Raccoons!

[lxt]

Tell me this aint funny?

My customer who is 78yrs old calls me the other day about a problem he is having with raccoons, now he has had a hip replaced, both knees & really doesnt find sex all that anymore......so he told me!

All he cares about is waking up in the morning & watching the woodpeckers feed from his feeder which holds special food he has made at Giant Eagle....So whats the problem? at 2am every night 2 raccoons ascend his silver maple tree & commandeer the goodies he put there the night before....he literally wakes up & with his freshly bought slingshot & a bag of jawbreaker candy balls...he shoots at the masked vermon in an attempt to deter them from eating his woodpeckers food!

He doesnt want to kill them , but the neighbor is upset cause he has missed & winged the house on occasion......& at 2am a jawbreaker to aluminum siding is as he put it...."damn loud"

the base of this tree has boards with nails sticking out of it attached all the way around in an attempt to stop the masked bandits from climbing the tree, so far nothing this old boy has tried will work....so he calls an Arborist thinking that has something to do with wildlife/tress

Well I provided him with a name to a wildlife control company to assist him....It never amazes me some of the things people call a tree care company for.......this guy had me in tears telling me this story, I mean hell....he`s 78 & if you saw him & could imagine him doing this...HA! I told him call me...Ill bring over the camera crew & sell this & make a killing!



Just goes to show that as we get older our priorities change, uh?





LXT...............

 

[PineFever]

I have one in my oak tree that wants to join his two little buddy's.

 

[komatsuvarna]

Get a 20 dollar live trap and a 3 dollar can of sardines and catch em. BEWARE, They can be mean!!!

 

[Damon]

We have such a problem up here that i keep traps in the truck all the time, customers are always calling about the little buggers

i will say this though you want to be really careful when you open the door to the the live traps because they can be quite mean seems like these days most people want me to get rid of them permanently if you know what i mean so we bring the shotgun for those close encounters and the .17 hmr for the long shots

 

[tree MDS]

We have such a problem up here that i keep traps in the truck all the time, customers are always calling about the little buggers

i will say this though you want to be really careful when you open the door to the the live traps because they can be quite mean seems like these days most people want me to get rid of them permanently if you know what i mean so we bring the shotgun for those close encounters and the .17 hmr for the long shots

What an a hole.

 

[A. Stanton]

Lxt,
Better tell him to be careful. Beside rabies, racoons can also give ya leperacy.

 

[treeman82]

On a similar note, last summer I was making my way through a LARGE brush pile to get to a hemlock that was being taken down. In the process I stirred up a bunch of yellowjackets. There were enough of them that I put the job off until December... When I told the nextdoor neighbor about why the tree hadn't been removed that day, she said that I should simply call the fire department, and they will come take care of the bee problem.

 

[tree md]

I love working for most old folks. They usually crack me up.

 

[ropensaddle]

Lxt,
Better tell him to be careful. Beside rabies, racoons can also give ya leperacy.

I believe your thinking of armadillo's, they give you leprosy

 

[lxt]

I just thought what a funny story, C`mon....shootin em with jawbreaker candy, LMFAO

what was funnier, was when I said 2am why not wake the misses & forget about those raccoons....his reply was lenghty but in the end he said "shootin raccoons is more fun"....ah, to get old uh?

older people are funny & their thoughts....call the fire dept for bee`s!! LMAO

however this old guy whose name is tom petey ( not the rocker), did thank me for taking the time to listen & provide him with a company that can help him out!!


LXT................

 

[PaulPollard]

Raccoons are amazing climbers. I've seen them climb smooth faced brick walls, can't think of anything you can use to stop them but you can tell the old guy to blast the trunk with piss for awhile and see if that stops them. All wild animals understand that universal language.

You can hook them out of trees and cavities with a pole pruner - they will usually grab on but sometimes start walking towards your hands!

I wouldn't advise killing or maiming animals around your customers or anyone that you have not checked with first. If you think there is going to be trouble advise the people watching things might get ugly and ask if they want to proceed. I've saw an awkward situation with a Raccoon, an ignorant climber and the homeowners once and it doesn't leave you with a good feeling.

If they are fat balls for the peckers why don't you just help him rig up some other system, like hanging them from a thin line or something?

 

[D&B Mack]

On a similar note, last summer I was making my way through a LARGE brush pile to get to a hemlock that was being taken down. In the process I stirred up a bunch of yellowjackets. There were enough of them that I put the job off until December... When I told the nextdoor neighbor about why the tree hadn't been removed that day, she said that I should simply call the fire department, and they will come take care of the bee problem.

And people wonder why are taxes are so high!

 

[pdqdl]

Strap (or nail) on a 2'-4' wide piece of sheet metal or some thick plastic in a full skirt around the tree trunk, mounting it higher than the 'coons can jump.

Since he already put a bunch of nails in the tree, just pull the nails out, and then use a few to secure the skirt to the tree.

Make the tree real slick; they aren't as good as squirrels about getting over an obstruction like this on a tree trunk.

 

[Grace Tree]

Strap (or nail) on a 2'-4' wide piece of sheet metal or some thick plastic in a full skirt around the tree trunk, mounting it higher than the 'coons can jump.

Since he already put a bunch of nails in the tree, just pull the nails out, and then use a few to secure the skirt to the tree.

Make the tree real slick; they aren't as good as squirrels about getting over an obstruction like this on a tree trunk.

That's what I did on a commercial building I own. They were going up the power polls and onto the roof and finding or making access to the attics and false ceilings. Plenty of damage. We put 3" of sheet steel on the polls and that stopped them but they found other ways to get in. Around here there is lots of rabies in the coons. If I see them they're dead.
Phil

 

[pdqdl]

A racoon story!

When I was a kid, we managed to live-trap a young raccoon and make a pet out of it (sort of). It ended up sleeping for a while in my bedroom closet, but that didn't last too long. They don't use litter boxes nearly as reliably as cats do. They just aren't the best house pets you can try keeping.

I still have vivid memories of the coon coming out at night and wanting to play. It would sneak up on us while we were asleep, and begin licking or pawing down our ear canals! Boy, howdy! Don't think that won't wake you up in the middle of the night. Apparently, raccoons consider human ear wax a special treat, because that little guy would get in your ear anytime you went to sleep.

It became rather unpopular when it stole the roast out of the pot one day. It climbed a broomstick onto the kitchen counter, then carried off a several pound roast in it's mouth. My mom tried to get it, but it ran too quick. My brother caught up with it as it tried to scale the heights in our closet. The little raccoon was hanging onto the roast with it's mouth and the closet rod with all four feet. My brother had it by the torso with both hands, trying to pull it down out of the closet. He ended up doing pull-ups from it's belly, yet he couldn't pull the little thief off the closet rod. The raccoon was snarling very unpleasantly all the while, but couldn't bite us without letting go of the roast. Stalemate!

The powerful little 10 pound raccoon ended up getting to keep the roast, because it was clearly more willing to fight for it than we were.


Then there was the baby skunk...

 

[dingeryote]

Our Barn refugees weren't allowed in the Hooch. But Princess(The one with the open Maw) quickly figured out the BBQ grill and almost made off with a Couple of Tri-tips one day.

I'll second the oversized squirrel shield on the trunk of the tree.

Additionally, adding Capsicum to the bird treats will deter the 'Coons.
Birds are immune to it, Mammals are not.

Some good old Cayanne Pepper will suffice.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote