I live inside the city limits of Reno, and every 1-3 months a raccoon shows up and messes with my chickens. I realize keeping them out is strategy number 1, however the best defense is a good offense.

In a perfect world I'd have something appealing to raccoons in the back of my 10x12 cage trap that will last at least a couple weeks. The visit are so infrequent, we inevitably forget to refresh the bait. The best I could dream up is something like marshmellows and syrup.

Bonus points if it doesn't attract cats!

Dried whole kernal corn. If you have mice catch them first or the corn won't last. But like you already know marshmallows are great bait too. I wouldn't bother with the syrup because it will attract ants

Yep ^^^^

Run some marshmallows through your dehydrator, they will last a long time in a cage.

Hang a pipe or other container in the back of the trap with the bait. No ants or mice can bother your bailt/lure. I almost never place bait on the ground level of the trap anymore other than the enticers leading animals into the trap

In Ohio I use dry cat food... I think kibble and bits brand.....any flavor.....generic brands are cheap .....often on sale.....cheap.......place in plastic screw lid jar dry nuts come in...drill a lot of 1/4 inch holes.....hang in trap with piece of wood over for rain if trap outside.....peanutbutter jars work good too with holes.....fasten to trap cause they will steal jar and not trip....both baits smell almost forever......only problem I have is getting racoon in trap...put a trail cam and you will see avoidance.....when trapped......dispatch.....do not relocate.......sniper taught me that....

I run a mix of corn, dog food , fish oil and liquid smoke

as long as it is dry it keeps working quite a while , peice of tin over the trap to keep it dry might be all you need.

I put it in a gallon jug then add the oil and smoke and shake , dump it in soup cans and put them in the back of a live trap so they have to go dance on the pedal for it for my in town line.

I had a live trap set next to my drive way that had a little bait left in the can I hadn't tripped that one it was stacked with a couple others under a tarp after I had been running them in town , it caught a possum after a few weeks of nothing , possum wasn't in the trap 5 minutes and the dog was letting me know it was there going crazy at the gate by the drive way.
I was checking as in I had to walk right past that trap ever day as it was only a few feet from my truck but I really hadn't expected to catch with the tiny bit of bait that had gotten wet then dried back out.

I ran this without the corn before , but I got a couple barrels of free corn from a grain spill so then it takes less dog food.

Anise oil. Smells like black licorice

Buy a comstock trap with 2 doors......owner says you can trap without bait......call Jim and talk personally.....he builds them like a tank......find him on internet Comstock traps

You did not say if your chickens are in a pen or if they are free range. I have to keep my hens in a pen 24/7 due to so many daytime predators mostly eagles and hawks. For coons I keep a cage trap set at corners (basically a blind set) where as the coon walks around the pen he turns the corner and walks into the trap, no bait used or needed.

If you set up the trap to look like it's an entrance to the chicken coop, raccoons, fox and opossoms will go in without bait, to try to get to the chickens. I did this for my neighbors and it worked great. I just wired the trap over an existing hole.

That box trap.has been catching would be chicken.predators for around 4 years now. It also catches some rats, chickens that get out and one rooster that just showed up, too

Keith

corn pile. 7 bucks for 50 lbs.
Pile it
They will come....

does it make them like smaller and harder? what time and temp should i put them in for? im going to try it

I would put out a bowl or dish with dry cat food and watch it. When that gets consumed all in one night the coons are there. Then set your cage or cages. I have found that leaving cage traps out for long term time frames causes more avoidence. Another thought would be to just decide to set them for 2-4 days every couple weeks or so and see hoe that works.

Bryce

Cheapest dry dog food you can get. When I was coonhunting, we’d fill 5 gallon buckets with it so we could take young pups out and get them on a hot track.