Have A Heartbreak

The good news is that all four coons have been removed from the chimney.  The sad news is that one of them died.  The last holdout evidently came out and was trapped early in the day and worried itself to death in the trap.  The trap was in shade all afternoon, but look at how the coon dug on the floor of the trap trying to escape.  It's a shame, and not pleasant to think about.  

The live trap I always think of is Havahart, from Tomahawk, Wisconsin.  Knockoffs are made in China and sold in farm supply stores, and I am glad to see that Havahart is still making a go of it.  The thing you will learn if you use live traps is that many animals go nuts in these humane traps.  We have used the live-mouse-traps, and it is not a pretty sight the way mice die in those traps. We went back to snap traps that break the neck or skull.  We have moved many a 'possum and coon with live traps, and as long as you check regularly the animals have no problem.  We do not try to catch feral cats in them because we cannot think of a way to safely take an angry cat out of the trap.  I have cornered a few and grabbed them with welding gloves.  Not too sure if I want to try that again after experiencing a cat bite.

Some will ask why we didn't just shoot the problem animals.  They were in town; there was a mother with babies, and of course there is the time involved in waiting out nocturnal animals so you can make a shot.  Shooting wasn't practical, or legal in this instance, and the mama with two of her youngsters have been placed in a woods five miles out of town.