[ceviche]

Umm. I suppose this might be off topic, but I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with, say, raccoons appearing in your house. What might be a good "solution" when it comes to varmints in the house? Discharging a gun indoors seems too noisy and smelly of a solution. Keeping a trap lying around might put the pets at risk, as well as create other problems (It's alive...). I've considered a h/v airgun, but I have no real experience with these, except for the Daisy Red Ryder, back when I was a kid. Any suggestions and/or warnings out there?

Thanks!
--Dave E.

 

[ceviche]

Never mind. I discovered this forum and this thread after doing a Google search:

http://www.lacrosseforums.com/showthread.php?t=82527

Posts like:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sorry but I have had a terrible experience with the exact situation. Shot one a million times in the garage. It wouldnt die. I felt terrible. It bled all over the place. I mean everywhere. Bikes,cars, birdfeeders,trash can. They are tough. I had to break out the bow and stick it in the face with an arrow. Not pleasant."

And:

"HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Pellet gun.

I shot one 4 times with a .22, Broke my rifle butt over its head, Threw it in a lake, then finally had to just hit it with an oak branch until it died.

This was a Nebraska '****, I don't know what ones you all are hunting saying you can kill them with a good shot, But the type i was hunting was definitely built to last.

Don't underestimate them dude. They're nasty, have rabies, and possess a god like extreme will to live. "

Are plenty good enough answers to my question. I now wonder if a high velocity pellet gun might not be enough.

Anyone ever have to kill a raccoon in their house? What was your experience?

Regards,
--Dave E.

 

[Split Bamboo]

It depends on how good a shot you are. My neighbor uses a live trap, then an airgun. I might be inclined to try something a bit higher powered if you can get away with it. 22Lr shot shell or 22 short or the frangible parlor rounds. The last two are very quite coming out of a rifle.

 

[Wormonhook]

A large live trap baited with a bit of cat food or sardines or canned salmon, etc. will capture the critter. What and how you deal with them after that is your choice. Options include taking the animal to the "country" along with a pistol or rifle. You can also take them without a pistol or rifle. Just be sure you don't get your hand anywhere near the cage. We live trapped ***** at the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia and took blood samples for a rabies study. One of the biologists notice he had a cut on his hand and couldn't say for sure if it wasn't a bite (we were wearing heavy work gloves). One of the ***** tested positive for exposure to rabies so twenty one shots around the navel later...

I had a problem with squirrels in the attic (the house, not my head) and caught them live. My wife wouldn't allow me to dispatch them so they got a ride across one large river body to a release site at a golf course. Most likely they didn't survive more than a day or two due to owls, etc. I would rather have taken them out with my pellet gun but the cost to my marriage would have been significant.

 

[Daryle Holmstrom]

I relocate feral cats with a havahart live trap, no tag I relocate them about tree miles away, if they have a tag and meow about half mile away, if said cat leaves footprints on car after first chance then it gets the three mile treatment. A friend of mine use to trap skunks for their hides and he would get two cats for every eight skunks. The havaharts were covered in burlap so no skunk squirts and they would get the underwater treatment for about half an hour. Don't think he sold any cat hides to the furrier but I don't know.

 

[Jim Kerr]

In my experience its best to corner them behind your "outside" freezer. Then put down your drink and go grab your pellet gun. If you discover at this point that your out of ammo, DO NOT FEAR! Go back in the house and break open a #4 shot gun shell, lead shot, not steel. I tried steel the first time and it did not have sufficient kinetic energy. You will probably notice that the shot will not chamber well in your air gun, pick up your drink and think about this.
Now, instead of trying to load the shot in the chamber roll it down the barrel. Now sneak quietly back into the garage and over to the freezer. Lean around the freezer and point the barrel at the ****. See how the shot rolls right out of the end of the barrel?
Go back into the house and re-load. Now, obviously you will need some type of wadding to hold the shot in the barrel, or you can re-load and then just shmear cream cheese over the end of the barrel.
Brace yourself with a stiff drink and head back into the garage. Now sneak back around behind the fridge and slowly ease the barrel toward the varmit. If you go real slow and quiet don't be surprised if he tentatively, sniffs, then licks the cream cheese on the end of the barrel. (If you have all ready blasted him with steel shot do be surprised)
Now, while he is licking it LET HIM HAV.... oops, don't forget to close the door that leads from the garage to the kitchen because if he runs in there with a face full of lead shot and cream cheese, OH MY GOD THE DOGS! Now this is gonna get real, real ugly. At this point grab a splitting maul and make a quick mental note of where you soon to be ex-girlfriends family heirloom type furniture is and go sick ninja rambo on his ass. This may not be the BEST method, but I can guarantee it will work. Here is a hint, use the back of the splitting maul.

 

[Islander]

Hey Jim, Is this information from "personal experience"???????

 

[Old Man]

I ran over one. And it just got up and waddled away. And this was in Everett. I tried to miss it but it just turned under my vehicle. It raised me up in the air. But what I was driving at the time didn't even hurt it. Suzuki's aren't very heavy and this was in "88.

 

[Luke77]

In my experience its best to corner them behind your "outside" freezer. Then put down your drink and go grab your pellet gun. If you discover at this point that your out of ammo, DO NOT FEAR! Go back in the house and break open a #4 shot gun shell, lead shot, not steel. I tried steel the first time and it did not have sufficient kinetic energy. You will probably notice that the shot will not chamber well in your air gun, pick up your drink and think about this.
Now, instead of trying to load the shot in the chamber roll it down the barrel. Now sneak quietly back into the garage and over to the freezer. Lean around the freezer and point the barrel at the ****. See how the shot rolls right out of the end of the barrel?
Go back into the house and re-load. Now, obviously you will need some type of wadding to hold the shot in the barrel, or you can re-load and then just shmear cream cheese over the end of the barrel.
Brace yourself with a stiff drink and head back into the garage. Now sneak back around behind the fridge and slowly ease the barrel toward the varmit. If you go real slow and quiet don't be surprised if he tentatively, sniffs, then licks the cream cheese on the end of the barrel. (If you have all ready blasted him with steel shot do be surprised)
Now, while he is licking it LET HIM HAV.... oops, don't forget to close the door that leads from the garage to the kitchen because if he runs in there with a face full of lead shot and cream cheese, OH MY GOD THE DOGS! Now this is gonna get real, real ugly. At this point grab a splitting maul and make a quick mental note of where you soon to be ex-girlfriends family heirloom type furniture is and go sick ninja rambo on his ass. This may not be the BEST method, but I can guarantee it will work. Here is a hint, use the back of the splitting maul.

:rofl::rofl::thumb:

Post of the WEEK by far!

 

[Split Bamboo]

iagree

 

[Jim F.]

While Jim's post would prove to be the more entertaining solution, problem ***** have been successfully-dispatched with .22 & .25 caliber airguns with a minimum of noise & mess. If I lived closer, I'd offer my services, but there must be a few avid air-gunners in your neck of the woods.

 

[Gary Thompson]

If I lived closer I would help also with some good trap sets.
All pets would be safe.
I've never had to harm a house pet trapping varmints.

 

[steelydan]

22lr revolver or bolt action with CB caps...not much louder than airgun and sufficient within 10yrds.
You do neet to hit a vital zone or it doesn't matter what you use(maul, 300wm, whatever)