Caught a theif red-handed on my front porch

[gman51]

I set a trap and twice I caught feral cats. Both times the neighbor dogs got the trap open and killed the cats. These were two very heavy big cats and I have no idea how the dogs got the catch rod off the cage.

 

[Faulkner]

Tell your wife that statistically a relocated raccoon only has a 50-50 survival chance in new habitat. They are territorial and have to fight their way into new territory. They are also, nationwide one of the top vectors for rabies. I used to trap and relocate them on the wife and young son's wishes, until I showed them one day graphic evidence what a coon will do to a hen it gets its grubby paws on. After than they said "fire at will dad". Havahart and the horse tank is another option, but then you gotta clean out the horse tank.

Well, I found this excerpt from a report on managing the raccoon population on the Game & Fish website that substantiates chaparrito's comments above.

Many homeowners prefer to release raccoons unharmed in a distant location, "where the animal can find a good home." However studies have shown that relocated raccoons tend to create problems in a new area. There is growing opposition to relocating raccoons and other wildlife because of the possibility of disease spreading from one population (urban) to another (rural). In addition, research indicates that a relocated raccoon may be forced out of the new area by the other raccoons already present. Because raccoons that are trapped and relocated may not have a good chance of survival, it is better to dispose of them.

 

[Chief Wiggums]

questions for the gang.
any suggestions regarding the "dreaded skunk"?

we had a horrible skunk encounter the other night , unfortunately, 1 of our 3 dogs was sprayed.

the wife called a rodent company and they wanted a couple hundred bucks to set out some traps and periodically check back in....

I prefer to spend my hard earned $$ on guns , ammo and the like..

we are in a residential neighborhood , so shooting the SOBs is not an option.

my question:
is it recommended for a "city boy" to buy a trap and take care of this on my own?
my plan would be to catch they skunk(s), throw a tarp over the trap to combat the spray and then have a buddy w an open bed pickup transport the skunks elsewhere.
Am I asking for trouble?

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Coon is delicious if cooked right...........

 

[walkin jack]

We are visited only on very rare by a racoon. And he's pretty smart. He never comes two nights in a row. I set the live trap out on random nights and hope to get lucky but so far he has foxed me every time.

I had much better luck with the possum problem. I cleaned 'em out. Caught a total of 11 and took them to a nice wooded area on the extreem north east corner of town. The feral cats are much happier now and I'm going through a lot less cat food.

The manager of the animal control center will come and get the possums from now on if we ever have any more. I am not about to put one of them nasty stinky things in the new car. She takes 'em to the place I was takin' 'em she showed me where to take em. If we get a coon she will come out and dispatch it then and there and take the carcass back for disposal. They are destructive and they DO carry diseases and they don't get the free trip to the woods.

 

[DWalt]

Some months ago there was a TV show on, I think, the National Geographic Channel about foxes in England. Apparently there are huge numbers running wild there and they are a major nuisance. Only licensed exterminators can trap them, and then they must shoot them, no taking them out in the woods for release. Those exterminators are among the few in England which can have and use handguns legally. The one they showed being used by an exterminator looked like a Beretta .22 pistol.

 

[Mr.Harry]

Someone else mentioned the pernicious skunk....!
Just be thankful those aren't in the mix. They're a plague on many suburban neighborhoods in New England, including my own. Trapping seems like a non-viable option, live or kill style. Too many house cats and other such domestics roaming around for conibear kill-trap application, and I wouldn't want to be the one dealing with a live one in a hav-a-heart discharging its noxious spray everywhere. Honestly, I think a .22 Woodsman pistol with silencer and long walks around the neighborhood at Dusk is the only realistic solution, if only it were legal as well.

 

[e3mrk]

I dont mind the racoons or possums but We have a abundance of pole cats around here that I could do without.The love to dig up my wifes flower beds looking for food and stuff.

 

[susieqz]

people that use live traps n then release the pests in the country are just causing trouble for country people.
some of us live out where you guys release.

please take care of your own problems.
don't just hurt us with them.

 

[amazingflapjack]

yeah Mike

Those cage traps can be fun. I enjoyed getting up in the morning to see if I'd caught anything and about half the time I did.

I've taken a few to the deep woods and used the occupied cage as live bait with a predator call to bring in coyotes. One time the coyote stood on top of the cage, giving me a nice clean profile. I'm sure you know the rest of the story... and yes, the opossum was playing dead after the shot. I let him out and hopefully never see him again.

get them coyotes man!

 

[susieqz]

i sure wish someone would thin out the coyotes around here.

i'd shoot them but they know about guns n only move at night.

 

[Watchdog]

I dont mind the racoons or possums but We have a abundance of pole cats around here that I could do without.The love to dig up my wifes flower beds looking for food and stuff.

I run across polecats every day. But you're referring to the animal, aren't you?

 

[Jupiter01]

Polecat? That looks like a Weasel to me. Or, is that what they are called in other localities?

 

[Watchdog]

Polecat? That looks like a Weasel to me. Or, is that what they are called in other localities?

It's a true Polecat.

Just about everyone refers to skunks as polecats, though. But they're an entirely different animal.

"Polecat" is one of those words that I've always wondered at its origin. Do they climb poles? Or do they live on poles? It just sounds funny to me.

Anyway, they're two different animals, two different species.

I found out that the Black-footed Ferret is considered to be the American Polecat. Learn something new every day.

But both skunk and polecat work extremely well when used as a derogatory term for someone.

I personally think skunks are beautiful animals, but I definitely wouldn't want my dogs or me to get sprayed by one.

 

[JayFramer]

I keep a 20 gauge single shot next to the back door porch for just such occasions. With young children around, no snake or small animal gets the benefit of the doubt. I have personal family experience with the rabis virus and believe me, it is NOT an enjoyable ordeal.

 

[Watchdog]

Sad that you have to live in such a neighborhood.

No. There's nothing sad about it at all. Everyone can't live out in the country or up in the mountains or out in the piney woods. This is more of a little community with a long history than a true suburban neighborhood made up of ready-built prefab homes or something. We aren't really city people here, nor or we country folk...we're somewhere in between I guess. I have a couple of big farms just up this old two-lane road, but if I go the other way for a mile or so, there's shops and a bar.

 

[redlevel]

No. There's nothing sad about it at all.

OK.
But I would be sad.

 

[jack the toad]

Little late to the thread but coons and possums (aka; raccoons & opossum) can be a nuisance but dillys (armadillos) and skunks cause me more annoyance... at least where I live. I don't care for feral cats or squirrels either.

 

[DWalt]

'dilloes can destroy your lawn overnight.

 

[kraynky]

I have a similar story to Faulkner's but somewhat reversed. My next door neighbor passed away about a year ago, and his elderly wife immediately moved in with her Son and his family, 50 miles away. I ended up with their two outdoor cats.

Son and family could not take them (or wouldn't, same results) and since they spent a good amount of time at my place anyway, I couldn't let them be taken to the pound. So I ended up feeding two cats on my front porch. The food source also attracted critters from the woods all around us.

I set up the same type of trap, and promptly caught my new cats. I learned that vanilla wafers were the answer, and soon was catching a possum or two every weekend. I can't stand those nasty possums myself, so these got released out back in the woods. The caveat was, they had to make a run for it, and if they escaped my handgun, they were free.

So far, 11 possums caught, one escaped. Last week the coons started showing up. The wife thought they were too cute, and had to be re-located, with me being unarmed.

I was unaware of them having issues adapting to a new area. I may start taking them out back to "Possum Run", and let them .........run. I have noticed that a possum takes a bit of prodding to leave the cage, while a coon has his nose at the door as I open it. I may need the .410............