I have two racoons that have gotten into the attic....and now they MUST die!!!

Live trap in the attic not and option.

The access is a trap door between the joists. I couldn't get a trap out without getting bite.

Pittbull? as much as the litle B******S deserve it, they all most likey come crashing through the drywall.

Buy a .22 handgun & laser site? Send them to varmit heaven while they sleep? My luck I'll put a round though the roof (good excuse to buy another gun)

The little bandits are climbing down a pine tree next to the house. I had them in the bean of my 1 million candle power flash light. I thought about shooting them with my bow, I wouldn't want to bother the neighbors. "cept I can't hold the big flash light & shoot my bow too.

So now I'm left with only the nuclear option.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Tis just a matter of space and time. The bottom of the pine tree sounds like a good location for a trap. Might also tie the dog to the bottom of the tree after the coons leave for the evening. Some folks use mothballs to keep varmints away, mothballs would surely keep me out of your attic.

Base of the pine tree?....I was thinking more along the lines of Punji Stakes or a Claymore.

22 CB caps and head shots. Pedro

Pedro has obviously been reading the Crat Forum posts. In another reality it is called the small game forum...you problem is not that intractable, and as much as I like the claymore theory it is a bit of overkill. The trap at the bottom of the tree will work too.

Let the neibors know you take care of coon and other pests .
They may sstart asking for help with their problem critters.

IMO a 22 with cb longs with a flashlight taped to the barrel is the way to go.

Johnch

Get some dCon at the grocery store. With some bad luck a bullet may penetrate too much or the criter may be wounded, hide and leak.

I have to say I was being alittle smart mouth there. I admit I'am spoild, I live in the country and have dusted critters at night around the house with a 17 Rem. or a 223. Mostly I use a win. 22 pump with CBs
It's amazing what one can kill with CBs. House cats, skunks, even a badger (although the badger took 4 shots).
Perhaps in town a live trap would be better.

Pedro

Gidday Guys,

Though shooting the bugger is a lot more fun a much more effective way of taking care of the buggers might be a pea sized cyanide bait.

Don't know how hard it is to get the stuff over there is but it is a lot less dramatic and it works a treat on possums here

Happy Hunting

Hamish

You don't want to shoot a coon in a tight space like an attic. If you don't kill him outright, things could get real dicey quick.

Your best bet is follow Dans suggestion and place the trap at the bottom of the tree or set up a wire snare where they are entering the attic.

Two obvious issues that have not been discussed according to the original post.

1. If access is a trap door between the joists, just put a simple keyed padlock (don't use combination lock raccons are smart and with those little feet could quickly manipulte the lock and figure out the combination).

2. If there is a hole big enough for a raccoon to enter, then a litte 22 hole would hardly be noticed!!!!!

Just an opinion or two.

Set out a tin of sardines laced with Paraquat...skull & crossbones herbicide stuff. Coons round these parts happen to prefer sardines in mustard sauce for some reason. Quite deadly to all living things.

My favorite method is a 220 conibear. All you need is an empty 5 gallon pail with 2 slots in it, a 220 and whatever you need for bait. Guaranteed to kill 'em on the spot. Got thirteen of the buggers a couple years ago just by laying the 220 over the hole in the snow they were using to get out of a pile of wood. DRT and no mess or noise.

CB longs will do the trick, they have good penetration though, out of a rifle mine go thru 1.5 inches of plywood. I shot a large oposum with a cb that i hollow pointed and it still went thru a wall in my house.

Follow their trail a little ways from the tree they are climbing down. At least enough to to establish a directon of travel. In a bit of secluded place nearby the trail put a 1/2 gallon (cleaned) big content space small neck jar with a quart of 50/50 decon and peanut butter mixed. You got to get both of them at the same time or they will raise young in your attic. You might want to put the empty PB containers out till you know they found your snack. Get them before you get a colony. Good luck.

Conibear 220 on the entrance; no need to dog and cat proof it then (like you would on the ground). Dead right there; problem solved.

Repeat until they're all gone; seal entrance so they can't return.

Do a Conibear search. For example:
http://www.buckshotscamp.com/Traps-Sales.htm

You'll need the setting tool for 220 and bigger ones.

....Cattle prod or taser if they're in the attic. Zap it and burlap bag it. Then take it for a ride, or dispose at your leisure.

I've never had one "charge" me, (although did see one run up a friends leg once after it had been shot half a dozen times with 22's). The rest of us where laughing so hard we ended up on the ground, he was screaming like a schoolgirl. It stopped with its head about even with his crotch, and started hissing at him, I think he went into shock... Finally had to beat it off of him with a 10/22.

One of my best friends had a coon problem in his townhouse.Against my advice he went after them with a silecned Walther pistol.As I predicted he hit a water line.Flooding his and the unit below him.He now has a piece of copper pipe with the bullet mounted as his $3,000.00 trophy.

What about wrapping the base of the tree with tin so they cannot climb back in? 5 feet off the ground for 3 or 4 feet up.

Mike

Boss,

How'd it work out? I figured your either living with a whole passel of em' by now, or waiting for the peanut butter rat poison to kill them yet.

Normal dibromalone poison are like candy to coons. They chew threw locked bait stations to get the stuff, until:

1. snare, conibear, or cage trap, depending on location and prying eyes.

2. Air baffled/shedded PCP .22 air rifle.

If you want to poison them use zinc phosphide, I consider it too dangerous to use around people, but others use it like table salt. Also I think its cheating since there is no interaction between you and the coon. Below is a link to a coon encounter that nearly cost me more money at the vet.


https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6511043/m/928103362

Good luck

Minkman

I'm in the process of "plugging" the rabbits that infiltrate my small garden and nailing whatever it is that keeps ripping apart my garbage bags when I set them out for overnight pickup.

I live right on the main drag in a small town of 5000+/-.

Trapping has been proven to be unsuccessful. SO I've resorted to using .22 short HP's fed one at a time in my semi-auto Marlin model 50 or 60.

Rabbits from the within the kitchen, whatever from the second story bathroom window. ...so far one rabbit down.

No red and blue lights due to most of noise being muffled inside of house(good thing .22 shorts sound like a firecracker or tree branch touching the powerlines).

Minkman - Sorry, I forgot to update.

I waited until they went "Out on the Town" and went into the attic. As I surmized they bent up the Aluminum roof vent and were using it as a front door. I sealed the hole from the inside. The next A.M. I toped the pine tree, which I should have cut down last year.

God responces guys!!! Sorrythere wasn't any adventure to file a hunting report on.

I an surpized that some of you would posin a animal that might crawl in your attic & die there. The local temp. has been in the 90s for two weeks...the air temp in the attic must be close to 150.....Can you imagine how funkey dead 'coon(s) would smell???