Coons not looking so cute

But then you'd have to trap a dog or shoot the bugger to get the fur to spread around the perimeter! And you're right back to square one!!!!!!

Rick

We found with our garbage trailer (at our camp) we needed to put down chicken wire on the groud as well and have that hooked up to the fence because the raccoons would climb up the poles and avoid the wires. Smart buggers they are.

Most dogs are beginning to shed their summer coats about this time of year, perhaps for this precise purpose! :)

A trip to the local animal shelter will probably yield enough "fur" to cover a large vineyard.

You could have just put the chicken wire around the poles, no?

I took a jolt of 115AC today. I was working on a magnetic stirrer. Disassembled it without unplugging it. Soon as it hit me, I told myself I KNEW that was gonna happen! Been a long time since I got a good shock. Ken A. (doing the Homer thing today)

I looked at electric fences at Tractor Supply last evening. A little overwhelming, for a non-farmer. I think to use one for coons you'd have to run two wires at 6 and 12 inches, roughly. They sell the wire by the mile. I could have a grand time. Just dawned on me that if you could string it right to the trunks, you'd save a bunch of time, money, and headaches. Possible?

Hmmm. That sounds pretty good. I think that's their MO - up the trunk.

Check your local feed store or hardware store. They sell wire in 100' and

500' reels. It's just 18 or 20-gauge bare aluminum wire. Doesn't have to say "fence wire". Unless you need 5 miles of it to go around your vineyard? If so, INVITE ME ---- WILL WORK FOR GRAPES! :)

Yes, if you don't have a metal fence, you will need to run two wires --- a hot wire and a ground. And you will need to drive stakes in about a foot, so they stay there. You can use pvc pipe for the stakes, and then you won't have to purchase insulators. And you will need some sort of visibility, so people don't trip on the wire. The white PVC pipe will serve the purpose (in daylight).

Although running it along the vine trunks seems like it would work, it won't! Every time a branch touches the hot wire, it will burn, which has got to be bad for the grapes. And use up a lot of electricity. And you would have to use insulators, so you may as well use pvc stakes.

Unless there are trees the critters can swing from, you need only run the wire AROUND the vineyard, not around each vine.

Shouldn't take that long. Get the wife and kids to cut, notch, and drive the stakes. When they're finished, you can string the wire. ;)

PVC pipe is cheap, for sure. Could use the drill press and run wire straight through the stuff.

straight through the stuff.

I would suggest notching it (with the same hacksaw you use to cut it) instead. Reason being, it's easier to thread and tension the wire. Cut

2'-2'6" pieces. Make a notch about 3/4-1" from the top, and another about 6-8" below (how big are these racoons?). Space them about 6-10' apart. Make a hole in the ground with a piece of wood (a broomstick would do the job) or a piece of metal pipe, and stick each post in. Then string the wire. Wrap it around every 2nd or third post, so, if it breaks somewhere, you can repair it without having to retension the entire string. Shouldn't take long. About 1 hour per 100' if you work alone. Twice that time if you have a "helper". :)

Are you sure you don't want to shoot them? :)

Coons are not cute. At one time, we had one in our yard and after talking with local officials they warned me to not let my 75 lb dog out there - the coon would win. Fast forward more than a few years, I've found out that our dog was a deterrent for many critters. Now that he's gone, it has become a free-for-all in my garden (bunnies, squirrels, and a family of coons). The coons considered us to be the invaders. They are sneaky, and a pellet gun doesn't seem to hurt them. I will have to adjust to protect my garden next year. As to the electrical fence, be safe - even my husband who knows a lot about rigging things up with electricity, has been surprised a few times. His latest project was to create lights around our swimming pool and one light in the pool. His comment was, "Don't worry I've figured it out so we won't get a shock." After he finished it, was neat, but reminded me of a landing zone for UFO's (circular). ;o) Darlene

I have had a fine solution to coons, opossums, skunks and deer, all a plague for me for years. It is called a "Red Snapper". 110 volts - the output voltage is way up there and the current safely down in the milliamps. Sold at Orchard Hardware for $31, although I don't see it there now. A little

3x5x2 box. Ground one terminal and string the other with a 16-gage bare copper wire around the area to be covered at a height of 10 inches for critters and 30 inches for deer. I use a double line for both. At turns and at the end, use a nylon fishing line to insulate it. Covers one mile. It hits real hard if you are bare-foot. Never a doubt.....

Red Snapper North Central Plastics, Inc. R.R. 1, Box 1A Ellendale, MN 56026

Cheers, Bruce

You dont have to test them that way anymore....there are light meters designed for testing fences...heck even touching it with a blade of grass gives enough resistance to let you feel the pulses and not blow your socks off!

lol

Sean

Y'a, but REAL MEN just GRIP the damn thing! :-)

I used to test them that way but i got tired of people having to use a 2 x 4 to pry me off

S

I have a buddy who has told me the story about a guy who unwittingly peed on an electric fence, back when they were kids. Hurts thinking about it. : O