When positioning a cage on a roof for raccoon, for example, with the entrance hole in the very corner of where the rooflines meet (fromt porch and living room roof, etc.). Does it matter if you position the cage where the raccoon has to enter going 'uphill' or 'downhill'? Or does it matter at all? I have heard of others on the forum who will level the cage door on a rooftop and the raccoon will climb in even if he has the climb several inches to get in.

I use a recessed door Comstock trap which has two doors, I put the recessed side as tight to the opening as I can and screw the trap down. If there is space on the side that I feel a raccoon might get out I barricade the side. Be sure to use a trap that has half inch mesh or you will be having to repair shingles.

I have found that it dosent matter a whole lot..raccoons are capable of walking around cages..LOL ...which they mostly circle anyway before entering on a baited trap...secure a piece of plywood under the trap so that if you do catch it, it will not rip up shingles....

We never set traps on a roof for coon. No real need to in my experience. Just learn to read the sign for the climb points and set on the ground where the descent point is found to be.

If a chimney trap is needed for a family removal that is a different scenario. But roof trapping has never been something I have needed to do for coon. Squirrel work is a different set of circumstances but also less prone for damage. Presentation is easier and more practical on the ground and less chance of a problem with damage occuring. No ladder needed etc unless you need to do repair work.

I havent found the need to use conibears for hole setting yet and that is the only time I would feel the need for the use of that device or forced cage trapping if you cant get the animal to go into a cage on the ground.

I agree with Bob...setting traps on a roof are not really needed...plus taking the ladder off the truck and putting it back on gets old...LOL ... Kinda like using a boat when its not really needed...fun at first, but a waste of time...

I am with Bob on this one, My first and most set is on the ground, with the trap facing the climb point. There are a few times when we go to the roof to force if needed, or if I have mobile pups, that come out on the roof, yet still young and do not know how to get off the roof. Mom or young, which ever goes in trap first, becomes the bait for the others. If on the roof I want the trap or traps opening facing the hole so it is the first place the coon comes no matter the pitch. you know how I bait. The only time I worry about roof pitch is if using a gravity door, which I do not use on a roof most of the time. But if I do and the pitch is hard, I will set the trap running with the shingle run, again set back off the hole so the coon comes to the front of the trap first.

Baited traps go on the ground here, only comstocks will occasionally go on the roof if the baited traps are not working. I cut up a safeguard trap and use it over the hole. Comstock fit inside a safeguard perfect couple zip ties and done. Mostly use them when raccoons are getting in at a dormer or soffit. I can screw it in so Comstock is not touching the roof at all...

I have set so many cages and caught so many raccoons on roofs that I feel completely embarrassed. Everything that Bob Jameson and Jonesie said is the Gospel!

The only problem that I have is that our technicians do not have as much experience as my wife, much less the experience of Bob and Jonesie.

To be perfectly honest, most of them don't seem to be all that willing to learn either.

I don't want this post to be a downer, so I'm happy to report that as long as my three kids continue have my grandkids, we will still be able to bring our customers the high quality service they expect.

In retrospect, I believe that Bob Jameson, especially, has brought an entirely new outlook to our raccoon trapping procedure. I guess that I just needed to hear it from someone else beside myself to make it real. Thanks a hundred times over, Bob.

The last coon in the attic call I did HAD to be set on the roof...else the traps wouldn't have been there an hour after I left! Even the HVAC equipment was bolted to the ground.

Well, I gotta tell you fellas, these posts have been an eye-opener, literally. I'm not real fond of the idea of climbing the roof and putting down plywood, etc to do the job. Just takes longer and is a hassle. Besides, I'll be 40 this year.

When I went back today for the first time since customer accepted quote, guess what I found that I'd missed during inspection?

Wish I was gonna be 40 this year ...matter of fact I wished I was 40 ten years ago....LOL

X2 Must be a Conn. thing. Or we are showing our age.

another hole LOL

Jonesie, you wise guy. No, it was the downspout access to the roof.

hey I don't know what to say LOL

just for some who are wondering it is a inside joke between us, I had to say it LOL

just for some who are wondering it is a inside joke between 22mag and my self, I had to say it LOL

C,mon guys, you just know by now that I'm going to butt into this conversation! You just cannot imagine how sorry I feel for you guys that are going to be, or already are, forty whole freaken years of age.

I was nearly forty when my youngest was born. ( And he has a hard time letting me forget it! )

Anyway, as I was cussing and swearing about the clogged freeway traffic today, I got to thinking: ( Yeah, I know it's amazing, but when you're traveling along at 5 miles per hour, what else have you got to do but think? )

I am going to be 72 years old this year and today I had a coyote job at a place that most people in our area don't even know exists and also had a raccoon job at a yacht club that certainly doesn't cater to people in my financial bracket.

I'm probably enjoying my life more than 90% of the people my age on this entire planet! And it seems to infect a lot of my family.

I guess that the time to give up your job and retire is when it no longer becomes fun. I can only hope and pray that this never happens to any of you!

This whole longevity thing comes from one of my clients. The man has been known to me for years and has recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday. His quote: " I told my cardiologist, keep me going. I've got a lot of things to do!" Amen.

Paul, I've heard that somewhere around 65, your age becomes "years young" instead of "years old." So then, 72 makes you a young man too!!

Caught 1 juvenile this morning on the travel route to the den but it was on the ground!