# Raccoon Nation..coming to your neighborhood.



## Ozarkgal (Jul 29, 2013)

I just watched a documentary called "_*Raccoon Nation*_"...I'm doomed!  I've posted on here several times this summer about my ongoing war with the raccoon population this year.  I trapped and relocated 13 rackys within a few weeks.  Things have slowed down now, I think, but maybe because I threw up my hands and closed my eyes.

This documentary was primarily about how raccoons are now not only thriving in large cities, but their numbers are booming as they adapt to their urban environment.  The biologists live trapped, tranqed and put computerized radio collars on several coons and tracked their behavior.  What they found is that raccoons have a small territory that they cover, have learned to stay away from streets, as they now see cars as predators, stick to neighborhoods instead of parks, because food is abundant, and can learn to open just about anything short of a padlock, devised to keep them out.  In fact, the escalated challenges devised to keep them out of trash cans,food bins and building nesting are making them smarter and even more adaptable.  It was amazing to see how smart the critters are in getting things open and squeezing and climbing into places.

This boom in the raccoon population is happening in all major cities, and they called Toronto the raccoon capital of all major cities, having an urban population of 50 times the number in the city as in the surrounding countryside...how they came up with that number they didn't explain.  

The major problem raccoons create aside from expensive damage to homes and buildings, is the disease they carry.  They carry a strain of distemper which is not species specific, but can be transmitted to other animals, including your dogs and cats even though they may have been vaccinated. 

 Also, roundworms larvae they shed in their feces, while they do not affect the host raccoon,  can cause various organ damage, including eyes and brain, both in humans and animals.  The larvae can remain dormant in the ground for years, unaffected by weather conditions until a host comes along.

I caught this documentary on Netflix if anyone is interested in watching it.  It was also on the Nature series.


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## Diwundrin (Jul 29, 2013)

And we think we have problems when a possum gets into the roof!  
 You're more than welcome to keep those little lovelies over there  folks.


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## Ozarkgal (Jul 29, 2013)

What...no racky's in Aussieland yet? Not to worry, they are spreading rapidly, and sooner or later an exotic animal entrepreneur will think there's a market and smuggle a breeding pair in to sell the babies as pets, or a pregnant female will jump a freighter and hitch a ride. They are amazingly adaptable, so no doubt it won't be long before you'll have your share. They can even hang upside down, so living down under won't be a problem.layful:


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## Steve (Jul 29, 2013)

I live in the real country and this year I have seen way too many racoons..
I do get rid of them but not the proper way.. Unfortunately, I have 2 methods of getting rid of them.. Both are fast and painless..

One is a killer trap that snaps their neck..
Second is poison containing warfarin..

I know this isn't the best way, but I have NO options and it works.........

I also have a .22 that is also very effective.. Especially with hollow points.......


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 29, 2013)

We had a lot around the neighborhood years back, something kept breaking into our garage and eating the dry dog food at nighttime.  Hubby rigged up a trap on the doorknob, so we could see what was coming into the garage at night.  Well, we saw the raccoon, it got scared and climbed up the wall to the rafters and gave my hubby a golden shower, LOL!  We decided to just open the door again, and let him out on his own terms.


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## Ozarkgal (Jul 29, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> we saw the raccoon, it got scared and climbed up the wall to the rafters and gave my hubby a golden shower, LOL!  We decided to just open the door again, and let him out on his own terms.



Too bad most good ideas are afterthoughts!


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## Ozarkgal (Jul 29, 2013)

*Steve*:





> Unfortunately, I have 2 methods of getting rid of them.. Both are fast and painless..



Unfortunately for them, I may have to resort to the ahheemmm..improper way also.


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## Jillaroo (Jul 29, 2013)

_I have enough noise on my roof from the possums dancing in their concrete boots , but thanks_


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## Reen (Jul 29, 2013)

I seen documentries about bears invading townships in search of food.
We don't have them running wild down here either.:bowknot:


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## Diwundrin (Jul 29, 2013)

Customs are nazi level fanatical here about imported wildlife so hopefully they won't get through.  So far we don't have a single Hamster in the country out of secured confinement.  Come to think of it, I don't recall them even being in zoos.  
Never seen a Racoon either.
 But we already have just about every other international pest, camels, horses, (brumbies) donkeys,water buffalo,wild cattle, foxes,cats,rabbits goats,deer,dogs,rats, mice, and pigs running about feral and murdering the native species and/or laying waste to the landscape, pity customs weren't so rigid a century and a half ago.

We have one big  problem keeping them under control that you don't.  Strict gun laws!  Easier for rural producers to get but forget it unless you have a few hundred productive acres to protect or join an authorized gun club.  Semi autos and up are banned outright. ..I have no problem with that.

We could wipe out a lot of the ferals with a few more organized shoots but people all get the vapours at the thought of of some 'lunatic with a gun' in a National Park and it becomes a political bun fight while the animals continue breeding up.  I know a lot of people with guns and not a lunatic among them, but city people get antsy about it.  I think they have a 'Bambi' complex.  Most have never even seen a feral animal and what it can do the native wildlife and livestock.

Funny that the drive by shootings don't upset 'em as much as seeing off a few marauding dog packs by experienced shooters with rifles, but there you go, no accounting for how some people think.  Illegal Saturday night specials don't scare them as much as someone with a hunting rifle apparently.  I know who I'd rather trust. :glee:

While I approve of the stricter gun controls overall,  I think they go overboard here on where, and which, people can hunt what.  
It's complicated and 'local' so won't ramble about it.  Just think some things would be better shot than let run wild.


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## nojmit (Jul 30, 2013)

Stinkerbell and Possum must keep Rocky away here, in the 18 years or so that I've lived here I have only seen 'coons 5 or 6 times. 

It's questionable whether Skunks are better neighbors than 'Coons though, they don't do as much property damage but "Oh that Aroma":eeew:


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## SifuPhil (Jul 30, 2013)

I understand that Australia has the Common Brushtail Possum, which is basically equivalent to our 'coons.

I think raccoons are cute little critters, but then I've never had to deal with them either. Like deer, rats and other animal populations they've had to learn to adapt and endure in order to deal with the constant influx of humans into their habitats. I always enjoy how people complain about "pests", yet it was THEM who invaded THEIR homes. I can't say I would take too kindly to people claiming eminent domain on MY house, either ... 

I've also always been amazed at how intelligent and dextrous raccoons seem to be - Nature's perfect thieves! layful:


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## Diwundrin (Jul 30, 2013)

The possoms here are a mild nuisance, cheeky thieves but not aggressive, they're  fairly timid and very tameable. (Max has piccys of his 'pets')
 They wouldn't stand a chance against a Racoon, even house cats kill them.  They're also totally nocturnal so they make noisy roof dwellers when they get in, but loveable  little thieving fluffballs, seldom seen, in the main.  Except in NZ where they are the 'feral' pests and  caused untold damage to the forests over there.  Don't know if NZ has  tastier trees or what but they've made themselves really unpopular.

The 'pests' we have here are not in their habitat, they're all imported from elsewhere, mostly Europe but they're not to blame for the thousands of camels ripping up anything edible in the inland.  The Afghanis brought them in to run camel trains into the Centre in  the late 1800s before roads, and rail made it out that far.  When civilization caught up they simply turned the camels loose and now we have the finest, healthiest camel herds in the world running wild and we catch and export them to the Middle East.  Unfortunately not enough of them!

All native animals, except roos on rural land  are protected as far as I'm aware. Even snakes.  (We still knock them over if we find the dangerous ones in the wrong place but keep very quiet about it or the law and crowds of city Greenies will descend from a great height.)  
 Dingos aren't native, they were imported thousands of years ago by the Kooris
.  
 No native fauna that I can think of is considered a pest except again the poor old roos,  which come in their thousands onto crops and pastures in dry times.  Can't blame them for that, but then again, we are partly at fault.  There are more of them now than  ever due entirely to bore water being available in remote areas where they simply couldn't survive before settlement.

We'd rather not swap our Possums for your Racoons, or that rather scary looking Opossum  thanks very much. Not much call for Skunks here either come to think of it. :glee:


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## Pappy (Jul 30, 2013)

Wow, what I am learning here today. Camels in Australia? I never knew. Opossum deadly to horses. The one problem we have with raccoons in this area are rabies. Quite a few cases this year.


