what food do you use to catch a raccoon

Raccoon Bait to Trap and Relocate Raccoons

More items

Full Answer

How do you trap a raccoon?

To catch your raccoon once and for all, follow our instructions:

• Select the best trap Today’s market suggests various variants of traps. ...
• Choose where to place the trap The trap should be placed on an even surface in an area where raccoons are frequent or in the place with raccoon damage. ...
• Bait the trap Selecting raccoon bait is critical and just as important as the choice of place where you place the trap. ...

More items...

What is the best food for raccoons?

Raccoons are opportunistic scavengers and will eat just about anything they can find. They’re omnivores who eat plant foods as well as meat. The majority of their diet is made up of invertebrates and plants. Essentially if it’s available to them, a raccoon is probably going to eat it so their diet isn’t very tough to predict.

Should you feed raccoons in the neighborhood?

Do not intentionally feed raccoons Raccoons might be naturally cute creatures but should not be fed by all means. Avoid feeding them and encourage your neighbor to do the same. Ready food will keep them coming. Reduce Any Inhabitable Sites Getting rid of food sources is one thing, but reducing access to inhabitable sites is another.

How to keep raccoons away from your home?

Seal Off Your Home and Yard

• Seal holes. Raccoons have a great sense of smell that they use to find food, and they won’t hesitate to venture inside your home if they can smell and easily ...
• Use a perimeter fence. Raccoons are natural climbers that often venture onto trees and other tall places. ...
• Use barrier screens. ...

What is the best bait for raccoons?

Sweet and fresh, corn on the cob is a great choice for baiting raccoons.

What is the first step to take to get rid of a predator?

For most pest and predator animals plaguing your property, the first step is usually to make your home less inviting and attractive. Trapping and relocating is usually the last step you take after trying other things first.

Do racoons like wet cat food?

The stinkier, the better. Raccoons love smelly, oily meats, including a nice can of wet cat food.

Can raccoons attack humans?

Raccoons are actually one of the most common animals that carry rabies, and they've been known to attack humans and pets. Perhaps you have a raccoon (or worse, a family of raccoons) who have taken up residence on your property. This puts you in a tough spot.

Do racoons like tin foil?

Raccoons are curious creatures, and a wad of tin foil can sometimes be enough to draw them in to a trap. Their curiosity will get the best of them, and they'll move in to investigate.

Can raccoons slaugh at chickens?

Yes, you read that right. A whole, uncooked egg! Those who own chickens know this to be true. Raccoons have been known to slaugher chickens in order to get to the eggs in the coop!

What are raccoons' favorite foods?

Raccoons are opportunistic eaters known to dine on a variety of foods, but they favor those high in fat or sugar. Sugary foods are the best to use in a live raccoon trap, because they target raccoons without attracting other unwanted wildlife.

How to keep raccoons from knocking over traps?

To prevent raccoons from knocking over your trap, secure it by placing a brick or weight on top of the trap. Create a trail of bait from the outside that leads your raccoon into the trap. Always wear gloves when baiting your trap; raccoons may be wary of a human’s scent. Baiting is just one step in the trapping process.

What is the first step in catching a raccoon?

Selecting a raccoon bait is only the first step in catching a raccoon. Placing your bait is critical, and just as important as the type of bait you use.

Where to place bait in a 2 door trap?

For a 2-door trap, you have several options: you can place the bait just behind the trigger, bury it in the ground underneath the trigger plate/trap or hang it from the top of your trap.

What do racoons eat?

Bait: Raccoons will eat almost anything, but marshmallows may be the best. But wait! Bait doesn't matter! It's trap location that is key!

What bait do raccoons use?

Even so, they do have some clear preferences, such as sweet items and those that are round and white like eggs. This combination means that marshmallows are the preferred bait of professionals when it comes to trapping raccoons.

How to trap a raccoon?

One of the most important things they will check is that they are using the right trap. You need a live cage trap that can easily fit a raccoon without causing damage, ideally 32 inches long at a minimum. The trap also has to be set up perfectly with the right pan tension and the entire thing must be stable. If the trap isn’t stable, the raccoon may not go in at all, since it will be much more likely to notice it.

How to catch a raccoon in the attic?

If you want to catch a mother raccoon in an attic, no bait in the world works better than her own litter of young, set in the back of a cage trap.

What is the least important thing to do when trapping raccoons?

But here's the deal: when it comes to trapping, bait is the least important concern. With raccoons in the attic, the most important thing is to get the correct target raccoons, not every last raccoon in the neighborhood. You want to find out how the raccoons are entering your house, through some hole, and mount a trap right on that hole.

Why is it important to get rid of raccoons?

