Have you thought about getting those fido-fence things? the electrified
ones? You may get zapped a couple of times before you remember to turn it
off, but supposedly they work quite well. I think I would invest in a
two-layer set-up, a few feet apart, so that if it got through the first one,
there would be second line of defense (de-FENCE!) to discourage the nasty
little creature.

Lee

"Gunnar" wrote in message
news:Fjh8c.11259$Ft.892@lakeread02...
Had first raccoon visit of the year here in Rode Island.
Heard dog barking around 2 am go to let her out and she goes nuts, so out
I
go in undies (18 degrees brrrrrr) and what do I find thebiggest raccoon
with
hand in pond swiping away hoping he grabs something. No fear of the dog
barking or me hollering so I grab a rake and toss it at him he goes and
grabs it growling, at least he got him out of pond. I lost over 30 fish
last
year due to bandits went out and bought a havaheart trap and removed 13
coons,1 skunk and 3 possums. so set trap this year no visitors yet wish me
luck.

Do the possums actually bother your fish? I know they are GREAT for bug control. (A
junebug is like caviar to a possum).

Have you tried predator urine?

Raccoons are very agile, and with those almost-human hands. The thing about raccoons is,
they are very intelligent. I had one that was robbing me of dog food, which I kept in a
galvanized trashcan with the lid tied on with a rubber 'bungee' strap (the kind truck
drivers use to keep their tarps over the loads at highway speed). It was tight, and it
wasn't easy for ME to get the lid unfastened, and here this mother raccoon was grabbing
the strap and unhooking it like she owned it. The problem wasn't so much the tiny amount
of food they stole, but the fact she'd leave the lid off, and if it rained, I'd lose the
whole mess of dog food. I started filling a small pan with food next to the can for them,
each night, and the strap was never unlatched again.

She presented me with a darling bundle of joy, a couple of months later. While he was
being weaned, he would accompany her, not yet eating the dog food, but coming precariously
close to me. I thought perhaps his tiny, soft palate might prefer something soft and
mushy, so I did the same thing I did with my baby, I offered him a small piece of ripe
banana. He loved it! Within minutes, he was in my lap, eating banana from my hand. This
became a nightly ritual. I even had pictures, which I only took a few because I didn't
want to stress him with the flash-but my niece took them to kindergarten to show and tell,
and they were misplaced. *sigh*.

He was a good friend, and would come to my call, every night. The local grocery store knew
me as that crazy woman who came in to buy the overripe bananas for the raccoon, because I
would always ask if they had really overripe ones in the back (where they toss the 'bad'
produce). He only liked them if they were real nice and ripe and sweet.

I didn't have a pond then, as I didn't own the home, but I am sure we would have had some
problems if I had.

It sounds like even the scarecrow sprinkler wouldn't work on your boy! I can't believe
he'd go up against your dog!

A friend of mine said coyote urine worked best for her, to keep the raccoons and rabbits
out of her garden. She got it at the garden store where she buys her seedling plants. Good
luck with fighting off your bandits.

DeAnna
--
http://lamb.iswiz.com/pond.php
If you remember that I prefer my spam without cheese-
then you may be able to email me.

"Gunnar" wrote in message news:Fjh8c.11259$Ft.892@lakeread02...
Had first raccoon visit of the year here in Rode Island.
Heard dog barking around 2 am go to let her out and she goes nuts, so out I
go in undies (18 degrees brrrrrr) and what do I find thebiggest raccoon with
hand in pond swiping away hoping he grabs something. No fear of the dog
barking or me hollering so I grab a rake and toss it at him he goes and
grabs it growling, at least he got him out of pond. I lost over 30 fish last
year due to bandits went out and bought a havaheart trap and removed 13
coons,1 skunk and 3 possums. so set trap this year no visitors yet wish me
luck.

Do the possums actually bother your fish? I know they are GREAT for bug control. (A
junebug is like caviar to a possum).

Have you tried predator urine?

Raccoons are very agile, and with those almost-human hands. The thing about raccoons is,
they are very intelligent. I had one that was robbing me of dog food, which I kept in a
galvanized trashcan with the lid tied on with a rubber 'bungee' strap (the kind truck
drivers use to keep their tarps over the loads at highway speed). It was tight, and it
wasn't easy for ME to get the lid unfastened, and here this mother raccoon was grabbing
the strap and unhooking it like she owned it. The problem wasn't so much the tiny amount
of food they stole, but the fact she'd leave the lid off, and if it rained, I'd lose the
whole mess of dog food. I started filling a small pan with food next to the can for them,
each night, and the strap was never unlatched again.

She presented me with a darling bundle of joy, a couple of months later. While he was
being weaned, he would accompany her, not yet eating the dog food, but coming precariously
close to me. I thought perhaps his tiny, soft palate might prefer something soft and
mushy, so I did the same thing I did with my baby, I offered him a small piece of ripe
banana. He loved it! Within minutes, he was in my lap, eating banana from my hand. This
became a nightly ritual. I even had pictures, which I only took a few because I didn't
want to stress him with the flash-but my niece took them to kindergarten to show and tell,
and they were misplaced. *sigh*.

