A Little Help with Vermin or Racoons

[OnBendedKnee]

Ok, here's the deal. The wife and I just dropped a little over 8K to spruce up our front yard. Lot's of plants- landscaping along with a water feature and an outdoor fireplace.

We've enjoyed it over the last few weeks and now find ourselves waking up each morning with the tanbark and dirt piled on the pressed concrete and about four various small holes.

I don't know what type of animal has taken up to annoying us but I speculate either raccoon(s) or perhaps a skunk. We've left the outdoor lighting on but they don't seem to be fazed by that.

Is there anything we can leave out, like- I don't know, maybe a small tumbler of bleach, that'll keep them out of your yard? It is walled in with a gate that locks, so I'm not worried about a pet finding it and drinking it (like any animal would be dumb enough to drink bleach, but who knows).

I've googled looking for solutions but it's all over the board and was hoping the good folks of MOCK could assist either with some terrific ideas or at least a mock or two to distract from the hassle of having to clean up after these varmints.

Thanks.

[Riotgear]

[Teacher]

OBK,

I have no solution to your problems, but wondered if it's possible that the pesky little squirrels are the culprits. They can be messy little devils. We just did a lot of landscaping also (not $8,000 but several thousand....nephew majored in architectural landscaping so I got a great discount), and the black mulch has numerous small holes in it. I assume they are storing food for the winter. The holes are almost as large as a silver dollar. At least they are not bothering the new flowers, bushes, shrubs, or trees. I just go outside and cover the holes with the surrounding mulch.

Keep us informed - anxious to hear which animal(s) are responsible.

[OnBendedKnee]

Gear, neighbor two doors down is a retired CHP and would probably come out guns a blazing if he heard gunshot(s) so close.
Teacher, the mounds of dirt/tanbark is about a foot high, I don't think squirrels are the culprit.

I suspect the critters are looking for water as we had installed a slow drip irrigation and the fountain has chemicals that probably keep them from drinking there.
Who knows.

[Teacher]

I think you are right! If your bark is a foot high, I'm way off base. Nevermind.

[Riotgear]

Gear, neighbor two doors down is a retired CHP and would probably come out guns a blazing if he heard gunshot(s) so close.
Teacher, the mounds of dirt/tanbark is about a foot high, I don't think squirrels are the culprit.

I suspect the critters are looking for water as we had installed a slow drip irrigation and the fountain has chemicals that probably keep them from drinking there.
Who knows.

That gun is suppressed...and it's a humble .22! Very quiet.

OK. I don't have a solution.

[Duchess]

Maggot will know what to do, he has critter experience.

[Lady Cop]

they are cute, annoying and may also be rabid. even if you set have-a-heart traps, don't handle them.

wildlife/animal control may have the traps to loan.
or google havahart to purchase.



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[Ilyanna]

OBK, first of all - pics of your garden, pretty pls

Second, if it's a raccoon you want to get rid of, you're basically shit out of luck, at least if you don't want to reconsider 'Gear's option (ask the neighbor to do it, maybe you guys will bond over this - win? ). Then again, a raccoon is usually smart enough to find water without digging night after night, and it would probably make enough noise for you to hear it, too. If it's a raccoon, check to see that it can't get [i]any[i] source of food or drink (secure your trash cans), or it will mark your garden a paradise for all other raccoons in the vicinity.
Skunks I have no experience with.

Best idea I can offer: install a cheap wifi cam that overlooks the area, connect it to your harddrive, and set it up to record overnight. Once you know the culprit, you can probably find a solution.

As for bleach - you said it yourself: most critters big enough to create a foot-high pile of dirt won't touch it, anyway, and as for pets not getting into your garden - well, some animal apparently does, and if they can do it, chances are cats or small dogs can, as well.

