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Fence chargers and coons...


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Anyone know anything about fence chargers? We are absolutely overrun by coons and I'm planning ahead for next year. This was the first garden we've had in 2 years, and the coons completely destroyed my corn (5-20' rows; we didn't get a single ear). The weather is hard enough to deal with in a garden....no way I am going to let these bandits take my stuff. So: I want one that will not just knock them on their butt, but kill them (ideally). would a 1 joule unit do that? Also, are there any names that are better than others? I'm enlarging the garden slightly in the next month or so and plan on putting in corner posts and ground rods for the fence.

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Fred,

 

I don't know of any chargers available that will produce enough of a discharge to kill. Most are designed to shock and be tolerated by all types of animals. I used one several years ago to keep a juvenile Springer Spaniel from digging under a privacy fence. We used them as a kid to keep ponies and others from leaning on the fences. I took more then one shock climbing over a fence.

 

The real problem is that, most of the chargers send a charge through a single wire. A raccoon will quickly learn to go over, around and more than likely under the charge wire. I'm not sure that "Page type" woven wire fence will carry a charge, again, they'll probably just dig under it. It is, also, a pain and expensive to use around a good size garden.

 

I hate to say this, but you have three realistic choices: trap, shoot, or use a chemical deterrent. Chemical deterrents can get expensive, trapping and relocating is tedious, as well as, hit or miss, and shooting them may not be a viable solution, depending on personal and legal considerations.

 

If you can catch them, a BB or pellet to the butt will modify their behavior real quick. Again, not ideal as you have to catch them and they are typically nocturnal.

 

 

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Fred,

 

I did a quick search and here are some repellent methods. I can't endorse them as I have no experience with using them, but it may be a start. You may find other ways with an internet search.

 

http://www.gardenguides.com/69973-repel-raccoons.html

 

http://www.critter-repellent.com/raccoons/raccoons-test-garden-flowerbed

 

http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-make-homemade-raccoon-repellant.htm

 

http://raccoondeterrents.net/

 

http://raccoondeterrents.net/

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I agree with Bill regarding the fence chargers.  Don't know what type of wire you were planning to use, but any type of electric fence has to be insulated from the posts so it doesn't ground out.  Weeds likewise must be kept at bay or they can (depending upon the charger) cause it to ground out.

An option not mentioned is a dog - I would recommend a coon hound!

 

Years ago we had a problem with neighborhood dogs getting into our garbage can.  I used an electric fencer for that job.  I strung up a couple wires around it and baited it with a hot dog, threaded the wire through the dog.  That night I heard a heck of a commotion!  I was able to remove the fencing after a few days and never had a problem with dogs again.  Learned behavior.  You might could apply this to your coon problem also, but I suspect they would be smart enough to go around it after the first shock or two.

Cal

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Seems Max has done his "Duty"....scared the "H" out of a Groundhog that liked to eat the "produce" on the back porch......one bite from Max...haven't seen the fat groundhog since......Max is 1/2 Blue heeler, and 1/2 Boston Terrier......even the squirrels take the high wire to get across the back yard.....

 

Bury about 3' of a chicken wire fence around the garden....the rest of the roll above ground.....stand-off for a wire about nose height to a coon.......and run a 120 line to it....

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I have tried the granular deterrents to keep them off my deck (which is their lavatory) and it didn't work at all. I have used the small electric fences before (the dog type) to keep our dogs from digging under the kennel fence, and it worked well. This time I want to get a charger made for horses/cattle and large animals...hoping it will kill smaller ones like coons. We have so many that they come in waves so it will be an ongoing thing while the corn is growing, they don't seem to bother the tomatoes and melons, at least not yet. I don't want to get another dog since that will be a year round care thing...even though I'm a dog lover. I've read a lot about poisoning them and while I'd prefer to not do that, I suppose it's an option but not a good one. Shooting them won't work because I'm not a nite owl (not even close). My plan with the electric fence was to string 3 wires around the corn at 4", 8" and maybe 12" (+/-) and since the garden is in the middle of the yard there won't be a weed problem.

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2 hours ago, schnewj said:

If you can catch them, a BB or pellet to the butt will modify their behavior real quick. Again, not ideal as you have to catch them and they are typically nocturnal.

 

I always say if the pellet doesn't kill them they may at least learn that it hurts when they walk in my yard.

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Fred when we started trying to get rid of the coons, the trap worked as good as anything. I hauled off 28 coons in about a 5 week period. I hauled them to the other end of the lake which has a mile long bridge and a creek bridge that always has water standing to come across to get back here. Its right at 6 miles one way... two different times I had two coons in the trap at the same time.  Very heavy and the trips almost every night got to be a chore so I went  to get a hunting license which was at Walmart and he said the permit would let me shoot 1 coon a night. Don't know if your area would be the same. So I put a hanging light over a saw horse with long metal legs. At first I used a regular wood saw horse from the shop but while sitting watching and waiting for the coons we noticed the skunks kept trying to climb up the wood to the food. It took about 6 months and once the skunk figured the saw horse out, I had skunks I had to deal with in the trap so thats why I built the long legged metal horse. They never could make it up that one plus we smeared crisco or something slick to make sure.5999d1f97019e_catgettingimpatientwiththefox.jpg.881e37d1b78b94e443b7a8f025aaf384.jpg

  I have the trap only about 10 foot from the deck of my house with a light hanging right over it so it kinda entertaining so I could sit in the house and play free cell and every once in a while glance out the window... I did get the permit for one year and this was much easier to get rid of them than put them in the pickup and spend a half hour or so hauling them.

   A fence charger not built to kill.

   We also have lots of foxes but they are good for the area for they eat rats and mice but do get the fruit when they come ripe but I consider that a trade off. Squirrels are another thing for we hardly ever get any pecans off of ten trees or so plus and the bluejays help the squirrels.

