Anyone using the coontroller and care to share their success of failures with them?

I bought 4 and they largely sat on my shelf for the last 2 years, but I had some recent skunk
calls and figured why not try them, both were solid situations with minimal entry points and
no ability for new excavation.

Case #1 - 2 skunks in a crawl space, entered through ample openings around ductwork entry.
I setup traps for 3 days with good bait and funnels, no luck even though evidence of them coming
and going was present.

Decided to attach the coontroller device over one hole (wired off everything else)
and put a trail cam on the site as well to document for owner that they "left the building."

Within 2 nights they were both out, I did a crawl through just to verify no living creature in the
crawlspace, all was empty.

Removed excluder and excluded the remaining hole - camera picked up skunks only the first night
searching for a new entry, after that the remaining three nights the cam was there, no visits.

I have two other situations I'm presently monitoring, (1 skunk and 1 ringtail cat).

Anyone else use them? The are unlike most one way doors which have springs and no locking mechanism.
These lock when the animal leaves and being built "coon tough" the one way door swings with light pushing
so many animals could leave through them and therefore this could be used for a myriad of species.

Just curious if others have been using them for some time now and have other thoughts. While they are generally
more expensive than a trap, I'm looking for camera/device setups that reduce other issues and costs. If I can pair
this device with a cheap trail cam (which provides the client proof as well as myself) I can put out a product that
resolves the issue on many of my home types (not all, some houses as has been stated by many are prone to re-entry,
I see this as best used where the home is solid, but had one or two week spots that are fixable in a way that won't
allow re-entry). (Disclaimer - this could still cause the same litter left inside problems that live trapping during whelping
and rearing season brings with it. Won't work everywhere, but can be very effective I believe in a variety of situations).

Here is the link to WCS if you haven't seen one -

http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/M..._Code=KBCOONTLR


Justin

Justin, first of all there are probably very few people on this site that spend any more money at WCS than we do. ( I am trying to figure out how I can block their site from P.J. )

I am not going to criticize the "what's it's name" at all. All I'm going to say is that in our neck of the woods this is the last thing I want our technicians to install on a house. You just haven't lived until you've seen what a lactating female can do to a house, once she is locked outside and can't get at her babies. I have seen a female raccoon remove 30% of the siding on a very large house to get back in. And that's not counting soffit and roof damage.

There are areas in northern Wisconsin where raccoons rarely enter a building to have their young, I am told. Maybe this "coonaggravater" would work up there. It has to work somewheres or they wouldn't make it, right?

Paul, I knew my disclaimer wouldn't come through clearly.

I definitely know and have been told that to evict a raccoon sow and then turn her loose, either close by or through a one
way device like this one is a foolish endeavor that will end poorly.

I'm suggesting the best use is when it is not whelping or young rearing season, and for multiple species. For example
I could see these two skunks (and that there weren't young ones) visually in the crawl space, rather than worry about trap checking the device did the trick
and combined with a camera left the proof of effectiveness on my SD card.

Now, every situation is not created equal, nor are the buildings, so I'm not giving a blanket recommendation, but I do think this is an underutilized device.

The many many many bad situations that come from trapping, exclusion and eviction without knowledge of young, or inability to get them out are highlighted daily on this and other forums, I definitely don't advocate this device for sow with young, or any other wildlife species with young, but plenty of other times think this is a great piece of equipment!



On a side note, yesterday I was on a tile roof sweating and getting sunburned in 70+ degree heat, today the 30mph wind in the high desert has brought our temps down into the 40's. Good times!

Justin

Justin, the part about your temps made me feel better. Our record rain and low temperatures has cost us a small fortune.

I hesitate to criticize the skunk relocation because I lived in Mequon, Wi. when there were a couple of thousand people and most were farmers. Now there are 25 thousand and most of them are millionaires ( like me ) I could not get away with excluders for skunks because by the time I explained to the customer how wonderful skunks are and how they should embrace them, the season would be over. Skunks are the one animal that everyone wants relocated at their worst enemie's house.

Don't get me wrong; no one knows better than I do about completely different situations. I'm sure your skunk eviction went off without a hitch. This is the main reason that it is very hard to offer advice on this site at times. Just knowing that the entire world can read your advice is hard enough, besides the fact that areas vary so much. Just keep up the great posts.

True true Paul! I agree and appreciate opposing views when shared as you do and others, we all learn from that type of exchange.

My first two years I had no confidence in selling folks exclusion/eviction for skunks/raccoons over removal. So I basically left it
to the yellow trucks to do their thing. This year I had a few clients who weren't so fixed in their minds and with some discussion
about populations of wildlife (including skunks) they quickly became folks willing to allow me to resolve the issue this way. By law
I can do whatever I'd like with skunks in this state including removal/euthanasia. We are plenty skunk rich if there is one critter, let
alone the multiple species (spotted, hooded, striped, hognose) that we have. My effort has been to focus on fixing the structure, and
that without fixing the structure regardless of what you do with the animal, you will eventually have another reason to pay me in
the future.

Next time, maybe instead of a skunk it is a raccoon, or a rock squirrel, or a rattlesnake. These first couple working out, and the camera
combo method is helping me be more confident, though as you mention and I listen, I am being cautious knowing all things can turn
a bad corner if we don't pay attention.....and sometimes even if we do!



