Coon problem.

[jtmaze]

In they last week I have lost 9 quail in the last 5 days to coons. I lost 5 one night and 4 another. I found where they were getting in. Filled that in and deterred one last night with a light and .22. I am wondering if there is anything that you know of that is a good deterrent besides sitting up all night and shooting. Only got 4 hours sleep last night due to this. JTM We the People of the United States, in order to form a more Perfect Union......

[enfield]

Did you try a live trap?  Bait it with canned cat food and you'll definitely catch some kind of quail predator.

 

I've been getting up in the middle of the night to shoot them too, and getting tired of it too.  I see a live trap in my future.

[peejman]

Dad has trapped a bunch of them at his place.  Simple live trap with some smelly food as bait.  A trapped coon is not a happy critter. 

[JAB]

When coons get after my chickens, as long as I am smart enough to pay attention to what she is trying to 'tell' me, my dog will wake me up to let me know that there is something out there that doesn't belong.  I have to be smart enough to heed her warnings, though, rather than just saying, "It's 2AM.  You don't need to go out in the middle of the night - go back to sleep."

 

I have a single shot 20 gauge loaded with #5 shot and a flashlight clamped to the barrel for just those occasions as I don't really want/need to cut loose on a raccoon in that situation with the 00 Buckshot I keep in my HD shotgun.  Both chicken killing coons I took out last year were dealt with using #5 from a 20 gauge (one from an old Sears bolt action and the other from the aforementioned single.)  Even the one I blasted from almost all the way across the yard as it tried to run up a tree beside the coop fell with one shot and was dead in less than a minute after hitting the ground.  I call that a clean kill.

 

A couple of the hens I got this year were killed not long after I got them.  I think I figured out where the varmint got in and closed it up, though, because (knock on wood) nothing has bothered the remaining hens, since.

 

I am also considering something else that others might want to think about, as well.  I recently bought a solar-powered security light at Harbor Freight.  They had two models of the type I bought - a sixty LED one that ran near $40 and a 36 LED version that was on sale for around $20.  I went with the cheaper 36 LED version and, while it certainly isn't super bright, am impressed with the amount of light that it delivers.  Living in a rural area where there are no street lights, etc. I just wanted something that would give a little light in a part of my yard that I frequently walk through at night but where wiring in a conventional light would be a PITA.  This solar light has a motion sensor and was easy to install on one of my fence posts.  I am now considering picking up a couple to place around the perimeter of my yard and - this is the part that makes this apropos to this thread - maybe putting one or two in areas where any critters trying to get into the chicken coop at night will be likely to trigger the motion detector and turn the light on.  I'm wondering if that light wouldn't be enough to spook any such critter and send it on its way.  Being that the chickens don't seem to move much once they roost I don't think they would set it off very often - not that I would really know if they did but I am not sure how quickly the solar charged battery would drain if they were constantly triggering it at night.  Wouldn't do much good having the lights mounted if the battery was dead before any threatening critters made their move.  Having never raised quail, I don't know if they move around a lot at night or not.

 

As far as live traps, where I used to live I caught coons sniffing around my chicken coop there in live traps baited with hot dogs.  I liked using the hot dogs because I could use a piece of wire coat hanger to run through them and secure them in the trap so that the coon had to be good and committed to getting the bait.  I started doing that after a couple of times using other bait when I found the trap sprung the next morning with the bait gone but no critter trapped inside it.

Edited June 5, 2014 by JAB

[gregintenn]

A honey bun is my bait of choice for live traps, followed by a ball of peanut butter wrapped in aluminum foil.

[RED333]

Ya need to make you pen varmet proof, I have the wire(1"x2") layed out on the ground about 12" to 18" out from the bottom of the pen.

I used 4' high wire and used chicken wire over the top of that as well, so far so good.

That and dogs, 8 of them.

Edited June 5, 2014 by RED333

[.357SIG]

Canned sardines in a live trap works really well, I have trapped close to 100 with this method. I would recommend placing the trap on an elevated surface in order to keep from catching a skunk. You could still catch a opossum though, but they can be a nuisance in certain situations as well.

