Two tecks possibly more have been trying to rid a attic of a long term coon resident. The first put a one way door were the roof lines meet plus pest proofed the mirror image other side of home. ( the coon really was using this location for in and out before we showed up. )The second caught two squirrels and one opossum at a probable travel rout at the base of the home and spent some time doing a attic inspection.
By the time I show up the home owner is upset and demands a trap be put in the attic. I don't like to invade the animals space but the cage was set, when I went to remove the cage the next day I could play peek a boo with the coon. It was in the soffit. Non of the bait near the trap was touched. About 10 " of snow on the roof, there have been no roof tracks. I suspect the coon travels at least a little most nights. There must be a in/out that has been over looked. probable drifted in tracks rite were teck number two was catching other animals. This critter might have some cage smarts. What would you do.
Thanks

Get conibear over hole if possible

Thanks TR. I will put off climbing on a snow covered roof until I am extremely desperate.

Yeah, a 220 over the hole. No rub marks on exit/entrance?

Dormer tie ins? Gable vents?

You don't say what baits your using or how your setting the bait in the trap. There is the thought of changing out one type of trap for different, pan type changed to wire trigger or reverse.

The hole that the coon was using at the roof line intersection has a one way door over it. I guess that it could be switched out with a 220. As soon as the one way went in this exit went dead.As far as bait I used marshmallows and sardines, the marshmallows should have eye appeal and the sardines should produce some scent in the cold.
.The coon did not touch the bait near the trap, so i am not much worried about trigger systems
thanks

In extreme temps even a strong odor normally is marginal at best...got to get extreme smells in extreme low temps

Back to work tomorrow. The co. won't allow much other than cages in most cases. Because this has been going on for a while I have the green light . I suspect I will put a 220 with a cubbie in the attic and a dog proof or two at the probable travel rout.I have been freezing stuff just to see if it will still produce a odor.Ringtail cocktail came out of the freezer the same way it went in , beaver caster froze hard as a rock but still stinks.A little anise oil and any other thing I can scrounge up will get to ride in the truck tomorrow.

If it was me, I would stop playing around with baits and cubbies or cages and get straight to the point of removing that raccoon.

Brad you have my attention, please continue with a worth while method.

I have had coons in old barn lofts, and either killed them with a pitch fork which I pin them down until they die or I have shot them. If you can see the coon, why not put a choker on it, choke it off and it is RIP.
This time of year coons do not eat a great deal, and this one might have a food source in the house which is better than what you have. What I use is cat food in a live trap,and they have responded to horse sweet treats which is molasses based, with a plywood under the live trap so the coon can not rip up everything as they will anything within reach.

I never like using kill traps as things always show up that are not the coon.

I have had woodchucks in houses as you described and had to use a foot hold trap, but they pin into those holes and then it is a fillet knife like Davey Crockett to administer the coup de grace. My neighbor had a coon last fall by his silage pile which refused to go into a trap as someone had trapped it before in a live trap, released it along the lake as lakes and farmers always need more raccoons tearing holes in silage piles.

Hope something in the above helps.

Let us know what worked for you, always interested in results

well you said 2 or more techs have tried to bait the coon with no results so why would you think that if you do the same it would be any different? bottle neck that coon down so it goes through a trap weather it be a 160,220,or double door cage (Comstock)

Brad I don't know that the animal is trap shy, but it seems as though it has had opportunity to go in a cage and wouldn't.Switching to dog proofs and baited cubbies has saved the day for me a few times in similar situations ,so that is what I am hoping for.If there was a simple way to neck it down and do as you suggested I would give it a try.
Coming in with a mop and pail to clean up after a few people have had a extensive kick at the can for me usually ends up being a head scratchier.It is just a dumb animal + I strive to kiss, but honestly I have met several that are smarter than me.( sometimes it took a while but they all got to ride in the back of my truck )
Thanks for your help.

Bucket sets work great in attics!

I can see him having plenty of food stashed up there somewhere, but he's got to be coming out for water.

How old is this house? Is there a chance he could be traveling from attic to ground inside the walls? Older houses were built with the walls open from the crawl space to the attic to help with ventilation. They only started putting top and bottom plates on walls back in the 50's or 60's when central heat and air started becoming popular.

But, even still,... There could be an opening from attic to ground around a chimney or sewer vent.

That be the case, you may find where he's traveling through a crawl space vent.

Muddawg- lots of snow on the roof and every where else/ no reliable tracks. A head scratchier for sure. Modern side split about 30 years old.

I have had coon hold up in a house for 2 weeks before going back out through the roof vent when it's cold and snowy

Very common. Coons will become inactive during really cold spells, sometimes for 2 to 3 weeks. If, as mentioned in the original post, this is truly a long-term coon problem, the need for an immediate solution/removal may not be critical.

