Raccoon Killing Time!

[LassChance]

I went on a night bike ride last night and came home at around 1:30.
Went upstairs, fell on my bed and crashed.

At around 3 am my cats are going nuts in front of our bedroom door, which is windowed.
I can see that something tripped my motion sensor floods in the yard...my cats are more than interested in something in front of the door and I can swear I hear something, but I had recently adjusted the air/filtration setup in my planted discus tank...so I mistook one nois for another. Plus I was dog butt tired.

This morning when I opened my bedroom door, the screen door was not only shreded at the bottom, it was bent out as if something was trying to pry its way in.

Like seriously, how insane are these animals?
Do they "Nest" or burrow?
Are there any natural repellents?

...and Hippy, those rasta thongs...Almost dead on. Mine dont have the leaves though, just the colors.

Could have been a possum or a coon. If you have dog food or cat food out, they will try to get in for a snack.

I opened my oven one Thanksgiving morning to put the turkey in...and there was a young possum, living comfy and cozy in the broiler! he even had a little stash of cat food in there with him and was evidently coming and going theu the Kitty Door, LOL. He was maybe two months old, weighed less than my cat.

I threw a towel over him, lifted him out and carefully set him down outside, where he trundled off.

Last year in the dead of night, my dogs went NUTS, barking, growling like crazy. I jumped up and turned on the light. There by the head of the bed was a little dead possum...poor little guy was stiff, his mouth open, his tongue lolling out. His eyes were open and glazed and I could see rows of razor sharp little teeth in his open mouth.

So, I picked up a tee shirt and used it to grab the criitter by his tail, carried him up the stairs and still holding him, rumaged for a garbage bag, found one and shook it open.
I dropped the corpse in and tossed the bag outside the fence, figuring the next day I would dispose of the body.

Only...next morning, the bag was EMPTY.

The little guy was only playing Dead. When I think of what could have happened if he had suddenly decided to "come to life"...I get chills. Imagine those rows of teeth gnawing up my arm!

Lesson learned: When you see a "dead" possum, UNLESS you also see BLOOD, guts and brain fragments...chances are, he aint dead at all.

Lassie

 

[The Effen Gee]

I found a dead baby possum in my yar a week ago. Guess it fell off its mom or something.

It had all the little brown specks on it, so I bent over for a closer inspection...

Fleas. the thing was COVERED in fleas.
I had to burn it before I picked it up and threw it away.

Nasty creatures. There is bounty on the invasive possum in New Zealand, as they have no natural predators and decimate the bird and ancient tree population.

 

[kaotik]

I went on a night bike ride last night and came home at around 1:30.
Went upstairs, fell on my bed and crashed.

At around 3 am my cats are going nuts in front of our bedroom door, which is windowed.
I can see that something tripped my motion sensor floods in the yard...my cats are more than interested in something in front of the door and I can swear I hear something, but I had recently adjusted the air/filtration setup in my planted discus tank...so I mistook one nois for another. Plus I was dog butt tired.

This morning when I opened my bedroom door, the screen door was not only shreded at the bottom, it was bent out as if something was trying to pry its way in.

Like seriously, how insane are these animals?
Do they "Nest" or burrow?
Are there any natural repellents?

ohh, they're comin' for ya, lookin' for revenge.. better sleep with one eye open
natural repellant? got a dog? mine put the run on anything that comes into my yard (i'd hate for them to actually corner a 'coon though, or even a cat.)
there's not really any natural repellant for those buggers though. they can be pretty persistant. (maybe the stuffed raccoon will do, but i'd think it'd probably attract them to it, they're curious.)

i'm with lass to an extent, and undertastand where she's coming from.. i'm a big hippy when it comes to nature.. and i do value animals (usually more than humans in most cases )
i feel that's kind of our purpose here; to protect everything on this planet, as we're the only species here that can (we're doing great at that eh?) but when an animal is not taking heed to the initial warnings (rocks, pellets) it's time to do something.
yes it would've been better to not kill it, but really he didn't have a whole lot of options here.

i don't like shooting animals, and seldom shoot anything i don't plan on eating.. but i think he was justified in shooting this coon, it obviously had no plans on vacating the area.

 

[The Effen Gee]

koi fish or carp...definitely easy to replace.

A beloved pet cat, not so easy. Plus, like mentioned before it's not like there aren't alot of them around.

