Raccoons

Last Thanksgiving I was chasing and trapping rabbits with drama and success. I hadn't seen any rabbits in my gardens this fall and was feeling pretty secure.

Until I went out on a nice sunny afternoon after Thanksgiving and found that something had gotten into my back garden under the aspens.

There were 6 or 7 deep holes dug in my fresh mulch, and dirt was piled up in big mounds around several plants. And in one deep hole there was a giant (really, it was huge) pile of scat. Ugh.

Raccoons. This year I have raccoons.

I'm not growing vegetables in this garden under the aspens, but the raccoons aren't after plants. They are digging in the mulch for insects and they dig deep and all over.

They are nocturnal and I have not seen them, but my neighbor told me she was out on her patio one night a week ago and something scary and big was doing acrobatics along the top of our shared fence. 

In the dark she thought it was a prowler, and then a bear, and finally realized it was a very big raccoon. They are nimble enough to climb over our tall fences and big enough to make a noisy ruckus. And brazen enough to come right into our fenced yards.

The raccoons did not eat my plants, but in their digging they disrupt roots, disconnect the new irrigation emitters and leave a mess. And the pile of scat was enormous and had to be dealt with.

My rabbit trap is not big enough for these guys and they forage in family groups of 4 or 5. The best I could do was spray the area with rabbit repellent which I hope is smelly enough to deter the raccoons.

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Or maybe I could get Jim to sit outside all night with his air gun? Scare them away with loud pops? That's probably not going to happen.