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## Diwundrin (Jul 30, 2013)

We're having human and horse fatalities from Hendra virus (lyssavirus,)  carried by fruit bats. Several people have died who had been in close contact with the horses.

Four horses died just last week about an hour south of here, near a relative's farm. He has no horses but a neighbour is very worried for theirs as the bats are in plague proportions everywhere, although not all colonies are infected.  Those ones obviously are though.  Luckily this time no people seem to have been affected by the outbreak.  

This is only a fairly recent thing, never heard of by the public until a few years ago although it was identified in 1995. There's immunization for horses available now and no horses are accepted at meetings without the paperwork.  It got among the racehorses and that put a scare into them enough to force immunization.  Apparently humans aren't as valuable as racehorses.  

It's a rabies like virus but we've never had any instance of rabies in OZ so it's a mystery where it came from or how it got into bats.

 It's spread much the same way as your problem, through urine and faeces in pasture and feed being ingested by the horses, then acquired by those in close contact with the horses and from horse to horse.  
There was a report that a young boy had died of a mystery illness which is now strongly suspected of having been the Hendra virus.  He was scratched, but not bitten,  by a bat but no one connected the scratch with the illness as it was unheard of that bats carried that type of disease. They now know better.

Bats are a protected species and are breeding in plague proportions due to increased food access and a lack of farmers being free to blow them out of the orchards with the double shotty.  
They've moved into suburban areas in such numbers that they kill the trees they roost in then move on to kill others.  The town I lived in previously had well over 2,000 of them in one small park in the centre of town, right next to the main highway.  It was the most beautiful park with century old pines and other rare trees in it and was a tourist coach special interest stop, but not now.  It is deserted.  No one can go into the park for fear of getting bombed by the bats.  The trees are all dying or dead from being constantly stripped of their leaves. 
All 'humane' methods of moving them on have failed.  They've won and the town has lost. When their roosts die and they lose the shade they'll move on somewhere else and leave the town a dead and dreary park to replace the magical one they had.   And it's not the only town, many others are having the same trouble, some schools have to rope off part of their playgrounds so kids aren't exposed to the danger of the bats in their trees.

We're not talking cute little fluttery bats here, these things have always been called Flying Foxes because that's pretty much what they're like.  The size of a cat with a head and teeth very like a fox.  They have a huge wingspan, maybe 2 yards ? or more and they screech and scream and keep people awake and are a pox on the earth!   Hate the damned things.  There's a colony a few Ks south of here which flies over at dusk when the blueberries on a farm in the hills are ripening.  They come in a column around 20 to 30 wide and I've watched that column for a full 20 minutes until it gets too dark to see them and it was still coming just as thick by then so there must be a couple of hundred thousand of them down there at least.  No wonder bluberries are so expensive!

I forgot about bats when I couldn't think of any 'native' pests.  But as they're not marsupials they're probably fly ins from Asia in the distant past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_bat_lyssavirus


> *Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV)* (initially named pteropid lyssavirus PLV) is a zoonotic virus closely related to rabies virus. It was first identified in a 5-month old juvenile Black Flying Fox (_Pteropus alecto_) collected near Ballina in northern New South Wales, Australia in January 1995 during a national surveillance program for the recently identified Hendra virus.[SUP][1][/SUP] ABLV is the seventh member of the lyssavirus genus (which includes rabies virus) and the only lyssavirus family member present in Australia.



Now these things we just might think about swapping those Racoons for.


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## That Guy (Jul 30, 2013)

I've mentioned before in our previous discussion of these . . . "rascals" . . . that a momma tried to attack me when she moved under the house with her babies.

Cute . . . NOT!


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## Diwundrin (Jul 30, 2013)

Pappy said:


> Wow, what I am learning here today. Camels in Australia? I never knew. Opossum deadly to horses. The one problem we have with raccoons in this area are rabies. Quite a few cases this year.



Quirky isn't it that the only wild (dromedary) camels left in the world are in OZ, of all places? :biggrin-new:

Entrepreneurs make a living from them, they tame a few and take tourists for rides in the desert.  One bloke has a string of them on Cable Beach in WA.  Not what I'd have thought was the 'Australian Experience' for tourists, but there you go.




I remember being on one when the Zoo used to do camel rides for the kids, once was plenty for me thanks.