[pspence]

[pspence]

my dad had his Master's degree from an impressive university...am very proud of him as he was successful and worked hard for his family, etc...but he was also dumb as a brick with common sense. when we were little, he hollered excitedly for us to come see the gorgeous raccoon that he trapped with a trash can. we were all standing around excited anxiously waiting for him to lift the lid. it was a possum snarling and hissing.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

It will not be a coon, they are not famous for digging holes. It will be a burrowing animal, skunk, armadillo, badger...something on that order, don't know where you are.
Live trap is the best way to go, bait it with cheap cat food and set it out after dark.
If you don't mind dropping a few $ on investigating you can set up an inexpensive game camera, check Cabellas, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Academy etc..They are motion activated and work in the dark.

[LuciferLynn]

I'm not sure if this will work or if you want to try it, but try scattering moth balls around. The people across the street use them in their bushes and around their house to keep cats out of their yard and it works.

[sally]

Whatever you do don't try to pick up the varmint. I had a bad experience with an armadillo once.

[Jimbone]

A bowl of antifreeze should do the trick.

[OnBendedKnee]

Duchess I will gladly accept any and all ideas, of course!

LadyCop Sweet suggestions. And maybe a phone call to one of those agencies is in my near future. Liz once called over a sparrow that was fluttering around the entrance to your gym as it had gum stuck to its feathers. Others just looked at it and walked by but she was determined to get it help. They arrived (I forget which government agency and she's not here to ask...) within twenty minutes and caught the bird. They promised their mission was to save the bird and not euthanize as an option.

Ilyanna, I'd post picks but then [g]Gear[/i] would make fun of me for being too soup kitcheny (I know that's not a real word, but no other adjective fits as well). Perhaps though when all is cleaned up I'll post in the "We Don't Give a Sh..." forums or something...
As far as the bleach- I wasn't thinking they'd drink it but rather the smell would detour them/it from messing around.
I like your video camera idea and if I wasn't so lazy- but may get to that point. And, lastly, with our neighbor? Liz and I think he's gay. Sure, retired CHP and all, but he spends too much time polishing is cars and motorcycles and we never see female company over at his place. He's also one of those quiet guys who barely mutters any salutation when you walk by him. Best left alone really.

pspence, We though of an Possums. If it ends up being one of those, they can have had it. Those are nasty creatures I'd be frightened to mess with. We have a lot of full sized trees outside our property line and I can just imagine them living up in there, looking down and laughing at us. "Mess with a bull and expect to get the horns". I'd think getting bit by a possum would be nasty business indeed.

SIXFOOTERsez, I think we've narrowed it down, as you've suggested, to a skunk as the smell was pretty strong this morning and Leucadia is a haven for these creatures as there are many flower orchards around here.

LuciferLynn, I hadn't thought about moth balls (insert joke here) and will give that a try too as what I've read is to attempt various methods at once- it confounds them.

Sally, I assume it wasn't a pleasant experience for the armadillo neither.

Jimbone, Just leave the antifreeze out and let the odor drive them off or do you suspect the skunk will drink it? I know dogs have died from sipping antifreeze on the garage floor as the taste is sweet to them.

Another idea gaining in popularity around here is an electric fence.

[Maggot]

Its probably a skunk they are blind as bats and like digging for moles. I got rid of a few last year by laying out these blue kill cakes they have nuts in them and they like the taste they usually die in a few hours and before they croak they let go a real stink so you can find them easy and toss them in the trash or bury them. Cheap way out. My wife hated the idea so I just layed them out one night and said the must have migrated south for the winter. the cakes are sold as rat poison but a rat can get almost as big as a skunk.

[Jimbone]

It's sweet and tasty, but if it's a skunk don't do it. When they die their muscle release will let their stink ooze out.

I've read that soaking bricks in gasoline repels them... they don't like the smell.

[OnBendedKnee]

So between bleach; gasoline, and moth balls, our yard is going to be one hot stink fest.

(Will definitely be investing in those blue kill cakes, Maggot and cross my fingers they go to die two doors down. . .)

[Maggot]

I got drunk once and fell asleep on the picnic table, this was years ago. In the middle of the night my cat started licking my fingers and I started rubbing its head and stuff, saying good kitty and stupid shit like that....the problem was that it was'nt my cat and it was'nt a "good kitty" I never got sprayed though.