I would get that one-way removed, and take it to the local recycling center (scrap yard) where it belongs. Mount a 2-door trap (positive set) over that opening. If it takes a week or so for the coon to move, so be it. You'll get it when it ventures out.

If they are suddenly demanding it needs to be out ASAP, if you can see it while in the attic, a quality pellet gun should do the trick. Probably not legal to discharge an actual gun if it's in town, but pellet guns (such as a break-barrel) should be legal.

And if the owners don't want it killed.... they obviously aren't serious about wanting it out. If they ARE serious about it, yet refuse to use lethal methods, they should not resist the cost of a lift (if needed due to snow on roof) to place the posi-set at the hole.

You are basically fighting a couple obstacles with such a job. One: Mother Nature which is in total control on the raccoon behavior. Two: A client that is demanding results but possibly putting limits on your efforts. You can't control #1, but #2 is something that can change.

Thanks Ron you seem to be the voice of reason when I might unnecessarily complicate simple procedures. I have had bait in the attic for 8 days, most of the time the bait was near a set off cage trap. Not a morsel was touched . I believe the presence of the cage is a huge deterrent. I've been to the property 3 times and have yet to find a coon track. There is enough snow on the roof and every where else the coon would belly drag. ( even I could spot those tracks ) A WCS one way door with a solid steel plate door was used. I suspect the animal will not push against the door and has been trapped in the attic. ( If it blows a hole through the roof or a ceiling I will learn how to post pictures , promise.) I think TR and others got it right. Remove the one way and install a 220. Tomorrow, I think the coldest day for cast so far, I will be on the roof.

I'm in a learning mode, please explain a set off cage trap without the bait touch? Are you using commercial baits or trailing lures or call lures?

Nothing to learn Kurt. I could not check the trap through the new years holiday period, so out of necessity I set off the trap and dumped the bait in the attic. I was certain the coon would investigate and feed. It never touched the bait.
As far as bait / lure anything that is freeze proof and will produce odor. I used a lot of product. To my nose, Ring tail cocktail and Anise seem to over power the other smells . I used some long distance call lure out side . It should have some staying power. The main bait was cherry pie filling with vodka, taste great. It wont freeze and you can't tell it is 50% booze.

Are thr clients hearing the noise daily and can they pinpoint location?...if it is accessible...go straight to that spot in attic to see what is happening

Any progress, did you nail it?

There has been too much snow on the roof to safely switch out the one way door for a 220. I hope it left on it's own . But no capture so far . In the past when one method did not work switching to a dog proof or baited 220 made the difference. The animal has not touched any loose bait scattered in the attic. I can blame the cold weather for slowing animal movement a bit. Other than that I am close to out of bullets.
I have a wildlife caller, some nasty coon sounds and lots of volume. I would expect to stress the animal into leaving the attic . After this length of time I don't think I can do any harm with the caller. It's probably in the not to distant future.
Other than that I will need to take time of work for a proper fitting of a dunce cap.

Could you put a trail camera in the attic to see if it is still there?

I put in a camera two days ago. No attic sounds for a while . I expect it went out the one way. As far as tracks go the home owner an I must have just missed them

Up date- The home owner has not heard noises for six or seven days. I show up ready to remove everything and suggest that the critter left out the one way. I checked the camera and found pictures of a coon when the second coon appeared the home owner started to gasp. (I should have checked the pictures in the truck .) Both coons are walking within two feet of the baited conebear passing up cold pizza and other goodies. I moved the trap to directly on their path. Now they will half to walk around it and pass up vanilla cupcakes.
If I haven't caught them in the baited coneybear by now it's not going to happen.
I bit the bullet and went on the snow covered roof and installed a 220 . It didn't stabilize as well as I wanted, but it's there.
I don't think there are two coons trying my sanity.Only one. The 45ish or so pictures showed the second animal never leaving the first coons backside. You would think that he could at least stop for a slice of pizza.
I am a little leery of structural damage on the roof with the 220. I will switch it out for a two door trap.

220 will stop structural damage not make it

I have put down plywood pieces over the rafters and belly crawled close enough to get the catchpole on a large coon in the soffit. It took awhile to get the loop on it, but, he came out with a little ruckus and was inserted into a waiting Williams trap. It was under similar weather conditions. Caught the first one in the attic. Second one catchpoled, and the third one the owner watched him blow out of the soffit outside and hightail it out of the territory as I was checking the traps. He never returned. They were all large coon.

Also try hot pizza and chocolate cupcakes.

