You guys think you have raccoon problems! Most nights, a raccoon or
sometimes two comes to eat leftover cat and dog food. As for my 8 ponds
(yes, 8), they, as far as I know, have not gotten any fish in 6 years (my
secret? Cliffs, lots of plants, who knows) but do sometimes leave snails
around the edge (not eaten but dead! At least eat them dudes!), toss
duckweed around, put dirt in the cat's water bowl (with duckweed topping),
and make some mess. I've never actually seen them in a pond but have
found a few pots (not a lot) knocked over. Anyway, a few nights ago, I
went to dump the excess hedgehog (yes, hedgehog) food outside for Cooney
but she brought along 4 buddies! They were full grown but young so I'm
guessing, since raccoons are generally solitary, that these were her
babies. They were so cute! When I went out, you should have seen their
faces. I don't think they'd ever seen a human before! They were
surprised and curious and then ran off. Now we'll have five of them
getting in trouble. While the fish are probably safe, they do love to
break every single bird feeder I put up! The love hummingbird sugar water
too and like to empty it out. What feeders they don't finish off, the
squirrels do.


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Chemist, preservationist, animal lover, aquarist, and ponder. -
Extensive web pages on animals, fish, and ponds. -
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ww ooo ooo ww

Goodness gracious!
An invasion!


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

Had a small yard at the last house. I built a modest pond and made
all of the usual mistakes. Too many Koi in too small a pond. Too
shallow, maybe 30" max. Each morning I would come out to find the
pond just trashed by Racoons. I knew I had a least two around from
seeing/hearing them over the years.

I tried lots of nutty stuff to keep them away, AM radio, scarecrow,
motion lights, urine (I won't mention the specie). Finally I
surrounded the pond with a low voltage fence and that kept them away.

One night I awake around 3 am and head downstairs for an ice cream
raid when I see 'em. 4 Racoons lined up looking over at the pond, two
of them up on hind legs. I look over at the pond and see another one
slinking up towards it. He smacks the fence, lets out a screach and
runs back. The other 4 just shrug and go about their business in the
rest of the yard. It was as if the poor ******* drew the short straw
and they sent him over to check the fence. It was a riot! I imagine
they just rotated through each night.

ESPMER (K30a) wrote in message ...
Goodness gracious!
An invasion!


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

When I was getting my pond ready in spring at least five pots were
dumped off the shelf to the bottom. In June I was wondering why I
wasn't getting many strawberries. Well later my dogs cornered a baby
in the patch and the next day two more. Then I spent thirty dollars on
mothballs. A week or two ago a pot was knocked over. Every so often I
find scat in the yard. And I was thinking I weas racoon free. I only
have bird seed around but no dog foo. Happy water gardening.

That is the funniest story I've heard in awhile. I could just picture it, no
you go , no you go! Kc
"Kevin Carbis" wrote in message
om...
Had a small yard at the last house. I built a modest pond and made
all of the usual mistakes. Too many Koi in too small a pond. Too
shallow, maybe 30" max. Each morning I would come out to find the
pond just trashed by Racoons. I knew I had a least two around from
seeing/hearing them over the years.

I tried lots of nutty stuff to keep them away, AM radio, scarecrow,
motion lights, urine (I won't mention the specie). Finally I
surrounded the pond with a low voltage fence and that kept them away.

One night I awake around 3 am and head downstairs for an ice cream
raid when I see 'em. 4 Racoons lined up looking over at the pond, two
of them up on hind legs. I look over at the pond and see another one
slinking up towards it. He smacks the fence, lets out a screach and
runs back. The other 4 just shrug and go about their business in the
rest of the yard. It was as if the poor ******* drew the short straw
and they sent him over to check the fence. It was a riot! I imagine
they just rotated through each night.

Those electric fences have sweet revenge built right into them!


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

(Barbara2245) wrote in
m:

ESPMER (K30a) wrote in message
...
Goodness gracious!
An invasion!


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

Every so often I find scat in the yard.


Be very careful when dealing with raccoon poo, it can contain a very very
nasty round worm (or the eggs thereof) that can kill you, not only can
the eggs transfer the parasite but they can apparently act as a host for
rabies. Gloves and a mask are being recommended by the local health dept.
they were also making some recommendations on how to dispose to the poo,
as the eggs can last several years, I cannot remember what they said but
I will try and dig it out and post later.

Axolotl wrote in
. 130:

(Barbara2245) wrote in
m:

ESPMER (K30a) wrote in message
...
Goodness gracious!
An invasion!


