Racoons

I just found one sleeping in my workshop this morning. I've had the shop for 10 years, never saw a raccoon till last year. Since then I've trapped 5 raccoons that have broken in. They all get in the same way, ripping off a piece of aluminum soffit in exactly the same spot. I can't see how so many are choosing the exact same entry point. It's cost me $3k to repair the mess they made so far, and I'm guessing another $500 this week.

I have been relocating them 8km away, does anyone know if they are able to return from that far?
 
Wingboy said:
Critter Ridder isn't the answer.The answer is to get rid of the grubs that they are looking for.I spray spring and fall with nematodes and haven't had a problem since my lawns were turned upside down yrs ago.
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Agreed. Nematodes are on my to-do list now that temps are getting to a more consistently warm level. Otherwise they are not as effective.

I took a look at the critter ridder only as a short term solution while I was at Cdn Tire picking up some more ant traps.


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Mad Mike said:
I just found one sleeping in my workshop this morning. I've had the shop for 10 years, never saw a raccoon till last year. Since then I've trapped 5 raccoons that have broken in. They all get in the same way, ripping off a piece of aluminum soffit in exactly the same spot. I can't see how so many are choosing the exact same entry point. It's cost me $3k to repair the mess they made so far, and I'm guessing another $500 this week.

I have been relocating them 8km away, does anyone know if they are able to return from that far?
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Maybe they are following a distinct scent to that same entry point.

Either that or someone is trapping that very same raccoon and relocating it 8km away....


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Mad Mike said:
I just found one sleeping in my workshop this morning. I've had the shop for 10 years, never saw a raccoon till last year. Since then I've trapped 5 raccoons that have broken in. They all get in the same way, ripping off a piece of aluminum soffit in exactly the same spot. I can't see how so many are choosing the exact same entry point. It's cost me $3k to repair the mess they made so far, and I'm guessing another $500 this week.

I have been relocating them 8km away, does anyone know if they are able to return from that far?
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This might help out a bit

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/citywildlife

also if you leave lights on in the workshop, and a radio on, this will usually deter them from staying there as they usually like peace and quiet.....

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My toll so far is a few squirrels, a 3' snake and a 3' weasel like creature that made a terrible popping sound when I ran over it at 100 km/h. I never brake or swerve for small animals as this just increases the risk of a crash.

For larger animals, and this could include a larger sized raccoon, try to avoid or brake hard, but release the brake and accelerate just before you hit them.

We had so many close calls with deer on the way to and from the cottage after dark that we have stopped traveling at night, just not worth the risk.
 
I've tried everything. I have a barking coyote tape that plays loud non stop..., strobe light, mothballs, cayenne, raccoon strips - they seem to take everything in stride. The part that's troubling me is they keep returning to exactly the same entry point. Never had this problem before, not as soon as one leaves, another moves in.
 
Mad Mike said:
I've tried everything. I have a barking coyote tape that plays loud non stop..., strobe light, mothballs, cayenne, raccoon strips - they seem to take everything in stride. The part that's troubling me is they keep returning to exactly the same entry point. Never had this problem before, not as soon as one leaves, another moves in.
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Can you reinforce that entry point? Is it the same raccoon?

If you startle a raccoon and it falls 10' it can die (don't ask my wife how I know, she's still upset about it). Maybe put a crappy alarm just inside the hole to scare it (or spray it with water to annoy it or a tripwire bb gun but that may get you in trouble with the law if they find out).
 
If you're relocating a raccoon 8 km away then I'm 99% certain it will never find its way back to you. I had the same type of issue with red and grey squirrels in our backyard. Live trapped them and drove out 5km to the sticks and let them go there. Major hassle is that you probably have 4 - 6 raccoons in a family and you have to trap and relocate all of them. Maybe use that orange line marking paint and spray a dot on their back before you release them to see if they come back. If so, drop them off further away.

http://www.raccoonatticguide.com/relocating.html
 
jeff96 said:
So I was heading home from the Motosocial last night out on a quiet highway at around 11.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I hit the brakes, but I think it's more luck that that big bastard racoon managed to gallop past the front of my bike unscathed. I could have reached forward with my foot and touched him, it was that close.

When I hear of or have a close call I like to review how I might be safer and/or react better next time. Unfortuneately, I'm not sure if I would do anything differently.

The bad:
Night time. It's a higher risk time. I don't think the bike's lighting played a role, unless I had a spotlight pointing at the ditch.
Speeding. I was going about 100 in an 80.
Distraction. I was listening to a podcast. I'm not sure this contributed in this case as I saw him as he came in from my left, and I think I reacted about as fast as I could have.
No critter catchers. It was a quiet stretch of highway, and there was no one to follow who could run over the coon for me.

The good:
No alchohol. I've never ridden drunk, but 0 consumption is better.
I was paying attention.
I hit the brakes, but not enough to lose control. I don't think the ABS engaged, He was clear of me before I had decelerated much.
I was lucky. I don't want to rely on luck.

Has anyone here hit a coon? I'd like to think I could stay upright after a direct hit, but I'm not sure. Anyone got any other ideas besides lucky charms?
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I hit one in Elmvale, I was riding a Suzuki M50. The bastard got all caught up in my front wheel and suspension. That bike had upside down forks, somehow the fur got up inside my fork seals -- it was a bloody hairy mess cleaning the bike, I had to disassemble the forks to get all the remains out.

I'be hit a few small animals, and a goose - I never attempt evasive moves on small critters. The goose hit me in the face -- almost knocked me off, the others were a mean thump, similar to hitting a big pothole.

Advice: if you see a small animal way ahead, slow down and navigate around it. If it surprises you and a collision is inevitable, stay your course -- it's your best chance. If you swerve and the animal swerves too, you may find yourself in an unrecoverable position.
 
The good news for us was that the raccoon left the building. The bad news, was that she tore the inside of it apart before leaving.

The other issue is that we had used the pool house as a storage space over the winter, so there was a lot of our crap for the raccoons to crap on and hide in.

Leather riding gear sometimes comes in handy off the bike when you think something might pop out of the rafters and nip at you.
 
I dodged a NDP election sign that flew out of the back of a pickup truck. The fact that it was an election sign made it even more enraging for some reason.

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