbing down and joining my friends and the coon wrapped in my sleeping bag over by the fire, the discussion of how to get the coon home took place.. I remembered passing an old abandoned farm up the gravel road we were camped on a couple miles back whose mail box was laying in the ditch out by the road - I jumped on my 350 Honda, rode back to the farm in the dark, grabbed the mailbox, carried it back to the camp fire and stuffed the coon inside with some leafs to sleep in till I could get em home. The next morning I tied the mailbox with the coon in it to the back of my bike and headed home.

When I got home I took some cement blocks and made a pen for "Rocky" my pet coon (I named him Rocky after Rocky The Flying Squirrel because of what happened when he finally let go of the tree branch). I stretched a section of old chain link fence over the cement block structure and lined the edge of the fence with blocks on top of it to hold it in place. Inside the structure I placed a pan of water and a pan with some fruit in it for Rocky to eat - I even cut the fruit up so Rocky didnt have to eat the bitter rine of the Oranges to get to the good stuff. I then placed the Mailbox inside the structure, put the blocks on top of the fencing top, reached thru the wire with a stick and opened the mailbox. Rocky came out and stared at me like he had the night before...

I loved Rocky even though I only had him for a pet for one day.. Unlike most of the people responding to this thread - I had no idea that Coons would do almost anything to return to their homes if ya take em away from there - even if they cant see where you are taking them.. The following morning when I went out to Rocky's pen I noticed he had managed to get his fingers around the fences edge enough to lift it up and crawl out. He hi-tailed it back north toward home and never even touched the fresh fruit I left em..

So yes,, I do have experience with Racoon..

 

So,, with all this experience,, I bet your wondering what I would do if I were in your shoes Mech? If the shed is a typical wood frame and wood floor stand alone unit - I would grab some cement blocks and a floor jack,, jack the shed up from its corners and place a cement block under each corner of the shed so the shed is raised up - Rocky didnt care for the cement block structure because of being exposed (I am assuming), I have a hunch your coon wont either.. He will probably go looking for a new place to hide out once he no longer has a place to hide..

If this isnt possible, perhaps taking a leaf blower or a hair dryer - attach the blowing end of the unit to a section of plastic hosing - dig a small hole along the edge of the shed (you cant use the critters escape hole cause he is about to come running out of it) and place the end of the hose that the blower is not attached to under the edge of the shed. Now build a small smoking leaf fire next to the shed and place the intake of the blower in the smoke - turn it on and blow the smoke under the shed.. It wont take long and the coon will come shooting out from under the shed.. You may have to do this a couple times but most coons are pretty smart and it wont take long and he/she will find a new home.

:scratchchin:Like @T.J. , I live in Michigan too - didnt know about our States relocation laws - probably cause I never gave it much thought.. I too live not to far away from a Racoon industrial zone here on the other side of state - that zone here is called "Muskegon State Park".. "The Park" is over flowing with many families of Racoons who have perfected dumpster diving, garbage can lid removal and general camp site theivery.. If I were in your shoes I would not put a lot of effort into finding out whether or not those "laws" being mentioned really do exist - instead I would get out the Have-A-Heart - put some cat food in it - recatch the critter and take em down to the state park dumpster and release em in there with his new family members

 

Hey T.J. - you have trapped Skunks for relocation? How you do that with out getting stunk on?

[saddlebum]

My buddy and I had A pet racoon when I was kid. I believe he was orphaned as he was in a nest with three baby bunnys. They were so young their eyes were still closed so we called him Mr Maggoo. He was a very comical and playfull little guy as he got older and loved to try to imitate you when you did simple little tasks with you hands. When he got older about a year old, he started to wonder off staying away longer each time until finally he left for good.

Oh a third buddy raised the rabbits. Unfortunatly he came home from school one day to find his dad had butchered them and tossed them in the freezer.

[Hummingbird]

I never had any problems with racoons but for a couple years I had an invasion of skunks around the house and shed. It was so bad at one time that the stench would wake me up at night and force me to eradicate on the spot. I remember one night I had the entire family, mama and 5 young'ens. Mama got shot and the 5 found a club then all of them went for a swim in the fast flowing creek right beside the house.

I then started trapping in a "have-a-heart" trap with a rope tied to it and they would go deep creek diving. messed up the fishing for a couple days but - - probably should mention that we live right downtown, 1 block off the square and 30 seconds from wilderness so critters were always around and it never bothered me until they started invading MY space. It's a known fact that mother nature allows for some culling and in many cases culling is necessary.

 

After some thought I did have racoon problems but it was easily solved. I used to put a minnow bucket in the creek overnight with left over minnows with the intention of using them the next day - well that worked for a "little" while until the coon figured out how to open the bucket and help themselves to the minnows. Easy solution, quit putting the bucket in the creek -

[M61A1MECH]

Many thanks to all that have posted their ideas and stories. I set the trap last night, but no joy, did not catch any thing, but also no fresh tracks or fresh digs in the yard, so either the critter took the day off or the night before was someone else's Raccoon checking out my yard. I will keep the trap baited for a few days and see what happens.

If the critter returns to living under shed, I think I will try Puc's idea for smoking it out. I though the ammonia I used early on would do that but not so.

 

Keep the ideas coming and I will keep you posted on my progress.

[vzuden]

An open can of tuna fish makes for good bait for coons. Might catch a cat or two also

[Woody]

we have caught and relocated many coons I would have to believe that is not the same one but its mate. catch it and carry it to the same place. coons usually come in pairs or more or should I say then more. we carried off five in one week last year.

 

oh yeah if caught once and let go they learn not to trip the trap and still get the food.

[T.J.]

Hey T.J. - you have trapped Skunks for relocation? How you do that with out getting stunk on?

 

Well Puc,

 

In one summer alone I trapped 21 skunks. It was so bad around here. I called the village and told them how many I had trapped and said maybe it was time to get an exterminator in the village. The kind and very funny lady said. "I think we already have one" Boy, I had that one coming.

 

Any how. A skunk can't spray unless they get there tails above there back. So in a trap they are not able to do that without a lot of trouble. I put a rug over the trap to calm them down and then pick the trap up and put it in the back of my truck. Out to the country I go till I run into state land. I take the trap and open the door with the rug still over the top and point it in the direction I want the skunk to go. Sometimes I have to shake the cage to get them to come out. They always go straight ahead and never have I had one look back at me. Tails are down dragging on the ground and away they go.

 

Every skunk has a different marking or pattern to the black and white. Some are very beautiful in the way they are marked. When you see as many has I have through the years up close and personal. You take notice of such things.

 

Tuna fish or peanut butter are the best bait for me to catch just about anything.

[Venturous Randy]

Here is an old thread about who is now my ex and her involvement with raccoons. At one time I counted 21 on our carport and we live in the city limits. She would buy big bags of catfood and cheap cookies and sit there and hand feed them. When we were out and came home in the evenings, many times we had raccoons waiting for us. After we separated, every time I would go out, I was running off raccoons. It took a long time to get rid of them, I say get rid of them, but I still have to bungee cord my trash can lid down.g

Randy

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?34854-Got-Raccoons&highlight=racoons

[bj66]

Wait until somebody has a garden with sweet corn.........

 

I have trapped a few raccoons. Usually use cat food, or an egg. I've even used a golf ball. Had the racoon the next day. I suppose he was curious.

Edited March 6, 2017 by bj66