My poor husband. I have to share what happened to him yesterday.
So we lost a chicken to a predator during the day over the weekend, we guessed it was a raccoon and we put out a trap.
Yesterday we caught a young raccoon in the trap. We debated what to do with it, we decided to just let it go a few miles away instead of killing it.
The thing was VICIOUS. So he took some bear spray with him in the car just in case he would need it when he let the raccoon go.
As he was driving to the release point, he heard a noise. He looked in his rear view mirror and the raccoon popped up his head right next to his from behind the drivers seat. The racoon had escaped the trap and was running loose frenetically around the car!
So he sprays the raccoon *in a closed car* with the bear spray while driving.🤣😂 The thing ran across the dashboard, over seats, over my husband - going nuts running all around the car (MY car), my husband keeps spraying it and managed to open the windows.
By this time he'd slowed down the car to a crawl. My husband couldn’t see or breathe because of the bear spray, the raccoon jumped out the window, my husband pulls over to the side of the road, gets out of the car, gasping for breath.
I can only imagine what drivers behind him were thinking seeing the erratic driving and then watching a raccoon jump out the window!😂
After about a minute catching his breath by the side of the road, he has searing pain in both legs. He looks down, his legs are covered in fire ants. He’d been standing on an ant hill.😂🤣
Anyhow, I have pepper spray all over my car now. EVERYWHERE. It smells like musky wild animal and pepper.
There's a photograph of the interior of the car at the link.
I suspect the next raccoon they trap is going to be speedily and efficiently euthanized. Anyone suggesting it be put in the car and taken to a release point is probably going to be bear-sprayed until they scream for mercy!
Peter
I always relocate the raccoons I trap - to trash panda heaven.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised to hear of the animal escaping their confinement. Clever little guys who can manipulate controls to free themselves. I'm surprised that a car accident was not a result here.
ReplyDeleteLesson learned - raccoons make bad driving companions.
My wife wanted a backyard pond. So I dug a pond and landscaped with boulders and plants, rushes and reeds, and lily pads. It looked great.
ReplyDeleteSome live goldfish left over from the church harvest party went into the pond. They had broods. Which had herds, and flocks. Quite soon, a school of literally several hundred swam merrily in our little pond. Didja know that goldfish don't stop growing? They turn into multi- colored koi, I guess. Quite large too.
The racoons and deer discovered our pond. Egrets too.
Now, every night the trash pandas had a party. Their gatherings increasingly grew larger and more racacous. My wife protested my want to dispatch a few.
Then that one night. Loud noises, mischief keeping us awake. Louder than ever. I turn on the back lights and count over 200 raccoons. Its an entire village. I call to wife come see. She's horrified.
I shoot one right in the eye. I saw the impact. Right in his eye Do you know he just looked at me. He squinted that one good eye and stared me down. Then, and I am totally not making this up, he raised his paw and stuck out one little finger at me. He flipped me off! He actually gave me the bird then went right on doing what he was doing before I intruded.
So began the War of '05. I won eventually. I think.
Someone did not have a good day.
ReplyDeleteI suggest you re-title this as a Doofus of the Day.
ReplyDeleteThe trick is to carry it out to the 'back 40' before introducing the little menace to a 357, then dumping the remains for nature to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI have found that a 22 is a little light for coon unless everything is perfect (which it never is).
People in town trap critters and then bring them out and release them at my farm where they cause me trouble. So I trap them and take them back to town and release them and they go right back to where they came from.---ken
ReplyDeleteI needed a good laugh. A trapped coon gets a 357 bullet here.
ReplyDeleteMy rule with coons that get too close is if they run when I shoo them we get along just fine. If they stand their ground then it is on. A .22 is a little light but my .40 S&W seems to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteFinding a skunk in your live-trap is also an adventure! This often happens in rural areas.
ReplyDeleteIf there are no pets in the area, a big coon population is best dealt with by placing a deep pan of 50/50 antifreeze and coca-cola for them to drink. They'll all be dead in the morning, not far from the dish. Sorry if this is shocking to some. I'm results oriented.
When my house was attacked by raccoons, I tried poisoning them. One raccoon ate a can of cat food full of mole poison. He wandered around the yard like a drunk for two days and then stopped, pooped, and went away perfectly happy.
DeleteI discovered, much to my enjoyment, that raccoons are subject to heavy metal poisoning. Delivery method was a Remington 511 single shot rifle (I didn't have better, now that's fixed.)
Since most of these animals are territorial, relocating them is really just a delayed death sentence of either it or the ones whose territory you relocated it to. It's a lot easier and arguably more humane just just shoot them on the spot.
ReplyDeleteOver 2 seasons we trapped and drowned 17 skunks that had found out how to get underneath the mobile home we now live in. As former city people, we felt sorry for them at first. We grew out of that quickly. The Utah Dept of Wildlife loaned us the traps for a $50 deposit. The house is now surrounded by a rock garden.
ReplyDeleteRaccoons, ground squirrels, (dumped) stray cats, gophers... ALL on my $h!t list. I don't believe in "humane" catch and release. All this does is make YOUR problem SOMEONE ELSE'S problem. You know, like the dumped stray cats. If gunfire serves as a "sheriff attractant," fill a trashcan with water. Submerge the occupied live-catch trap in the water. End of problem. Silent. Does the job. Saves ammo. In my case, the carcasses end up in the orange grove across the road, where they're invariably picked up by coyotes and vultures. Otherwise, they get a "feedbag funeral..." ...Leaving the carcass on your property, buried or not, will attract the coyotes to your property, where they'll discover the chickens...
ReplyDeleteOof, not good. A .22 takes care of that problem 'quicker'...
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, the hippie-dippies next door were feeding the trash pandas. Then went on extended vacation.
ReplyDeleteThen they discovered that my house smelled like food and tried eating their way into the house.
First physical confrontation was one who broke into the screen room. Knocked him down into the pool using a pole, held him under water for 5 minutes, his supposedly lifeless body floated up, it came alive and I started whacking it with the pole, ripping out chunks of fur and flesh. Little bastard screaming all the time. He finally ran.
Oh, it was on like Donkey Kong. Me with my single-shot Rem 511 rifle and a box of .22 shorts (trying not to annoy the neighbors) and I went all Natty Bumpo on the tribe for the summer. First thing in the morning before going to work, first thing when coming home, all weekend long, running and gunning.
Final Raccoon Boss was the zombie pool coon from before. Took 20 shots to finally deanimate the little bastard.
Needless to say, I upgunned when I got the chance. 12g Slugs might work...
From the Texas Parks & Wildlife website:
ReplyDelete"It is a Class C misdemeanor to transport or sell live foxes, coyotes and raccoons from, to, or within this state. For additional information, please contact the Zoonosis Control Division of the Texas Department of Health at (512) 458-7255."
dispatch in the trap next time
ReplyDelete