Any suggestions for bait for raccoon traps

Daughter and I been trying to protect her FFA sweetcorn patches from raccoons. This year we welded small pieces of flat steel 1 inch by 3 inches to bottom of trap then drill a small hole to put in and weld a ring shank nail. Make em fight for the feast. We are currently pushing a marshmallow and a small orange slice over the nail for bait held up enough as to not attract ants. When setting traps we also push in an electric fence post through trap to keep them from getting rolled. Working fairly well but wondered if anyone else had any better bait ideas they would share. I know electic fence works for some but her patches are scattered along field roads 3 rows wide and quarter mile long with 7 different planting dates and 7 sites. Guess where Im spending the rest of my summer starting next week.

Duke's dog proof coon traps.  Stinky wet cat food or sardines, then push a big marshmallow on top of the stinky stuff.  Also, some sardine oil or cat food smeared on fence posts, leading toward the traps...

Son uses those Dog Proof traps that Dave shows above... BUTT he caught a cat in it one night... Now the set a soup can over the trap so cats cant get in, but coons will grab the can and lift off..... Personally i use a game camera, then backup with a 22..... but this is real close to the house and small area............... they LOVE cat food.

Edited by steve(ill) - 16 Jul 2023 at 8:13am

Have a heart trap, 3 small chocolate donuts, .22

Dr. Winchester's or Dr. Remington's Famous lead sedatives  work very well, to dispose of coons. One or two doses usually do the trick.

Clay wrote: Dr. Winchester's or Dr. Remington's Famous lead sedatives  work very well, to dispose of coons. One or two doses usually do the trick.

Not everyone has time to sit and wait that out. Otherwise effective.

BBQ coon is tasty but a bit on the greasy side.  
When I taught Vo-Ag, back in the early 80's, I had the opportunity to sample some. Reminded me of pork picnic shoulder.

What ever I am using for bear bait seems to work great. The fly bait and coke does work and they only go maybe 10ft and legs up. (That's what I heard) But because it goes against the label on the bait it is illegal to use it in that fashion. 

That dog proof trap in Dave’s video. Would a cat stick its paw in there.

Mikez wrote: That dog proof trap in Dave’s video. Would a cat stick its paw in there.

I've caught a lot of coons in a live trap using tomcat mouse bait. That's what the little S.O.B.'s were stealing that made me set the trap. Wire the block down, helps and the mice can still eat from it!

I got five last week in a single night.

Thanks for all the responses, we are going to try a few of these suggestions, I know the electric fence is a great deterrent in several situations but for us it would be a cost and time prohibitive alternative since we plant 1/4 mile long, 3 row plots next to field roads and hard roads to make spraying and harvest simpler, that way we dont have to cross so many rows to get out of the field and dump our buckets. With so many other ideas we can rotate our "menu" and entice them to their last meal. Thanks again

My Bates motel live trap is baited with cat food and they check in but don't checkout, alive

Those clever critters can be quite the handful, can't they? For bait, you might want to give marshmallows or peanut butter a whirl. Those little guys seem to go nuts for anything sweet! Just make sure to keep the traps in good shape for effective pest control. As for the traps themselves, you might want to consider adding a touch of scent to draw them in. The smellier, the better—raccoons have a keen sense of smell! If you catch one, make sure to handle the situation safely and release it far from your property. Anyone else here tried any other bait that worked like a charm? I'd love to hear what you've tried and what has worked like a charm for you!


Edited by Kolumbianna - 28 Apr 2024 at 10:58pm