something got in to all my garden areas here at the house and destroyed EVERYTHING except my one planter of lettuce that was hung on the fence. Thankfully it's early in the season and I can replant, but I don't want this to happen again. I have a feeling the culprits are raccoons. I'm going to do some more vertical gardening, but I'm not really sure that will work for everything. Ideas? Also, (off topic) look at my beautiful new little girl
Not sure why I didn't think of a wire frame! I'm feeling a little special now lol. And yes I'm thinking she will be a great guard dog.
3 rows of electrified fence spaced 5" apart will take care of the raccoon. That and a .22LR between the eyes. That is unless you want the mask for a hat! Two thumbs up on the live trap, they are easier to shoot that way. And Sardines with a can of salmon cat food (the cheapest you can find) make great bait. Although you might catch the neighbor's kitty.....
If no one else in your area is hunting Racoons then you can expect to trap as many as 30 before they slow down a bit. If in doubt then set up a Trail Cam and watch for a while and check for a trail to your garden.
I see them running up and down the tree near the garden. The beds are raised already. As soon as they see something green come up it gets ripped out. A wire frame will help a lot.
I've never known a raccoon that could resist canned cat food. ( never did see one that could use the opener though, so why do they like it?) Reminds me of fish eating worms....why? Worms drowned and fish loose interest, so how did they develop a taste for worms at all?
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My brother in law plants about half an acre of sweet corn each year that we harvest and freeze. We put up electric fence as well around the plot. Bottom wire about 3 inches off ground and then about 5 inch spacing up to about 2 1/2 feet high. We see tons of coon tracks around the perimeter but none inside and corn does well every year. Our pastor had deer cleaning out his flower garden next to his house. Took a higher electric fence to discourage them. Don't need near the fence charger to keep coons out as you do to keep cattle in the pasture. The smallest cheapest will be more than enough. I see them go for just a few bucks at farm auctions. You can get small 250' roll of wire for $6-8, bottom end charger for about $30 and stakes for $3-5 each. So you can set this up around a small garden in an hour for roughly $50-60. Not bad. AT
What @Dunerunner said A .22LR then add an AR .223 / 5.56 practice, practice, practice on both and be safe! make sure the puppy gets used to the .22LR and AR