&$^@*#( RACCOON

I know its been awhile since I blogged about the raccoon.
I tried a radio and lights for a few nights and that seemed to work but then one morning I woke up to the lettuce barrel having been danced in by him. So I broke down and set the trap, it has been set for a week. Nothing. Nothing. Well nothing in the trap anyway. Two mornings ago I was doing some weeding and could not find the garden claw it had been with the trowel from the day before under a table in the garden. Well they were both gone and I was wondering around where I had worked the day before thinking….okay maybe I didn’t pick up after myself (not likely) but it could happen. I found the claw on my way in later, clear across the yard, near some tel-tale paw prints. By the way he had gone right passed the trap that had been set with Tuna night after night. So I retrieved the claw, still no sign of the trowel, I’m guessing he is using it to dig a tunnel in.

So I moved the ineffective trap into the grass, thinking it would camouflage the wire bottom and put a couple pieces of bread in it instead. So that has been set for the last two days with no luck. Well last night I was driving home from work its about 11:30 and I am a block away and there in the drainage ditch on its hind feet is a raccoon, at first I thought maybe it was my raccoon, then I saw its partner and they ambled up the street. I got home and checked the trap, all good, bread in place.

This morning I look out the upstairs window and I can see from all the disturbed remay that he’s been there. But nothing in the trap. I had to fix the remay on the carrots, beets and onions. My straight rows of anything this year is just going to be clusters of produce. So I am out there and I notice, there is nothing in the trap. That damn raccoon got the bread. There was one quarter of a piece lodged under the plate that triggers the trap to shut. Figures!!

Well now he will certainly be back tonight thinking there is a bakery, but I can’t set the trap tonight because I am leaving on a flight in the morning there will be no time to deal with anything in the trap tomorrow and I certainly can’t set it and be gone all weekend. In fact I wont even have time to look in the morning to what kind of damage he has done.

Boe from GrowingAppetite loaned me an electric fence but my garden has to many ways in for it to work, I can’t surround it because he comes over the fence and since he really comes for the water in the pool there is no way to surround that because it is a cement pool deck and no way to stake the fence.

So today I’m making a scare-crow, this idea came from Chari, I really hope it works. At least for a few days until he figures it out. Maybe that will last through the weekend while I’m gone and then will start back up with the lights and radio.