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## That Guy (Jul 31, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> With all due respect --- keep those things to yourselves.  I would rather have the raccoons and opossum - lol
> 
> We have a few "normal" bats but I've only ever seen a few.  I don't know where they nest but as long as I only keep seeing 3 or 4 and they don't try moving into the barn rafters or the house attic, I'll leave them be.



Bats are cool!  They do a great job eating up mosquitos and I enjoyed watching them come out at night from under the Congress Street Bridge in Austin, TX.  Saw those huge fruit bats in the South Pacific and I like 'em.


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## SifuPhil (Jul 31, 2013)

I have a friend who's dying to get a little fruit bat as a pet, but then she's pretty much fully tatted, pierced and Gothed up so I guess for her it would make sense. I'll have to tell her about these Flying Foxes. She'll probably want one.

I never knew Australia had camels either, much less giant bats that are terrorizing the population. 

Yeah, given the particulars here I think I'd stick with the 'coons and possums too. :mask:


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## That Guy (Aug 1, 2013)

Well, the neighbor's dog got into it with a raccoon last night and she's just returned from the vet all stitched up.  Poor thing.  But . . . she is a dog and . . . raccoons are . . . bad news!  @#%^&*!!!


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## Jillaroo (Aug 1, 2013)

_Oh the poor dog i do hope it's going to be ok_


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## Diwundrin (Aug 2, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Saw those huge fruit bats in the South Pacific and I like 'em.



Must have been from a fair distance if you still like 'em TG, They're not so great within smelling range. Peeewwwww.


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 2, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Well, the neighbor's dog got into it with a raccoon last night and she's just returned from the vet all stitched up.  Poor thing.  But . . . she is a dog and . . . raccoons are . . . bad news!  @#%^&*!!!



Poor girl..I hope she is okay...Coons can be very ferocious when cornered or protecting young.. Hope the coon doesn't return for round 2.  Dogs seldom learn the error of their ways when it comes to chasing other animals.  

I'm surprised my Ohno didn't get his clock cleaned by mamma when he grabbed the baby raccoon a couple of weeks ago.  I'm sure the only thing that saved him was me being there with the spotlight.


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## That Guy (Aug 2, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Must have been from a fair distance if you still like 'em TG, They're not so great within smelling range. Peeewwwww.



Yeah, they were just up in the trees and flying around.  Don't remember anything else.  I was just a little kid.


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## That Guy (Aug 2, 2013)

Jillaroo said:


> _Oh the poor dog i do hope it's going to be ok_





Ozarkgal said:


> Poor girl..I hope she is okay...Coons can be very ferocious when cornered or protecting young.. Hope the coon doesn't return for round 2.  Dogs seldom learn the error of their ways when it comes to chasing other animals.
> 
> I'm surprised my Ohno didn't get his clock cleaned by mamma when he grabbed the baby raccoon a couple of weeks ago.  I'm sure the only thing that saved him was me being there with the spotlight.



Going to walk up the hill in a bit and check on her . . .

Whew, that was a quick trip up and back.  Report is she's doing fine.  Probably soaking up all the extra love and attention as if a dog can ever receive enough.  Will talk to her the next time she's out and about.


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 2, 2013)




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## Diwundrin (Aug 2, 2013)

Glad the dog's okay, and hope it's learned it's limitations too.    Some need hard lessons to learn them sadlly. 

Different 'pest' but funny story, I hope.

We have birds we call Plovers but are Lapwings, that screech and holler day and night, and attack all passers by when they have chicks around. They're ground nesters and the chicks make their own dining arrangements from whatever they can catch in the grass,  under the protection of the parents.  Unfortunately they breed all year round. This is the third hatching I've seen since Christmas!
The ones here have been dive bombing the dog and anything else that moves, I just put the  hose on them to settle them usually but haven't been out in the yard lately so they've gotten cheeky.

My cousin was up the other day and was spraying weeds for me when I heard the Plovers kicking up a din and thought uh oh, forgot to warn him.
Next thing he's at the door saying "ever seen one of these close up?"  and had one of their chicks in his hand!  It was the cutest thing, only about the size of a sparrow and yelling it's head off.   



We had a good look and a play with it then he took it back out and turned it loose to run back to Mum.  We never heard another sound from them all day! They haven't even been up this end of the street since.  That sure worked!  They've learned that it may be okay to terrorize tourists and kids but never mess with a farmer!

