Raccoons eating my corn-where are you experts

[catjac1975]

I have a large havaheart trap.Trap seems to trip easily in testing. I rarely need it but the raccoons are stealing my corn like crazy. Caught 1 large raccoon with meatballs. The last 5 nights, bait gone, no pest, trap open. Last night, meatballs gone, trap sprung, no raccoon. I can only imagine the raccoon ate the bait, and the trap sprung when it was half way out and he escaped. He must be huge....or interdimensional. Can they be that smart to avoid tripping the plate?

 

[meadow]

He may be reaching in from outside of the cage. Do you have some way of arranging the bait so that it can only be accessed from the trip-plate side?

Yup. Here's a video of a raccoon doing just that...

 

[seedcorn]

Use a radio that has talk radio all night. Plus have dogs and people pee by corn.
Or poison them

 

[majorcatfish]

in my previous encounters with corn thefts aka Ricky the raccoon a can of wet cat food wired to the back of the trap works great. have 4 have a heart traps that are showing their age<rust> a couple drops of olive oil at all the trip points works wonders. of course set the trip levers barely touching each other...

this year it was squirrels, used the same traps but wired a nice sweet ear of corn hanging above just past the trip pan, so they had to put pressure on it.....had to make the it a hair trigger..

took them over to the city park and let them go...

by the way a couple game cameras will tell who or what is raiding the patch...

 

[catjac1975]

He may be reaching in from outside of the cage. Do you have some way of arranging the bait so that it can only be accessed from the trip-plate side?

Yup. Here's a video of a raccoon doing just that...

It Is their biggest trap with one door-too big for that. The bait goes next to the closed end.

 

[catjac1975]

It Is their biggest trap with one door-too big for that. The bait goes next to the closed end.

Mt trap is much bigger than this.

 

[meadow]

Is the closed end made of wire mesh like their smaller models?

Because raccoons are really good at using their front feet, just like human hands. Like the one in the video, they can reach right through the wire mesh and grab whatever is there.

 

[Alasgun]

Remember; Raccoons are a good fit in chili!
Sounds like you got the makings for a fine feed, Coon chili, rosen-ears and corn bread!

You got any watermelons to go with that? Sorry for the distraction.

 

[meadow]

Another thought...

Maybe attach the bait to something, or place it within something (a cage of some sort?) so that the little rascal really has to commit to getting at it. I think if the door shuts completely, then there would be no way he could get out. Of course I could be wrong. That one in the video managed to open a garage door!

Best of luck. I hope you get him!

 

[meadow]

Remember; Raccoons are a good fit in chili!
Sounds like you got the makings for a fine feed, Coon chili, rosen-ears and corn bread!

...corn-fed raccoon at that!