Tag: living with wildlife

You aren’t going to eliminate them all nor stop them from coming onto your property without a dome dropped over the whole thing (not realistic). They climb trees, laugh at fences, and aren’t worth it for someone to trap for you (as you found out). Switch your goal to keeping them out of the coop/housing areas of your animals and you’ll have a lot more success. Step 1: Fortify coop. No chicken wire (it keeps chickens in and nothing else out). Hardware cloth or rabbit cage wire, best you can afford (the smaller the number/gauge, the thicker the wire btw). Wire around the coop either buried down 2 feet or flat and pinned on the ground 2 feet (secured to the bottom edge) to eliminate digging. Check your coop door, those little paws can bend door frames open enough to get in if flimsy. Let nothing smaller than a racoon sleep or live within arms’ reach of any wire bigger than 1/2×1/2, they reach in and grab pieces. And all animals in at dusk, no exceptions. If your job keeps you off property past dusk, no more free ranging-build an enclosed run. You could do automatic doors for chickens, but sooner or later someone will stay out and you might lose them. Step 2: Eliminate all other food sources…no more corn feeders, outside cat food, outside dog food, birdseed on the ground, etc. Step 3: Get yourself a sturdy trap, havahart makes good ones. Learn how to set it. Leave it outside in the weather for a week or two to get rid of the manufacturing smells. Set it-I bait mine with fresh eggs because that’s what they are going after. Place it near the areas you don’t want them coming. Dispose of captive. Wear gloves if handing any dead ones, they have things you don’t want. Do NOT handle live ones and watch the paws-they reach through and grab! Rest trap, rinse and repeat. Be fair and realistic…my rule is anything showing an interest in the animals is gone. Everything else can stay. Again, you will not eliminate them. But #1 is build secure coops and pens!