Ok, so I have a problem. I have a very tenacious raccoon that visits my bird feeders nightly. I have a squirrel proof feeder but as yet I haven't seen a raccoon proof one. Easy pickings for a raccoon with his nimble hands. Every night he goes to the bird feeder and empties out the seed, then he moseys on over to the hummingbird feeder and drinks the nectar. He's got a regular cafe on my deck!
I'm at wits end. I can take the feeders in for an entire week and put them in the garage at night and thinking he has gone on to greener pastures I foolishly leave them out one night and he drains them. Taking them in each night works, but the only problem is I am not always home right when it gets dark and if I get there too late he's already been there and gone!
That tenacious raccoon is brazen too. I've chased him away, only to have him return in just a few minutes. One night I stood at the sliding door leading to my deck and chased him off yelling like a banshee while he just gave me the stink eye, left, and returned moments later. This happened multiple times till I gave up and went to bed.
So recently I heard that raccoons hate mint. So out I went and bought a bunch of pots and potted mint all over the deck. He would have to rub on it and get up close and personal to that particular herb. So what did he do? Well, this morning I had a ton of spilled and broken posts and muddy dirt spilled all over my deck, the ground, everywhere.
I wish he could be made into a coon skin cap, so where is Daniel Boone when you need him?
Seriously I couldn't hurt a fly, in fact I don't even kill bugs, but I need a solution or the birds will have to just exist without me. Makes me sad, since my husband calls me the bird lady.
4 comments:
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I like the motion activated sprinkler. Haven't tried it, we have too many dogs to have much of a racoon problem.
I feel for you! I actually, had a little laugh, sorry, about the mint and the stink eye! ;o)
Crystal, truthfully, the only thing that has worked for us, is to take the feeders in at night. Other wise, we would have no food in the morning.
If you get home somedays late, don't put the feeders out that day. Maybe only put them out on the weekend? The birds will still come.
I hope you can still feed the birds ;o)
Hugs ;o)
Oh no! We don't have raccoons on the prairies, but how frustrating. They are so bold and smart...I watched a program about them and it seemed like each deterrent only worked a few times before they were no longer scared of it :\
oh I understand your frustration! back to google I guess. I'm back to blogland!
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