Oh great ... now we have coons to deal with!

[SerendipityCrafts]

Well we don't have them quite yet (we hope) but, tonight we went to let Lily out the back yard, and there was a coon sitting on our deck.

Last fall, DH had to do some repairs to the extension on the back of the house. Something had ripped the vapour barrier & stolen the insulation. We believe it was coons. So, for obvious reasons, we don't want them back or moving in.

For, those of you who have experience - what the heck do we do to deter them from coming around? and no, we can't shoot them - we don't own a gun and even if we did and I did know how to use one, it's not permitted in the burbs :icon_barbar:

BTW - Lily could definitely smell it's presence :)

[Danielle9608]

We have a squirrel problems, the tear the gardens and chew on the clap boards on the houses. The condo board got these squirrel keep away sticks that stick in the ground. I think they must smell bad to squirrels or something. Maybe they make something like that for raccoons.

[Danielle9608]

I just did a quick search and came up with this:

http://www.critter-repellent.com/raccoon/raccoon-repellent.php

[WebLady]

I was gonna say look up ways to deter the little buggers; if you see one don't let Lily get it though! They can carry all kinds of diseases!

Hope you don't have any problems!

[kgvettegirl]

Make sure your garbage cans have good strong lids on them. Those little suckers can open them and dine on all your trash. Other than Bo, my brother Tennessee Walking Hound, who eats coons for snacks, I don't know anything that can get rid of them.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Other than Bo, my brother Tennessee Walking Hound, who eats coons for snacks, I don't know anything that can get rid of them.

What?! I was counting on you for the solution, my little country girl!

Ok I hate to tell tales out of school but it was pretty funny to watch DH last night. First, he spots the coon outside the window. He was in his pj's but in two seconds flat, he grabs his coat, gets his boots on, puts Lily on the leash and says "Come on girl, a huntin we will go' huntin!"*

*no Brandi, he wasn't going to let her go anywhere near it, he just wanted to scare the thing :) He was hoping she would bark (yeah the neighbours would have loved it I am sure at 11pm) but she didn't make a sound. Figures - she will bark at the wind but when you want her to bark, she stifles it.

Well Lily did nuthin so, then he starts rattling this bottle that we have filled with pennies (Lily's attention getter), and poking at the bushes with the long pool net pole :rofl: That didn't scare the coon but it did climb a tree to sit on a large stump so, DH thought it would be a good idea to throw snow balls at it.

hahahahaha DH was so friggin wound up that 99% of his shots went astray. He does claim that he hit the thing square between the eyes, which was what finally made it retreat into the forest ... but I didn't see it!

I was teasing him this morning that we should set up an arcade type game along the deck fence so that he could get some practice :)

Thanks for the link Danielle. We don't think he/she/they have gone back under the addition yet but until the snow melts and we can get there to board it up, we need to keep them away.

We don't put out garbage at all until garbage day. The squirrels have already taught us that lesson.

[WebLady]

Ok I hate to tell tales out of school but it was pretty funny to watch DH last night. First, he spots the coon outside the window. He was in his pj's but in two seconds flat, he grabs his coat, gets his boots on, puts Lily on the leash and says "Come on girl, a huntin we will go' huntin!"*

*no Brandi, he wasn't going to let her go anywhere near it, he just wanted to scare the thing :) He was hoping she would bark (yeah the neighbours would have loved it I am sure at 11pm) but she didn't make a sound. Figures - she will bark at the wind but when you want her to bark, she stifles it.

Well Lily did nuthin so, then he starts rattling this bottle that we have filled with pennies (Lily's attention getter), and poking at the bushes with the long pool net pole :rofl: That didn't scare the coon but it did climb a tree to sit on a large stump so, DH thought it would be a good idea to throw snow balls at it.

hahahahaha DH was so friggin wound up that 99% of his shots went astray. He does claim that he hit the thing square between the eyes, which was what finally made it retreat into the forest ... but I didn't see it!

I was teasing him this morning that we should set up an arcade type game along the deck fence so that he could get some practice :)
Too funny :bblol:

[kgvettegirl]

BB Gun is your best bet. the problem is they are nocturnal so you wont see them during the day usually only at night and the neighbors will not want Hugh pinging away. You could see if animal control has some humane traps where they catch the little boogers and take them and release them into the wild. Or at least far away from your house.

[firespirit]

We get coons too, on the dock. I've learned I have to walk the kitty poo all the way to the parking lot (it's where the dumpster is) instead of just leaving it outside the door to take on the way out the next morning. So far they haven't damaged anything, or attacked anything. If our cats went outside, I would worry, but our cats are big chickens anyway, so they dont' even try.

[Gertie]

Two words. Animal control. well, maybe four...add in "live trap". We had issues around our house with possums. And we have cats, and their fav food is cat food. Every time someone would leave windows or doors open while renovations were in progress...say due to hauling things around...yup you guessed it. In the cat food on the enclosed porch. Is it bad when the local animal control and the neighbors start referring to your house as possum kingdom? hahahaha!

[SerendipityCrafts]

Thanks for mentioning that about the cat poop firespirit. DH mentioned that someone/something carried off the discarded kitty litter. The odd thing is, he noticed it missing but there wasn't any messy leftovers or marks in the snow. :snide:

Two words. Animal control. well, maybe four...add in "live trap".

Is it bad when the local animal control and the neighbors start referring to your house as possum kingdom? hahahaha!

Does that make you the possum queen? :rofl:

The neighbours had some issues with them a few years back. They got in under their porch and so, they called the city. Animal control dropped off the traps but it's up to the homeowner to actually catch the offender. So they baited the traps but he cunning beasts learned how to take the bait, only to leave he trap (without the door trapping them inside). They ate well for some time :)

The neighbour finally caught it himself the old fashioned way, by booby trapping the trap with a string LOL Animal control picked it up and brought it to the other side of the nature park (maybe 6 city blocks). Apparently, they are not allowed dump the problem on another town/burrough.

As the neighbours tell the tale - Mr (or Mrs.) Racoon, looked at the guy and said "Thanks for the ride, but I will be heading back home now". :rofl:

They had to bribe the next guy to take it to the woods on the other side of the highway.

[SerendipityCrafts]

So DH and I were out on the deck a few moments ago .... and I am looking to the west, checking out the sunset and I see two big things moving in a tree.

:rofl: Two big racoons are doing the "nasty" in the upper branches of our neighbours backyard tree! :rofl: Seems like a precarious place to make love if you ask me. :snide: