We put in our small pond late last summer, and hadn’t had any raccoon problems until the night before last. Yesterday morning I noticed that the waterfall wasn’t running, and there were no plants in the pond. I went outside and discovered scales and parts of a fin from my favorite fish were strewn along the edge of the pond. He was just too tame and friendly, I think. All the pond plants had been torn up and dumped into the middle of the pond and the waterfall pump had been disconnected. I was so sad.
We tried to fix things up as best we could, and built a bigger shelter for the remaining fish. Last night, instead of the usual mad frog chorus it was totally quiet out, so I think the raccoon might have also gotten the noisiest frog that usually sits on the parrot feather and croaks all night.
This morning the pond was destroyed again. Thankfully the fish survived this time. I called a local wildlife rescue place, and they said to use rags soaked in ammonia in containers around the pond every 2-3 feet, and also shine a spotlight on the pond to try and deter the raccoon(s). The lady also suggested bobcat urine, but didn’t know where to obtain any. She also said we have to have a license to set live traps for the raccoons. Has anyone else had raccoon problems, and if so, did you find any solutions?
Anyone Else Deal with Raccoon Destruction?
I've had the problem. This year we have had several raccoons visiting each night. Two years ago we decided to feed them to keep them from eating the fish. We put a feeder with a lid on the side of a 100+year old oak and keep it filled with peanuts. We get 50lb bags of shelled pet quality peanuts. The squirrels eat them during the day and the coons eat them at night. They still visit the pond but don't seem to bother the fish. At least no casualties thus far. The tree is about 8' from our patio door and we have flood lights. The racoons will perch on the side of the tree and eat the peanuts with the lights on while we watch. We've got big un's, little un's and medium sized ones. It's a constant all night parade. We also have three dogs. The coons couldn't care less about the dogs. This is an expensive solution and not for everyone.
A friend put up an electric fence about 12" high around his pond. Turns it on at night. Says he hears some occaisional squealing at night. But no more problems with raccoons. That wouldn't work for us because I'm afraid I'd forget to turn it off and one of the dogs would hit it.
It's so hard to put all that work into a pond and then have some fool racoon wreck it all. I've been there. I feel for ya. There are others on this forum who might have better ideas for you than these. A lot of people ignore the law and trap and relocate. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
sunny.... so sorry about your pond and your loss of fish and frog, so sad. Hope you find a solution to the problem.
Thanks so much for your input and support snapple and ladygardener. We went to the hardware store last night and ended up buying a cheapo motion sensor that will turn on an outside light at the pond, and set off an alarm inside when it gets tripped. We then put the hose up on the bedroom balcony with the sprayer set to “jet spray.” The plan was to wake up when the alarm sounded, see the raccoon via the light, and spray the heck out of it with the hose. A little nutty? Possibly. We were out testing and adjusting the sensor until after midnight.
The alarm wasn’t tripped all night, and there wasn’t any damage to the pond today. The fish are (wisely) hiding so I haven’t seen them today, but I think they are both still alive as there is no damage to any of the aquatic plants. I heard my first frog croaks last night, and was so, so pleased. I hear some again right now :-). We’ll see what tonight brings….hopefully no raccoons!
Not nutty at all! I wish you either success or a good nights sleep. BTW nutty is running out the front door in your PJ's with a folded umbrella and stabbing it at a squirrell because it's eating your magnolia buds. My neighbors still talk about that one.
sunny..sure hope that pesky raccoon will not bother your pond anymore. It is one of the risk of having a pond and I worry about
it. So far so good..but ya never know what you will wake to find.
I hope he is long gone and you will get back to the beautiful sounds of the frogs !
LOL Snapple…the local squirrels and I have had quite a few run-ins as well. When we moved here last summer they quickly made me rethink my edible landscaping plans. I tolerated them snacking on the cherry tomatoes, but it was war when they stripped almost all the fruit off the lemon guava bush.
Thanks for the pond well wishes BeaHive. There is one frog that is madly croaking right now, so I am quite happy about that. I finally went to sleep to the sound of ribbits again last night.
