Anyone trap raccoons?

spittinfire

Six Pointer
I’ve recently had a few chickens taken so I set up a game camera and the first thing that showed up was a raccoon. It’s clearly trying to get in the door, climbing all over the coop looking for access. I’d love to just sit out there and shoot it but that’s really not a good option with my location so I need to trap it.
I’ve never done any trapping so I’m open to suggestions. I’m thinking about a live trap because they’re easy and readily available locally. Once caught I can deal with the animal from there.


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Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Put a honeybun in the very back of the have a heart, make sure it is standing up vertical with the back wall. Then, set the trigger as light as you can. You'll catch him the first night.
 

Moose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
A pretty easy catch with a Hav-a-Heart or similar. Throw a can of cheap sardines in there and you should be set.
Yup that will work may take some time if you are in suburbia and lots of cats around. Really your best option.
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
I’ve caught several in my Havahart, I use cat food, dog food, marshmallows, deer corn, whatever I have at the time.,
 

spittinfire

Six Pointer
Thanks guys. I’ve got an attack plan. No cats that I’m aware of so I hope this is an easy process. That SOB killed my two week old chicks and one of my hens.


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QuietButDeadly

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Skunks love sardines too.....then what you gonna do?

I know it is ignored a lot but trapping season is closed and you really should get a permit if you are going to set traps. Easy to get by contacting your Warden or district biologist. DP traps with sweet bait work well also for coon and are less likely to catch non targets.
 

spittinfire

Six Pointer
Skunks love sardines too.....then what you gonna do?

I know it is ignored a lot but trapping season is closed and you really should get a permit if you are going to set traps. Easy to get by contacting your Warden or district biologist. DP traps with sweet bait work well also for coon and are less likely to catch non targets.

My understanding is that if you don’t kill it then a permit is not required. I am looking into the permit though.
A skunk would be exciting for sure.


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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
My understanding is that if you don’t kill it then a permit is not required. I am looking into the permit though.

so if you aren't killing it what is your plan? Read the law - with raccoons killing is about your only option - unless you are doing catch and release on your own property - which negates the issue you think you have.

  • Can’t transport without a permit or if you are a WDCA and taking it to your euthanization location
  • No release of trapped raccoons except on same property it's caught on

good read here for co-existing with them - if you catch/kill that one another will take it's place

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/...es/Mammals/Co-exist-Raccoons-Update-FINAL.pdf
 

spittinfire

Six Pointer
so if you aren't killing it what is your plan? Read the law - with raccoons killing is about your only option - unless you are doing catch and release on your own property - which negates the issue you think you have.

  • Can’t transport without a permit or if you are a WDCA and taking it to your euthanization location
  • No release of trapped raccoons except on same property it's caught on

good read here for co-existing with them - if you catch/kill that one another will take it's place

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/...es/Mammals/Co-exist-Raccoons-Update-FINAL.pdf

I plan to kill it which is why I’m looking into the permit.


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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
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I plan to kill it which is why I’m looking into the permit.


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got it, misunderstood your post,,,

long term though I'd look at mitigation versus removal,,,another will follow if the food is available
 

spittinfire

Six Pointer
got it, misunderstood your post,,,

long term though I'd look at mitigation versus removal,,,another will follow if the food is available

That’s what I’m worried about. So far I’ve only got pictures of one raccoon. I’m hoping I can dispatch him before he brings friends although I know that’s unlikely.



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Moose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I release them through my neighbors cat door coon or skunk makes no difference ... Seems to work and they rarely ever return ;)
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
A piece of white bread with pancake syrup poured on it works as good as anything I’ve ever tried.
As far as the permit. Lol. Just take care of you and yours and be done with it.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I am not going to get into the permit/no permit issue. Stay far away from sardines, cat food, meat etc. Go with sweets, honey bun syrup on bread and you will stay away from cats and grinners.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Call your local biologist. He/She will issue a permit based on the pictures. He/She will also advise you to make the chicken coop as predator proof as possible.
 

QuietButDeadly

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You have the right to protect your property but the caveat there is that you are only allowed to kill the perp in the act of damaging your property, not going to or from.

Woodmoose was right on the money with what he posted as well. Lots of dogooders catching varmints and turning them loose on their neighbors already.

How you chose to proceed is up to you.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
You have the right to protect your property but the caveat there is that you are only allowed to kill the perp in the act of damaging your property, not going to or from.

Woodmoose was right on the money with what he posted as well. Lots of dogooders catching varmints and turning them loose on their neighbors already.

How you chose to proceed is up to you.

Well put...….. because ignoring the laws has backfired on many folks.

