Like everyone else we get raccoons that are so wary of cages that you suspect someone caught them before, took them a couple of miles and turned them loose. Except that now that the nights are getting colder ( 46 last night ) this doesn't happen anymore. Sure, you still might get an occasional turned over cage, but that happens all the time if not properly secured. If they can't roll the cage, they're waiting for you inside of it. We seem to have practically no problems catching raccoons when the weather starts to turn. What about the rest of you?

Paul here in my area many times I just set a cage by the entry point and the coon takes off, and stays gone as long as a cage is there. that is any time of the year. I catch a lot of coon but there are a lot that just plain will not go into a cage.

Rick, we normally don't use Comstocks on raccoons ( But we certainly could this time of the year ) so they are not refusing because of size. As a matter of fact we have some really good sized double doors that customers gave us and we don't use those either. We have about a hundred raccoon cages that are in the 10x12x32 inch range. We also have a few larger cages but as Jonesie pointed out, in the spring of the year they shy away from cages period. Not this time of the year though; we will get some in skunk cages. ( I think they have to grease themselves to fit in there )

Catching coons in cage traps is all about appearance and draw.

To start with I cover my traps with brush, leaves, straw, or even cardboard or what ever I find handy, covering the top and sides so as to leave the front and back open. This helps to hide the trap a bit and gives it a tunnel effect. Then I hang my bait near the back of the trap, taking care that it is very visible from the front. Our coons around here seem to have a sweet tooth and marshmallows dangling from a wire works well. Give them a plenty. I use three marshmallows at the time and maybe a short cob of corn wired to the floor behind the trigger.

Once the trap is generously baited, set and concealed I play again on his sweet tooth and dribble a bit of molasses in a long line leading from the trap to any obvious trail to draw them up to my trap.

If I run up on a cage shy coon I break out the heavy artillery. CHECK YOUR REGULATIONS BEFORE YOU DO THIS! as it may or may not be legal where you are. If the need arises, I'll break out my dog proof traps. I have some Duke Dog Proofs that are nearly identical to the very effective Lil Griz traps. They work and work well! I think I may even prefer my Alcatraz dog proof traps simply because they are so much easier to set, bait, clean and release catches from and work as well as the Dukes. Not to mention, I believe it's easier on the critter.

I set these closer to the coons trails and travel ways. Baited with a marshmallow and trailed molasses just as before.

Good coon baits include marshmallows, as we've mentioned, sweet corn, field corn, apple slices, grapes, some candies and a verity of other fruits and vegetables. These make good baits for targeting coon only.

Other baits that work well are sardines, fish heads or parts, fish oils, tainted meats, crawdads, shell fish, fried foods and peanut butter. BUT, these baits will also attract possums and house cats.

Again, check you regulations before you make these sets, but I've found that dirt hole sets with leg hold traps, like fox and coyote sets, will catch a fair share of coon if baited with a good tainted meat.

Paul it's possible that what you are seeing is the switch being tripped.

While Raccoons are usually interested in food/bait, as the equinox approaches, it seems a switch is tripped in their brain and they go into high gear looking for food.

A single minded, driven animal is always easier to catch than a lazy one.

I have noticed the same thing up by me paul
But I thought maybe it has to do with mating and
Dirty traps in the spring! Come fall all the kits are
Big and the sows aren't so weary and all are looking
To stock up there fat for winter!

Muddawg be careful with those so called
Dog proofs! I cought my dog in my garage
By the tongue, wasn't pretty! Now I make
Sure there not set and baited sitting on the floor!

Ive been using white surveyors tape in the back of the traps, I tie it on the top and let it hang down a few inches. Seems to help with the eye appeal. I set 4 traps last night for 1 coon and had 4 full cages this morning... Go figure right lol

Muddawg, read your post and if you don't catch every raccoon in North Carolina, something's wrong!

sgs, I believe has the correct take on this subject. When coons get hungry, get outta their way!

Since the only one's who have backed me up on this theory are from Northern states, maybe this is a northern phenomenon!

A lot of times I have luck with the plastic catch traps on cage shy coon. I have caught some real big coon in 9x9 skunk size plastic catch when set for skunks. They get hot in the summer so I always check them early. Had a female coon in an attic that finally went into a large plastic catch after 4 days. I took the pups out of the soffit as she kept charging at me on each grab and stapled some card board over the entrance so I knew that she had not left the attic. The customer called and said, they heard the door slam shut on the trap. They can come in handy on cage caught and released coon because they are nothing like they have seen before and the coon seem to readly enter them.

ponyboy, I too have a handful of Plasti-catch that seem to work when all else fails.

I have yet to catch a skunk in my plasticatch traps but they work great on coons lol go figure!

Nic, the skunks won't go in because of the coon smell, but I bet that this time of the year skunk smell wouldn't stop a coon!

Lucky for the coons it don't take many to make me happy.

I catch more coons by accident than a lot of people do on purpose. The rest are paid jobs where the coon are giving problems. I'm not in it for the fur trade and when my freezer gets full I'm ready to move on to something else.

But I've started tanning my own furs, now and plan to target a few coons this season for practice and meat. Along with an extensive muskrat line and I'm going after the coyotes again.

In the past, when I don't get enough beaver calls I do a little trapping for them because my wife loves it better than beef. But it don't take many weighing in at 50 to 60 pounds each to fill the freezer. I'm doing their pelts too and getting better at it.

i would sell my business on june1 to never have to deal with a wet female again,,,,,,, them first few days can be heck,

Ya sure positive sets,,,lol.... i had one come though the light fixture instead of the trap this year,,,,,

Got any tips for getting rid of the coon smell?
Ive cleaned em out and sprayed everything off/down with sterifab, left em to air dry for weeks and still skunks won't go into em.

Add skunk essince to the trap?

Yeah, that would have been my suggestion; just don't overdo it. I always have a hard time figuring skunks out. Been catching coon and opossum in my Wickenkamps and surely wasn't expecting skunks; so you already guessed it, two in three days. Go figure!

Here's some really valuable information about animals that I just got hot off the Internet. If you jump from a monorail at the Bronx zoo and land in the tiger cage, you will be mauled by a tiger. This is a public service announcement and I'm not making this up!

I've had more cage fearing coon down here than I did in NC. But then again, all had to be euthanized up there. This spring, I caught a few with painted tails. Imagine that! One was apparently removed right across the road from the one that I was having a tough time catching with positive sets. The lady had painted the tail after caught by a trapper. Apparently he didn't look at it well enough before dropping it off down the road. It was orange!

you boys that think you are all that with coon and cages, put a camera on a few and come back and say the same thing. LOL

I catch alot of coon, both fur and adc, and this I will tell ya, most are easy but, a hard one, well is just that hard. now take a coon that has taken a ride is a truck or car, in a cage where it was stuck in for 5 to 12 hours, that was carried around by a human then turned loose in a place where it has no idea where it is and then the other coons telling it it can't stay there. well do you really think it is going back into another cage LOL better yet let me put you in a trunk of a car drive around for a few hours then let you out think you will ever get back into one again LOL