racoon deterrent?
 

I'll be going camping this weekend (with Traciboop & our hubbies). I read that the camp (Pokagon state park) in Indiana has many racoons & they are not afraid of humans after years of living with them/us. Does anyone know of a homemade racoon deterant we might make then use there? To deter cats from our garden I mixed a couple tsps of ceyenne pepper with flour & sprinkled it arround the boarder.

I'll bet a big doggie would make a great raccoon deterrant! Have a great time! Remember to post pics!

I kept cats out of my flower beds by sprinkling mothballs all around.

Raccoons do not like the smell of mothballs or another idea is human hair so check with your stylist and see if the management will let you take hair clippings to scatter around the perimeter of the campsite.

A radio kept on low at night is also a good idea.

Campground coons are so domesticated, there is really no point in trying to deter them. I lived in a tent during college summers and they pretty much do what they want no matter what you do. Fortunately, they're nocturnal so they aren't milling about your site all day.

Keep all of your foodstuffs and cooking gear in a locked box or your vehicle, yes, they are that clever! If you're packing in, keep it in your tent.

Of course, it's always a hoot to throw chicken bones on top of somebody's camper right around twilight. ;)

A perimeter of LOTS and LOTS of ammonia! :D

Boy, I wouldn't be too sure about that! Poor Mr. Cooper (Ms. Alffe's dog) was hurt pretty badly by a raccoon!

Have a safe trip!

Yep, this was good advice! They are amazing little creatures who can open a cooler easily... happend to us! Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about them. oh... and clean up your campsite before going to bed, including walking any garbage to a dumpster.

How fun... to have lived your summers in a tent! Low rent for a college budget!

TY guys. I read a recipe I might try. One yellow onion, a jalpeno pepper, 1 tbsp cayenne pepper boiled in 2 quarts water then strain thru cheesecloth. Can spray it arround. (I bought a sennero pepper too)

Doody, I read about using ammonia too. Would that hurt our doggies or is it just something animals shy away from?

(Isn't a yellow onion simply the onion thats the 'main' onion to most of us...the one we 'all' have in the kitchen in USA)

I think the "yellow" onion means not a red, white or pearl onion. ;)

I would caution strongly against use of any kinds of chemicals if you're going to be in a campground. We have to be mindful of the other campers, their kids & pets, their noses, and the property of the campground owners.

Don't be surprised if the coons and skunks eat your pepper stew and come back searching for more every night.



jccgf: Quite right on the budget thing! I did it three summers and by working two jobs, was able to save my entire school year's rent and pay it in advance for a 10% discount.

It was a riot living at the campground, this was a private one and I made a lot of friends who I still know 25 *gulp* years later. :)

AfterMyNap, After you strain it you put it in a spray bottle & I guess spray the edges (or here & there?). Maybe the coons will eat my pepper soup then come back for more though :o

just be sure you dont smell like food before you go to bed, and make sure there is nothing else in your tent that smells like food or you might open your eyes having a racoon looking at you :eek::D
When I am camping, I am not so worried about the racoons as much as I am worried about the bears, so if there are bears were you are camping, and you take the chance of putting the food in your car, make sure you park it far enough away from your tent (but bears have been known to take you car door off to get the food inside). If you dont have a car with you and you packed light, you might want to try putting your food in a tree, look up how to hang a 'bear bag'

This Englishman ponders; Is this the recipe for cooking coon soup?

Jackie, I called it that too. But come to think....since you strain it & only have the liquid, it might be broth (not coon cuz no coon in it). So I guess it's pepper broth??? :grouphug:

Hey, Lor, I meant to ask you, why are you so worried about the coons anyway?

They don't want anything but food and they're actually very entertaining to watch. They won't chase or jump up and attack anyone, campground coons are really like poorly-behaved pets.