We don't have the luxury of using dp's, and coni's are only permitted per call and can only be used for the taking of beaver, it's cages for me. When a problem coon won't mess with bait, lure or traps in or on the structure, travel runs to the home have been the next best thing. At this point even an area with a track would get a cage, or an educated guess on the travel route. I would still leave a positive set on the entry/exit but I wouldn't make it difficult for the animal to enter into where ever it's going. I've noticed on past jobs over trapping an area sometimes causes refusals. Hence may be the reason you have had no luck so far, or it just isn't there. Also depending on what kind of roof it is, try draping shingles over the cage as in the same manner you would wrap a cage for a skunk without the bottom just top and both sides. I've done that in the past with positive results. This is when trail cameras prove to be beneficial. Good luck imo,jmo,imho,jm2c

TR I don't use a 220 much. Just once and a while when a coon avoids a cage. I was thinking that if the animal did not get a perfect hit, it might make a mess before it went to sleep.
TDHP Over trapping ,I trapped the attic at the home owners insistence, but sense then I have kept it up .Probably a comedy of errors by now . Those errors were quick fixes in the past.
The guys that suggested put a 220 over the hole had a reliable fool proof answer to a simple problem.
I initially avoided the 220 because of weather conditions and a visible dead animal. Quickly followed by more excuses as I think of them.
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

the 220 could of been anchored to a slide cable and tuck the coon into the flower bed, in an ideal world of course

Well bob pake, if the complaints aren't rolling in, then I'd say you're doing ok. But if they do, just make sure you direct them to the appropriate department.

Get some Molasses and Dog food and put in the Cage. Make sure the Cage is tied down so he cant roll it. A two door cage would be best like stated above. Might take him a couple days but once he smells that sweet molasses I dont think he will shy. Hes probably just using it as den and hasnt run for awhile since its cold.

I have had bait that I dumped out of the cage in Dec. sitting loose in the attic. The camera says the coon will walk past this bait by no more than a few feet. + some pretty great bait and a few lures in the cubby. This animal has no interest in goodies. Lots of snow and no evidence of nightly strolls that I or the home owner can find. I have been thinking a un well animal for a while.I need to find out and soon.

I would Try a little Red fox gland lure if it wouldnt work bait... Good Luck sounds like a pesky one..

We've got some knowledgeable cooners here... Very insightful. Indeed.

Coon in iowa are in full breeding mode right now. We call em zombies as they will be moving no matter what the temp is outside

Strobe them out, using a one-way. If you've got indoor access to the attic, it might work-unless it's just too cold for them to move right now-or you can't get light into the entire area.

Did it finally come together for you and you got the SOB?

Kurt it did not all come together. The last kick at the can for me was to watch the trail camera closely. I was able to find the exact rout the coons wanted to travel in the attic. I buried a sheet of plywood with two coils with extra swiveling , then re created the shallow trench that they traveled. Six days later + camera and nothing. I think I was trying to catch animals that were not present at this time.
Some one had asked miles and pricing . About 15 miles one way. Initially the home owners were to be billed for three animals captured , that had nothing to do with the attic problem . pest proofing + installing a one way door. And nothing for my time.
The coons would not use the one way, but would push through the flimsy hardware cloth boxing it in. I am told the CO. will bite the bullet for most of the expenses but not the pest proofing.
This is the worst coon experience ever. ( Wow should have never posted this one )
I have had 2 coons in the past that took me to school every bit as bad as this one. The first was a summer animal a under sized barren female that I believe spent most of it's life as a abused pet . The next was also a attic pest . I had it blocked in with one cage facing in the other facing out. It would take a feat of strength to move the cages even a little. It moved the cages.
It seems that there are two adc people . Those that can slap a 220 over a exit and those that expect no kill no foot capture. Two completely different skill sets.
Thanks for the help

Don't feel bad Bob...most of us have also experienced the exasperation of stubborn coon. I had one that took me 3 months to catch...another trapper screwed up and then I got a call....should have turned them down.
But I learned a bunch...humility being some of that "bunch"
Good luck

I'm some what new to this business but to me it sounds like you took more of a trapper/fur harvester approach to this problem then a nuisance operator.

Iayogi - The normal adc operator techniques that we favor had been tried long before I showed up. The co. relaxed the no kill no foot hold on this job. They still would be very up set if a neighbor called in with a visible animal in a 220 or leg hold. As frustration grew I slowly gravitated to the more aggressive methods.
I think a 220 over the exit is as simple and efficient as it gets. ( I will tell on myself a bit. Why stop now )While laying in the snow working up hill installing a 220 I could not get it stabilized quite the way I wanted. I ended up putting my hand in the trap. I reefed my hand out and kept on working. Much later that evening I had a queezy feeling in the pit of my gut. If I didn't get a bone crushing jolt from the trap neither would the coon. I envisioned massive roof damage. That ended my 220 ing

If u are a trapper in Iowa like iayogi and i are...we have killed a few hundred coons in 220s. To be honest though i would opt for the square 5 x 5 made by rbg with the 160 springs. That trap will kill biggest of coons with very lil movement made by dying coon. Perfect over a hole in a house

We've all been there, maybe not to that extent, but we've all had problem critters. Anyone who denies that is just kidding themselves. If there's a perfect Tech out there, I sure would like to meet them. Should have, could have, would have always starts to race through the mind on these jobs. Better luck on the next one.