There was no sign of raccoon activity and no alarm again last night, so I am very cautiously optimistic. My two remaining fish made a brief appearance this afternoon, ate some food, and then went back into hiding. The alarm went off a little while ago, and there ended up being a huge spider on the sensor. Go figure. We’ll see what tonight brings….
I certainly hope you find a solution. Last year we (read: DH) hauled off 7 coons & 4 possums in live traps from our yard, and we live in the center of town! He takes them out to his workplace out of the city and turns them loose, because I just can't stand to kill anything. So far this year, he's only hauled off 1 coon, but I'm missing a goldfish (large) as of a week ago, so I'm really suspicious. No plants turned over yet, though, so it could be a cat or "natural causes".
Good Luck!
Yikes, that’s a ton of critters Scubanana! I’m sorry to hear about your missing goldfish, and I hope this doesn’t mean you’ll get more raccoon activity this year. I’m glad to hear the trapping and relocating seems to help a bit. We are also in a heavily populated area, and you’d think they’d just find someone’s trash to dig through instead of going fishing. So far we haven’t seen any evidence of additional “visitations” to the pond. We were out testing the sensor a bunch (I know I’m short, but why do I always have to “be” the raccoon;-)) but I still wasn’t sure it would really work. Then a couple of evenings ago I heard the sensor go on. It was still light out, and I didn’t have the hose ready or anything. I went and looked, and it was a big fat robin drinking on the waterfall steps. The next evening a dove set the alarm off, so at least we know it’s working. I am just really hoping we don’t have to try the whole alarm/hose thing on an actual raccoon!
sunny, thanks for sending me the link to this thread!
I had racoon visitors last night who tore up my entire back yard and my pond. I dont have any fish in the pond, just a few tiny tadpoles and they are all accounted for. but the racoons tore up all my pond plants? do they eat the pond plants? I dont know exactly what they are after....
I did (past tense after last night!) have a peanut feeding bin for squirells and birds, they tore the bin up and ate everything in it... and then basically ransacked my entire garden :o(
does anyone know if they are looking for veggies? or were they just checking to see if fish were in the pond? I want to deter them as much as possible. I was going to leave my dogs outside, but after reading this thread I think I'll just keep my babies inside where its safe :o) (theyre lil doggies). I'm just PO'ed at the amount of damage they did in just one night!
Sorry to hear about the destruction of your back yard. Wish I could come to help you clean up. There is a lot of info on the internet
about ridding yourself of raccoons. A few links
http://www.getridofthings.com/getridofraccoons.htm
http://www.critter-repellent.com/raccoon/how-to-get-rid-of-raccoons.php
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/howtogetridofraccoons.htm
If you just need a laugh.youtube has some funny raccoon clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJZMunpgOtI
lol, bea those are videos are sooo cute! do you think if I raise pet raccoons and train em to stay out of my beds, they'll keep the stays out?! LOL!
now I want a pet raccoon! LOL
gotta go check out those other links now ;o)
I live in Louisville,KY and have been using live catch traps for a few years. I always take the trapped raccoons and opposums to another county to let them go, but so far I can't tell that there are any less critters. Last winter the raccoons pulled all of the labels out of my water lily pots and I could not sell them as named varieties. I sell plants to local garden centers and pet shops, but this year I had to sell them as assorted colors. Now that they are blooming I am starting to relabel them, but it's to late to sell very many this year. I am planning to put an electric fence around the ponds this summer to see if that works. With the price of fuel the fence will be cheaper than trapping and relocating the varmints.
Raccoons suck! Eat way to many koi
Anjl, I hope you’ve either made the raccoons your pets (cute vids BeaHive) or they’ve left your backyard alone! Garbird and Laserkoi, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been dealing with these guys too. They are cute…but not in the pond eating fish and destroying plants. I hope the electric fence works out for you Garbird…please keep us updated. I had lots of pads and five buds on my waterlily before the raccoon got to it, and not a single waterlily pad could be saved and only one tiny bud made it. Things are slowly recovering in the pond, but I am doubtful that we will have any waterlily blooms, as the bud was no longer on the plant when we checked this weekend.
