Very strange Racoon causing trouble.

[40calruler]

I know there was a recent thread on Racoon trapping but I have trapped them plenty of times and am having one that is a little too brazen.
It is coming out during the daytime and harassing the dog. It has no real fear it seems and walks around until I yell at it and stomp my feet. I moved into a new house and do not want to take a shot with anything as I do not want to give a poor first impression....Plus it is always during the day and it is coming to the front right where the neighbors can see....if it comes into the back it will meet a pellet rifle.
I have had my trap out with chicken, then tuna, then cat food, dog food, and marshmallows....I have tried everything I know how to do including dripping mountain lion pee on the ground.

Does this thing have rabies? Is it just so brazen because it is smart enough to avoid a trap? WTF someone who has dealt with a smarter than average coon help me out!?!?!
I may just talk to my neighbors if it continues and see if they want me to "eliminate the threat" in my own way.

Any advice would be great....even if you can just tell me what might get it to come around at night so I can drop it with as few eyes on me as possible. If it goes closer to the dog it is a goner but it seems to be just taunting....little bastard.

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[Vanillagerrilla]

crossbow
Bow and arrow
call animal control
candy bar in the trap?

 

[CoastRange57]

Time to take up archery. My son let his young Lab pup out a year ago about 4:30 am and this big axx coon in the back yard came at the pup, (almost a year old). My son stomped his feet at the coon, it backed off but keep pacing in the back yard.

Out came the bow and one broadhead later that former problem coon was in the back of his pick up and being dumped in the ditch for coyote and condor food.

This was in a residential neighborhood, and no one ever knew. Aggressive coons need to be dealt with.

 

[bolus]

slingshot

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

My bet is the beginig stages of rabies.
That or some sort of semi domestication.

Approach with caution and perhaps let animal services deal with it if it does have rabies.

For a nocturnal animal to be out in the day time thats one big red flag.. Again, it could have someone that feeds it REALLY well.. But my money is on rabies.

If its trap shy perhaps find another method of trapping. Hell even a snare.. (Which may be illegal.. But if it has rabies so what.. Better than your dog getting sick)

You could always do a snare, when its caught place a large plastic bin over it then slide the lid underneath.. Risky but Ive done it. Cut the snare line as you slide the lid underneath so it slips off its neck/hand then flip the box over and tape the hell out of it. (This is where two people come in handy)

From there transport OR kill it.
Releasing, cut the tape, then with a pole flip the tub on its side and whack the lid off, be sure to be behind the container so it wont see you, MOST just run off (via cage release, releasing froma bin Ive only done once)
But keep a little .22 with you or make sure you can whack it with the pole if you need to.

Best of luck!
Id say animal services "should" take care of it for you if it has rabies. Tell them about the daytime situation and they should go from there.

 

[jbett98]

Does it look like a large female?
It might have young nearby, probably living under a shed, or a neighbors crawlspace.
I've seen this aggressive attitude before, and it is a weird behavior for a nocturnal animal, but nursing mothers will often seek out additional food in daylight hrs.
If it had rabies, it would be lethargic, sickly looking and very erratic in it's motions.
It is the time of year for coons to be raising young. You could try and try to follow it and see where it's nesting.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Does it look like a large female?
It might have young nearby, probably living under a shed, or a neighbors crawlspace.
I've seen this aggressive attitude before, and it is a weird behavior for a nocturnal animal, but nursing mothers will often seek out additional food in daylight hrs.
If it had rabies, it would be lethargic, sickly looking and very erratic in it's motions.
It is the time of year for coons to be raising young. You could try and try to follow it and see where it's nesting.

^ this too, I failed to mention it because it is very uncommon but it does happen. Good point sir.
Momma raccoons are crazy bishes.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Don't forget about a pick handle or some such.
I agree, it's probably rabid so should be eliminated.. be careful and discreet though!

 

[jbett98]

I was building an addition on the back of a house in SW Portland some years ago, and while I was standing in the kitchen discussing the next phase of the project with the owners wife, when a rather large female raccoon with three young offspring pawed open the backyard screen door and proceeded to calmly walk past us and start eating her house cats food that was in a large bowl by the fridge.

I was completely floored at what was happening and after a couple of minutes of watching this wild animal chomp down on all of the cat food, I asked the lady if this was a pet coon of hers.

Her reply to me was, " I love all animals and even finding a mouse in a drawer is just fine with me, but I don't like the rats that live in the garage, and aren't those babies cute."

After the momma coon was done with lunch, it turned around and walked back through the kitchen and made it's way down the the hallway and out the front screen door.

 

[scrandall01215]

My bet is the beginig stages of rabies.
That or some sort of semi domestication.

Approach with caution and perhaps let animal services deal with it if it does have rabies.

For a nocturnal animal to be out in the day time thats one big red flag.. Again, it could have someone that feeds it REALLY well.. But my money is on rabies.