When I last visited monterey, I saw raccoons that were twice the size of the one in my yard. Grotesquely big. Scary to get near big. Possibly could take you down if mad enough big.

Harmfully big.

 

[ArtVandolay]

"Shooting it is more fun"???
That's truly sickening.
Can somebody explain to me why men love to kill? Is it some leftover Caveman ****? Or some kind of power rush?

Or is it just that men ate basically insensitive arrogant pricks who honestly believe they have some kind of god-given right to take the lives of animals for ANY reason?

What part of "All Life is Sacred" do you guys not get?
Do you have ethics? Respect for the other animals we share this planet with? Evidently, not. Raccoons eat fish. Accept it. That he ate a pricey Koi is not a sin worthy of the death penalty.

You got yer Heroin, Crack and nicotine, but NO chemical is more dangerous that testosterone.

Maybe one of these days I will feel a similar urge to kill something for fun. But IF I do, I'll be blowing the heads off every rifle-happy mutherfucker I see, certainly not raccoons.

LassChance

There's an awful lot of bad language in that thar post . And I don't subscribe to any of your **, especially your "All Life is Sacred" theory. I repeat - a 12 gauge and/or a .22 in the head is an effective solution to a real problem.

 

[LassChance]

He sounds like a good dog.
I have an American Pitt Bull Terrier 3rd generation, he's 121 lbs. and is extremely dominate.
IF my dog caught him it would'nt be pretty.
I guess thats why it only comes at night?

He comes at night because they are nocturnal.

I have a Pit, too. Not as big as yours, but a great dog, best Ive ever had. He's sweet as he can be and loves people. Not crazy about other male dogs, tho... He's not purebred, just a foundling that some cracker threw away and thank god, he found my door, hungry and covered with ticks and fleas. Now he's plump, healthy and gorgeous with the bluest eyes you ever saw.

Dogs are the best people. I had this cracker neighbor who threatened to shoot him if he saw my dog on his property. I said, "Let's not get to shooting each other's families, pal. You wont like it."
If he hurt my dog...Id blow a hole the size of a football thru that SOB. Thank god, he moved last year.

Lassie

 

[BBFan]

i feel that's kind of our purpose here; to protect everything on this planet, as we're the only species here that can (we're doing great at that eh?)

I'm sorry Kaotic but I'm going to disagree there. What gives us the right to alter or change the natural course of things. We have no clue how to do it and shouldn't try. Look at how we screwed up Yellowstone (removal of predators, etc). We cannot protect that which we have no clue of how to protect.

Lassie- Dogs are the best people? That why you have that name?

 

[cubby]

"Shooting it is more fun"???
That's truly sickening.
Can somebody explain to me why men love to kill? Is it some leftover Caveman ****? Or some kind of power rush?

Or is it just that men ate basically insensitive arrogant pricks who honestly believe they have some kind of god-given right to take the lives of animals for ANY reason?

What part of "All Life is Sacred" do you guys not get?
Do you have ethics? Respect for the other animals we share this planet with? Evidently, not. Raccoons eat fish. Accept it. That he ate a pricey Koi is not a sin worthy of the death penalty.

You got yer Heroin, Crack and nicotine, but NO chemical is more dangerous that testosterone.

Maybe one of these days I will feel a similar urge to kill something for fun. But IF I do, I'll be blowing the heads off every rifle-happy mutherfucker I see, certainly not raccoons.

LassChance

Someones got her knickers in a knot. Wheather or not you like it killing is the most prevalent means to an end in nuture. All predators kill for food, territorie, mates, and the protection of thier own.
All life is sacred, since when? Grow up, it's not a cumbyah world, never has been, never will be.
Additionaly, nowhere in this thread has anyone promoted the idea of killing raccoons or anything else purely for "fun".
And your harrang against men in general would seem to indicate maybe you need something...........:hubba:

 

[tcbud]

He comes at night because they are nocturnal.

I have a Pit, too. Not as big as yours, but a great dog, best Ive ever had. He's sweet as he can be and loves people. Not crazy about other male dogs, tho... He's not purebred, just a foundling that some cracker threw away and thank god, he found my door, hungry and covered with ticks and fleas. Now he's plump, healthy and gorgeous with the bluest eyes you ever saw.

Dogs are the best people. I had this cracker neighbor who threatened to shoot him if he saw my dog on his property. I said, "Let's not get to shooting each other's families, pal. You wont like it."
If he hurt my dog...Id blow a hole the size of a football thru that SOB. Thank god, he moved last year.

