Damn raccoons - what to do?

[SteveS]

JMS's guns/coyote thread inspired this thread . . .

My wife and I live in a somewhat rural suburb of San Francisco and have a problem with raccoons. They come creeping around the backyard in the middle of the night. I wouldn't worry too much about them except we have two dogs, one of which is blind; I'm afraid he's going to wind up tangling with a raccoon one night and coming out on the losing end of the fight.

I want to get rid of the damn things! I've thought of shooting them with a .22, but there are other houses (way) down range, so I don't think that would be safe. Also, I don't want to set up a trap that might get one of the dogs. Usually, when they visit the yard, one of the dogs trees them, so if there were a reliable way to kill them at short range, when they're in tree, that would be ideal.

How can I get rid of these things, gents?!

[majurey]

Spread dog sh1t all over your lawn.

Wait, no sorry. Wrong thread.

(Seriously though, what about those high-pitched noise makers that scare off rodents? Maybe raccons respond to that frequency?)

[mhailey]

I hear that there is spray you can use that contains the scent of foxes and other predators which, in theory, scare away raccoons.

[jaegerhund]

Raccoons are tough and smart and can f-up a dog fast

Maybe think about using a gun chambered in .17 HMR ---pretty quiet round and because the round is a varmint round, the bullet will fragment upon impact --and should have a fairly localized effect ---a high power air rifle might do the trick as well.

Justin

[azjoe]

Raccoons can certainly be a nuisance, but they usually don't come around unless there's something for them to eat or a spot they think would be a good place to set up housekeeping.

I've found that a high powered air rifle with hollow point shot can kill most animals that size, but you need a head or critical organ shot to do it... a hit in any other part of the body may only wound/cripple them. That may, of course, give you the time you need to get a second shot into them. But you'll still need to be careful of your neighbors... depending on the air rifle, errant shots can break windows and harm other living things 100 yds or more away. I don't recommend you start shooting up at things in a tree, particularly at night... remember "what goes up must come down"... and you wouldn't want that to be a bullet or bb-shot that hits anyone. (when I was a youngster, one of the neighbor kids was shooting sticks into the air with a homemade stick/string bow... one came down and hit another kid in the eye and blinded him.)

If I had the problem, I'd trap them in a cage if removing food sources and/or repellents failed to do the job. They're clever though, so it's not as easy as it sounds. Your local fish and game group, or maybe even a humane society, may be able to help with advice... they might even be able to loan you the trap. Here in Arizona, lots of the fire departments will come and capture a rattlesnake that's gotten into your house or garage... you might try asking for advice at your local fire station. You can easily put the trap where your dogs won't be able to get to it.

just my $.02

[SteveS]

Thanks, fellas. I put a call into my local animal control agency and am waiting to hear back from them. Regarding the tree, as it happens, they usually wind up on a big branch about 15 feet away from and level with the deck off our bedroom.

In the direction I'd be shooting, there are no neighbors for at least a few hundred yards and there's brush between them and us, so the air rifle idea appeals to me. Do you guys have suggestions of brands/models that would be powerful enough?

[PapaBull]

Crossbows work quite well for that sort of thing, too.

[azjoe]

I don't have a recommendation... I got mine at a flea market many years ago... it was a Chinese no-name brand. I use a hollow point .177 pellet... again, I've long since lost the name of the brand since 50 count tin of them last forever if you're only shooting at live targets. At 50-yds these will knock a full grown jackrabbit ass over tea cups. You may want to consider the .22 for a raccoon as they're considerably larger than a rabbit.

I have no knowledge of [this site}, but their video is neat .

[jaegerhund]

Yeah -- Crossman, Beeman, RWS, Gamo --- something .22 caliber and around 1000 fps would do ---- Cabelas has a good selection.


Justin

[SteveS]

Thanks for the air gun suggestions, gents!

Crossbows work quite well for that sort of thing, too.

This occurred to me, too. Are those ubiquitous pistol-type crossbows sufficient, or would I need something bigger? If so, I'd welcome suggestions. I'd like something big/strong enough that one bolt to the body would instantly (at least) seriously disable a good sized raccoon.