We finally found the solution to our mama raccoon’s nightly marauding of the birdfeeders. It’s no small effort, but we bring the feeders inside at dusk and hang them out again at sunrise. By we, I mean Moe, and he does it without complaint as part of his daily ritual.
Removing the feeders from the deck for the night is the only thing that keeps that raccoon from consuming the seeds intended for the birds.
Cayenne pepper on the banister didn’t phase her.
Carabiner clips were no match for her deft fingers. She was somehow able to spring the springs to get the feeders off the pole and empty them.
She considered the trap-and-release plan a temporary setback.
Even a fall down the steps inside the trap didn’t deter her, nor did the night we chased her off and she had to abandon her kits. (We assume she came back for them after we left, because they were gone in the morning.)
Yet she keeps checking for the easy food source she once found here, as evidenced by these tracks in the morning dew on the banister. Aren’t they cute?
I’m not sure who is the more committed, Moe or the raccoon, but I watch and marvel and applaud them both for their persistence.
~dkm 11/6/22