If its trap shy perhaps find another method of trapping. Hell even a snare.. (Which may be illegal.. But if it has rabies so what.. Better than your dog getting sick)

You could always do a snare, when its caught place a large plastic bin over it then slide the lid underneath.. Risky but Ive done it. Cut the snare line as you slide the lid underneath so it slips off its neck/hand then flip the box over and tape the hell out of it. (This is where two people come in handy)

From there transport OR kill it.
Releasing, cut the tape, then with a pole flip the tub on its side and whack the lid off, be sure to be behind the container so it wont see you, MOST just run off (via cage release, releasing froma bin Ive only done once)
But keep a little .22 with you or make sure you can whack it with the pole if you need to.

Best of luck!
Id say animal services "should" take care of it for you if it has rabies. Tell them about the daytime situation and they should go from there.

I Agree with ZA this thing probably has rabies. One used to come to a pizza joint in Camas during the day and animal control said normally when one comes out during the day and acting strangely it's sick
Stacy

 

[40calruler]

Yeah that was my bet after having had no real trouble trapping quite a few. Rabies with coming out during the day and just toying with the dog. I called animal control and they said they would come by to "trap" it. I kinda think it is silly since I have tried A LOT already.
I cannot tell them I have tried since we are not supposed to trap them....Yet if you do catch one when "trying to get a stray cat" You are supposed to "drown it in the tub as it is illegal to relocate it and you cannot fire a shot in a residential area".
That was the advice they gave me in the past so I dunno how they will do for me. I am thinking pulling the cross bow out is a good idea. I forgot I even had one as I have not messed with it in 10 years. Guess it is time to practice up. I have a feeling it will laugh at their traps right until an bolt drops the sick little bastard.
If it is a Momma coon then it just orphaned its children by you guys reminding me I can use a bow silently.

We shall see how this works out. Going out to the yard to target practice with the thing....Hopefully the thing comes to taunt my dog today.

 

[Bigfoot]

Like Jbet and ZA said it's probably a nursing female needing nutrition. Since it's avoiding being trapped I doubt it has a brain disease. When I first moved out here I put traps out and all I caught were possums. The coons would dig beneath the trap to get at the food, very smart critters and easily socialized. I'll bet a neighbor is allowing it to eat dog food so it just assumes it's safe.

Ah, you just moved in. Maybe the old resident fed it as a semi-tame pet.

 

[40calruler]

Like Jbet and ZA said it's probably a nursing female needing nutrition. Since it's avoiding being trapped I doubt it has a brain disease. When I first moved out here I put traps out and all I caught were possums. The coons would dig beneath the trap to get at the food, very smart critters and easily socialized. I'll bet a neighbor is allowing it to eat dog food so it just assumes it's safe.

Like always assuming was a mistake...Hopefully its last one.

 

[40calruler]

Like Jbet and ZA said it's probably a nursing female needing nutrition. Since it's avoiding being trapped I doubt it has a brain disease. When I first moved out here I put traps out and all I caught were possums. The coons would dig beneath the trap to get at the food, very smart critters and easily socialized. I'll bet a neighbor is allowing it to eat dog food so it just assumes it's safe.

Ah, you just moved in. Maybe the old resident fed it as a semi-tame pet.

I know people do that but man it is nutty to me. If you have kids and animals that are outside why would you ever allow a wild animal as mean as a raccoon even if it acts "ok" since you feed it. Still going to cause trouble the second a kid or a dog ticks it off.
I wonder if they did do that. If so it has stayed around a while since the old folks moved out of the house I bought around 3 months ago. Maybe the guys doing remodeling left food around. I did not really think about that.
I talked to a neighbor who is in her 50s or so with kids across the street and her response was "shoot it, it has been going in my yard as well"....I dunno if she saw the safe moving in or just assumes everyone has guns since I have said nothing about mine. Pretty funny and I hope all my neighbors are that way...doubt it but always can hope.

 

[Just Jim]

I chased one off with a water hose, kept it on him while he was in the tree. I could have got answers from him by the water boarding I gave him. When he stops growling at the water he is ready to leave.

 

[NoFlinch]

It has always amazed me when people have Raccoon problems, and the first thing they think about is killing it.

KUDOS for trying to trap it first...., although I found the statement that it is "illegal to do so" (trap it) funny.....

It's "illegal" to go 36 mph in a 35 mph zone...............


I have always found that if I am more intelligent than the animal, I can resolve the problem without bloodshed.

Your (not you personally) results may vary

 

[edslhead]

If you can get close try a big salmon net then let it go by that old van down by the river.

 

[Just Jim]

If you can get close try a big salmon net then let it go by that old van down by the river.

Not sure racoons go anywhere near a skunk.

 

[jbett98]

The last thing you want is to capture a pizzed off coon in a salmon net.
It will tear through it like nobodies business in no time.
My neighbor tried to keep a mamma coon out of his crawlspace by nailing 3/4" plywood over the foundation vent and when she came back to feed her babies, she proceeded to rip the siding clean off the wall, all the while screaming like a woman being set on fire.

 

[bolus]

all you raccoon experts. It clearly has Leptospirosis with some Baylisascaris that explains that behavior. Nuke from orbit