The racoon’s dentist must have explained the importance of sugar consumption.
5 Likes
Haha, how come these animals don’t have problem and we have to brush, and floss frequently.
1 Like
Racoons do have problems with teeth because of the crap we (garbage can) feed them. They live 5 years to our 85 years.
2 Likes
Once trapped … I shoot mine… head shot … down and out quick. 22, or air rifle… work fine.
If I lived somewhere that denied my right to shoot critters on my own property… first of all… i would not live there… but if I had to deal with that… i would put the coon and box trap in a large container with a lid (big trash can, 50 gal drum) …
1… fill with water.
2… put a rodent smoke bomb in there and shut the lid tight.
You can get rodent smoke bombs at TSC, Lowes, Home Depo.
If you are ok with the sight of blood… a long knife blade that could reach thru the box trap and penetrate heart/lungs… should end a coon in a minute or two. They are tuf critters. You would have a bloody mess to clean up. Hose spray… should take care of getting blood off the cage. Remove it quickly before it dries.
3 Likes
55 gallon drum for mine.
1 Like
If you have never killed a coon… something you should know to expect if you take on that project is they do not go easily. Some animals do, coons don’t.
Even with a shot in the brain… there is lots of involuntary kicking and thrashing involved… that last about a minute or so.
I have killed many hundred coons… mostly back in my younger days as a trapper.
If you want to see what it is really like there is a trapper on youtube that has a pretty good (how it is) video on dispatching coons… youtube search on… another coon bites the dust.
That is if you want to see what death is really like for a brain shot coon.
TNHunter
1 Like
That’s a buddy of mine. His beaver trapping goes wrong and fox bite videoes are not your typical YouTube video. 
1 Like
One more option for all of you who might possibly trap a coon or possum or any critter in a box type trap and the ordinances where you live will not allow shooting critters.
How do you do them in ?
I tested a method that worked well enough and required no shot.
I caught a rather large possum at the base of my gold rush tree in a box trap.
I put the box trap with possum inside… inside a 50 gal contractor trash bag and sealed the bag off tight, no holes no way for air to get in, and I pressed all the air I could out of it.
I left it out there in my orchard from around 11 am yesterday… until this morning… and when i checked on it this morning, the possum was good and dead… and had been a good while. In fact there was a buzzard out there already trying to get access to the possum. I expect he died in possibly just a few hours, with no air.
Compare this to drowning them ?
I suspect that slowly running out of air, in a dark location (sealed up in a bag)… might be a better way to go… than rather quickly being drowned and all the panic and struggle that would bring on (for a short while).
So this is one other option that some of you might choose, when you have to dispose of a critter (with no guns allowed).
TNHunter
2 Likes
Sometimes the Chief of Police will issue permits for the safety of persons or property. That may be an option to allow for humanely dispatching nuisance animals.
Absent a permit, what would be the consequences of using a slingshot or airgun to dispatch a raccoon on your property in a responsible manner? $12 fine? Take you to the center of town for a public humiliation? Class VII misdemeanor? Just be friendly with your neighbors and don’t act like an idiot…and obey all laws 
When my neighbor hears a shot fired at night from over here… he will text me and ask was that a skunk or armadillo ?
It is not against the law here.
3 Likes
I would do the same. I might ask what fresh meat we are having for dinner if game is in season. It’s a shame we aren’t neighbors. My persimmons might grow faster if we were 
2 Likes
They’re not long for this world, no worries there. Just a rant about what I found this morning… At least 15 of ~25 Virginia Beauty apples gone, maybe a couple of Mutsu (out of a dozen or so), and one Arkansas Black. Out of one of course…
They were in a mix of organza bags and zip-top sandwich bags. Which had worked wonders for preventing PC and CM and the like… Not so much for coons though, just caused them to rip off even more.
Sigh…
1 Like
A family of them has been taking my fruit.I found them in a Plum tree,the other night,shining a light,seeing their eyes.Took basically everything.
This is a trap and how it is set up.Is there a better way,like camouflage with some branches or placement of bait?The first night,the marshmallow outside was taken and the next time,that one and the first inside were missing.So maybe,they’re getting a little more comfortable.
1 Like
That should work. The door look sturdy. They managed to bend the door on mine to escape. I would use smaller pieces of marshmallow. Sometimes they are satisfied after eating one or two pieces.
2 Likes
I used that same approach to coax squirrels into one of those traps and it worked pretty well. I also wired a peanut to the trip mechanism so that as soon as they grab it the trap trips.
2 Likes
4 Likes
would be a great product to sell, build small solar electric cage that don’t need grounding, even the deer will avoid your tree.
1 Like
I’ve been having trouble with large raccoons damaging my trap and also getting out of the trap. Here is one that bent the side enough to get his paw out and move the vertical door lock bar enough to partially open the front and get out. I’ve added a secondary lock but didn’t have it set right in this case.
1 Like
They’re fairly resourceful.One I caught,tore the carrying handle off,from the inside.
There’s a documentary,Raccoon Nation.It’s been awhile,since watching it,but I think the narrator said,they were able to get through 11 of 13 different locks,in a test.
3 Likes
I’m impressed by their strength and intelligence. They destroyed my trip plate completely ripping it out. I replaced it with a thin wire with a bent hook for a dangling bait to trip the door closed. That worked but it didn’t help considering they still brake out of the trap.
1 Like