Raccoons in the Garage

[dougk]

We have raccoons who have found the secret passage (opened cat door) into the garage.  And once in the garage they are eating the bird seed.  The bird seed is now in rubber containers.  But the raccoons might be coming back, is there a way to keep them away from the cat door.  Euthanizing them is an option over the weekend when the wife is away.  But in the mean time is there a way to keep the raccoons away from the garage.  Someone said urinating by the door will work,  is this accurate?

Thanks,
Doug

[oso45-70]

Doug

I'm Afraid you have a problem that calls for a more drastic measure. Like putting snares out. Once the little buggers find some thing to eat you can't keep them away. The thing about them is they will tear up every thing you do to keep them out, I don't think wee wee is going to stop them. It has been my experience that they must be elimanated. If for no other reason they carry all kinds of disease. Good luck Doug hope you get rid of them........Joe..............

[NONYA]

get a big mean dog from the pound and te him up infront of the door.

[Buckskin]

You could box trap them very easily if they are getting into your garage.  Just bait the live trap inside your garage and you will get them.  Then you can release them if you like.  That's not the way I would go about it, but it may keep your wife at bay.  My wife would want me to shoot the SOB's.

[oso45-70]

NONYA

You don't have to feed a snare or put up with feeding a yapping dog.........Joe...........

[Buckskin]

Sounds like possibly a yapping wife when she sees the raccoon strangled next to her car door.

[oso45-70]

Buckskin,

You can look at the bottom of my post and see where i stand on that.

[NONYA]

oso maybe you culd build a big deadfall trap that squishes em flat when they come through?LOL racoons will not fall for the snare idea,with thier intellegence and dexterity they could pull a snare right off thier neck,I have seen them open a garbage can with one paw while hanging off the side wiith the other.My dog dont yap and he would be more than happy to handle your coon prob,Ill bring him over!

[pinduck]

The only way to get rid of raccoons is to trap and dispose of them. In Ohio it is illegal to trap and release any raccoon back into the wild, I just went through this last year. Humane society, ODNR, Game warden, City no one will help you get rid of them. i used a box trap and the best bait i found was go to the deli and buy some fried chicken livers. Caught 9 of the little buggers before they quit raiding the garage, and sent them to that great garage in the happy hunting ground.

[williek]

Buy a live trap, coon sized.
Place the trap in the garage.
Place some marshmellows in front of the trap and some more in the front of the trap  and some in the rear of the trap. (Coons love marshmellows!!!!!!)
The coon enters the garage, sees the marshmellows, sniffs and then eats one, rapidly followed by eating more, enters the trap eating his way to the back, and in the process steps on the trigger and you have a live coon in the trap.
I use this method on my deck all the time and it works ALL THE TIME!
Trapping them is the easy part. Now you have to dispose of a live coon.
There will be many different answers for doing this- where you live, what your personal feeling are about killing a trapped animal, what to do with the body if you do kill it, etc.  The second problem is far larger than how to trap a coon.  They are one of the very easiest animals to trap using the above method.
p.s. This method also works for skunks and skunks also enter garages through cat doors.
Now if you trap a skunk.........
Good Luck!
williek

[Buckskin]

Good God, don't intentionally trap a skunk live.  If you do, I recommend doing it outside a garage so you can shoot it thru the cage.

[cal sibley]

The raccoon I saw on my roof ended up having a couple of little ones I didn't know about.  You're not allowed to discharge a firearm in the township where I live so that wasn't an option.  We're not even allowed to trap them.  We have to call in professionals to do that, and it's expensive.
It cost me over $300. to hire a firm to trap them, plus almost $4,000. for a new roof.  The little beggars had created three separate openings.  The next time?  To hell with the township and its laws.  I'm blasting the damn thing.  Sometimes laws are just too stupid for reality.  Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Thebear_78]

I have had very good success with using bucket cubbies for keeping raccoons, and stray cats out of my garage.   It kills them but once they find an easy food source is almost impossible to keep them out anyway.

[dougk]

I have not had any coons in the garage after I found one in the garage a week ago.  Got the old 12 ga SxS and Qbeam 2 million candle spot light and followed him to the barn.  Saw him running shot one handed and ....  Well I am left eye dominant and shoot shotguns left handed but this evening I was holding the spot in my left hand so I shoot right handed and did not close my left eye.  ....I missed him by 6 inches to the left.  But have not seen any racoons since then.

Doug

[kb]

I haven't had trouble with coons, but I used to have a skunk problem.  I did the catch-em alive trap, then changed into some disposable clothes, threw a disposable blanket over the trap to avoid being sprayed, and lastly dumped the trap - skunk and all into a garbage pail filled with water.   Its not really that bad, as you don't get sprayed if your careful.  
 
Try the trap and water, its quiet and permanent ..
 
(I used to just shoot them, but now we have neighbors....GRRRRRRR! )
 
There's always the archery idea.... ( Im a bow hunter at heart)
 
Good luck,
 
kb

[hogwild_444]

You guys are either gonna LYAO at this or flame me into next year. We had a coon problem in my garage and my wife said "Handle it". Well she's been with me for bout 3 decades and knows I have no problem putting nuisance animals down. Now how do I do this without damage to the garage? I get out my homemade blowgun. It is 1/2" PVC pipe 5" long with a 2 liter soda top pushed on the mouth end to puff against. Made it for the boys to have fun with. It shoots home made 12" steel bolts.

So every time I hear a coon in the garage I hit the remote door closer and turn on the light, peek out the door to spot the coon. Put 2 or 3 bolts in him and open the garage door. Out he goes, no more coon problem for a few months. Don't care where he goes to die just as long as he's gone. No garage damage from bullets, no coon to carry off- he does it himself.

[Rover31]

I have had very good success with using bucket cubbies for keeping raccoons, and stray cats out of my garage.   It kills them but once they find an easy food source is almost impossible to keep them out anyway.

Do tell us what is a "bucket cubbie" Our town is crawling with these pests. I have people who always want to use my trap and then call me to "dispose"
Thanks
Travis

[cattleskinner]

A bucket cubby uses a connibear trap(usually a 220, or the next size smaller).  You take a 5 gallon bucket, and cut a couple notches in opposite sides of the bucket for the springs to stick out of.  You then take your bait, and place it in the back.  When the coon sticks his head in to get the bait....voila!!! Dead coon in the morning.

~~~Cattleskinner