 

Knock on wood, I haven't caught a skunk thus far.

[10-Ring]

Live traps are pretty easy to be successful with but...  If you plan to release them else where after catching them plan on driving for a while.  I've heard you need to go as far as 40 miles and I've personally seen them show back up after taking them 10 miles. 

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

You cannot trap coons and then release them somewhere else.. Then you are just dumping your problem onto others.Plus ist actually ilegal to relocate them by you.. has to be done by someone else.. like TWRA and such.

Ever heard of the 3 S`s?

I lost chickens and other feathered friends by Coons and Possums... Not a pretty sight and when you handraise them... it hurts even more

[enfield]

I'll be using a live trap ONLY to avoid getting up in the middle of the nite to shoot coons.  With a live trap, I can shoot them in the morning after my first cup of coffee.  :D

[R_Bert]

Shoot it BEFORE you open the trap door.

[lunarpowered]

A lot of feed shops sell duke dog proof coon traps. My local shop had them for $21 each. Very effective with marshmallows.

[jtmaze]

One of the guys I work with is a trapper and is going to let me borrow a couple of traps. My shooting problem is field of fire. My shop is right behind the quail barn so I can't shoot them on the ground or with a shotty til they get way up a tree. With 22 I have a clear field of fire from about 12 feet on up. There are no houses behind me for about 8 miles so shooting isn't a problem just getting tired. JTM We the People of the United States, in order to form a more Perfect Union......

[LI0NSFAN]

We have this and it seems to work. I put it up and my coon issues stopped almost over night. I also got the added benifit of having a green patch of lawn. www.safepetproducts.com/scarecrow-motion-sprinkler.html?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=scarecrow animal deterrent&utm_content=m350763282&utm_campaign=msn-campaign-scarecrow#.U5ES8Cjo74g

[peejman]

... I'm wondering if that light wouldn't be enough to spook any such critter and send it on its way.  ....

 

 

Do they react at all when you turn the flashlight on them?  Anytime I've shined a flashlight on a critter at night, they seemed completely unaffected.  In my experience movement or noise gets their attention, light does not.

[enfield]

Do they react at all when you turn the flashlight on them?  Anytime I've shined a flashlight on a critter at night, they seemed completely unaffected.  In my experience movement or noise gets their attention, light does not.

 

Ditto - the light doesn't affect coons.  The load of birdshot gets their attention.

[analog_kidd]

I recently discovered a coon making nightly trips into my barn to steal chicken feed. There are several web sites describing simple DIY ways to make a trap.

 

The most common one is to take a trash can and fill it with enough water to make it have to stand on it's hind legs to breathe. Put the can next to a table, one that is taller than the can. Place a board on the table, overhanging the edge where the can is, and place the bait at the end of the board. When the coon tries to get the bait, he upsets the balance of the board and falls in. The water makes it so that he can't jump out.

 

The other one I saw a lot of was taking a piece of 1" PVC pipe, and place four nails through it, each on an angle. Cap the end the nails point toward, and tie the whole thing to a tree. Place the bait in the capped end. The coon will stick his paw in to get the bait, and get it stuck on the nails.

 

I've been looking at Tractor Supply, who has a pair of traps, one coon sized, and one squirrel sized, for around $35. I think that will be money well spent for me.

[K191145]

Dad has trapped a bunch of them at his place.  Simple live trap with some smelly food as bait.  A trapped coon is not a happy critter.

Sardines is absolutly the best bait.

[K191145]

You cannot trap coons and then release them somewhere else.. Then you are just dumping your problem onto others.Plus ist actually ilegal to relocate them by you.. has to be done by someone else.. like TWRA and such.
Ever heard of the 3 S`s?
I lost chickens and other feathered friends by Coons and Possums... Not a pretty sight and when you handraise them... it hurts even more

I was told by an animal control officer to release any wild animal I catch in a live trap on the Cheatham WMA property, are you sure it's illegal? I asked him about a groundhog I tried to catch when he told me to release them there, he also mentioned coons and possums.

