Coons not looking so cute

Quite simply, if I don't do something about the raccoons that have discovered my grapes, there will be no wine for me. It's a nightly assault. They spit the skins away - the ground under the vines is covered with them. The canopy is disheveled from their climbing up the trunks and foraging. In past posts, I see mention of box traps. Are there any other ways to deter these critters? Can't bring myself to shoot, or trap them. Thanks. Ken A.

Reply to
Ken Anderson
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Run an 800-volt wire around (and above) your vines. That will discourage them for the rest of the season. A 10Kv wire will discourage them forever. Remember to install an on-off switch in the circuit for yourself.

A good dog will frighten them away as well, although he/she might decide that grapes are tasty too.

Reply to
Negodki

Why is it out of character, Ken? An electrified fence is a very common method of keeping wildlife out of the garden, vineyard, orchard, etc. A trip-wire around the perimeter (and above the vines, in case they can jump from nearby trees) serves the same purpose. 800-volts will produce enough of a shock to deter but not injure. And animals have memories, so they usually only need get "zapped" once, and they will stay away thereafter. 10 Kv will fry them, if that is one's wish. And an off-switch is a (hopefully obvious) necessity, especially with the higher voltage wire.

Similarly, just the presence of a dog, who will bark at and chase such intruders, will serve as a deterrent. Unfortunately, dogs _do_ enjoy grapes, and they make a mess of the vines whilst satisfying their craving. Also raccoons will stand up to some dogs, rather than being frightened off.

I have both mechanisms protecting my property.

BTW, it's VERY easy to forge news group headers.

Reply to
Negodki

Ken, here are a few other ideas:

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Note that both electricity and dogs are amongst the suggestions (so I'm not the only cruel and evil person on earth).

But I think that the motion-detector-operated lights and radio seem the easiest to install quickly, and the most "humane". Racoons are nocturnal, and the lights will definitely send them scurrying. Loud noises from radio in addition should give you a sure thing.

You can get a few cheap motion detector light-fixtures from Home Depot or Walmart for about $10 each. In place of one of the bulbs, screw in a socket-receptacle, and plug your radio in there. You'll need to get some #14 romex (#12 if the run is greater than 100-feet), a few plastic "wall" boxes, some twist-on wire connectors, electricians tape, and a male wall-plug. It should take about an hour to string it all together. Don't worry about being water-tight. Just make sure you plug into a GFI-protected receptacle. Use outdoor light bulbs. The indoor variety will work, until the rain hits them when they are on. The cold water hitting the hot bulb will cause it to break.

Forgiven?

Reply to
Negodki

Are you talking about commercial electric fences? Do they put out high voltages, but won't kill you, like a car's coil? I don't know much about electricity, but I believe the 220 in my garage can kill. And you're talking

800 volts? Ken A.
Reply to
Ken Anderson

Amperage, not voltage kills. That's why you get a shock when you touch a (firing) spark-plug wire (20-60,000 volts), but don't get hurt (unless you bump your head on the hood jumping away).

Conversely, the 40-volts from a ringing telephone can kill you, if you happen to be in the tub and someone drops the ringing phone in.

Standard "electric fence" transformers produce 800 volts a/c, and are sufficient to deter small animals, deer, and humans. I think cattle and horse fence transformers are about 1200-1600 volts, perhaps 2000. The 10Kv fences are designed to kill anything which touches it, and are only used in very high-security installations. [They are illegal anywhere else, and you wouldn't be able to purchase the transformers very easily.] It's mention was solely due to my hatred for raccoons, and a warped sense of humor. I apologize if it offended your sensibilities.

Normally, one does not "electrify" the fence itself, but rather strings the hot-wire close to the ground, or just above fence level, using plastic insulators, and grounds the transformer to the fence and the earth. Then the fence is not "hot", and doesn't pose a fire hazard if something touches it. When someone or something touches the hot-wire AND the fence (or wet ground), they will receive a shock. Since the amperage is very low, and the current is A/C, the shock is just that --- a shock. It _will_ kill birds, which is why the hot-wire should be far enough from the fence that the bird can't touch both, and rats (good riddance), but it will not kill dogs, raccoons, squirrels, or larger mammals.

If you don't have a metal fence (e.g. chain-link), you need to install a second "ground" wire, so that the intruder will touch both simultaneously. For this to work, you need to determine the size of your target.

This would have been my suggestion, since a transformer and 500' roll of wire can be purchased for about $25, and installed in a few hours (I used sections of 3/4" pvc pipe as insulators). But I like the motion-detector light and radio idea much better --- depending how large your vineyard is.