Cindy, I read that these coons are not afraid of ppl & they come out in the day sometimes to get anything thats eatable(sp). My hubby was a scout leader & one time a racoon came out while at the picnic table, climbed up & stole food off the table. We have a pop-up so are not on the ground but traciboop & her DH are in a tent. We will have 2 small dogs & the dogs might case one or it might chase the dog & ?? I just hope/picture there's not many at all really, but as the scouts say... "Be Prepared" :wink:

moth balls do the trick,,birds dont mind them but rodents and snakes cant stand them,,make sure that you clean them up when your done before you leave and dont handle them with you fingers,,i use a sandwich bag to pick them up and discard them in a trash bin,,

This thread reminds me ....

A woman from a city I will not mention (don't wanna start something) says to me..."So how do you keep the deer from jumping in front of your car when you drive?"

She had heard stories about out here in the country and this was her biggest fear, hitting a deer. She could not get past it. There had to be some fool-proof way of keeping the deer from running in the road in front of HER car.

I kept saying, you gotta know when they are most likely to do that - time of season, time of day. Then you just look out for them, go slow, eyes open. Heck, I've been driving here for 25 yrs, never hit one.

It's not like they're out to get you.

She was just not familiar with them.

Lor, I get the feeling it's about like that for you. Just not familiar with tham.

I have had 'coons bigger than my dog living under my crawl space. Used to people? They thought they WERE people!

:D

The one would check for traffic before he'd cross the street to get to the river.

I wouldn't be so worried really. I mean, why are you going camping? For the nature, right? Well, 'coons ARE the nature.


Like racer said, I'd be more worried about bears if they were around. A little too much nature for my blood lol.

Yes, you're right, I don't know too much about coons.

Mostly I was worried about them bothering traciboop & her hubby, they were in a tent. One night they didn't zip their door (just velcro) and when the coons came their dog bolted out the door and they ran. Luckily the dog came back when Cory called her. Another night when they came traciboop made coon like noises (same as the coons did) and that scared them away. There was nothing for them anyway. We had the food in the car, washed the dishes & threw out the garbage each night.

(BTW...we didn't use that coon stuff. They say a great deterant is Coyote urine. But we didn't have any. lol. In both cases they smell it & turn away.)

I think we have some fox urine you can have, next time ya go out. I didn't think about that, but coyote urine would keep a lot of things away - except maybe the coyotes.


You use it for lure.

The ones around here, you see em come right up in town. People tell me that is not true. I'll say - there goes one! They think it's just a dog, lol. They do look a lot like a mutt.

I saw one right over by where the city keeps road salt, running around by their trucks. We have *dump day* there twice a month - no food, just stuff too big for trash cans. It's near the gast station and the bank.

Say, hid the food, washed the dishes, threw out the trash - that's how I keep my son away!

:eek:

:D

O...M...G:eek:! All that urine being flung about, NOBODY will want to stay in the campground!
:D

You gotta see the Jamie Foxx / Robert Downery, Jr. flm "The Soloist" for a step-by-step demonstration of how to deter raccoons! It involves hanging plastic bags of coyote urine from the trees, and making sure each bag has a few holes that it will slowly leak from. It is hilarious (and likely not effective) but the movie is definitely worth the watching . . . .

We have raccoons in our neighborhood, because our neighbors don't know they are luring them by leaving cat food out for "MIdnight" (who has ruined all our gardens). Last summer we got to witness about 45 minutes of passionate raccoon sex right outside our living room window! We have had as many as 5 raccoons at once on our deck at night using our birdbaths . . .

:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:

Yeah! It will really P. people off!!!!!!

:ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO: :ROTFLMAO:

LOLOL! :D LOLOL! (message too short) LOLOL

I had a raccoon caper we talked about in SOS. It was awful! What finally got rid of her was tons of ammonia and yes, fox urine! She was even in the ductwork and I now have 3 vents that won't put out any air until this crew gets around to cleaning up the mess. She was even in my home under my bathtubs in both bathrooms. Even in the vent in my bedroom! ACK! And with babies!

Not only did the animal control officer involved tell me to use ammonia, but I also learned it from this guy, and I might add, I thought what finally got rid of his raccoon was absolutely hilarious. :D
epic struggle with a raccoon

Doody, When I first read that there are racoons there, the guy also said to spread amonia arround.