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Raccoon Problem - Need Suggestions

Rattlesnake Blues

Rattlesnake Blues

Last night I was sitting on my back porch and I noticed one of my pepper plants was moving. I got up and walked out there and it was a big raccoon digging in the soil. I grow all my peppers in 5 gallon buckets. I got the flashlight and he was digging in 6 buckets. Ironically, the 6 peppers he was digging in all had just been watered and fed with fish emulsion. I was wondering if the smell attracted the raccoon? I've been on the internet trying to find a remedy for this problem; everything from an electric fence to spreading hot pepper flakes or cayenne powder along the top soil. An electric fence is out of the question because of my dogs, which leave the plants alone. Does anyone know if the pepper flakes/powder works? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! The pepper plants survived, but I'm sure if he keeps coming back he'll end up killing the plants. Oh, shooting the raccoon is pretty much out of the question because I live in a residential neighborhood and firing guns would probably get me arrested (LOL). Again, thanks for any advise!
 
John
 
Superhot powder should send them running away in a blind terror. A tsp. mixed well with about half a cup of cayenne powder should do the trick. learned that here as a matter of fact. Works on any mammal with a nose or mouth.
 
trap it.   then take it to one of your buddies that live outside "city"limits and then shot it.  are you sure you cant pop off a round on a clean shot of a rodent/ just because you are "residential?'   unless you live in a apartment or a sub-division?     racoon is not going to leave and if you just trap and remove. it will come back. unless you plan on driving a hundred miles that day. they are vicious animals that will destroy flocks and crops. alos will tare your trash and property apart. kill it!
 
I agree with Sic.  Try trapping it and call the Wildlife or Animal control and they'll take it somewhere.  I know they LOVE cat food.  Put a little bit of that inside the trap and he's as good as yours.  Maybe even spray a little fish emulsion around it to lure him in.    I never have tried pepper powders or flakes to be honest so I wouldn't know anything about that.  
 
sicman said:
trap it.   then take it to one of your buddies that live outside "city"limits and then shot it.  are you sure you cant pop off a round on a clean shot of a rodent/ just because you are "residential?'   unless you live in a apartment or a sub-division?     racoon is not going to leave and if you just trap and remove. it will come back. unless you plan on driving a hundred miles that day. They are vicious animals that will destroy flocks and crops. alos will tare your trash and property apart. Kill it!
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Tell me, which species is advocating murder of the other?  :crazy:
 
Jamison said:
I agree with Sic.  Try trapping it and call the Wildlife or Animal control and they'll take it somewhere.  I know they LOVE cat food.  Put a little bit of that inside the trap and he's as good as yours.  Maybe even spray a little fish emulsion around it to lure him in.    I never have tried pepper powders or flakes to be honest so I wouldn't know anything about that.  
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oh! i didnt even think to tell you what i trap them with.    "wet" cat food seems to work the best.  racoons are a big problem for me.
Geonerd said:
 
Tell me, which species is advocating murder of the other?  :crazy:
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are you trolling?   
i didnt capilaze the words you quoted me in. so thats a real troll move..
 
A 4' length of 1" heavy wall pipe used to work great for me for dealing with possums. And there's always a pellet gun.... quiet, but effective. And you can eat racoon, if you know how to clean the MUSK glands out properly. Great when they're smoked, from what I hear. Never tried it myself, though.

Geonerd said:
 
Tell me, which species is advocating murder of the other?  :crazy:
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The dominant species. Country living tends to help a man get over all of that soft-hearted stuff.
 
If you live in a city, I would call animal control. That's what your tax money pays for by the way. ;) If you get no help there, get a live trap and transport it out to the country.

We here in the Methow Valley are under attack from Whistle Pigs. Also called Marmots, Groundhogs or Rock Chucks.
One has showed up in my barn and it's gonna get shot. In the head. He is a male looking for his own territory as well as 3-4 females to breed. I am not an advocate of killing like some folks around here but marmots, packrats and mice I kill on sight. Part of the infestation here is because of all the "sport killing" of coyotes, the marmots natural predator. I do not believe in killing coyotes but try to tell these 80 year old farmers around here. Now they get to deal with marmots. LOL One dude counted 75 on his property.

Here is an article. http://grist.methownet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=846:marmot-menace&catid=80&Itemid=435
 
The only things I kill without some deep reflection are flies, mosquitos, spiders, and cockroaches. It's gotten to the point as I've gotten older to where I even pray over crawfish as I dump them in the boiling water.... lol. These days, I'd be more likely to shoot the raccoon with a Red Ryder BB gun and spook it off. I don't usually like to kill anything I'm not gonna eat anymore. Maybe you should consider blasting the garden area with some superhot powder
 
I use a BB gun for mice and it's very effective but truth be told, shooting a raccoon or the like with a BB gun is in fact the slowest most inhumane death there is. People think by just 2-3 pumps it just grazes them when it can actually break the skin and become infected and so on. It just happened last weekend at my father in laws house. The was a black rat in his garden, he grabbed his BB gun, pumped it 2 times (Crossman air gun) gut shot the poor thing and it was suffering. He couldn't finish him off so I had to. Yeah, it was a rat and yeah, it bothered me to see it suffering. I scolded him and told him anytime you point a gun at a creature you need to be 100% sure it will die immediately.

Moral to the story, pump it 10 times and aim for the head. Humane.
 
Have a heart trap with a chicken leg tied to the back top of cage. Tie it good so they really have to pull at it, works every time. Or so I'm told. If you can't discharge a firearm in your neighborhood fill a trash can up with water and let him swim with the fishes. Also you can buy air rifle's now that will quickly and cleanly remove your problem. There just about as loud as a .22 LR if not louder but they are more neighbor friendly if this is a concern. There cute and cuddly till they bite your kids face off :)
 
Well, I went ahead and put cayenne pepper powder on the top soil of all my plants. Hopefully, this will deter him. I guess I'm like some of you, I just can't kill something because it is hungry and foraging for food. Hopefully the cayenne powder won't kill my plants!!
 
I have the same problem with squirrels. I use cayenne pepper and it works. It will not harm your plants. The only thing I hate is when you water or when it rains, you have to reapply. Good luck!
 
        Can of sardines (not with mustard sauce)and a live trap.(if ya cant use a conibear trap ;) )Where there is one there are more.Yes your fish emulsion probably drew him in.
 
You people are violent. It's just an animal looking for food. He didn't say he was on his porch, saw his pepper plant moving, and when he approached the plant, a rabid raccoon jumped on his face and ripped his right ear off. Then while he was screaming and bleeding on the ground it ripped all the pepper plants out of their pots, flicked him off, and told him it would be back. You guys are at a 10. Take a deep breath and bring it down a few levels. 
 
          HAA Haaa,I used to run dogs and tree coons.Them pretty furry little b#@$tards,are tough.You don't want them anywhere near your place.They will rearrange your attic,and turn your pets into chew toys.
 
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