The neighboring house to mine has some type of critter in the attic that is keeping him awake at night with all its scratching and moving around. We don’t know what it is but he says it is too big to be a squirrel. He and I each have sat around with a shotgun but have not seen the animal come out. He does not want to close the hole for fear the animal will die inside the attic and stink for weeks.

This is the hole it made between two levels of the roof.



I have this wire “rabbit” trap sitting on the roof but the critter has not been cooperative enough to go in it.

[IMG http://i18.photobucket.com/alb...ps778f3821.jpg[/IMG]

It baffles me how anything could get up there. A squirrel could do it with a pretty good leap from a tree about five feet away but the neighbor insists it is too big for a squirrel.

I have no knowledge about trapping so am asking for advice. Should I build some sort of baffle that forces it to go into the cage? I have had some shelled corn in the trap but nothing has touched it.

Here is the trap.

My guess would be it is a raccoon. Get a bigger trap and bait it with sardines.

Peanut butter works real well too.

Thanks for the ideas. I will make a peanut butter and sardine sandwich for bait.

I still cant imagine a coon could leap 5 feet to get onto the roof but somehow something bigger than a squirrel is in the attic.

Got him! He even looks guilty. I spread peanut butter and tuna on a piece of bread. We did not have any anchovies. I was going to execute him but decided to haul him about three miles away to a state forest. Thanks for the ideas.

If you take him 3 miles he will be back before you! The best method is instant lead poisoning...22 in the head!

Good job Allen!!!

Are you sure he is the only one?

quote:

Are you sure he is the only one?

As a matter of fact the neighbor heard more noise in the attic last night. Either he came back as Dall85 suggested or something else is in there. The trap is baited again tonite.

They like to run in groups

Put Decon in the attic.

http://www.d-conproducts.com/

Some spray paint on his back will tell you if you are catching the same one over and over again.

My bet is it is a female that found a place to den up and have her kittens. You may find out really quickly now that she is gone, as they are going to get hungry in a hurry...

This was the source of the second time around. Any money in these things?

Mepps for the tails?

Those look like flying squirrels, shame to kill them. Stopping the access would be easier.

You are right - we are going to stop up the attic vents with screen wire this afternoon.

We have lots of flying squirrels in this part of the country and they can get in through a narrow crack that looks like it is impossible to squeeze in.

Decon or a similar product is easier than a trap.

Do what you want but the Decon works and they run off.

quote:

Originally posted by Jefffive:
Those look like flying squirrels, shame to kill them. Stopping the access would be easier.

+1 Cute little critters.

quote:

My bet is it is a female that found a place to den up and have her kittens. You may find out really quickly now that she is gone, as they are going to get hungry in a hurry...

We are a little early for young but you should always check to see if it is a nursing female beore you release it or kill it. I would search the attic for a litter to be safe. Also these attic coons should be killed. They will just move into someone elses home and do the same thing. The only problem is now that it has been in a cage trap it will much harder to catch. One other tip if you are settig a cage trap on a roof is put a board under the trap to keep the coon from shredding your shingles when you carch it. Congrats on getting it.

Palmer did you read him his maranda rights?

Doug,
I have to admit I profiled him. Since he was wearing a mask I figured Miranda rights were not required.

LOL!

I should have listened to those who posted above.

I was sure a coon could not find her way back from 3 miles away. But she did - just as you predicted. There are now little ones also - just as you predicted.

The day before yesterday a neighbor called to say there was a coon on my roof. I scrambled out with the Cooper 22 and took a shot at her head. The coon squalled and disappeared into a new hole it had made into the soffit. I found hair but no blood. Not good. It will die and stink back where I will have to tear out the soffit to get it out.

I brought out the trap again, baited it up with sardines in the hope that it was not a fatal shot. Success! Kind of. I got one of the young ones. The Mark Twain Forest now has a new coon.



Optimistically I baited it up again. First night success just a couple hours after I set the trap!



The best news - This old coon has a long fresh scar over the right eye! I think that was my shot that just grazed it. Now the Mark Twain Forest has two more coons.

They will have to find their way over 20 miles of twisted roads to come back here. (I will probably regret this)

Next time they die.

quote:

Originally posted by Lapidary:
Some spray paint on his back will tell you if you are catching the same one over and over again.

And a bullet will make sure you don't.

Grizz

I'd set them cages in a pond for an hour or so then let them bugger's out at the landfill!

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
I'd set them cages in a pond for an hour or so then let them bugger's out at the landfill!

We call that, "giving them swimming lessons" .

I call it: letting them become briefly aquatic.

It's been a year now, what's the latest on this story?
George

Don't waste your money on D-Con for 'coons or 'possums. Either can eat a pound of it at night, and still have a good breakfast in the morning, every day for a week !!

.22 short works just fine.

Lead to the head!
Period, end of story.

Quit messing around.

Zeke