[felinesNfreedom]

Momma used to chase off the  back porch with a broom !

[JAB]

Do they react at all when you turn the flashlight on them?  Anytime I've shined a flashlight on a critter at night, they seemed completely unaffected.  In my experience movement or noise gets their attention, light does not.

 

The one that was on the ground, trying to get into the coop froze for a second or two and then ran and headed up a tree next to the coop when I turned the flashlight on it from across the yard  It was scootin' up that tree - about fifteen feet up - when it had a fatal encounter with some lead shot.

 

The other one had already climbed a different tree with the carcass of my last, remaining hen (last year.)  It had killed the hen the night before but something had spooked it before it ate her so I left the carcass in there, figuring it would come back for it and that I would check regularly to see if I could catch it.  Sure enough, it came back and got the carcass.  In fact, that carcass was the reason I was able to find it.  When I shined the light into the trees, that coon froze but since the hen was a white leghorn it stuck out like a sore thumb.  Once I spotted those feathers, it wasn't hard to find the pair of glowing eyes next to it.  I guess in a way that means the hen managed to get a little 'payback' from beyond the dead.

 

So, to answer your question, so far it has been 50/50 as to whether or not the coons ran when I hit them with the flashlight.

Edited June 6, 2014 by JAB

[JAB]

You cannot trap coons and then release them somewhere else.. Then you are just dumping your problem onto others.Plus ist actually ilegal to relocate them by you.. has to be done by someone else.. like TWRA and such.

Ever heard of the 3 S`s?

I lost chickens and other feathered friends by Coons and Possums... Not a pretty sight and when you handraise them... it hurts even more

 

Yep.  When a fellah I knew live-trapped a coon that was getting in his garden and tearing things up he called the TWRA to ask what to do with it.  The officer to whom he spoke informed him that it is, indeed, illegal to transport wildlife.  It has to do with potentially spreading diseases from one area to another - plus any area you might take the critter to likely already has a population of such critters which won't exactly welcome the newcomer with open arms.  The officer also said that they can't come out to pick up every nuisance animal in the state to relocate them.  His suggestion was - as the thing was damaging property - just to go ahead and shoot it and be done with it.

Edited June 6, 2014 by JAB

[analog_kidd]

My son had a family of skunks living in his crawl space. He got a live trap and caught one. There is a TWRA officer stationed at his work, so he asked him if TWRA would come get it, and they said "no". My son asked if he could relocate it himself, and the officer said it was illegal to transport a live animal. My son asked what his options were, and the office said "Shoot it". Son said, I live in Oak Ridge and can't discharge a weapon. Officer said fill up a garbage can with water and drop the whole trap in it and drown the skunk.   :dropjaw:

[peejman]

My son had a family of skunks living in his crawl space. He got a live trap and caught one. There is a TWRA officer stationed at his work, so he asked him if TWRA would come get it, and they said "no". My son asked if he could relocate it himself, and the officer said it was illegal to transport a live animal. My son asked what his options were, and the office said "Shoot it". Son said, I live in Oak Ridge and can't discharge a weapon. Officer said fill up a garbage can with water and drop the whole trap in it and drown the skunk.   :dropjaw:

 

 

We used to drown rats we caught where I work.  The bleeding hearts weren't happy about that, so now they get shot with an air pistol. 

[LI0NSFAN]

My son had a family of skunks living in his crawl space. He got a live trap and caught one. There is a TWRA officer stationed at his work, so he asked him if TWRA would come get it, and they said "no". My son asked if he could relocate it himself, and the officer said it was illegal to transport a live animal. My son asked what his options were, and the office said "Shoot it". Son said, I live in Oak Ridge and can't discharge a weapon. Officer said fill up a garbage can with water and drop the whole trap in it and drown the skunk.   :dropjaw:

I called TWRA about some nuisance pests and they told me to shoot them. I told them I was in the city limits and they told me I could either call a pest company or go buy an air rifle. He said the air rifle is a lot cheaper and more permanent. They have seen animals relocated 40-50 miles away make it back to the same area within a week.