[Paul Avery]

How do I get rid of racoons living under the trailer I just bought in Gresham , Oregon ? I'm not allowed to use guns . The cheapest D.I.Y. approach is preferred .

 

[oh'mike]

Live traps work well----use marshmallows--peanut butter and pancake syrup---

 

[user1007]

Traps will get them. Be sure and handle the cages with the critters carefully and have heavy gloves handy or you could be in for some nasty stitch work. I hired a trapper to deal with them---super animal lover. Unfortunately, if you live in Illinois the raccoons have to be disposed of once trapped by a licensed pro. I don't know if he actually did or not. They do carry things in their feces that can make people very sick. Of course they can rip a bold and courageous pet to near shreds in about 15 seconds.

As for bait? Raccoons will eat just about anything but I would stay away from sticky sweets as they might attract ants, yellow jackets and other things. Peanut butter is a good choice. Mix in some inexpensive seeds and such.

Your animal control folks might be willing to come and deal with those you trap but call before you start. Be humane and cover the traps of it is sunny and hot out. Your local humane society or PETA chapter may have traps available for rent. They are not overly expensive but you have to store them somewhere.

Obvioiusly, once you have the problem abated, you want to try and block them or their cousins from getting back under the mobile home.

 

[DangerMouse]

Crab or lobster shells will draw them from miles around..... I hear bacon works well too?

DM

 

[DexterII]

The majority of our nuisance ones have sadly passed away from lead poisoning, but for the ones whose schedule I can't seem to nail down, I have had decent success with just peanut butter, and when that hasn't worked in a day or so, sardines. Of course I get my share of the can first!

 

[STL B.]

The majority of our nuisance ones have sadly passed away from lead poisoning

Ha...ha...ha thats pretty funny. I could'nt agree more though, they are very dangerous animals. I have a neighbor who feeds them every summer, I've asked her not to and warned her of the danger to her pets (cats,dogs) but she believes that these inner-city raccoons are much safer than ones in the country.........so lots of them get lead poisoning around here also.

 

[DexterII]

One year, probably 10-15 back, we had an extreme overabundance of raccoons, so I started thinning the herd early. (I love wildlife by the way, so these are what I refer to as nuisance ones.) Well anyway, the neighbors showed up one day, asking if they could borrow a particular tool, and, as those things generally go, it wasn't long before they came back, wanting to borrow me as well. So, there I was, helping them save an adolescent '**** that had stuck his head through the 2" bung in the side of their burning barrel and, obviously, couldn't get it back out. We tried any number of things, including liquid soap, Vaseline, etc., and, after about an hour and a half or so, cut the little guy free. So, that's my confession for the day; I'm not THAT mean of a guy. Was pretty funny at the time though.