He'd done the same with a pair that were hanging around the farmhouse.  He grabbed a chick and pretended to eat it and reckons the mother had a heart attack.  
He let it go and the whole family has moved to another paddock about half a mile away.





Speaking of airborne attack, keep your heads down Aussies, I swear I just heard a Magpie chick, starting early this year??


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## Diwundrin (Aug 3, 2013)

Kangaroos do too, if they can beat dogs to a dam they go out in the middle and hold the dogs under when they swim out.  It's about the only smart thing I've ever heard of roos being capable of. They can stand up to 6ft tall on tippy toe so can go deep.  They can swim okay too, they've even been spotted in the sea crossing to nearby islands.   I hope you Americans are amazed by this news.  I was. I only learned that a few years ago.



http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroo-swim.html


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## rkunsaw (Aug 3, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> There is only a select few dogs qualified to tango with a Raccoon.  There are several varieties of Coon Hounds, these are Walker Coon Hounds and very expensive.   Serious coon hunters spend more money for a good coon dog than what it costs for a paint job on a classic car.  That means many of these dogs wear GPS systems.
> 
> They know how NOT to end up in a vet's office but a really good Coon dog is the one who tangles with a coon in the water and wins.  Coons have been known to drown dogs ---- no kidding



TWH  I used to coon hunt and we had lots of coon hounds. We had Walkers, Blueticks,Red bone, and Black& tans. I've seen one Raccoon whip four of them at a time and get away leaving the dogs bleeding. 

In the old days they had "coon on a log" contests where a raccoon was put on a log in the middle of a pond and the dogs were sent out one at a time to see which could do the best job of getting the "coon. Some dogs did get drowned by the "coon.


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 3, 2013)

My neighbor hunts with Walkers..this kid lives to coon hunt, he does the competition hunts.  He gave us the traps to catch the coons and wanted us to turn them loose near his property (his family has several hundred acres).  We turned a few loose there, but I think he lives too close, straight down the creek from us.  We turned a few loose on his land, but now take them further away.

I have another one in the pipeline that we are trying to catch.  He's been in the shed getting into the corn and licking the cat food bowls clean...

 Hubby spied him up in the pasture looking at my watermelons one night last week...If he eats those he will become an endangered specimen of his species. Traps out in different places for two nights now, and no results. A slippery one, but he'll mess up.


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> There is only a select few dogs qualified to tango with a Raccoon.  There are several varieties of Coon Hounds, these are Walker Coon Hounds and very expensive.   Serious coon hunters spend more money for a good coon dog than what it costs for a paint job on a classic car.  That means many of these dogs wear GPS systems.
> 
> They know how NOT to end up in a vet's office but a really good Coon dog is the one who tangles with a coon in the water and wins.  Coons have been known to drown dogs ---- no kidding



Interesting and cost prohibitive . . .  She's a typical Heinz 57 and old enough to "know better?" and from what I'm told was fighting with it in their pond so scary to know she could have drowned.  !@#%^&*!!!  I'm am NOT a fan of raccoons no matter how deceptively "cute" they appear.  Little bastards!


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Kangaroos do too, if they can beat dogs to a dam they go out in the middle and hold the dogs under when they swim out.  It's about the only smart thing I've ever heard of roos being capable of. They can stand up to 6ft tall on tippy toe so can go deep.  They can swim okay too, they've even been spotted in the sea crossing to nearby islands.   I hope you Americans are amazed by this news.  I was. I only learned that a few years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroo-swim.html



Beginning to think I'm no longer a fan of kangaroos . . .


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 3, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Report is she's doing fine.  Probably soaking up all the extra love and attention as if a dog can ever receive enough.  Will talk to her the next time she's out and about.



Glad the dog is doing okay, guess raccoons are more danger to dogs than coyotes.  Here's a woman that was attacked by two raccoons in New York's Central Park...http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-singer-attacked-central-park-raccoons-article-1.1415408


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> Glad the dog is doing okay, guess raccoons are more danger to dogs than coyotes.  Here's a woman that was attacked by two raccoons in New York's Central Park...http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-singer-attacked-central-park-raccoons-article-1.1415408



The best part of that story is the comments . . . "Maybe they were music critics . . . "!


