trap problems

[frelima]

I have been losing ducks, looks like a raccoon. I have a trap but have only managed to catch my own cats and chickens in it. Yesterday I found a freshly killed duck body and put it in the trap and this morning the body was gone, dragged out, even caught the trip pad and pulled it to a full upright position.
It seems the coon or ? is trap savvy- any ideas to trick him into tripping the trap...
i am pretty sure it is a raccoon as it happens at night, there are piles of feathers and the way the bodies are eaten.

thanks!!!

 

[panner123]

try tying the bait to the trip plate (pad). Actually with whatever it is being able to get in & out without tripping it the first time will make it easier to trap. It will get braver each time it is successful. If it is a coon put the trap where the cats can't get to it and use dry dog food as bait, sprinkle it on the bottom.

 

[chickenranchwife]

Coons are smart that's for sure. Hopefully you live in a rural setting for my suggestion. Do you have a dog that lets you know if anything's going on outside? The only thing I can think of is to sit outside with a shotgun and flashlight at night until you get it. It's going to continually come back until you have no more ducks. I know this sounds rather cruel but sometime you have to go to the extreme. Where are you finding the feathers and bodies at? Are they near the cage? Lock up your ducks at night would be a good thing. If you have some older buildings I would check them out, they might be in there. I've dealt with coons and skunks a lot!

 

[frelima]

I am putting the trap near where I am finding the bodies, moving it and changing direction each day. Is it better to have the trap pad more upright or more down, I have tried every position....
thanks...
and yes, I am in the process of putting a solid building into use for the ducks... to late for some of them, but will be great for my runner ducklings as they are growing up...

 

[roosterjack]

I live in a small town in a wooded area and I'd guess over the past 10 years I've trapped a couple hundred coons or more. One thing I have learned is that the old adult coons are hard to get into a trap, especially if there are juveniles with them. They are usually the first ones to get trapped. I caught 11 juveniles last summer before I got an adult. I generally trap 30 or so every year and most of them are juveniles. You can also try peanut butter and jelly on bread as that generally isn't appealing to most other animals. And the newer style traps with the slanting door work a lot better than the older style with the vertical bi-fold door. Good luck. Persistence will pay off!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sorry about your duckies...
Raccoons like sweet food and they like fishy foods...
When I was trying to trap the one that killed Tom, I used some used litter, some feathers, a can of tuna cat food and the trapper used some sweet cherry jelly stuff.
I never did catch him because he was a smart old boar...

just like roosterjack says. He stood four feet tall on his back legs...
Still hope you catch him.