Lassie

I take exception to ALL of the above, cept the part about blue eyes. I am sure that calling someone a Cracker is bout as bad as using the dreaded N word. I on the other hand, have two dogs that I personally would love to put a rifle site to. They belong to the nice neighbor. I have told them the doggie po po is not my cup a tea or I would have one of my own. I have told them I dont enjoy seeing the Deer being run by my window by their sweet "family members". She says she keeps the dogs to scare bears, and when a bear comes by she calls on my husband to come shoo it out of her driveway. Where it was sitting eating afore mentioned dog food (bait?). I dont mind coons (not to be confused with the N word variety), and I sho do like a good Cracker with my tomato soup (not to be confused with the type of Neighbor you, Lass have), but as funny as this thread is, I'd hate to see it be closed due to biggitry (and I dont even know how to spell it). I AM mightily offended by it in any form.

(in edit) Now who has their panties in a bunch? Guess that dog thing hit a nerve. I wrote out a bunch on fleas and ticks having rights too, this bongin in the afternoon is dangerous stuff. And well, I prolly need a dose of that "something" cubby was talkin about too.

 

[Hick]

..ain't it funny how when "some" are faced with a valid question or asked for an explanation, that they simply do not have a sensible answer, or a shred of evidence to support it, they immediately attack with racial slurs, name calling and foul language?.. :rofl:..
I find it true all too often with the liberal treehugger, PETA, Sierra club, ELF, ALF, WPA, WSPA, types.
They defend their position with nothing but emotion. You simply cannot argue emotion with common sense OR facts.

 

[cubby]

I take exception to ALL of the above, cept the part about blue eyes. I am sure that calling someone a Cracker is bout as bad as using the dreaded N word. I on the other hand, have two dogs that I personally would love to put a rifle site to. They belong to the nice neighbor. I have told them the doggie po po is not my cup a tea or I would have one of my own. I have told them I dont enjoy seeing the Deer being run by my window by their sweet "family members". She says she keeps the dogs to scare bears, and when a bear comes by she calls on my husband to come shoo it out of her driveway. Where it was sitting eating afore mentioned dog food (bait?). I dont mind coons (not to be confused with the N word variety), and I sho do like a good Cracker with my tomato soup (not to be confused with the type of Neighbor you, Lass have), but as funny as this thread is, I'd hate to see it be closed due to biggitry (and I dont even know how to spell it). I AM mightily offended by it in any form.

(in edit) Now who has their panties in a bunch? Guess that dog thing hit a nerve. I wrote out a bunch on fleas and ticks having rights too, this bongin in the afternoon is dangerous stuff. And well, I prolly need a dose of that "something" cubby was talkin about too.

I have been a dog owner my whole life, and have always provided them a fenced in yard to play in. My dogs are my responsability, not my niehbors. My dogs have always been properly trained and socialised. They don't bark without reason, when i hear my dog bark I go and find out why. I would no more alow my dog to relieve himself in a niehbors yard than I would put up with my niehbors dog doing it in my yard. I am to the bone a dog person but if my niehbors dog routinely came on my property they'd hear about it. If it continued I'd call animal control. If it continued after that then I would just have to assume the owners didd'nt want the dog anymore and would be forced to erradicate the problem. If I could catch it I'd drive it to a dog pound far away, If it was an agressive dog, well thats what Winchesters were invented for.
The idea that someone works hard to provide a home and property for their family but must contend with uninvited and unwanted intruders is just rediculous. A mans (or womans) home is his/her castle, and should be respected as such.
But what do I know, in the eyes of less resonable/ reponsible people I might be considdered a Cracker.......hopefully a ritz, not a plain old saltine.....have a heart.

 

[Hick]

I take exception to ALL of the above, cept the part about blue eyes. I am sure that calling someone a Cracker is bout as bad as using the dreaded N word. I on the other hand, have two dogs that I personally would love to put a rifle site to. They belong to the nice neighbor. I have told them the doggie po po is not my cup a tea or I would have one of my own. I have told them I dont enjoy seeing the Deer being run by my window by their sweet "family members". She says she keeps the dogs to scare bears, and when a bear comes by she calls on my husband to come shoo it out of her driveway. Where it was sitting eating afore mentioned dog food (bait?). I dont mind coons (not to be confused with the N word variety), and I sho do like a good Cracker with my tomato soup (not to be confused with the type of Neighbor you, Lass have), but as funny as this thread is, I'd hate to see it be closed due to biggitry (and I dont even know how to spell it). I AM mightily offended by it in any form.

