Ok guys, I need some help. I have a customer who has raccoons that like to use the 10’-12’ area between her privacy fence and bedroom window of her house in town as a latrine. I initially saw 4 on my game camera and caught 3 fairly quickly only to see 4 on camera as a group a few nights later. This crew has laughed at my traps and whatever I have used for bait/trailing scent/trailing bait. I am using box traps and have tried commercial baits (peaches and cream, corn dog, mellow yellow) tuna, sardines, wet cat food, dry cat food, fruit (apples and cherries due to nearby orchard and tomatoes as they were eating hers) marshmallows with and without scent, vanilla cream pies, vanilla wafers, and chicken bones that I can think of off the top of my head right now. I’ve tried covered and uncovered traps. The traps are all solid and don’t move. One is a comstock with the wire trigger. I’ve caught quite a few coons this year alone with any one of the above baits without a real issue. What am I missing here guys? I’ll try to post some pictures as well.

Someone nearby is feeding them. Essentially they have left the dining room and are now heading to the latrine.
Have your customer canvas the neighborhood to find out who that horrible person is. Some cities have ordinances against feeding wildlife, especially known rabies vectors.

Or they've been caught before and know what a cage is. Could try DP traps away from the house.

Washington State, DP's likely not legal, You didn't mention the classic go to bait, PEANUT BUTTER or sardines. A small bait can buried under the trap's trigger will make them work it, don't forget to stake the trap down to prevent rolling. Take 'em waaaay far to a remote area to release, so they don't come back

Why aren’t you setting in the pinch point? It looks like it’s only 2ft or so across. Are they not going through it? No bait, traps all the way across. Drift fender or other obstacle above the traps.

Bingo. DPs not legal in WA. I can apply for a permit to use foot holds and that’s my next escalation in the likely near future. Also can’t release outside the original property here either. You’re right about peanut butter. In my quest to try every bait I could think of, I completely neglected peanut butter. Thank you for that. I have also not tried burying bait under the trigger as they have not messed with the bait.

Eaten I did try that. I tried two traps wide in the choke point and they went over. Four stacked 2x2 and they climbed another small section of fence and went around the choke point. I no longer have a double door as my GF accidently backed over it in her truck and I haven’t ordered another. I am due for another order of traps. My last one I bought three different brands of traps to see what I liked best. I think I could pick them off if had a double door or two available.

Double doors make life easy.

For raccoons I’d recommend 30 or 36” long Comstock’s.

Try bigger cages with cherry flavored licorice. Bait cages heavy.

+1 on this. Put blocking obstacles across the top of the trap and make them go through it. Put leaves, etc on the floor of the trap.

If you apply for the foot trap license, I'm assuming they will permit the DP's. I have had nightmare's with coon that refused cage traps. The DP's were money for me in those cases.

This is easy
Why are they there?
Set accordingly

Can you shoot them in that area. Set up at the edge of the woods at night and call them in. Or fence off that hallway with pallets or something heavy. Leave an opening big enough for a BG or set the cage trap as a walk through

On baited traps for raccoons, I normally flip the trap over and push full size marshmallows through the bottom wire to rest under the pan. I'll add one or two more before the pan and then trail some mini marshmallows in front of the trap. I lay a large flat rock on top of the trap to keep them from flipping it over.

In the last picture it looks like the coon are in you trap but not getting caught, (I might be missing something) is you trap in good condition?

I did resort to heavy baiting without much luck, but have not tried licorice. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the recommendation on the comstock. I have a single door I picked up to try out this year and I like how sturdy it is and the wire trigger gives me some more options.

Last week I applied for the permit to use foot holds and put some in yesterday. I’ll find out this morning how that went. I placed two in blind sets near where they use the latrine, but that is all river rock with weed barrier under it. I don’t have much faith in that setup, but I’ll find out in a bit. Placed two more along the route they have been using to access.

Unfortunately not. Customer’s house is right in the middle of town.

My traps are all serviceable. Earlier this year I ordered box traps of different brands to try. I have some WCS, tomahawk, and a comstock trap. In that picture is the tomahawk flush door the coon on the right is in and the left is the WCS. I don’t think they have been going in far enough to hit the pan as the bait wasn’t disturbed. If it wasn’t for the trail cams and the feces, I’d never know they were there by the traps.

TNADC’s suggestion with the marshmallows under the pan is something else I haven’t tried and will. Maybe if they can’t see it they’ll be more inclined to investigate.

Thanks guys for all the help. These little guys are driving me a little batty right now and costing me money at this point. I’ll keep at it and update everyone.