He was a good friend, and would come to my call, every night. The local grocery store knew
me as that crazy woman who came in to buy the overripe bananas for the raccoon, because I
would always ask if they had really overripe ones in the back (where they toss the 'bad'
produce). He only liked them if they were real nice and ripe and sweet.

I didn't have a pond then, as I didn't own the home, but I am sure we would have had some
problems if I had.

It sounds like even the scarecrow sprinkler wouldn't work on your boy! I can't believe
he'd go up against your dog!

A friend of mine said coyote urine worked best for her, to keep the raccoons and rabbits
out of her garden. She got it at the garden store where she buys her seedling plants. Good
luck with fighting off your bandits.

DeAnna
--
http://lamb.iswiz.com/pond.php
If you remember that I prefer my spam without cheese-
then you may be able to email me.

"Gunnar" wrote in message news:Fjh8c.11259$Ft.892@lakeread02...
Had first raccoon visit of the year here in Rode Island.
Heard dog barking around 2 am go to let her out and she goes nuts, so out I
go in undies (18 degrees brrrrrr) and what do I find thebiggest raccoon with
hand in pond swiping away hoping he grabs something. No fear of the dog
barking or me hollering so I grab a rake and toss it at him he goes and
grabs it growling, at least he got him out of pond. I lost over 30 fish last
year due to bandits went out and bought a havaheart trap and removed 13
coons,1 skunk and 3 possums. so set trap this year no visitors yet wish me
luck.

I have a Scarecrow device that shoots water every 5 or so
seconds! Works like a charm and no danger of shock. Much
cheaper too. Got mine online last year.
Do a google search for "Scarecrow" ...

Good Luck.

Nedra in Missouri
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Pond Newbie" wrote in message
...
Do the possums actually bother your fish? I know they are GREAT for bug
control. (A
junebug is like caviar to a possum).

Have you tried predator urine?

Raccoons are very agile, and with those almost-human hands. The thing
about raccoons is,
they are very intelligent. I had one that was robbing me of dog food,
which I kept in a
galvanized trashcan with the lid tied on with a rubber 'bungee' strap (the
kind truck
drivers use to keep their tarps over the loads at highway speed). It was
tight, and it
wasn't easy for ME to get the lid unfastened, and here this mother raccoon
was grabbing
the strap and unhooking it like she owned it. The problem wasn't so much
the tiny amount
of food they stole, but the fact she'd leave the lid off, and if it
rained, I'd lose the
whole mess of dog food. I started filling a small pan with food next to
the can for them,
each night, and the strap was never unlatched again.

She presented me with a darling bundle of joy, a couple of months later.
While he was
being weaned, he would accompany her, not yet eating the dog food, but
coming precariously
close to me. I thought perhaps his tiny, soft palate might prefer
something soft and
mushy, so I did the same thing I did with my baby, I offered him a small
piece of ripe
banana. He loved it! Within minutes, he was in my lap, eating banana from
my hand. This
became a nightly ritual. I even had pictures, which I only took a few
because I didn't
want to stress him with the flash-but my niece took them to kindergarten
to show and tell,
and they were misplaced. *sigh*.

He was a good friend, and would come to my call, every night. The local
grocery store knew
me as that crazy woman who came in to buy the overripe bananas for the
raccoon, because I
would always ask if they had really overripe ones in the back (where they
toss the 'bad'
produce). He only liked them if they were real nice and ripe and sweet.

I didn't have a pond then, as I didn't own the home, but I am sure we
would have had some
problems if I had.

It sounds like even the scarecrow sprinkler wouldn't work on your boy! I
can't believe
he'd go up against your dog!

A friend of mine said coyote urine worked best for her, to keep the
raccoons and rabbits
out of her garden. She got it at the garden store where she buys her
seedling plants. Good
luck with fighting off your bandits.

DeAnna
--
http://lamb.iswiz.com/pond.php
If you remember that I prefer my spam without cheese-
then you may be able to email me.

"Gunnar" wrote in message
news:Fjh8c.11259$Ft.892@lakeread02...
Had first raccoon visit of the year here in Rode Island.
Heard dog barking around 2 am go to let her out and she goes nuts, so
out I
go in undies (18 degrees brrrrrr) and what do I find thebiggest raccoon
with
hand in pond swiping away hoping he grabs something. No fear of the dog
barking or me hollering so I grab a rake and toss it at him he goes and
grabs it growling, at least he got him out of pond. I lost over 30 fish
last
year due to bandits went out and bought a havaheart trap and removed 13
coons,1 skunk and 3 possums. so set trap this year no visitors yet wish
me
luck.