Do raccoons learn to outsmart traps or is it just me?

[aprophet]

Yes, raccoons are crazy smart and will learn to avoid traps very quickly.

What you really want are Dog Proof Raccoon traps. Dogs nor cats will get trapped, and coons have a much harder time figuring these out, likely because you must kill them once you've trapped them (which you should be doing anyways).

the coon I constantly capture ARE fairly stupid when Morons catch and release coon you just have to use a differant style trap to re capture them I do it on a daily basis almost here in tidewater Va

 

[aprophet]

eviction fluid works well on these , AKA as Boar gland lure catches most trap shy boars as well LOLOL

 

[Exterminating]

Raccoons are crafty little critters and will outsmart a raccoon trap. I have found it helpful to spray paint my box traps black.
I will usually try to camouflage the trap, by putting it in shrubs, or bushes when trapping raccoons in Nassau County.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

coon are super smart theres one been getting in my nieghbors humingbird feeders i put a trap out he stretches out in the trap trips the door eats the bait backs out and rolls the trap down the hill then goes after the humingbird feeders got it all on my game camera best way to catch one like that is dig a hole put some sardines or something that smells good in there put a foot trap in there and cover it up the trigger needs to be even with the ground should catch him in no time but dont leave him in there to long he will chew his leg off and take off

There is a new trap out now that is designed to catch raccoons and little else. The name of the trap is the Duke Dog Proof Trap. This trap uses the coons own feeding strategy against him. The trap looks like a short piece of auto exhaust pipe. When Mr. Coon sticks his fist into the top of the trap and begins to remove the bait below the trigger a horizontal jaw closes on his front paw. I have seen pictures of 3 or 4 raccoons within a 50 by 50 foot area all with a front paw securely penned in a Duke DP Trap. So there seems to be very little trap shyness with the Duke DP raccoon trap. As with any toe hold trap it is important to set it where or in such a way that the coon is unable to get the trap chain tangled on underbrush, trees, etc. because this gives him the purchase or mechanical advantage to break a bone. Toe trapped animals don't gnaw their legs off, they get tangled in natural obstructions, the chain swivel binds up and the coon fractures a bone leading to the skin tearing.

No one should think that a coon get's himself caught in a live trap for chuckles. Yes coons are smart. They are smarter than we humans when it comes to staying alive. Exposing ones self to a dangerous situation on purpose is a uniquely human trait. How many times do you hear of a young man needing rescue from a cave, cliff face, or even more ominous, the canyon floor beneath the cliff face? The most horrific thing that you can do to a territorial animal like a coon is to carry it to some distant place and release it to forage on unfamiliar turf, which is usually a sentence of death by slow starvation. If a coon does not starve then it has the option of fighting off maybe dozens of other coons living in this new area like the new coon was a Roman Gladiator.

It is against the law in all 50 states as well as against Federal law to release a raccoon caught in or at your chickens' coop, pen, yard, or run except that you must release the coon in or at your chickens' coop, pen, yard, or run. The coon MUST be released at the same location at which it was trapped. You may not even transport a trapped coon across property lines. You may not transport a coon to another location for release, no not even to a so called "Wild Life Rescue Shelter" because of the danger of either spreading rabies into a rabies free zone, or re-introducing rabies into an area from which rabies has previously been eliminated. Therefor the "Wildlife Rescue Shelter" is forbidden from "rehabilitating" and "reintroducing" a coon into the wild (unless they have a valid state license and written permission to release or shuffle native wild life like a deck of cards) So it is a violation of the law to merely "Rescue" coons. The only exception is that you MAY destroy any coon trapped on your property as long as the deed is done on the same property were it was trapped in the first place. This law is intended to protect you, your spouse as well as your children and pets from rabies, your chickens included. If you do not wish to destroy the raccoon then you have no option but to leave it be and continue in its chicken killing or its rabies spreading ways.

Sometimes I think that chicken killing is a symptom of raccoon overpopulation.
So don't be a Jonny Raccoon Seed, if you 'ketch' a coon kill it, its the humane thing to do and your chickens will love you for it.

 

[EeyoreD]

The dog proofs aren't new, necessarily but I highly recommend them. And while many coons will avoid a live/box trap, I've caught a mother in a dog proof and when I check the traps found her kits still hanging around her.

I don't know that chicken killing is a sign of overpopulation. Chickens at night are nearly comatose and thus are easy (and well fed) targets. Coons are opportunistic. Trash? Check. Feed barrel? Check. Well-fed, sleeping birds? Check. It's just how opportunistic predators are. If you make it easy on them, they're going to take advantage.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I fully agree that predators are opportunists. They see an opportunity and they take it. In this respect coons are very much like muggers, pickpockets, and purse snatchers. The more muggers, pickpockets and purse snatchers that are walking the street the more the likelihood is that you will become a crime victim.

 

[buddy 0 rooster]

MY STORY IS**** HOPE IT HELPS!!!

Yes a coon got my leg horn rooster. if he got any other chicken I would not care! so.
I set the trap, and every night he got the sausage with curry and never trip it ( This was a very smart trap smart coon)
I surrounded it with block and wood, after two and a half weeks of this he stopped coming around (he had to go inside, the only way)
I moved the trap and two nights later I got a possum. (did what I had to do)
That night, after three weeks, I got the coon.(did what I had to do) READ THIS not sure but since their was the smell of another animal in the trap maybe he thought it was safe to go in????



PS He won the battle,, But I won the war!!!!

 

[rick54]

The Havihart live traps work well for coon, although I believe the DP traps are the best. A coon will come back, so it is best to dispatch a trapped coon. Also, I have put an electric fence wire around the top of my chicken run which is constructed from 12 ft. long x 6 ft. high chain link fence panels. This has ended all my coon problems. I also have netting stretched over the top of the runs for owls and hawks.

Now for the folks who insist on the live trap route, you have a pretty good chance of catching a skunk also. Contrary to what you'd think, a skunk is a very easy animal to transport and release without any spray.

 

[MamacatPatch]

Another piece of wire attached vertically to the trip plate with a marshmallow stabbed on it.

Having trouble trying to visualize this. Got a pix or can you explain it in more detail? Thx.

 

[The Lazy L]

No I do not have a picture.

Think of a marshmallow just laying on the trip plate. Coon could bat the marshmallow off the trip plate without tripping the trap.

Now add a stiff wire to the trip plate that points up and you can stab the marshmallow on. Now when the coon tries to bat the marshmallow, marshmallow can't move and the tip plate activates the trap.