Sweet corn is in tassel, ears are starting, coons are getting trapped, the bears shocked with raw bacon wrapped on the electric wire atop of the 4 foot stock fence. Williams traps are tough, had some bear cubs go in them and Momma rolled the traps over getting them out. She sure dug up some sod! Set most cage traps on the fence corners, unbaited as blind sets for the coons. Get less bear cubs that way. Seems this time of year there is a never ending supply of both critters. ( Ski poles make great easy to handle stakes for roll over type cages).

Wish we had bears, might get the new citidiots to leave....

I feel your pain! I'm visiting for a couple weeks in Sussex County. I tackled the issue of coons getting into the garage to inventory the trash. Score: Pete 2 - Coons 0!

Pete

Good luck Eric. Around here the coon and woodchucks both had a good hatch this year. Lets just say that there are some fat vultures flying around.

Our friends farm just over into PA had deer and coons decimate one of their sweet corn fields. I said, well you know it was almost ready then. Ugh.

Huckster sweet corn price 10 a dozen here.
Yours looks a little dearer, or deer-er.

I spoke too soon yesterday when I posted on this thread. It had only been coons until supper time last night!

I heard a racket at the garage and looked out to see a 275-300 pound bear dragging off a trash can I had just set in the garage an hour before. I got the shotgun and "encouraged" him to be elsewhere with a couple of cracker shells. Apparently the noise (or possibly the smell of singed bear hair) was upsetting to him. He left and has not come back. Yet...

Pete

You’re blind setting cage traps?

I got a call about supposed nuisance coons killing ducks…Im going with live traps a dog proofs…I suspect a possibility of skunk.

I was setting a few dog proofs near the orchard not long ago. Had a helper - grand daughter - adding the bait. I set the last trap and told her to bait it up. She said she ran out of bait on the last trap. I told her thats ok, we will bait it tomorrow when we run them. Next day there was a coon in it

Pete I have one of those cracker shells. I find it works best in my 870 if I put the cracker in the magazine first, follow it up with a buckshot shell and then put another buckshot in the barrel. That way I still have a cracker shell for next time.


Yes I set one at all corners and some just along the fence. Coons will walk the fence before climbing over. Bait attracts the bears to mess with the traps. I usta' snare them along the fence but snares fastened to the fence allowed them to reach and tear down the electric fence. Then I fastened the snares to a drag and they still climbed the fence. Staking the snares away from the fence they still had enough cable to tangle in the fence and short out the electric by entanglement. I am in NJ so no legholds and no conibears on land.