Because of the incredible amount of damage that raccoons can cause to your property and the risk of disease spread through their droppings, it is important to get raccoons off your property or out of your home as soon as possible. When you notice raccoons living in your attic or another area, contact a professional right away or start preparing your raccoon trap to resolve the issue yourself. As with trapping any other type of animal, bait is an important component, although it is not the most crucial. Find out what baits work best for trapping raccoons.

How long should a raccoon cage be?

You need a live cage trap that can easily fit a raccoon without causing damage, ideally 32 inches long at a minimum. The trap also has to be set up perfectly with the right pan tension and the entire thing must be stable.

What bait do you use to catch raccoons?

I'm guessing you're here because you have some sort of a raccoon problem, you want to trap it, and you want to know what kind of bait to use to catch raccoons in a trap. The short answer is: anything. Raccoons are omnivores. They will scavenge almost anything they can find. They are very common in urban areas because they eat out of garbage cans and restaurant dumpsters and from pet food dishes, etc.

What bait do raccoons use?

Marshmallows. If you must know one best bait, it's marshmallows, for a variety of reasons - raccoons are drawn to round white things, like eggs, they like sweets, this bait is easy to set, etc. But bait is really only 1% of the equation, if that. Type of bait doesn't matter. I have some very important things to say about raccoon trapping. Also, it's very important that you identify the type of raccoon problem, because different problems MOST DEFINITELY require different approaches. It's not as simple as just laying down a cage trap on the ground, and then voila, your problem is solved.

What is a raccoon trap set?

Raccoon trapping sets regardless of bait - Raccoon trapping sets usually refers to the type of trap set out in the woods for the purpose of fur trapping. A homeowner with a nuisance issue is better off using a cage trap or calling in a professional.

Why are raccoons cage shy?

The animal may have had a previous experience with a cage trap. Raccoons have fantastic memories , and if this is the case , you’ll have to do more than just bolt the trap to the outside of your roof.

Why is it important to identify the type of raccoon problem?

Also, it's very important that you identify the type of raccoon problem, because different problems MOST DEFINITELY require different approaches. It's not as simple as just laying down a cage trap on the ground, and then voila, your problem is solved.

Do you need to cover a raccoon cage with sticks?

With cage traps, you do not want to cover the trap with an excessive amount of sticks or leaves. Cage traps, if baited, will work fine as long as they are on level ground. If the raccoon goes to step in and the cage wobbles, it will scare the animal. A cage-wary critter is always more difficult to catch.

Can you use dog food to catch raccoons?

What kind of bait do you use in a trap is irrelevant. You can use any kind of food to put in a cage to catch raccoons, or even a number of scents and professional liquid baits. Trapping technique and properly addressing the situation at hand is far more important than a mere lure. I'm going to outline a list of articles below, which you should read before simply setting a trap with bait.

What do raccoons like to eat?

Some foods that raccoons like are marshmallows, watermelon, sweet corn, and bacon. In fact, some trappers say marshmallows draw raccoons the best of all! Raccoons also are drawn to wet cat food, fish in a can, bacon, and cooked fatty meat, like chicken legs. Bait the raccoon trap.

How to catch a racoon?

To trap a raccoon, start by getting a 1-door live trap, which is a trap that locks raccoons in when they step inside to get the bait. Then, put the trap near an area where you've seen raccoons and fill it with foods that are high in fat or sugar, like bacon, marshmallows, or sweet corn. Once you set up the trap, check on it regularly so you don't leave a raccoon trapped in it for too long. If you catch a raccoon, relocate it at least 5 miles from your property. To learn how to prevent raccoons in the first place, scroll down!

What type of trap do you use to bait raccoons?

Choose the type of trap you will use. The most common traps used to bait raccoons are 1-door traps or 2-door traps. The bait is positioned differently for each. Set the trap in a stable area.

How to get a raccoon to enter a trap?

1. Entice the raccoon to the trap. Drop a trail of bait that leads right up to your trap to increase the chances the raccoon will enter your trap. Make sure you wear gloves when you apply the bait because raccoons can sense human scent.

How to keep racoons from coming back?

Raccoons are drawn to garbage, so remove it frequently. Wash your garbage cans. Eliminate all food and water sources for a raccoon. Put tight-fitting lids on your garbage cans.

How to stop a raccoon from knocking on my trap?

Secure the trap. The raccoon might try to knock the trap over. You can prevent this by securing your trap. To do this, put a brick or weight on the top of the trap.

How to get rid of a raccoon in your house?

Use a lethal trap instead. Hopefully, you won't need to kill the animal. A live cage trap is the most common approach. However, there are some states that won’t let you trap and release a raccoon.