Since you say you are not familiar with electricity, and thus may not be comfortable doing a bit of wiring, you can purchase (more expensive) motion detectors which have a standard plug in. Then you can plug that into an extension cord, and plug the lamps and radio into it. Or, I will be happy to give you a quick course in wiring, and/or refer you to a website with pictorial instructions.

I don't know what sort of vineyard you have, but I would envision having at least one detector in between each row, which can get pretty expensive compared to the electric "fence". If it is a relatively small vineyard, perhaps you can install the motion detector and lighting high enough to cover everything with one or two fixtures.

Reply to
Negodki

Not any more. :)

Reply to
Negodki

I'll probably use the radio/light motion detector next year. I have 2 yorkies so all the other deterrents (electricity, pepper etc.) are no good for me since they are in the yard all day. When a raccoon does come into the yard at night I prefer not to let the dogs out since they're only 4 pounds each, they think they're pit bulls and can take a raccoon but I think they'd come out of it bloody. Louise:o)

Reply to
Louise Gagnon

I'm glad you added the last part. I was trying to figure out when raccoons came to southeast Los Angeles. :)

Reply to
Negodki

Louise, If your yard is fenced, you can still use the electricity. Just run the wire about 4" above the top of the fence. (Cut some 1' lengths of pvc pipe, notch the top, and tie or nail them to the fence. Then string your wire through the notches.) Yorkies are not going to jump or climb that high, and if they do, you probably want to discourage them. But keep them away from the raccoons. Coons can hurt a much larger animal if cornered.

Reply to
Negodki

Yeah, and if that's not bad enough, I just got done running out back to the grapes to scare off the dozen or so wild turkeys that we have around here. Two of them flew but the rest just scurried away. They're hardly scared of people! I've seen those SOBs bouncing like pogo sticks under my grapes, gulping them down. This co-existence thing is kind of tough. : \ Ken A.

Reply to
Ken Anderson

Robins are terrible. I have a flock of 50 or so practically living in the vinyard. I thought I had 'em beat (shot 3 or 4 a week all summer with a pellet gun ) but as soon as the sugar started going into the grapes, the population explosion began. I have to harvest the grapes early to keep from losing half. Picked pinot noir and pinot gris saturday, PN was 22.5 brix,

3.49 ph and 9 g/l TA. PG was22 brix, 3.35 ph and 6.2 g/l TA. There were some slightly greenish seeds and I would have liked to let them hang another week but what can you do? This is in Idaho at 2700 ft elevation. Any suggestions about bird control measures? Have tried the bright streamers, inflatable snakes, and I dislike nets (too expensive and this is supposed to be a hobby! They are a lot of work!).
Reply to
Darwin Vander Stelt

Hi, I have heard if you hang up CD on a string were they will spin in the wind worries them. Give us a use for all those damn AOL CD's. AT least its cheap. Cheers, Dave

Reply to
Lazurus106

So far I have trapped 2 coons, 1 possum, and 6 squirrels - in the city. Plus hundreds of yellow jackets. If you decide you like fuzzy animals more than fruit, I suggest you buy grapes. Tim

Reply to
Tim McNally

It's not the volts that kill ya. it's the amps. This of this: a static discharge (think touching a doorknob and getting a shock) is usually measured in the 10's of KVolts.... asside from a but of discomfort no problem. however, take even 15 volts, and a few amps accross your heart, and say good bye.

email: dallyn_spam at yahoo dot com please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well!

Reply to
Dave Allyn

Be careful. 220V AC can certainly kill as can 800V AC. They both have enough potential to force a substantial current through your heart, (under the right circumstance) which is what Negodki correctly points out will kill you. What makes the electric fences safe but uncomfortable to touch is the FREQUENCY of the current. Something called the "skin effect" means that higher frequency currents will tend to travel only on the outer part of a conductor, i.e. not through the heart. This makes the shock non-lethal but very unpleasant. The bottom line is don't try to rig up an electric fence yourself, use a commercially available unit.

Regards,

John

Reply to
John DeFiore

I use those CD's for Christmas tree ornaments. Tim

Reply to
Tim McNally

Yeah, but do you hate robins enough to make them use AOL?

What seems to work well (for bird control) in this area is those little multi-coloured propeller things they sell at "party stores". Mount a few on posts, or on a string. But you need some wind to turn them, or it doesn't scare the birds away, so this is only a good solution where there is a constant breeze.

Most insecticides will also kill birds, but this is not a good solution, since birds control the insects much better than do insecticides.

Reply to
Negodki

Good point. I assumed that my suggestion implied purchasing a commercial transformer (available at feed stores and some hardware stores), and not trying to rig one up oneself, or trying to splice into the 880 feed lines on the electric poles. But if you know how to build an a/c transformer, you probably know how to build a safe one.

Reply to
Negodki

That irony was my reason for parenthetically mentioning it. :)

Reply to
Negodki

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