How do I get raccoons to stop stealing my strawberries? I saw one sneaking into the back yard and eating the berry right off the plant. Do I have to put up a fence around the garden? I don't want to do that much work. Maybe I should just go buy some strawberries at the market?
Raccoons will keep coming back as long as there is something to eat. To make it raccoon proof you would have to put a fence around and covering all of the plants that you didn't want eaten. 1/4" hardware cloth will keep them out. They can tear through chickenwire if they really want to. If you don't want to go through that much trouble for some strawberries, buy or find someone with a trap. I assume that you do not want to kill or injure the coon, so I would suggest a humane trap with some dog food, marshmallows, eggs, or sardines, tuna, etc. in it. Whatever you've got around the house. Then legally you need to call your local fish and game to come and pick up the animal to release it back in the wild.
Could get a slingshot and some M80s or other large fire works. You don't need to hit him just be close and loud.
Relocating 'coons ain't as easy as you think, once they are habituated to a food source, they tend to find their way back... Fish and game will not help you. If it's not a game animal, its considered a pest, F&G can't/won't do anything. They will refer you to your municipal animal control but you'll find they only deal with domestic animals so you're basically fucked. If there is no chance of trapping other animals (dogs, cats), I would recommend using a 220 conibear kill trap baited with peanut butter, sardines and strawberry jam. You could use a live trap, but Raccoons can be very ferocious creatures if they're cornered or threatened, and they are a major carrier of rabies. I would be very cautious releasing one from a live trap. If you don't have the grit to do it yourself, you will have to locate a licensed "critter gitter" exterminator type person.
They will release them here in IN. But they call a local wildlife rehabber to take them. Or at least they used to. They release them in the state parks. I was afraid to mention killing them, just because I wasn't sure if the OP was willing to go that route. It's definitely the best thing to do if you don't want them returning, and you don't want the animal to be a nuisance to someone else. I second a 220 conibear. We use conibears and live traps here. Conibears kill quickly, and if we catch one in a live trap, it's a shot to the head with the .22.
you could at least TRY to scare it away with a slingshot or fireworks before murdering it. over a couple berries
It was in the local newspaper last year, this couple came home to find a mamma 'coon and one of her kits shredding their 3 cats! Mamma had one pinned to the kitchen floor, one lay mortally wounded yowling in the corner and junior had the other one by the throat near the feeding bowls! Never have a cat-door with coons or skunks around.
We had four cats and cat doors up in Sonoma and the coons would come in and the cats would go up on the counters and the coons would eat and leave. I've put a stop to coon visits with a spray bottle of vinegar. You get them in the nose and their sense of smell is gone for the night. After three nights, no coons.
Haha, bummed them right-the-fuck out!:2thumbsup: Smart cats usually vacate the area when coons are about, but I did hear of one case where the cats were ignoring the coons or just sit and watch them eat all the cat food and leave.
An electric fence might solve the problem. I've seen it work, 2 strands of electric fence wire one at about 6" & another at about 12". Peace, Poor_old_dad
