Raccoons

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stillwood Madison, AL Apr 21, 2010

I made the mistake of feeding raccoons over the past year as they were so cute (big mistake). Now they are digging up my garden every time I turn any dirt (I guess they look through it for grubs and insects). They rip up potted containers and sort through them. Any suggestions for discouraging them short of using a shotgun? I know they eat from the bird feeders, so I have reduced the amount of seed so the birds eat most of it during the day. I am no longer putting out scraps, bread, etc. Is there any thing that actually repels them?

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wannadanc Olympia, WA Apr 24, 2010

To add to the list of horrors, my brother has had repeated visits where the raccoons tear the shingles off the roof and move in!!! One time when he repaired the damage, he didn't realize the raccoons were actually IN there!!! After trying all legal means, he resorted to illegal ones to get rid of the repeat visitors.

You might try getting hold of your local Fish and Game Department - they may have some traps you could use.

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JolieB Birmingham, AL(Zone 7b) May 21, 2010

We had a family of raccoons a while back that ruined our birdfeeders, in addition to other problems. What we did was, called around and found a local vet that had a large Hav-A-Hart trap (asked to see if we could pay to rent it, was loaned to us at no charge).
Don't remember what we baited it with (looked up online what raccoons like to eat, for some reason peanut butter keeps coming to mind). Took a couple of weeks but we eventually were able to trap them all.

Word of warning if you attempt this. Caged raccoons are MEAN, you need to be VERY careful when attempting to move a trap that has a wild raccoon in it.

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ceejaytown The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a) May 21, 2010

Call your Extension Office. They may have traps you can borrow. Ours does.
Another possibility is trappers who are licensed. They will trap and move them away from civilization. You'll pay a fee, but it's worth it.

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