I've been hired by a homeowners association to remove some raccoons that one of the members is feeding. I've been asked not to let the person feeding them see me trapping the coons, but I have permission from the neighbors to set traps on their property. This lady feeds three times a day and I can't get them to stray from their routine. They cruise through the neighbors yards right past my traps with zero interest. I've tried tuna, penut butter, peaches, dog food, cat food,marsh mellows and brownies with no success. If anyone has any tips they wouldn't mind sharing I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Kevin

Have you tried drift fencing or some sort of trail set?thats what I would try next

First mistake taking the job without having complete control, namely the feeding stops. Use some common sense here the coons are completely habituated and nothing you do short of laying in wait with a rifle is going to change that as long as nothing else changes.
If you ain't got the balls to demand to be in charge of the removal process then my only suggestion is to try to lure the coons away by going ahead and feeding them yourself. It might take a truckload but without control it's your only option.

Wow thanks for the flaming buddy. Sorry I wasn't born with the wco skills you obviously were. Some of us have to learn as we go. For anyone else who wants to flame me from behind the secrecy of your keyboard. Save it!I don't need it!

Thanks Baxter, I'll look it over and see if that's an option.

Crossroads, there is feature that is very helpful on this forum. Right click on his name, then click profile, then click ignore. You'll find it handy at times. Hope this helps, most of us aren't that arrogant and self righteous buddy.

Are all the yards fenced or open? If fenced you can try to block their holes, otherwise Warrior is right, however untacfully stated. Maybe you can put up some temp fence to block the travel routes. However that will end the secrecy part.

lol,,,,,is you truck red too???

Some places demand discretion....

May be trap shy?

You mentioned several baits but have you tried any lures? Something different may do the trick.

Thanks Albert! That took care of that problem.
One of the three adjoining yards are fenced, the rest is open.
I've not tried lures, but I'm willing to, not sure if I'll be able to find any locally. Might have to order some.
Thanks for the help guys!

As far as being trap shy, there is about a dozen of them. I just can't imagine all them having that education, but so far they're teaching me a thing or two.

Crossroads the problem is the raccoons are basically handfed. I did a job a few years back all I had to do was remove forty of them and and keep every red haired fur raccoon. I mentioned this in a podcast before because I took on a job where they were comfortable with two fifty pound bags of dog food a week was ok but the now 5 fifty pound bags a week was too much. The customer fed a very fortunate group of raccoons that grew from a few to a couple of generations of raccoon born nearby and a mob of maybe 100 unruly and destructive raccoon.

The only reason I even took the job was because the couple was getting too old to keep bringing home large bags of dog food and it was hard to travel finding someone to feed their raccoons. They promised no more wildlife feeding and lived in a very remote wilderness sanctuary themselves.

The job wasn't fun. My first nights cage set up of 14 cages in the morning looked like a troop of monkeys hit my traps. I wasn't able to secure every cage that night found three of them in the stream. Some how they drowned two raccoons carrying them around. Other cages were danced on and not entered . Their feeding behavior was different they were mob like and not ready for politely entering cages. Can you use snares or cable restraints.

First nights lesson was not put your entire set on one focal point. The job ended putting me in a swamp in boots on a few trails to finish it.

The landscaping of the property in the end looked like a war zone hit it. They ate or carried off anyhting they could and then ate up everything in the nearby stream. Looking back I could of done better for pushing to remove them using firearms and not traps on their 500+ area Garden of Eden

In your case the raccoon are still being fed and hunger is not a problem you will cure with most any baits. Your gonna have to look for sign and set up where the raccoon are traveling and entering the property before they ever get near Mrs Whacko. The job may require permission on adjoining properties to do the job right. Do you know exactly where these raccoon are living in the area and recommended and implemented some preventive measures?


My point is I only took the job if I was assured no more wildlife feeding.

Three things matter most every critter needs shelter, a food source and water. Find each of them. Deny any and all of them that you can.