(in edit) Now who has their panties in a bunch? Guess that dog thing hit a nerve. I wrote out a bunch on fleas and ticks having rights too, this bongin in the afternoon is dangerous stuff. And well, I prolly need a dose of that "something" cubby was talkin about too.

You know what I found quite effective on neighborhood mongrels running my property, was a painball gun!...
Send a big black rotty home with a bright pink paintball shot on him, it serves a dual purpose. Not only does the dog get a good lesson, it conveys a significant warning "message" to their owner..
And I like your idea of including ticks, fleas, mites, cockroaches, ect. in the "all life is sacred" theory.. "even" the ones carrying the Bubonic plague, rabies, west nile, ect. ect. ect.

 

[PencilHead]

Well, I'll admit: I'm a cracker--several ways.

Gee, this is all I gotta say and the Talking Heads said it best. Did I already mention .22 shorts? High Standard Sport King if you can find one.

Im mad...and thats a fact
I found out...animals dont help
Animal think...theyre pretty smart
**** on the ground...see in the dark.

They wander around like a crazy dog
Make a mistake in the parking lot
Always bumping into things
Always let you down down down down.

Theyre never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
Theyre never there when you need them
The nevere come when you call them down down down down.

I know the animals...are laughing at us
They dont even know...what a joke is
I wont follow...animals advice
I dont care...if theyre laughing at us.

Theyre never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
Theyre never there when you need them
The nevere come when you call them down down down down.

They say they dont need money
Theyre lvinign on nuts and berries
They say animals dont worry
You know animals are hairy?
They think they know whats best
Theyre making a fool of us
They ought to be more careful
Theyre setting a bad example
They have untroubled lives
They think everythings nice
They like to laugh at people
Theyre setting a bad example
(go ahead) laugh at me.

 

[cubby]

You know what I found quite effective on neighborhood mongrels running my property, was a painball gun!...
Send a big black rotty home with a bright pink paintball shot on him, it serves a dual purpose. Not only does the dog get a good lesson, it conveys a significant warning "message" to their owner..
And I like your idea of including ticks, fleas, mites, cockroaches, ect. in the "all life is sacred" theory.. "even" the ones carrying the Bubonic plague, rabies, west nile, ect. ect. ect.

I love that paintball idea, I can slip that in nicely between the dogpuond and the winchester. If fluffy comes home with a bright red spot on the back of his head they certainly can't say they were'nt warned.
I wonder if her theory of "all life is sacred" applies to bugs eating her grow? Doubt it. Selective objectivity must be great. As far as the vulgarity, it's a sure sign of a weak mind and weaker argument.

 

[AcesUp]

He comes at night because they are nocturnal.

I have a Pit, too. Not as big as yours, but a great dog, best Ive ever had. He's sweet as he can be and loves people. Not crazy about other male dogs, tho... He's not purebred, just a foundling that some cracker threw away and thank god, he found my door, hungry and covered with ticks and fleas. Now he's plump, healthy and gorgeous with the bluest eyes you ever saw.

Dogs are the best people. I had this cracker neighbor who threatened to shoot him if he saw my dog on his property. I said, "Let's not get to shooting each other's families, pal. You wont like it."
If he hurt my dog...Id blow a hole the size of a football thru that SOB. Thank god, he moved last year.

Lassie

Nice statement after you just bashed everyone that likes hunting. Get real.

 

[dr pyro]

you didnt cry when you put that bird in the oven thanksgiving morning did ya.i ahad to shot 2 out of 3 of my neighbors pits came in my yard mauled my pit. neighbor was warned 6 months later made another attempt threw my gate got threw and went to maul my dog again. 2 shots from my 12 gauge 2 dogs never went home that day. neighbor came over crying threating me and my family( she was arrested 3 times before she got the hint). she was warned to many times. she was another peta treehugger who was a complete idiot one thing they all have in common

 

[mrkingford]

I also was offended by "cracker".
If the reverse word was used, a ban would have been in order.
Kinda shows the current state of American racism, one sided.
I am shocked a mod did'nt block the word or edit it or comment about it.
But it's none of my business.

