Raccoons

[knightrider922]

Pretty sure I have a raccoon that’s discovered my trash can of feed. I’ve come into the barn in the mornings and found the lid off. At first I thought I did it but pretty sure I have a visitor. Last night I put a bungee on the lid and still found lid on the ground but bungee still attached. I made it tighter tonight but heard whatever it was in the barn when I let the dogs out. Was too chicken to mess with it.

how do I get rid of it? Tack room door is not flush to the ground. Do I need to bring the grain in my house for awhile?

[Bluey]

Trap and “dispose of properly”.

Once some coons have their sights on your place, you are lost, they don’t discourage from their fun and games.

We had them tear the door to the tack room to get in there, then when they could not the second, stronger door, they made a hole in the wall by it.

Another group of those made a hole in the roof to get in there.

Once we had a whole herd partying on the house roof most nights, ended up trapping 11 of them that time.
They could have caused a fire, they were shimmying up the conduit and overhead wires to get up there.
A wonder none of them was eletrocuted.

When we were one winter tearing down our old race horse training barn the termites had been eating clear to the rafters, we dug out the biggest, fattest coon you ever saw in your life.
He half woke up and wobbled into the woods, grumbling about such rude neighbors disturbing his sleep.
Somehow he got into the insulation on the ceiling in the bunk room and was happily hybernating there.

We have plenty more coon stories, none of them good ones for us, the coons and the serious destruction they cause.

We have our current feed room in the house, in a spare room behind the garage, not in our barn.
We don’t want to attract any wildlife in there we can keep out.

In our new barn, the feedroom there is a designated critter proof room.

You can try moving your grain somewhere safe, lesson learned and hope that one coon will get discouraged and move on and that would be lucky for you and the coon.

I am surprised you didn’t mention he trashed the feed room.
Ours have always left impressive destruction behind them, the “no unturned bucket is a good bucket” kind, shelves cleaned out, everything on the floor and thoroughly shredded into.

Depending on where you are, you could contact your game warden.
Here you do that thru the sheriff’s office.
He will tell you what all is best for wildlife in your area.
They have seen it all and can advise what the laws are in your area and who can help you if you need to trap and take care of any wildlife.

[clanter]

if its a metal trash can hook a fence charger to it… set the can on an insulating surface wet the ground around it it pretty good then … one touch usually ends any investigation by all

[Mango20]

I have raccoon trouble off an on. They come in for the cat food, which I try not to leave out at night. However, if no cat food is available, they ransack the place, like Bluey said. I’m not sure which is worse. The only feed can they’ve bothered so far is the Legends Omega Plus, and just the other night they actually ripped the plastic lid of the plastic trash can in half!

I haven’t caught my current visitor yet, but if you are looking for something to catch a raccoon but not a barn cat, they can’t resist a jelly sandwich.

[knightrider922]

Well he didn’t trash the feed room but did go rummaging through a box of tools and stuff. Found things everywhere. Put a trail camera in their tonight to make sure it’s a raccoon. Whatever it was left two big piles of poop on a counter. Looked like dog poop. He seems to come out around ten pm. Lately I’ve been putting the dogs out a little later and they’ve run something off. Assuming it’s the Coon. I think I may have to move the cans inside for awhile. This is annoying. Also annoying that I think he’s getting closer to the house at night. Last night I heard him moving the trash can but it was secure.

He’s a menace!

[imaginique]

Raccoon urine and feces can be deadly to horses! Make sure you discourage him asap. I’ve had a couple in my barn but they were after the cat/dog food and didn’t bother the horse feed. Thankfully, they didn’t trash the place, although one had a habit of peeing in the cat’s food pan after it cleaned it out. Disgusting critters. I trapped them–one each spring for a couple years. Haven’t had any problems since a neighbor has been shooting them on his property.

[Mallard]

Raccoons!
YUK!
Horrid little creatures.
We trap. And we do not relocate them.

[Djones]

Feed needs to be in a varmint proof container. The first is never the last.

[longlanefarm]

Ugh! I can understand. Twice now, I’ve found an opossum in my barn. He was after the barn kitties food though, not the horse feed which I store in aluminum trash cans (luckily no problem with them yet). I started putting the cat food away at night and hope that he realizes there isn’t food around and moves on.
Ugly things! And I worry about the feces around my horses…

[Sandysmom]

@imaginique

Raccoon urine and feces can be deadly to horses! Make sure you discourage him asap. I’ve had a couple in my barn but they were after the cat/dog food and didn’t bother the horse feed. Thankfully, they didn’t trash the place, although one had a habit of peeing in the cat’s food pan after it cleaned it out. Disgusting critters. I trapped them–one each spring for a couple years. Haven’t had any problems since a neighbor has been shooting them on his property.

If that was the case, all my horses would be pushing up daisies. They live out 24/7 and we have plenty of raccoons, possums, skunks, etc. Remove the food source and they will move on.

[BeeHoney]

Raccoons are incredibly persistent and can do a lot of damage, aside from making a mess and eating all your cat food. They can spread diseases like rabies and leptospirosis and they are a carrier for EPM.

Personally, I think it might be overly optimistic to think that they will “move on.” IME, they will up their game to get what they want. Either decide to live with them, or trap them and dispose of them. Many people like to relocate trapped animals, but I have been told that is illegal and risks spreading diseases among wildlife. Plus, I’m pretty sure no other property owner wants to deal with your unwanted pests. Usually at least one person chimes in on these threads with horror at the idea of killing an animal even if it is causing destruction. That’s really up to you–how much are you willing to put up with?

Another option is to own a dog that will make your property a very unpleasant place for raccoons. There are many such dogs to be had, including through rescue organizations.

[IrishBirdcatcher]

@knightrider922

Well he didn’t trash the feed room but did go rummaging through a box of tools and stuff. Found things everywhere. Put a trail camera in their tonight to make sure it’s a raccoon. Whatever it was left two big piles of poop on a counter. Looked like dog poop. He seems to come out around ten pm. Lately I’ve been putting the dogs out a little later and they’ve run something off. Assuming it’s the Coon. I think I may have to move the cans inside for awhile. This is annoying. Also annoying that I think he’s getting closer to the house at night. Last night I heard him moving the trash can but it was secure.

He’s a menace!

Raccoons have trashed some of the tack rooms at my barn before if there was any cat food to be had. They don’t seem as interested when people leave horse cookies around or at getting into ration balancers or supplements. The counter part sounds like raccoons but I initially wondered if you lived around black bears- they will rummage in garages for pet food and trash and are just as clever about getting into containers.

ps, for those who like Canadian cartoons, apropos to your problem: https://youtu.be/hOiorw64suA

[Sannois]

@Mallard

Raccoons!
YUK!
Horrid little creatures.
We trap. And we do not relocate them.

Relocating is illegal in many states, and is actually more cruel than just killing them. They are very territorial and one dumped in anothers territory will likely be killed.
They are nuisance pests and legal to kill without a licence in Michigan.