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Raccoon Bait
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.
Raccoons will eat bread, chicken, rice, dog food, sweet corn, muffins, bananas, scrambled egg, pork, candy, ham, pancakes, sardines, french fries, bacon, oranges, hamburgers, fresh salmon, cheese, ice cream, pancakes,
croissants, smoked or canned fish, broccoli, bologna, buns, donuts, crayfish, salt, onions, wet cat food, tomato soup, cupcakes, strawberries, caviar, fried okra, pizza, steak, honey, hard boiled eggs, lemons, sugar, rotting burritos,
coca-cola, yams, sausage, beer, apples, peanut butter, leftover turkey,
watermelon, tacos, carrots, dry pet food, milk, cucumbers, pineapple, hot dogs, and macaroni and cheese.
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.
Click here for a full guide on raccoon trapping tips.
NOTE: I have received so many requests for professional help with raccoons, that I have spent hundreds of hours compiling a complete United States
directory of people who can help. Click here for a
complete listing of hundreds of professional raccoon removal experts serving
every city in the USA.
So go ahead, use pet food, dog food, fried chicken, white bread, vegetables, meat, candy, whatever you want, but bait does not matter. 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.
Article about Raccoons in the basement.
Article about Raccoons in the crawl space.
Article about Raccoons in the house or home.
Article about Raccoons in the wall.
Article about Raccoons in the ceiling.
Article about Raccoons in the attic.
Article about Raccoons on the roof.
Article about Raccoons in the chimney.
You may also want to read about raccoon poison.
If you do catch one, read about raccoon relocation.
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Actual Situation:
Hello David, I hope you can help me, I'm at my wits end. I have an animal literally tearing up my back yard. I am 99.9% sure it's a raccoon. I have seen raccoon tracks on my back patio; I am familiar with what their tracks look like. Every so often I will see a raccoon in the back of my home. (I live in Florida just outside of Daytona Beach. I live next to a canal, and have woods beyond my property line in the back.)
I've tried mothballs, but as I just read in your article these don't work unless it's in an attic. I learned that the hard way after spreading 6 boxes all over the back yard and still having my yard dug up.
I have spread a mixture that I bought at my local Lowe's that is supposed to kill bugs in the dirt. I know the coons are digging for bugs to eat. That does not stop them from digging.
I also bought another mixture I spread that is supposed to repel a long list of animals including raccoons for up to 2 months. The second night after spreading it I had more new holes dug in my lawn. It didn't work.
I recently bought a Havahart trap. The first night I put cabbage leaves in it (of course, always beyond the trap trigger). The next morning the cabbage leaves were still in there, the trap door was down, but no animal inside. The next night I put a piece of Parmesan cheese in the trap. Next morning no cheese, and the trap door was not even down. Last night I put another piece of Parmesan cheese in the center of the area beyond the trap trigger with an X cut partway down into the cheese. I tied the cheese to the cage floor sinking the string into the X to secure it, and tied it with a square knot. Next morning, no cheese, string uncut, trap door down, no coon.
Is there another bait that I should be trying?
Will they only go after grubs in the ground?
Like I said before, I'm at my wits end. Can you offer any help, please? Thank you. Sincerely, Colette
My response: I don't think you'll be able to kill all the bugs in your dirt that the raccoon is going after. Your best bet, for a raccoon that habitually engages in a destructive behavior, is to trap and remove and relocate the animal.
Trapping is honestly not very simple. The type of bait doesn't matter, but MANY other factors do. Your best bet may be to hire a pro, such as the guy I have in Daytona Beach, from looking at my directory.
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Please be kind to raccoons! They are intelligent animals, and believe it or not, they definitely have emotions! |
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