I forgot to update this thread, but here’s what happened mid May…no activity since (knock on wood):
The raccoon was back at the pond just a few mins ago (1:20 AM). Crap! The sensor worked, triggered the alarm and turned on the light outside. My boyfriend was dozing on the couch and I was up here on the computer and the hose was not in place yet. My boyfriend saw the raccoon starting to fish, ripped open the sliding glass door, and ran straight through the screen door. Somewhere along the way he picked up a rake. By the time I got there the raccoon was long gone (scared away, not “raked”) This is a serious bummer since we haven’t had any around since those first two nights, but at least we know the sensor thing works.
Sunny... I havent had anymore visitors to my pond, (thankfully!)
I am wondering if anyone here has tried the scarecrow sprinkler deterent... and if it worked?
Bummer on the screen door sunnyg. Hope your boyfriend did not get hurt.
I have heard good things about the scarecrow, but I am always out in the garden at all hours of the day & night. I would be setting it off all the time. Hate cold water! I have not had racoon problems..it is the herons I worry about.
Bea, I too would probably be setting it off all the time! LOL! I'd always forget it was on.... maybe there is a way to put it on a timer?
I'd like to be able to keep the raccoons out of the pond... and the kitties from using my flower bed as a litter box :o) It wouldnt help for the doggies tho...they love water!
I have a smaller pond,and I bought a koi once,twice I bought just goldfish. Found the thief was raccoons,now, I have plants,and they don't bother them. Wish I could have fish,love to watch them.
The other day I noticed a hole in the cover on my boat, and as I took a closer look found a large raccoon was living in it. He had been staying in there for quite a while. It was a real mess. I caught him in a havahart trap that night and relocated him to another part of the county. He probably weighed 30 lbs. A real pond wrecking monster.
Garbird
Yikes! It could have been worse though. It could have been a momma with babies.
Something turned over the pots and ate nine newly planted waterlilies in my pond. I had assumed it was turtles until I read about the racoons. My pond is a 3rd acre. Any ideas for keeping them out of new and future plantings? We live in the country and have lots of coons.
I have no idea. We are city dewllers and we get mom raccoons, dad, babies, cousins uncles you name it. My DH and I sometimes stay up a little later to watch the parade through the back yard at night. We have flood lights which light up the entire back yard and the raccoons actually seem to appreciate the extra light so they can try to catch my koi! Good luck to you and I mean that with all my soul.
Male urine of the human kind works but don't get caught for indecent exposure!! JOY
LOL Joy!!! The local wildlife rescue place did suggest bobcat urine, so you might have a point there. ;-). I sure hope everyone can find a method that works for them...please come back and give us the updates on what you try.
Thanks Agedgardener. My husband will love to help with this idea. Why do men love to pee in the woods? Is it like wolves marking their territory? Funny. S. Turtle
I have used fox urine in the attic for squirrels,found out about it in Alaska,hunting stores have it,I put it on cottonballs,and lob them up in the corners,and all over.I did it for a friend of mine that can't climb,and she hasn't had them for a while now.You do have to redo it eventually,but it does work.
I never thought about it for the raccoons......but I have dogs,it might not work in the yard for me.
We used to have both raccoons and skunks living under our old deck and not too much helped. Amonia-nope, urine-all types-nope, cat food in a cage to capture raccoons and skunks-yes and relocated. Problem is as soon as you relocate new ones move in! I found that by controlling my grubs it eliminated my problems (at least I don't see any). I posted on my heron topic that I saw electric pond feces at half off at a local pond store here for approx. $69.00. The shock is enough to scare and keep herons and other critters away without killing them. It is similar to an electric fence. No need to worry about your dogs-they learn quickly and they only get a little shock. If anyone wants one of these let me know.
Linda