Everyone loves their dogs, i hope.
Mine is trained very well.
I have had him sine he was 6 weeks old.
He does'nt bark or growl, but he will defend with passion.
He, like another posters dog hates other dogs but is a people "dog".
He has more friends than i do.
Sometimes when he's out back and looks into the woods and just takes his stance and it's a sight to see, lol. He knows something is there, but i wont allow him to chase it. He listens to my commands.

I love wildlife and even have 2 owls in the woods and they hoot between 3-5am, i don't know why, but like clockwork, 3-5am.
One calls to the other, and back and forth for hours.

I just don't like my trash cans knocked over and the nasty mess left, is it too much to ask for some basic respect?

After all i do pay the mortgage. I make the rules. Period.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

You know what I found quite effective on neighborhood mongrels running my property, was a painball gun!...
Send a big black rotty home with a bright pink paintball shot on him, it serves a dual purpose. Not only does the dog get a good lesson, it conveys a significant warning "message" to their owner..
And I like your idea of including ticks, fleas, mites, cockroaches, ect. in the "all life is sacred" theory.. "even" the ones carrying the Bubonic plague, rabies, west nile, ect. ect. ect.

I love the paintball idea... It reminds me of a comedian who had a routine that said we should have stick on darts that we can shoot at cars when the driver does something stupid, unsafe, illegal while behind the wheel. When a cop sees your car with X amount of darts on your car he has to pull you over and give you a ticket.

When I lived out in Cali my buddy found a very annoyed mother and 7 baby possums when he opened his dryer. Evidently mama possum had brought the babies in through the ventilation duct. He had a neighbor who worked at the local animal shelter and he came over and removed them. I don't think I'd want to grab a mother possum protecting her young... And any other solution could get very messy.

 

[mrkingford]

you didnt cry when you put that bird in the oven thanksgiving morning did ya.i ahad to shot 2 out of 3 of my neighbors pits came in my yard mauled my pit. neighbor was warned 6 months later made another attempt threw my gate got threw and went to maul my dog again. 2 shots from my 12 gauge 2 dogs never went home that day. neighbor came over crying threating me and my family( she was arrested 3 times before she got the hint). she was warned to many times. she was another peta treehugger who was a complete idiot one thing they all have in common

Before i got him i did a lot of research on bloodlines and such.
He is a 3rd generation and both his parents and 1 of his grandparents are champions, thus a strong bloodline.
He was $1600.00 when i got him, and worth every penny.

A true Pitt has "gameness" (look it up), it means the willingness to fight to the death without retreat despite any pain.
The more gameness the better the bloodline.
Pitts were bread in the 1800's to fight bulls and bears.
They were bread to ignore pain as they have an 18 times higher tollerance than the next dog.
So, if my pitt was attacked by 3 dogs, he would stand there til he died from blood loss or til he killed every dog.

When he was 3 (he is 7 1/2 now ) i took him to a public park.
He was on the leash and before i knew it 2 dogs, a mastiff about 140 lbs. and a dobermin pincher about 120 lbs. OFF their leashes.
My dog at the time was only about 110 lbs. but in his prime.
He was hit before i let go of the leash, now some people say you can break up a dog fight, ahh, nope.
I just let go of the leash and watched, what could i do ?
The other dogs owners ran over but it too late to stop it, my pitt's ear was bitten badly and bleeding a lot but he stood firm and got hold of the dobermins front paw/leg and bite it and broke it, the pincher yelped and hobbled off to its owners and the 2 went to town for about 2-4 minutes ( trust me its a LONG time ) and my dog finnally got hold of the mastiffs huge neck and put him down.
We all went over and i used my shoe on his bottom jaw and pulled up with the leash in his top )roof of his mouth) til we could get his neck out.

Blood was everywhere on every dog, park rangers there, women crying, etc.
Bottom line the other people were wrong and got 2 tickets for dogs off leash and offered to pay my vet bill, but after seeing their dogs, i really, really felt bad.
That was the only time he ever attacked!
Now i KNOW i can trust him as my familys protector.
( his ear took 14 stiches and still has the scar )

 

[dr pyro]

well he never backed down i actully had to jump in i got bit my stupidity even after i broke it off he wanted more he was actually going to go back for more after i had locked the gate he just looked at me then collasped. he lost alot of blood he got likeover 100 stiches on his legs and his ears where completly ripped off. after that i had lost it.seeing him like that and the irresponsible owner just letting her dogs do whatever they want.its was hard to watch anything like that i do not wish to ever see that ever again