SWEETS is the best way to go for bait and make sure to TUNE the cage trap you've gotten, since they are rarely ready to go from the factory. Dont engage the triggering mech more than halfway.
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
My wife had free ranging chickens for years. I told my wife that everybody likes chicken and that she would lose some sooner or later. I informed her that I wasn't going to kill a critter that was out there working for a living just because it killed and ate some of her "free roaming" chickens. The chickens would go to roost every evening in a secure coop that we would lock up for the night. Covered roof, fence buried in the ground, etc. Most of the problems occur at night and killing a predator or two may make you feel good but it doesn't solve the problem in the long term.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I couldn't keep chickens here, spent hundreds of dollars over the years. It finally dawned on me to start letting my semi-retired cur dogs run loose (1) that stopped it cold. They naturally are protective of their home. But the downside is they are proud if their work. Most likely you will have the skunks, coons and grinners laying on your porch or very close by so you can observe and tell them they did a good job. But I don't have issues.

It is amazing but they get after flying critters also. My old yellow male that recently died I can't count the times, especially in the winter with the leaves off the trees he would be parked under a tree raising hell and a hawk would be looking down at him. I would see him go running across the yard with his head up and fussing. But he couldn't discern between a hawk or buzzard. He had many false alarms. LOL
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
Dog Proof traps are a good option too
"Live" traps are all traps except body grippers....since we can release a critter "alive".
I know you mean "cage" traps.
 

Hines

Spike
Dog proof was going to be my suggestion. My success rate with those is much higher than the cage trap varieties
 

LanceR

Six Pointer
Contributor
We used to raise pastured heritage breed poultry on our Central New York Farm. We used a combination of really stout trailer mounted coops and electric net fencing to keep predators at bay and still be able to move the birds to fresh grazing regularly. The coops had galvanized "cage cloth" over all the windows, eave and ridge vents etc. Cage cloth is much heavier than chicken wire which is intended to confine chickens and won't stop and determined predator if it has time to work. The best cage cloth is galvanized after welding but is hard to find. A least weasel, young mink etc can get through a hole around an inch across so, for our area in NY, keeping things really tight was key to the birds staying alive.

We never had a cat sized or larger predator want to tangle with the electric net fence more than once. In the years had the birds we only had one fox get into a coop and kill 7-8 birds. I had been careless and let the grass get high enough to partially short the lower strands of the fence and he'd found a low spot where he could get under the fence. The next day I left the birds in, put 4-5 turkey decoys out without their stakes just setting on the ground and popped him with my turkey gun at twilight.

I haven't had a reason to trap since we moved to NC and I sure don't know trapping law here but my advice is to use a Duke Dog-proof trap (or similar) with a pull only trigger. They are very species specific as the critter has to reach down into the baited tube, grasp the trigger bar and pull up to fire the trap. I've never heard of a raccoon getting out of one and I've never seen one miss catching the coon. I used a mix of wet cat food and kibble loosely packed into the tube and covering the trigger bar. Stake it down well as the coon will really work hard to get away. I use a 12-18" piece of rebar with a couple thick grade 8 washers welded too the top as stake.



I'm a half hour north of Winston-Salem in Pinnacle. If you're close enough I'll lend you a trap and show you the electric net fencing if you're interested in that. We kept a couple hundred feet of it in assorted lengths and a pair of chargers in case we want chickens here.

A word of caution though; as others have said as soon as you put out bait you run the risk of attracting coons that had nothing to do with you original problem.


Lance
 

RJ1

Ten Pointer
Check out N.C. Statue 15 A 10B .0106 it will tell how to get a permit.Section 1 tells you that you can take an animal that is or has been destroying your property as long as there is evidence of the property damage you do not have to wait until the animal is in the act if he's near your coop you can take it out as long as you have a permit.
 

Hines

Spike
I'll throw 2 more cents in....call your local wildlife office and conect with your local agent. He/She should be more than happy to talk with you about it to keep you within due bounds of the law.

The pull only trigger on the dog proof traps is key.
 

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
My understanding is that if you don’t kill it then a permit is not required. I am looking into the permit though.
A skunk would be exciting for sure.


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That understanding is wrong, and can land you a ticket. You don't need a trapping license on your own property, but all other trapping laws still apply. That includes getting a depredation permit if you're trapping out of season. You still need to tag the trap, make sure the trap conforms to regs, etc... Several good trappers have given you some great advice on this thread. I encourage you to take it.
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Good gracious... the man has a coon eating his chickens, wants ideas on best way to catch it and here we are talking about tagging a trap, permits, regulations.... SSS, no reason to involve the government in this
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Good gracious... the man has a coon eating his chickens, wants ideas on best way to catch it and here we are talking about tagging a trap, permits, regulations.... SSS, no reason to involve the government in this
Does the lack or worry or concerns for the law also transfer over to deer, turkey or othe wildlife.....

Just kill what you want and don't involve the government?
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Does the lack or worry or concerns for the law also transfer over to deer, turkey or othe wildlife.....

Just kill what you want and don't involve the government?

Of course not, we are talking about a nuisance animal that is damaging a mans property... just take care of the problem and go on, it doesn't have to be this difficult....
 

QuietButDeadly

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Farmers consider the deer a nuisance animal and some farmers consider turkey a nuisance as well.

The bottom line is there are laws on the books and there is a method defined to deal with those problems. Folks who do not follow those methods, whatever the reason, are poachers.
 
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