Raccoons

[BruceF]

I just realized that the one thing missing in all the plant debris was the ramshorn snails, perhaps this could be the new solution to snail problems.

I'm thinking the best solution is not to grow anything out there I care about. All spring the plants were shreaded by hail.

The herons around here are even worse than the raccoons on koi. I'll look into the motion sensor.

[Complexity]

I really wanted to put in a pond in my backyard, but I decided it would be impossible to keep stocked with fish. We live right on the outskirts of the neighborhood with a forest right beside us. We have tons of wildlife in our yard all the time. We even had to put in a barricade underground along our entire fence-line to stop the armadillos from getting in and tearing everything up at night. I used to trap them, but stopped around 200 when the city's animal control stopped relocating them for me.

The raccoons out here are very brave. They come up to us at night when we're out by the patio, and they don't scare off easily. We don't have anything they want, but they come anyway. I used to have birdbaths and birdseed, but had to stop that years ago because I could not find a way to make them leave it alone.

I really don't mind the wildlife; in fact, I rather enjoy it. But I would really miss not being able to put in a pond.

I'm really sorry what happened to your plants and all, Bruce. That had to be really disheartening to see.

[jnatelborg54@gmail.com]

Go to Tractor Supply and buy a product called Fly Bait. It will solve your coon problems real quick, but it's a one way ticket, no releasing in this scenario.

[BruceF]

Thanks complexity.
I don't mind really. I put the water out there for the birds. I planted the whole thing with cuttings and extra plants.

[mistergreen]

Originally Posted by jnatelborg54@gmail.com

Go to Tractor Supply and buy a product called Fly Bait. It will solve your coon problems real quick, but it's a one way ticket, no releasing in this scenario.

Poison is not a good idea. It'll wind up in the pond or a pet will get into it.

[DogFish]

If you're live trapping, the recommendation is a min. of 5mi. on the relocate site.

I'm across the street from a channel going into a small lake, I have a marsh 1/2 mile away on one side and an Crop fields (corn, soy, sorghum, winter wheat wheat) on the other side. I've relocated maybe a dozen raccoons and a few 'possums.

A temporary fix is Dog urine, have the dog 'mark' around the pond area. If you don't own a dog, most of us dog owners would be happy to help.
That won't work forever, just until they figure out there's no dog on duty.

Our Raccoon, Possum & Skunk populations are down as we now have too many Coyotes.

[Bushkill]

Originally Posted by DogFish

If you're live trapping, the recommendation is a min. of 5mi. on the relocate site.

I'm across the street from a channel going into a small lake, I have a marsh 1/2 mile away on one side and an Crop fields (corn, soy, sorghum, winter wheat wheat) on the other side. I've relocated maybe a dozen raccoons and a few 'possums.

A temporary fix is Dog urine, have the dog 'mark' around the pond area. If you don't own a dog, most of us dog owners would be happy to help.
That won't work forever, just until they figure out there's no dog on duty.

Our Raccoon, Possum & Skunk populations are down as we now have too many Coyotes.

There's much more wisdom to this than most of us realize. I live in the heart of an oak forest. About 500 feet to the West is a large state forest. About 400 feet to the north a swamp that sits on a private hunting club. That hunting club shares a boundary with Bear Swamp Lodge. Pike County Pa is always in the top 3 counties during Pa. Bear season. Get the picture? In 23 years, we've had exactly 3 bears come within 1/4 mile of the house and two of those showed up the day after we moved in. In the right setting a very intelligent, protective, well-trained dog is a valuable member of the family. Doesn't do much for field mice and chipmunks though.

[BruceF]

Guess who returned last night?

[mistergreen]

Yeah, they'll come back until there isn't anything there anymore. It's part of their territory now.

[finsNfur]

Wow, sorry to hear of everyone's losses. We have raccoons here but they've never gotten into my pond. They go into the garage through the cat door, and rummage through our recycling bin in our back porch, but for some reason don't bother the pond. One night I took our dog out on a leash to do her business before bed, and a raccoon came running around the corner of the house and nearly ran into us. I do have a large net a few inches above the pond, could that deter them?

Herons though, they are a problem. One was visiting the pond yesterday morning and we scared it away. Since I put the net over it they haven't figured out how to get the fish, though.

[allegoriest]

I mostly have a problem with large birds tearing everything up. I made a sort of dome out of chicken wire, and a grill underneath with hardware cloth. Then I have rocks hanging from the dome, holding it down. It looked kinda bleh. Until a nice coral vine grew over the top and made it pretties. I have to make cages for alot of my plants, because squirrels and rats run around or bury things in them and tear up the small ones. Then the dog comes to investigate and by then, everything is torn up. D:

[Diana]

Lets face it: We care enough to bring home a bit of nature, a pond, an aquarium, even making a habitat in the garden for toads and feeding the song birds and humming birds, minimizing sprays to conserve insect populations and using integrated pest management.
This is an open invitation to the rest of nature that we might prefer to keep outside the fence. Raccoons, herons, bears, opossums, skunks and many other less desirable critters are going to try to move in.

A sturdy screen around and over the pond may not look great, but it will protect the fish and plants from these invaders. You can always take it off when you are having a party (unless it becomes a trellis for a vine).

A good dog can help, but mine sleep inside. They will bark if a skunk comes looking for cat food, but the skunk has figured out that there is no cat food after dark. The empty bowls just smell like cat food.

Actually, one of my dogs is quite happy to splash around in the pond, and can do as much damage to the plants as a raccoon. I better keep the wire mesh up.

How about wild turkeys? So far they have not done damage to the pond, just scratched around like giant chickens, and disturbed the mulch. (Careful where you walk!)

[AquariumNoob]

Go to walmart or a sports store, buy a 15$ Little spring airsoft pistol, and scare the crap out of the critters when they try and bug your pond ! Thats what i do with the rats here when my mom bothers me about em. Doesnt kill em, just stings a bit (I know because i airsoft and have been shot a few hundred times. Its got a nice sharp burning feeling to it, especially when your shot from 10' away :Z )

[chubky]

I used to have pond in the front yard with some feeder fish that grew to be about 4-6". Instead of coons going after the fish, we had the neighbors kids throwing rocks at them or trying to steal the fish.

As for coons, we have squirrels running around the gutters so we set up little traps with nuts in them so we can relocate the squirrels. I never knew we had coons in the area until we set those traps! We've caught like 5 or 6 coons in the last 3 months and no squirrels!

If you ever find a way to get rid of the coons, let me know! good luck!

[Meganne]

this works on my pond
http://www.pestproducts.com/alligator_head.htm