Went to set trap again in the back corner of my yard where the winter bog is, and there are now 8 giant poops there. Up from 4 a few days ago. Are they taunting me? All over my little waterfall. There’s tons of little red bumps (remnants of seeds) in them so I feel pretty confident it’s raccoon poop. I keep catching squirrels instead of the raccoon back there.
I feel like you could make an awful lot of hats. I’m just saying. Like if they continue to mess with you go all Davey Crockett.
How far away are you releasing them? My brother caught squirrels in his attic and they would return. He had to hire a pest control person and he told him that they can find their way back to a nest as far as 15 miles or so. I wonder what the distance would be for a Racoon?
I’ve been concerned too. I’ve been releasing them ~5 miles away at a boat launch in a major river system. I was hoping the foresty bits, the river, and the crazy amount of traffic they’d have to wade through to get back here would dissuade them from coming back.
What do you think?
Red circle in bottom left is me, x in upper right is raccoon boat launch. The main artery is a 5 lane road with big box stores, parking lots, and restaurants all along the route.
A Google search says at least 5 miles minimum (the range was 5 - 10 miles so if they seem to be returning I would go 10).
Note:
I ran into some verbiage where it is illegal to relocate them in some states due to the Rabies Vector (I hadn’t thought about that factor so be careful about putting your hands near them to get them out).
I hadn’t thought about that either. I will get some gloves specifically for handling the cages.
In Ohio, raccoons , skunks and rodents must be released where they are trapped, or killed.
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/land-water/issues-for-landowners/nuisance-raccoons
This article has some tips on scaring off the critters.
Thanks for the warnings. I’m taking a lot more precautions now that I did before. We also found another boat launch further down the river, so racoon #3 (big and angry) we dropped off there. It’s about 7 1/2 miles away.
You should build little wooden boats for them and launch them from the ramp.
Haha would be funny to see them pedaling little paddle boats.
Got a visit from animal control lol.
They got a complaint from a neighbor “worried about the welfare of the raccoons”. We have a few atrocious neighbors so I’m not surprised. They went and looked around the backyard and I explained why I was trapping them, how long they were in the cage before relocation, and where I moved them. They said the way I was handling them was great, and I was well within my rights. Further, they’d do the same thing in my siutation. They were super nice and apologetic.
The good thing about the visit form Animal Control is that it sounds like there isn’t a Rabies Vector problem where you live. Thinking on the positive side; probably better to have neighbors worried about animals than the opposite.
It is better that they did call, but I would have thought they would have asked him what he is up to. How did they even notice? Maybe @jpinard is that crazy neighbor they are scared to talk to? ;-)
I follow an Instagram account that is an animal refuge, mainly for foxes, but she has a raccoon. The thing is very playful and loves to play with the dogs and foxes. Neat animals.
IMO, having neighbors that “notice things” is probably more of a positive than negative. Yes, they can be annoying, but they’re also the ones who notice when your door is ajar or when someone unfamiliar is casing the area.
You guys are so fucking naive. The neighbors didn’t call shit. The raccoons did.
He has an army. Of frogs.
No they are an army of frops - known to be territorial and protective of their benefactor!
Gotta ask, did you find that, which is pretty awesome, or did you make that, which is an order of awesomagnitude farther?
I made it. =)