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## Steve (Aug 3, 2013)

GOT ONE !!!!

I was sitting in my living room when the motion light went on in front of our house.. I looked out the window to see 2 racoons just standing there.. I grabbed my .22 and opened up the front door.. Took one shot and dropped one racoon.. The other one seemed to get away..
I use a high power hollow point and that poor racoon had a hole in it the size of an orange.. Instant death !!!!!


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)




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## Steve (Aug 3, 2013)

Poor Davy.. He died at the Alamo along with Jim Bowie ...


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 3, 2013)




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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)




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## Steve (Aug 3, 2013)

Up here, we don't poke, we shoot !!!!


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## Jillaroo (Aug 3, 2013)

_They seem to be a real nuisance over there and nasty too_


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## Steve (Aug 3, 2013)

Oh yes, you better believe it but I seem to have the upper hand on those pesty raccoons in my area..
I have already eliminated quite a few so far and I have almost none coming around the house any more..
Should one come, I have a present for it.. One shot !!!!!


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 4, 2013)

Steve,  I hate to, but may have to resort to that.  I live in fear of the diseases and roundworms they carry, and can be passed on to dogs and humans.  If it weren't for that I could live and let live and be satisfied to relocate them.  Also, I don't want them tearing into my dogs in an altercation.  Came too close to that already, recently.


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## Warrigal (Aug 4, 2013)

I understand the caution about wild mammals in the US. On a visit to the Grand Canyon I was very taken with the cute little animals that I guess were prairie dogs (or something similar) but was informed that they might be carriers of plague. That shocked me totally and I left them strictly alone. I already knew about rabies but never countenanced plague in my wildest dreams. Neither disease exits in OZ and thanks to our very zealous quarantine service I think we won't be seeing them in the foreseeable future.

In California we stayed in a tent cabin and there were signs asking us not to leave food out for the racoons. 
It killed me but I did comply. I would have loved to have seen one.


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## Diwundrin (Aug 4, 2013)

I think nature is working on evolving our version, maybe to replace the Tassie Devil, feral cats are getting bigger. 
When they start wearing masks I'm outa here.


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)

Are you available as a hired gun, Steve???

Unfortunately, although I am in the country, any gunshots around here will draw the law in a heartbeat.


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## Steve (Aug 4, 2013)

Where I live I can fire a cannon and nobody will hear it..
Our village doesn't have a local police force but we are patrolled by the Provincial police that comes around only on February 30th and on April 31st..


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)

Jillaroo said:


> _They seem to be a real nuisance over there and nasty too_



I've read they are related to bears . . . !


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)

And we're worried about . . . Zombies?


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 5, 2013)

TWH...lucky you, but I don't think the cats have anything to do with it.  I have five cats and have caught then sitting up on the shelf while the raccoon is chowing down the food in their bowls, or they all sit around out in the driveway together under the moonlight.



I have to come up with a new plan. The trap has been set  for several days now in the shed, with tasty morsels and no raccoon, even though it is evident he is still coming in.  I have to change tactics, but it's been raining for three days now and don't want to put the trap outside where the food will wash away.   HEHHHEEHHEHH..I will get you my little pretty, and when I do....


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## Ozarkgal (Aug 5, 2013)

Just ran across this and it made me chuckle.  I don't care how much raccoons are a nuisance, you gotta admit they are darn cute and clever.  Watch this one all the way to the end for a laugh.

http://now.msn.com/raccoon-steals-cat-food-while-cats-are-eating-in-viral-video


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## Diwundrin (Aug 5, 2013)

Someone say Zombies?


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## That Guy (Aug 6, 2013)

Raccoons are NOT cute!  They are dangerous!  Forget traps and Steve's rifle.  I'm goin' for landmines!


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## SifuPhil (Aug 6, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Raccoons are NOT cute!  They are dangerous!  Forget traps and Steve's rifle.  I'm goin' for landmines!



... and the raccoons will be driving one of those SWAT vehicles with armored undercarriages ...


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## That Guy (Aug 6, 2013)

Too bad they aren't as cute and cuddly as they appear.  It's an excellent disguise.

Now, here's a solution the the scourge of the evil little bastards:






Yeah Now!


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## SifuPhil (Aug 6, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Too bad they aren't as cute and cuddly as they appear.  It's an excellent disguise.
> 
> Now, here's a solution the the scourge of the evil little bastards:
> 
> ...



Sometimes I get into moods where I'd rather see raccoons wearing human-skin coats ... 

We get the rare raccoon garbage-pail attack here but that's about it. I guess if I were a country boy I might think differently. MY big thing is rats, roaches and fleas - it's a lot harder to fight an enemy you can't see.


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## Diwundrin (Aug 6, 2013)

Or can't find.  Hey, Max, should we tell 'em about the Cane Toads?


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## JustBonee (Aug 6, 2013)

The only raccoons I ever see are usually passing through at night, over the high back fence railing. .. they don't come into the yard.  Or anyway,  haven't so far!     Had a baby raccoon wandering around in a neighbors yard a couple weeks ago, but it seems to be gone.   Guess they've all hooked up and wandered back to the woods.  ??   Hope so.

I agree *Phil* ...about the problem with those critters that you can't see   ...fleas, termites... are they or aren't they there?... 

We have cockroaches that you can put a saddle on here in Texas .... 2 inches long and they fly at you! .. When it is super hot like it is now, they want to make their presence known.  
And darn rats can get super sized too. . . some are almost the size of squirrels.  The only comfort I have in seeing them, is when they are around, there probably aren't any BIG snakes in the area ...


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## Diwundrin (Aug 6, 2013)

We have those big dark 2 inch 'American Cockroaches' too, we used to call them Yank Tanks where  I worked. 

  It was Central station, a century old, and plenty of hiding places for them, and because they only come out at night the bosses didn't believe us when we told them how many appeared on night shift.

Back in those days we still used methylated spirits in the copy/printing machines so we'd squirt the 'cockies' with metho.  It kills them in less than 5 seconds so you don't have to chase them after that.  Then we'd take the cellophane wrappers off ciggy packets, drop the roaches in and thumb tack them to the bosses doors.  
We got a box of baits to lay out and insect spray for our trouble,  but it was still a matter of making our own arrangements for the problem.  
These days there would be a fully clad bio-hazard squad called in and picket lines of striking unionists. 



I stomped on one that went off like  bunger!.  The POP! was incredibly loud.  Apparently if you hit them just right the sudden air pressure blows their innards out of their..... but that's really too much information isn't it?


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## JustBonee (Aug 7, 2013)

Got it Di ...  those are the ones!... lol


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## That Guy (Aug 7, 2013)

If I can find it again, I should post the video of a Russian rat chasing cats!  It's running back and forth along a fence among a bunch of cats that are curious but definitely not about to mess with it.


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## Steve (Aug 7, 2013)

I GOT ANOTHER ONE !!!!!

This time I shot it in the head and the head actually exploded..
It was a much younger one.. 

What a mess to clean up after !!!!


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## Jillaroo (Aug 7, 2013)

_Oh Yuk save the details Steve     :eeew:_:lofl:


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## Steve (Aug 7, 2013)

No gorey details.. Just that the critter was shot just on top of my driveway which is gravel.. The road is also gravel..
The clean-up was something else.. I took out the hose and it was the only way to get rid of the mess.............


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## Diwundrin (Aug 7, 2013)

I can sympathize Steve, a baby mouse exploded when the trap hit him amidships once. Unfortunately it was on the edge of a pantry shelf and he left me a real good reminder of his passing to clean up.


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## Steve (Aug 7, 2013)

I use a .22 with a hollow point.. When I hit it in the head, don't ask..........
It was just like the head blew off the body....


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## Jillaroo (Aug 7, 2013)

_Would have been a good shot for a Sci fi movie   

 _


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## Warrigal (Aug 8, 2013)

Are we still talking about cockroaches?


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## Diwundrin (Aug 8, 2013)

Yes Warri, you know how it goes in braggin' contests, the Yanks have them so big they have to shoot 'em.


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## Jillaroo (Aug 8, 2013)

Warrigal said:


> Are we still talking about cockroaches?




No i am talking about the Racoon Warrigal


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## Warrigal (Aug 8, 2013)

Diwundrin said:


> Yes Warri, you know how it goes in braggin' contests, the Yanks have them so big they have to shoot 'em.


Thought so.


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## That Guy (Aug 8, 2013)




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