• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

new to site,feeding birds for years,and recently fighting a racoon (1 Viewer)

newtonc

Active member
Hello all
I just signed on.
I have been feeding birds for some time.Previous home was on an orchard so I fed many pest birds as well(not by choice).
Moved to North Carolina about a year ago.Great deck overlooking creek and wooded track.Great bird local.
Been feeding birds since we got here with great luck.No pest birds.Cardinals,Gold Finches,Woodpeckers and Humming birds.A few others as well but that's about what I'm getting.Deck is about 20 feet off the ground.And the only draw back is the mess the birds leave behind.So I hose it off a lot.
Until recently all was peaceful in our little reserve.
Recently a raccoon has been climbing up the deck and destroying the peace.Eating feeders and whatever is in them.Dumping out the hummingbird feeders.And...last night he STOLE my sunflower feeder!!It was metal about a foot long.Gone.I searched the property,and it is no where to be found.I have seen him and chased him off a few times now.I would shoot him but there are houses behind us!So that's not an option.And my wife would kill me if I awoke the kids(and her) with gunfire at night!!
I have set up a trap that he has been stealing the food from.I enclosed the back of the cage in cynder blocks this morning.So now he won't be able to reach in through the bars and steal it from the back.Now he has to enter from the front and trigger it and hopefully I'll catch him.
So I don't want to take in the feeders everynight.
I just want the peace back.
And putting up with the raccoon in not an option.
One of us is going.
And I'm aware of all the animal trapping and transporting legalities.

But does anyone have any other solutions to this problem??
Any tip would be helpful.
Thanks
Art
 
Last edited:
well i was going to say squirrel proof feeders, or why dont u get one of those hooks that hang the feeder far enough away from the end over the deck (so it overhangs the deck) so that he cant reach? take in ur feeders at night might help too
 
I have had similar problems with raccoons (and bears) climbing up on the deck to raid feeders. An electric fence solved my problems. I simply ran a single wire along the deck perimeter and down each support post. It might seem extreme, but it is much nicer than some of the alternatives.
 
If you are living in a wooded area, raccoons will always be a pesky neighbor. It is now conventional wisdom to leave this raccoon where it is and learn it's habits. If you remove this individual from your home, another one will quickly assume its' place.
I would try the suggestions above and enjoy your new neighbors. I'm also letting you know this is from experience. Once we removed the feral cat population from my workplace, the raccoons immediately settled in and started looking for ways infiltrate our aviaries. We now have reinforced wiring on all vulnerable aviaries and have a cranky resident skunk that patrols the yard at night. The foxes and coyotes are smart enough to stay away from the skunk.
 
I have alot of racoon's myself - I wouldnt get too worked up about the situation - these critters have a right to land and have been here longer than any of us have been. I can understand your frustration as the racky's in my yard have destroyed alot of plants and feeders as well. Managment is the key as it is with squirrels - there are racoon baffles, and that is a good start. Again, I understand your frustration but try not to resort to leathel means. BTW - suet seems a magnet for racoons - I take all of my suet feeder in before nightfall. In addition try to time your feeding so that the birds finnish off the food prior to night time. I hope this helps, and good luck to you.
 
If you are living in a wooded area, raccoons will always be a pesky neighbor. It is now conventional wisdom to leave this raccoon where it is and learn it's habits. If you remove this individual from your home, another one will quickly assume its' place.
I would try the suggestions above and enjoy your new neighbors. I'm also letting you know this is from experience. Once we removed the feral cat population from my workplace, the raccoons immediately settled in and started looking for ways infiltrate our aviaries. We now have reinforced wiring on all vulnerable aviaries and have a cranky resident skunk that patrols the yard at night. The foxes and coyotes are smart enough to stay away from the skunk.

even if ur not in a wooded place raccoons are a huge problem. in cities and suburbs raccoons territories are smaller so theres more of a dense population in one place. i live in a suburb and raccoons and opossums are spotted regularly but i never had any problems...
 
Hello all
I just signed on.
I have been feeding birds for some time.Previous home was on an orchard so I fed many pest birds as well(not by choice).
Moved to North Carolina about a year ago.Great deck overlooking creek and wooded track.Great bird local.
Been feeding birds since we got here with great luck.No pest birds.Cardinals,Gold Finches,Woodpeckers and Humming birds.A few others as well but that's about what I'm getting.Deck is about 20 feet off the ground.And the only draw back is the mess the birds leave behind.So I hose it off a lot.
Until recently all was peaceful in our little reserve.
Recently a raccoon has been climbing up the deck and destroying the peace.Eating feeders and whatever is in them.Dumping out the hummingbird feeders.And...last night he STOLE my sunflower feeder!!It was metal about a foot long.Gone.I searched the property,and it is no where to be found.I have seen him and chased him off a few times now.I would shoot him but there are houses behind us!So that's not an option.And my wife would kill me if I awoke the kids(and her) with gunfire at night!!
I have set up a trap that he has been stealing the food from.I enclosed the back of the cage in cynder blocks this morning.So now he won't be able to reach in through the bars and steal it from the back.Now he has to enter from the front and trigger it and hopefully I'll catch him.
So I don't want to take in the feeders everynight.
I just want the peace back.
And putting up with the raccoon in not an option.
One of us is going.
And I'm aware of all the animal trapping and transporting legalities.

But does anyone have any other solutions to this problem??
Any tip would be helpful.
Thanks
Art
 
Hello, new to the forum, but this I just had to add my $0.02

I just spent the morning securing food from raccoons. That's my approach: secure your supplies (best not to leave outside at all), get galvanized steel cans, then don't put out more than a day's food. I'm fulltime WFH so the feeding location I'm using is right by my workstation so I can see who stops by. Putting out a day's worth of food is no more nuisance than watering the plants weekly.

I only recently started feeding birds, they seem to prefer Ritz crackers over Saltines, hate milo, seed attracts different birds from crackers, mealworms attract different birds from the other two.

Occasionally I will put out a digital camera I can run remotely with a phone and get some shots. I'm picky though and most are junk since the birds are so quick.
 
Hi radix and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here. I hope to hear what you see when out and about and will hopefully see some of your pictures in the Gallery too
 
I feel your pain. Like squirrels, they are relentless. The only effortless (and that’s important to me!) thing I’ve found that works is an electric fencer. Get the smaller, lower energy type to avoid any injury to the animals. There are numerous ways you can route hot and ground wires that won’t effect the birds but will keep all four-legged intruders away. The raccoons learned quickly and we don’t see them much any more. And we get to enjoy watching the squirrels under the feeder, but no longer have any problems. About every 2-3 months I will see one of the squirrels take a refresher course in electricity 101, but they are quickly reminded of their boundaries. And don’t worry about getting shocked when you add feed. After a couple of zaps you will never forget to turn the power off first!
 
Warning! This thread is more than 3 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top