Yep, you're either screwed or blessed.... every time I trap a coon at our house (I'm really targeting skunks) my daughter makes a big deal about it being Miko (from Pocahontas) and wants to watch me release it. So I don't have as much coon meat as I could.
Are any of those homes around yours vacant or anything? Sounds like there is a den somewhere for sure. Find that den, trap em out until they're gone. Sometimes dens are in abandoned homes...... coons love attics and basements and everything in between if they can find a "den tree" they'll use it forever. Look for coon crap at the base of large wolf trees or means of access too old buildings etc. Set your traps there.
There are some barns about 400 yards away, they don't appear to be in use and there's plenty of junk around over there. The neighbors to the east have all sorts of junk that probably makes great critter homes. All the rest of the houses are occupied and kept in decent order
If they're up a tree or a building out of a dogs way, then yes it'd be fine as long as its legal.
No real dog concerns here, the neighbors that have them happen to have chickens so I'm sure they're fine with my coon war; we could work it out easy anyway. Not sure about legality, or if I'm even supposed to be using a live trap ( lawfully) to be honest.
Oooh, then you gotta check that! Raccoons are considered fur-bearers in MN and have an official trapping and hunting season. The only exception here is if they are causing damage on YOUR property, then you can trap and eliminate them. Then you have to have a trappers license to do the same to others property that gave you wrote permission to trap coons causing damage to only THEIR property.
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DPs are great for cutting down on non targets and setting out a trapline quickly. Just not that great for doing nuisance work.
What sniper said. I may try them out, too. I was also already familiar with live traps so I had a little extra confidence. Thing was more critical before I lost my first two ducks. The new ones aren't out yet, they're still very small.
I'm interested,!
Same
While I agree with SNIPERBBB that the cage traps are best for Nuisance Control, this is mostly because of public perception and safety. No one wants to see the neighbors pets in a foothold of any sort. And the safety of having a critter in a cage so all the neighbors that want to come take a photo op with the local wildlife don't get within the reach of a critter on the chain. But the effectiveness of Dog proof's on coons in a rural area cannot be argued nor can they be topped for the ease of set up. Coons pretty much eat anything. The most important thing is to put traps right on their trail. You really want them to basically run into the set. Sounds like you have been doing a descent job, but if your looking to by more traps, I would really consider purchasing a couple DP's less money invested and can buy 1/2 dozen for the price of 1descent cage trap. Unfortunately you are fighting an uphill battle these days. No one is coon hunting and even less are running traps. A lot of people only do this when prices are high. They forget that if not checked these critters will very quickly become over populated which is when disease becomes an issue. Not to mention the harm Coons and Opossums wreak on the ground nesting birds. I have caught 15 coon in 2 weeks in 3 DP's using a minimal amount of dogfood. I have ran DP's for the last 5 years and can only think of a handful of times that I have had a miss, which usually was the result of a minor mechanical error as opposed to an actual miss. I have been trapping on and off for close to 35 years and also do Nuisance Removal on the side. Also with the DP's in the 5 years that I have been using them I have never caught anything but coons and Opossums. No matter what I wish you the best in your quest for total antihalation of your local bandit population. And most of all have fun doing it!
