Coons got my sweet corn!

[Illiniwek]

Help! I've planted and maintained 6 20 ft. rows of sweet corn, and just found out that the raccoons went through last night and very nearly cleared out the entire harvest. The corn wasn't quite ready for us (still a little white), but they seemed to like it just fine!

I can probably still save a couple of the less-developed ears. Any thoughts on how best to protect the crop from these varmints? (I think me and Mr. Remington might go for a little midnight stroll this evening.)

 

[Chuck52]

Good luck. My problem is deer eating my beans. They also tried the cucumbers and okra, and took out the Swiss chard completely. I just ordered some deer netting....kinda closing the barn door after the cows got out. Is your garden fenced? Probably wouldn't stop coons anyway, but I suppose you could put the netting over the whole thing.

Chuck

 

[winchman]

My neighbor across the road put a radio in his garden to keep the coon out. Works for him. He can't see his garden from his house, but I can. I told him I'd let him know if I saw the racoons over there having a corn roast and dancing to his music. He is 78 yrs. old and has given me tons of gardening tips and advice.



winchman

 

[Boondox]

Coons are the reason we never plant corn. Can't be there to watch the crop constantly, and definitely don't want my dogs to tangle with a coon. Besides, I also don't want coons to discover the chicken coop; we've had them pull birds through the chicken wire a piece at a time! So with coons I don't mess around. They come, I set traps and keep the 12ga handy.

I think we stumbled onto a nice deer solution, though. Fish and Wildlife says to use 8 foot fencing. What we do is use two four foot fences spaced five feet about. The deer can't clear both fences, and the space between them isn't sufficient to let them two-hop. Besides, if you toss chickens in between the fences it REALLY freaks out the deer and they keep the weeds down AND provide a no man's land barrier for insects. Seems to work pretty well for us.

Pete

 

[rocky2]

And Mr & Mrs Racoon send a big thank you for the meal. They are tricky lil rascals. Last year they did the same to me with peaches. I thought the peaches needed another day or two on the tree, heard something that night, went out and junior was up in the tree pitching them down to the rest of the family who was loading up their racoon shopping bags. They ran away but came back later...lil suckers got evey last one. Gotta admire 'em for being resourceful.

 

[wasabi]

Our (former) pug, Bonsai, used to keep them reasonably well managed. Now that he is gone, I've lost all the tomatoes in pots on the back deck to the bold masked wonders!. First I thought is was deer til I noticed they had carefully reached in between the cage thingy to get the ripe ones!

Last year, as I sat by the outdoor fireplace one evening enjoying a cigar, one came within three feet of me to raid the cat food....when he noticed me (sitting very still), he stood up on his teenage back legs and just looked at me.....then he ran down the back steps, only to return a few minutes later with what I assumed was his girlfriend, like he wanted to introduce her to me....really cute creatures, but bold indeed and a major PIA to gardeners! I hear they taste pretty good.

 

[Frank_Mulligan]

I just love how vegetable predators take 1 bite out of every vegetable, instead of just finishing it!/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif They also seem to know the exact moment when they are ripe for picking!

 

[skent]

I try to plant enough for all. But I usually end up keeping two 'have-a-heart' traps set in the far end of the corn field. Typically I get one or two coons the first two or three weeks, then I'll end up with half a dozen opossoms over the next few weeks. Seems we will never run out of opossoms around here. My biggest problem is the deer. Can't very well trap them.

 

[Chuck52]

I've thought about the two fence solution, but I want to be able to get to the garden with my tractor and 60" KK tiller. That means I either have to fence a much larger area, or be able to take down the fence. I'm hoping the 7' netting will do the job. I know the deer are only doing what deer do, but it sure is irritating to see those rows of beans clipped off to the bare stems. The place where I ordered the netting also had something that sounded like a cattle prod on a stick. You stuck the thing in the ground near your veggies or whatever the deer were eating. Bait it with some kind of attractant oil they provide, and the deer get zapped when they taste it.

Chuck

 

[Golfgar4]

<font color=blue>"Last year, as I sat by the outdoor fireplace one evening enjoying a cigar,..."</font color=blue>

Doug,

Are you sure he didn't want your cigar?

A few years ago, before I quit smoking and when a Scoutmaster could still enjoy an occassional cigar during a campout, I came back to my tent one evening to find that "something" had gotten into my backpack and pulled out my packs of Swisher Sweets! /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

At first I thought it might've been squirrels, cause just a small corner of the box had been chewed through to get at the tobacco. It happened again the next night./w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif/w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

So, a couple of the other leaders and I decided to post a 'round the clock watch to catch the culprit. Sure enough, shortly after dark out came a couple of racoons, and they both went straight for the pocket of the pack where the cigars were stored. But since I had "relocated" them (all those pockets on scout pants gotta be used for something! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif), they couldn't find anything of interest and just meandered off.

So next time you're out enjoying your cigar, take an extra one with you. Maybe you can bribe the little bugger with the cigar to stay away from your veggies! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif