'Coons in the corn

Billy Bee · Jul 19, 2019

Every year the coons get some of my sweet corn, but they usually don't mess with it 'til it's almost ready to pick. They have decided to make a raid early this year. The ears are only 3 or 4 inches long, so I didn't think about my " anti coon " measures. They got about 25 stalks last night, time to start trapping, shooting, and "stuff". I usually get between 12 and 20 coons out of the garden every year. I wasn't prepared for this sneak attack, but now war has been declared. If you have young sweet corn, it might not be safe from those masked bandits. Just a heads up.
Bill

stuckmotor · Jul 19, 2019

Someone said that planting the perimeter in sacrificial rows a few days ahead of the rest would give the coons something to work on while the main crop matured. I've never tried it.

4get gto · Jul 19, 2019

stuckmotor said:
Someone said that planting the perimeter in sacrificial rows a few days ahead of the rest would give the coons something to work on while the main crop matured. I've never tried it.

Oooooh , throw the money on the sidewalk so the crooks don't rob the bank trick....! :laughing:

Gunny · Jul 19, 2019

I've never won any war with coons, their numbers and determination has always gets them the win. Since nobody around here traps them for fur anymore, there must be thousands hiding in the woods.

Electric fence - I set up a game camera and you could see them taking the electrical shock, but they kept going in.
AM radio on high volume - The next morning I saw 6 corncobs laying next to the radio - guess they like to listen to talk radio while they're eating.
The "red eye" predator lights - Coons aren't scared of them.
Adopted a dog and set him up next to the garden - Guess he was a lazy dog, coons still bypassed him and came through the electric fence.
Set up welded wire fence with electric fence midway up - they would find a place to dig under and I'm not about to dig a trench around the garden to bury it.

I just buy fresh corn now that I've admitted defeat.

Wagtail · Jul 19, 2019

4get gto said:
Oooooh , throw the money on the sidewalk so the crooks don't rob the bank trick....! :laughing:

Or you could think of it in the 'biblical' practice of gleaning.

4get gto · Jul 19, 2019

Wagtail said:
Or you could think of it in the 'biblical' practice of gleaning.

You made me look it up..

From Wikpedia:
"Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. It is a practice described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legally enforced entitlement of the poor in a number of Christian kingdoms."

that's the Racoons for sure.. :thumbsup:

BRMyers · Jul 19, 2019

A few of these might help

Ford850 · Jul 19, 2019

stuckmotor said:
Someone said that planting the perimeter in sacrificial rows a few days ahead of the rest would give the coons something to work on while the main crop matured. I've never tried it.

That rumor was started by the coons, getting them an even earlier crop to eat.

oldballs · Jul 19, 2019

"Me Too"......
Usually start trapping a month before corn ready to harvest. What a chore that is on a daily basis. Didn't plant any corn this year due to weather......just as well. But, coons, possums, and a skunk now and then will still be going after my cantaloupe.

The fencing takes care of deer and rabbits.

nybirdman · Jul 19, 2019

BRMyers said:
A few of these might help

View attachment 613564

Handsome pups!We have three GSP's,two solid black.I wouldn't leave mine out to tangle with coons(I know they would).I use dog proof traps and up to 14 this year.They harass my bird pens even though I have an Electric fence.

MarkF48 · Jul 19, 2019

Squirrels decimated my corn last year. I've been busy this year with the pellet rifle trying to reduce the numbers which likely is a futile effort.

Bird · Jul 19, 2019

One of my Dad's childhood buddies worked Guernsey dairies all his life, and raised and trained coon dogs. So when I was a teenager, I've gone on a few coon hunts with him, although I didn't find it something I cared for much. But this thread reminds me that around corn fields was a popular place to hunt coons at night. Of course the coons would take off for the trees, and the dogs would track and tree them.

fried1765 · Jul 19, 2019

Gunny said:
I've never won any war with coons, their numbers and determination has always gets them the win. Since nobody around here traps them for fur anymore, there must be thousands hiding in the woods.

Electric fence - I set up a game camera and you could see them taking the electrical shock, but they kept going in.
AM radio on high volume - The next morning I saw 6 corncobs laying next to the radio - guess they like to listen to talk radio while they're eating.
The "red eye" predator lights - Coons aren't scared of them.
Adopted a dog and set him up next to the garden - Guess he was a lazy dog, coons still bypassed him and came through the electric fence.
Set up welded wire fence with electric fence midway up - they would find a place to dig under and I'm not about to dig a trench around the garden to bury it.

I just buy fresh corn now that I've admitted defeat.

In the past I have tried the radio plus a strobe light.
I think the strobe light was the most effective.
I drove one with her kits out of my basement in 20 minutes with that combination.

Ford850 · Jul 19, 2019

Electric fence works best for me. You have to have good, deep, ground rods and use a very strong model. I've used the average models and have watched them take the shock and keep going too. The HD models will knock them off their feet and back on their @55.

rekees4300 · Jul 19, 2019

Billy Bee said:
Just a heads up.

These are effective, bait with dry dog food.

Sigarms · Jul 19, 2019

Oh heck - deleted...

Was way to easy...

oosik · Jul 19, 2019

The VERY LAST year we planted corn I was rudely awoken about 2AM. Grabbed the Makita and out I went. There was a gigantic fight going on in the corn patch. Coons, deer, squirrels & skunks. For some reasons the badgers weren't invited.

I gave up. Now I buy corn at a local fresh foods market.

snymat68 · Jul 19, 2019

I planted a bunch of pumpkins around mine this year. I read the perimeter of prickly vines deters the critters. We'll see.

Ford850 · Jul 19, 2019

snymat68 said:
I planted a bunch of pumpkins around mine this year. I read the perimeter of prickly vines deters the critters. We'll see.

I don't know about that. This year they dug out many of my melon plants, stomping down the vines too. They also tore down a lot of raspberry canes stripping them bare of fruit.

oosik · Jul 19, 2019

Apples. Different food group - same idea. We always figured half the crop goes to the wildlife & hornets/wasps - half for us. However - the coons had different ideas. The adults could not climb onto the most outer branches where the choice apples hung. They sat on the ground, under the tree, encouraged the young to go the distance.

Nothing funnier than a tiny coon - upside down - way out a small limb - trying to pull apples off so they could fall to the ground.