To fix this problem it actually involves dealing with a human and not a animal problem.

In David's defense I know better then to take a job that involves dealing with human problems by ignoring them and just trapping some of the animals.

Why yes I drive a victory red silverado! Vinke, after all these years on here I think you'd know how I roll.
There is discretion and then there's the fools errand of letting the client tie your hands. I'm sure you know the difference as well as I and know when to call a client on their bull or walk.

Crossroads, sorry you took it for flaming. I guess I need to work on my bedside manner. The simple truth is as Robb says we don't deal animal problems but instead people problems. I've grown so disgusted with people problems over the years that I sometimes let spill out onto my fellow nwcos on here. So let me try again.

You were hired as a wildlife expert to solve the problem not as a trapper. Trapping is something they can do for themselves with a big box havajunk. Identify the problem and lay it out for them whether they want to hear it or not. Until the problem is solved the symptoms will continue. In this case if the idiot doing the feeding isn't stopped and permanently barred from doing so the disease will return sooner than later.
I know we walk a fine line between reality and other fools fantasy but I have found that by indulging insanity I just make things all the more difficult for myself.

Thanks Robb, this shouldn't be that bad, but it is frustrating.

Might try same thing the lady is feeding them . One thing is this coon causing any damage if not it wouldn't be legal for me to take the job . Next back track the coon to its den site cut it off .

I think Baxter and Pesky make solid points. I support their concepts and employ those ideas even when not required to, as they are so effective . In ADC there is a constant, there are always mega personality conflicts within associations, block to block, neighbor to neighbor. One neighbor hates the animals they see doing damage and the other feeds them barrels of food, squirrels, chipmunks, coon, you name it. NWCO's are often placed in the middle, so they can't telegraph or share their intentions to remove wildlife when one neighbor has named each and every animal he has been feeding for months. There's no way to convince the guy feeding them that removing his "friends" is the thing to do. NWCO's have to work around obstacles, quietly, with subtlety. If you try "in your face I have the right", better duck.

This happens with beaver just as often. One guy is flooded the other loves the geese. Most of NWCO work is dealing with people, working around pets, etc. If you are given free rein, catching the animals is usually not a problem, but working around people and catching the animals is the challenge.

When animals have a routine, feeding nightly on something they obviously love, food is of no interest. They have it. Blind sets, trails, dens as mentioned, drift fencing, taking the animals moving from A to B is a perfect way to go. Just play the animal's game by intercepting them at a choke point while they are traveling to the bait station with whatever device suits the situation.

I know I sound like a broken record, but after catching 111 bobcats, fox, coon and even coyotes in steel traps, without a drop of lure or bait in 6 weeks thirty years ago, I can attest to the value in trail sets.

I'm still trying to get my head around the original post. I am one of the few, I guess, that actually look forward to jobs like this. They are fun, entertaining, challenging, and usually quite profitable.

I am having trouble with the fact that all of those baits were used and ignored. Our raccoons will clean out the dumpsters at Arbys, Burger King, and Cousins on their way to the dumpster at McDonalds and still be ready for dessert at Baskin Robbins.

I have had a number of these jobs and I always followed their trails backwards until I found suitable locations ( Hopefully between some bushes ) and never had any problem catching them before they got to the feeding area. After all, they are hungry and anticipating food so if they find it without having to walk so far, great!

I have also become used to people feeding animals and no longer get upset about it. I have had customers with 6 inches of animal and bird feed over their entire backyard. I had one house where there was so much feed packed into the soffits that it was dripping out of the vents. I would like to work out a deal with the manufacturers to include one of our business cards in every bag.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll try some of them through out the week.

I used to get really upset when people stole a trap, let something go, fed the animals etc. having a background in fur trapping, but had to do a reset. When the college kids turned the squirrels loose it's not really a problem, it's called job security, endless problems, continuous issues, trapping forever. It's ever more exciting catching the culprit with trap in hand about to open a door!