Raccoons in trees ???

[rahtreelimbs]

I just picked up a job part of which involves a 15ft. maple spar that has raccoons living in it. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to vacate the critters before I start the work. thanx, Rich.

 

[treeclimber165]

Just scare them out. Most critters are more afraid of us than we are of them. I promise you won't traumatize them if you bang on the trunk with a stick or flush them out with a garden hose. It seems mean, but better than knocking them out when the trunk hits the ground. If you just start cutting, they will probably hunker down in their nest unless they have a clear escape route.

 

[Newfie]

Hey Rich,

I would suggest letting animal control deal with, although I'm not sure that won't create other kinds of red tape headaches for you. Holed up coons can be really nasty. I had one try to take my head off once, leaned over to grab the dog by the collar (cuz it was going ape$h#t at the base of a hollow tree. 30 pound momma came ripping out past my ear with teeth nashing. They can also be rabid a lot of the time. Good Luck and keep your head down.

 

[treeclimber165]

The babies should be out of the nest by this time of year. All the baby raccoons around here are on their own now. At least you shouldn't have to deal with momma protecting her brood. I wouldn't mess with a nursing momma, she WILL fight you to defend her babies.

 

[treeman82]

This is going back a few years, but I worked on a maple removal as a groundie for my old boss. He was on the ground and he had a hit man in the tree (big sugar maple). We saw the raccoon up there and immediatley shut down all the equipment and stepped back from the tree. The climber coaxed it out of the tree and it went down face first witout a problem. I believe this job was done in April or March. Well the animal scurried away and when we felled the stick and were cutting it up we found 5 babies in there still alive.

Just take it easy with the animal and keep your distance. Limit noise and the amount of people who are in the immediate area.

 

[DDM]

Hmmmm We claimed 9 Baby squirrels in Feb. I hope we dont find anymore in Sep.

 

[Kevin]

I use a piece of conduit with poly protected metal clothes line.
Anchor one end to the conduit, loop it through the conduit to make an noose at the other end.
The noose goes around said bandits neck or body and is pulled tight from the other end.
You`re on your own after that!

Here`s a fancy one ...

 

[Newfie]

I think Kevin is looking for a movie deal as the Steve Irwin of the Great White North!

 

[treeclimber165]

I caught a wild cat (feline) once that decided to move into my garage and wouldn't let MY cats in their own home. I used a piece of PVC pipe and some electrical wire I had laying around. Doubled the wire and stuck it through the pipe making a noose and caught the cat around the neck. I won't tell ya the rest...... (plenty of libations made me do stupid stuff back then)

 

[DDM]

Brian? then why did you go to such aggravation to make a noose to catch it?

 

[Kevin]

Newfie,
How about Steve Marten ?
A side line of mine is trapping, I`ve taken many raccoon in a 220 conibear, cage trap and snare pole.
The 220 is still the best.
You can`t hurt a raccoon, If you dropped one out of a tree from sixty feet up it would most likely look at you with a disgusted look and walk away.
They are tough!

 

[Newfie]

Thanks Kevin, but I think I'll just stick to being a pain in the butt. You are definitely a better trapper than I am comedian. That is a cool rig you for snaring. In Mass so many of the coons are rabid that they are just better to steer clear of. Around here they have become more of the suburban dwelling trash pickers along with the skunks. I moved to the woods six years ago and haven't smelled a skunk since and the only racoon was a rabid one. happy hunting!