I think it’s too dry their for moles to flourish. They feed on earthworms and various ground insects. Rats are what I remember there more than anything besides ground squirrels and your gophers as far as rodents go. My father kept seed stocked bird feeders- dutifully refilled daily throughout the year and I don’t remember mice of any kind as part of the cycle.
I use Moultrie, and Bushnell cameras. They work well but there are others lesser price that work very well.
I am using an Amcrest ProHD Outdoor 1080P WiFi Wireless IP Security Bullet Camera - IP66 Weatherproof, 1080P (1920TVL), IP2M-842 (Black) from Amazon to monitor entrance drive / gate activity remotely from the house a few hundred feet away. It is not battery powered, but is intended to run on a 12VDC adapter, I have mine connected to a deep cycle battery and a 100 watt solar panel to keep it charged (total install cost about $300). I do get the occasional frame drop, but blame that on the distance I am operating at.
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I do similar for deer hunting/monitoring.
I see @JustAnne4 already linked to the recent thread. Here are a couple videos that my new game camera has taken.
Two Raccoons:
https://youtu.be/Rq1fqYRICxI
A fox:
https://youtu.be/vgkjqqOkwig
While the videos were pretty interesting, they didn’t pinpoint the issue for me. But it did show that they were going in, yet not setting it off.
I read that sometimes WD40 is needed to keep them closing well, so I went out with a can of it yesterday. Before applying it, I figured that I should see where it is catching. When I pressed on it with a stick, I had trouble setting it off. The animals would have had to jump up and down on it to trip it. It turns out that one of the wires supporting the trigger was resting on a horizontal wire from the cage (maybe it was shifted out of position by a previous occupant?). I fixed it in under a minute and was rewarded with a double catch. It’s almost like the 3 stooges- one runs into the other, which sets it off…
After fixing the issue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1M1scRjLdI
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In case you are interested in the model, I got the following from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CQTPPMK/
I’m not sure if it is the best one out there, even at this price-point, but I’m pretty happy to have a camera which can take such interesting videos.
Drawbacks of this one:
- It only takes 20 seconds of video at a time. It will then pause for at least one minute.
- I haven’t been able to make the timestamp stick, so I don’t know when any of the videos are from. I’ll give this another try at some point- don’t want to be the guy with 12:00 blinking on his VCR after 10 years
- One night it was very blurry. The only thing I can think of was that I had it inside and brought it out just in time for the temp to drop and condensation to form. I left it out the next day in the sun for a bit and haven’t had a problem since.
- Only takes up to 32 gb micro SD cards. I have a 64gb, but it won’t recognize it at all. So, I’ve done everything with a very old 512mb card, which shockingly, has only filled up once (when I actually caught something).
- Doesn’t activate when it is upside down (oops!)
The last two are obviously minor, and several don’t reflect well on me as a user…
Pro:
- Nice quality (though I haven’t tried others to compare)
- Activates at the right time for the most part (not a lot of video of the grass moving in the wind)
- Video is pretty compact (storage efficient)
- While basic, the controls (other setting the time) are pretty basic.
- Sound (as Subdood pointed out)
Pics of mine:
Good job, Bob! A coon twofer! Are they your pets now? Or is this a catch and release program?
I was wondering what the critter was in the second vid, until I saw the ‘fox’ caption. Are they that common in your area?
I like the fact you can get sound out of it, too.
I don’t think that there are too many- I didn’t know what it was until several people clued me in on the other thread. I actually saw it a few days later in the early morning (school is starting for the kids or I wouldn’t be up…). It seemed bigger in person and looked like a red fox (I think).
I don’t think catch and release would even be legal- as @Olpea has pointed out, you are just making them someone else’s problem.
And I was talking to my parents earlier tonight and they mentioned someone else (thankfully not them) who got his (expensive) car’s interior destroyed that way when the raccoon ran back in, instead of into the woods.
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I should add that placement can be tricky. I’ve been balancing it on a raised bed made out of logs, but it is easy to get knocked out of position.
I think that I had this one aimed well last night and it progressively tipped further up as the night went on. Even so, I got some info out of it- after I caught the skunk, I saw 2 raccoons go by, so at least I know what is left.
Hey Bob, I wound up putting mine on wheels. This modified rig is what I use to move heavy pots. It’s pretty stable.
The foil on top is to provide some protection, mainly from sun as I’ll leave it out several days. I think that black plastic heats up to a temp the batteries don’t last long in. Idk.
But PLEASE tell…how did you handle the skunk. That is my biggest concern
Here is my vote on proper attire for skunk handling:
http://www.berner-safety.de/media/ck/1089/Highlights%20Tychem%20C%20GB.jpg
I actually keep one much like it in the trunk of my car
My method to handle a trapped skunk is to get an old blanket. Hold that up in front of you as you slowly approach the trap. That does two things: shields from any spray and calms the skunk. Lay the blanket over the trap. You can now move the trap wherever you need it. I haven’t been sprayed so far.
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I’ve been doing the same thing (basically a big shield), except I use a tarp. You definitely don’t want a sharp corner of the trap to catch on the blanket at a critical time 
So far I’ve caught 3 skunks and haven’t been sprayed. But, I’m still nervous when approaching and wear a bit of extra cloths, as well as my standard safety glasses and gloves.
OMG OMG hyperventilating. 
Too scary.
OK so you have a tarp between you and the cage as you approach it, then you lay the tarp on the cage, then you …pick the cage up? Then do you drown it? Does it spray when you try to dispose of it? I have a bin I use to soak logs that grow mushrooms on and I’m thinking of using that as a drowning bin, but may totally destroy it if it sprays.
OK so maybe I need to know what kinds of bait NOT to use that attract skunks.
Ok so if you get sprayed you have to throw this suit away?
So they won’t spray whilst in the tarp? And you do what with it next?
None of the skunks have sprayed at any point. But, maybe I’ve just been lucky. If so, I hope that I stay lucky. Even without spraying, they don’t really smell great.
I think they are omnivores. If they are around, I’m not sure you’ll be able to avoid them forever. Before setting the trap, make sure that it fits completely in the bin- it would be bad if it hangs out the top. I’m not sure if it would choose to put nose or tail above water level… 
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Same as Bob, never had one spray. I don’t know as I’ve killed a skunk lately. But I might move them a little ways to get to a safer area for release. My trap door opens if I roll it over. They do spray if shot. No surprise there.
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Bob,
How did you get rid of your raccoons?
With those many pests, no wonder they have left nothing much for you. I hope I do not have raccoons.
I haven’t gotten rid of all the raccoon yet…I still see several in the videos. I think there were 8+ large ones living in my yard. And I haven’t even caught any groundhogs, though I know they are around. For the first time, I’ve also seen mice/rat/voles (I’m not sure which), as well as an extra-large helping of chipmunks (seen running around with fruit in their mouths…).
I’ve got a couple more traps coming tomorrow, including a smaller one. Both multi-entry traps, where the animal can push through door from the outside, even after trap has triggered. Hopefully they don’t figure out how to have one on the outside hold the door open to let those inside escape…If they do, I’ll post video.
Yes, that does explain 90-95+% losses of most of my fruit this year (along with birds, insects, and fungus). Blackberries and raspberries are what I’ve mostly harvested. Jujubes don’t appear affected yet either.
Moultrie make a wide range of quality cameras. They have several improved models for 2016.
http://www.moultriefeeders.com/products/cameras/new-for-2016
I have one of their older cheap models and it works fine.
Bob so sorry to hear this. I had racoons but mainly squirrels eating fruit this year. Love the way they just leave a trail of baggies behind them! I have never had a piece of ‘dropped’ fruit in my orchard. My now five peaches are ripening nicely on my window will. Will make a small pie this sunday! Yum.