Always a good exchange, do hope though some others are actually using these? Everyone discusses the squirrel excluders and of course
we all use bat one ways in some way during exclusion, was wondering if I'm the only guy who is running these?

That is a really simple solution as long as he only uses one PC :P One little known file modified to redirect the browser request to a page of your choosing and there is very little chance many pc "experts" can figure out what was done.

I use one way doors for skunks all the time. That controller seems like too much money. You can build one rather quickly with those cheap harbor freight traps. Takes about ten minutes if you are slow.
Most customers, no matter how much I talk, want the animal removed from the premises. I do what they want and leave it at that.

sniperbbb, the only problem is he has two computers at his house and the business one in our basement office. Of course, if he's too lazy to go downstairs, he uses mine or his sister's or his mother's. ( Yes, there are times we'd like to strangle him ) Thanks for the info though, it might come in handy some time.

I've not used the coontrollers for the same reasons as Baxter. I've built several excluders from some 1X1.5 12 ga. welded wire left over from another project. They are a situational tool and never used during welping season. Trail cameras are a great addition like you said. Providing proof to both you and the client that the animal/s are gone.

I don't use it very often but when I do I drink dos equus and I have never had any thing beat the coon troller but I will take a look at those harbor freight traps before I buy another. Alan does research and trys to buy and sell things that work and the coon troller does work but like some have said they have cheaper ideas that work. If I use a spring loaded tomahawk door excluder I always put a toy, mouse trap or something inside that lets me know if there is still something inside.
Anyway I endorse the coon troller as I know it can't be beat by something going going back but I'm sure those other ones do too.

There are a number of wives of guys on this site that are patiently waiting for Alan to invent a Trappertroller.

Can't get back in the house? Sleep in the barn! (But then the horses will move out, complaining about the smell!)

I've had one a couple years now, and only found one place I could use it. I see too many squirrel and raccoon chew-backs/tear-backs due to people (WCO's and DIYers) trying to keep them out of a structure.

The one instance where it worked was at a US post office which was quite a far distance away. It was a concrete block structure that was missing a single foundation vent, about 7 x 12 inches. Since this structure had no other point where the coons could (and would, BTW) rip back in, I used the coontroller and game-cam set-up. Worked great. Left in place 3 days, no pics after the first night.

I am not a big one-way guy other than bats, as the probability is too high that other critters will cause additional damage to the structures. Discovered many years ago that squirrels will demolish a home if you don't remove them from the area before doing repairs/exclusion. And coons will nearly lift a home off the foundation if they decide they are going back in. I'm amazed how many guys get by with one-way doors. Must be regional differences in critter behavior?

Thanks for commenting folks, I definitely understand thanks to those who have gone down this road earlier in their careers that these might only be applied usefully in certain situations or with certain species, or at certain times of the year. Still interested in everyones posts so appreciate the sharing.

It definitely is clear, the maternity season (no brainer or at least should be) is not the time for a one way, no matter how strong the structure is, but again, that should be clear to folks if they understand the behavior of a female separated from her young in even the most rudimentary way. I'm quite positive there are plenty of folks who don't until it happens to them.

The other aspects though with single or a couple of holes in an otherwise very solid structure, where exclusion can be done positively once the one way has worked, seems like a great use of this, but again, only during the right time of year, and when the structure isn't prone to being demolished by an animal bent on getting back inside.

What I like about this device is the locking door action, I definitely wouldn't mind a cheaper option like those Baxter and others have been using from a modified cage trap, but I like the ruggedness of this device versus just a spring mechanism. My rock squirrels are diggers though they can go up a tree or side of a home fairly readily. The digging propensity puts them at more advantage with the squirrel type excluders on the market because they will back up and dig and may nose under the wire the trap is made of and end up getting by. The gray squirrels I grew up with in NY and that most folks have on this forum definitely have a reputation for making a hole as soon as you block another, but this seems to refute the idea you can ever exclude them, even if you trap one, another is likely to come along and bore a new hole eventually?

While I have some architecture that is the same as those of you in the midwest and northeast and southeast, we have lots of solid stucco and concrete and many homes have no crawlspace or attic. Chimneys are an issue, the crawlspaces we do have are issues, and of course in traditional homes we have attics and soffit areas and other typical spaces reported on within this forum often.

I'm basically starting with a small sample size of success and hoping that in the right situations these devices can do the trick with a trail cam in combo and be another type of service. I have no urge to check traps daily and have said that often, mostly I avoid these calls, but if I can do them with another tactic, I am interested in anything exclusion related.

We are entering the whelping season for most of our native wildlife, so skunks, raccoons and others including squirrels are now through Sept. 1 basically something we have to assume has young within the structure. This makes the one way a no go for me unless I can go in and see the animal or live trap and verify it isn't lactating or verify young through visual observation.

I definitely appreciate those who don't use these devices as a rule due to hard learned lessons, nothing but respect for what all are offering, just wanting to see if this method has been used for skunks and raccoons as it appears many have done successfully in their situations.

Thanks to all who shared,

Justin