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

Every so often I find scat in the yard.

last sentence of my post should have read,
I cannot remember what they said about disposal, but I will try and
dig it out and post later.

"Barbara2245" wrote in message

I was wondering why I
wasn't getting many strawberries.

I KNOW why i didnt get many strawberries.....my dogs were eating
them........ maybe yours too?
Cathy

Up until about a month ago I'd never had trouble with racoons, but at 2 am my
dogs started barking like crazy. I looked around and saw nothing so I called
them in. Quiet for a moment then they go crazy barking again so I let them out
and they ran to the fence barking like crazy. I go investigate... there
sitting on the post to my gate is a racoon. Just sitting there, the dogs
didn't budge it. There had been reports of a rabid coon the the neighborhood,
so I call the police and they came out and tried to get it off the fence even
stunned it with the tazor and the thing didn't move. Finally was knocked off
the fence and went to a tree to try and climb and couldn't, it kept falling off
once it got about as high as my fencepost. However when the police got the OK
to shoot it, it ran off and despite looking for it for over and hour we never
did locate it. Rather scarey. I did take a picture of the varmit tho...those
eyes!

Karen
Zone 5
Ashland, OH
http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
My Art Studio at
http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K....M.Studios.html
for email remove the extra extention

interesting, they are washing their food in the cats dish rather than in the pond.
Ingrid

Robyn Rhudy wrote:
put dirt in the cat's water bowl (with duckweed topping),



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

"Axolotl" wrote in message :

Be very careful when dealing with raccoon poo, it can contain a very very
nasty round worm (or the eggs thereof) that can kill you,


Can't we just LEAVE THE POO ALONE?

Angrie

You see, the pond water isn't pristone like the cat water. After sticky
your paws in the pond water to eat snails and search around, then you go
to the cat bowls to dine and dip your food in the clean water and wash
your little feetsies so you're nice and clean to go home. Ignore the
gray cat sitting a foot away glaring at you (and the human watching you
both). Be sure to leave your little footsy prints all over and knock
over a few bird feeders before you leave! When you return the next day,
the empty mud and duckweed filled bowl is full with fresh water. A
miracle! And the 2 gallon pot pond with canna that you splashed all the
water out of the day before is also full again so you can repeat your
grand performance of splashy-ness!

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 wrote:

interesting, they are washing their food in the cats dish rather than in the pond.
Ingrid

Robyn Rhudy wrote:
put dirt in the cat's water bowl (with duckweed topping),



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chemist, preservationist, animal lover, aquarist, and ponder. -
Extensive web pages on animals, fish, and ponds. -
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rrhudy1/ -
http://www.fishpondinfo.com
Free pond newsletter - sign up at my web site -
Finally! Buy Robyn's Pond Book at www.1stbooks.com -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
_ _
(o)____(o) ---ribbit
_/ oo \_
/ \----------/ \
\ | | | | /
ww ooo ooo ww

Raccoons kept raiding and breaking a birdfeeder in a tree just off my deck, and
DH started shooting them. I took my feeders down ... not fair to lure them in
and kill them, to my thinking. In time, I put them back up, and didn't have
the problem so much. One evening I looked out and a raccoon was lying on the
ground, one foot propping up it's head, eating one sunflower seed after
another. I have a picture, I'm not making it up, I swear.

And then, like you, one day mom and five little 'uns came around the side of
the garage and walked down the driveway and into the woods. : ) It was about
a 200 ft. stroll, so I got to watch for some time. Didn't have a pond at the
time, and no garden, so I loved seeing them. Big eyes at night shining in the
flashlight ... I loved it!

On 17 Aug 2003 04:28:45 GMT, (Nanceemo) wrote:

Raccoons kept raiding and breaking a birdfeeder in a tree just off my deck, and
DH started shooting them. I took my feeders down ... not fair to lure them in
and kill them, to my thinking. In time, I put them back up, and didn't have
the problem so much. One evening I looked out and a raccoon was lying on the
ground, one foot propping up it's head, eating one sunflower seed after
another. I have a picture, I'm not making it up, I swear.

And then, like you, one day mom and five little 'uns came around the side of
the garage and walked down the driveway and into the woods. : ) It was about
a 200 ft. stroll, so I got to watch for some time. Didn't have a pond at the
time, and no garden, so I loved seeing them. Big eyes at night shining in the
flashlight ... I loved it!

I sincerely hope i will have that pleasure some day.