  Watch what trap you get for the coons. They can destroy some of the smaller traps.

Our cats take turns with the foxes eating. We use dried cat food for the coon bait.

Sitting the trap on the ground didn't work so hot for the ants would have the food covered solid right quick. As it is I can spray around the metal legs and have no trouble. Every night of so I switch the red bucket for the trap and sometimes the cats or the foxes can't wait and we have to go out and let them out. I do like to wait and leave them in the trap for a few hours to try and get them so they will remember not to go in there but they are kinda like my wife, they will do what they want to do...and what I want don't matter.

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I may well wind up trying to trap them Jess, but it won.'t be with a live trap. I get some #2 leg hold taps or something like that. There are just too many around here and the numbers need to be controlled. I do have a dog proof leg hold trap that I might try using this year just to see how it works, that would protect any fox and probably possums and skunks.....the idea is that they reach inside the tube to grab the bait (dried cranberries or such) and they set the trap off pulling their paw out. It pretty much breaks their leg, so you have to kill the coon while it's still in the trap.

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Well, Fred, it sounds like you have a plan.

 

I'll make a suggestion, though. If you are going to use an electric charger, set it up now. Tie some surveyors ribbon on the wire at consistent intervals. Bait the area and let the coons come into it. If they learn that the fence is going to bite them, they will associate the surveyors ribbons with the shock, also. Come spring, they'll associate the wire and ribbon as nasty and avoid it. Not all will be conditioned, but the more that get the message before hand the better off you'll be.

 

Basically, it's conditioned response. This is the way you train dogs on an invisible fence buried in the ground. The buried wire is marked by flags, when the dog gets close the collar beeps and warns them. You slowly remove the flags and the dogs learn not to go near the perimeter wire. A neighbor did this with his pigs. He ran a wire around the pen, he then walked the pigs around the pen and forced them to touch the wire as he made the circuit. They soon learned the boundary and would wear a path around the pen, away, from the wire. Once they learned, he didn't even have to run the unit. They just associated the wire with the shock.

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I thought of that kind of trap also Fred but we have kids from the neighborhood come ask us if they can use our dock to swim and dive off of but young kids and traps don't go together real good and that would keep me up all night wiping the sweat off. Good luck with what ever you use.

  We always say yes if you wear a life jacket while on our property but sometimes I have to go and show them what a life jacket looks like even though they might have had one on the last time they were here.

  We did the life jacket thing every time we went to a lake with our liks until they got grown and moved away. When they came crying I don't want to wear this life jacket anymore today, okay but we will pack up and go home if you don't keep it on.

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52 minutes ago, oldwoodie said:

Coons are good eating! What's the difference in Coon hunting and protecting your garden? Cooked coons and the veggies you save are good together and they are also  are good for you too!

Never tried' coon. Ya fry it like squirrel?  Tasted possum pot pie once. Nah.

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electric fences are rated by length...

make two runs about 6'' apart.. three is better..

buss them together...

add up the total length of wire and see how much of charger you need...

double that figure... then rain or a small critter laying on the fence won't bother anything...

the critters can sense the electric field and stay back... more grid = more field...

more power will trim the weeds... dries them out...

you can units that will cook the critter for you if you want...

they come in hard wired and solar...

 

http://www.zarebasystems.com/store/electric-fence-chargers

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10 hours ago, schnewj said:

I hate to say this, but you have three realistic choices: trap, shoot, or use a chemical deterrent. Chemical deterrents can get expensive, trapping and relocating is tedious, as well as, hit or miss, and shooting them may not be a viable solution, depending on personal and legal considerations.

 

 

 

As an aside, in Ohio, relocation is illegal.   Besides risking them just returning and foisting your problem on someone else, it can transmit disease.

 

 

Nuisance or sick raccoons may be trapped without a permit, but it is illegal to live trap and relocate them to a new area. In order to prevent the possible spread of raccoon diseases in Ohio, all live trapped raccoons must be released again on the homeowner's property or humanely euthanized.  source: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/nuisance-wildlife

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32 minutes ago, kmealy said:

 

As an aside, in Ohio, relocation is illegal.   Besides risking them just returning and foisting your problem on someone else, it can transmit disease.

 

 

Nuisance or sick raccoons may be trapped without a permit, but it is illegal to live trap and relocate them to a new area. In order to prevent the possible spread of raccoon diseases in Ohio, all live trapped raccoons must be released again on the homeowner's property or humanely euthanized.  source: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/nuisance-wildlife

Well, that sort of narrows the choices, doesn't it?

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You can dang well bet they won't be re-released by me on my property! I was aware Ohio prohibited the relocation; but that was never a consideration. I want to kill them. The population is so large that you often see sick ones (distemper, according to my Vet) wondering around. Stick, yeah they are rated by distance...but the distances all exceed what I'll have. For now call it 50' x 50' with 3 wires...or 600' total. So the 5 mile rating gets to be way overkill, but they are also rated by joules. The one I was looking at was rated 1 joule, and it was for large livestock. The surveyor's tape on the wires is a good idea......as much for me as to trigger the conditioned response (if it doesn't kill them).

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10 hours ago, kmealy said:

As an aside, in Ohio, relocation is illegal.   Besides risking them just returning and foisting your problem on someone else, it can transmit disease.

 

1 hour ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

The population is so large that you often see sick ones (distemper, according to my Vet) wondering around.

 

Here in Ohio the raccoons are known to have rabies.  In the spring food baits are dropped from planes and thrown out car windows to try and inoculate the raccoons for the rabies.  Don't see reports of finding a rabid raccoon to often lately but years ago it was epidemic. 

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