I thought we'd seen just about every visitor that a backyard bird feeding station would attract, but I was wrong. Check it out, Donna MacIntosh has a new mouth to feed in Baraga, whom I'm going to name Ricky Raccoon. He sneaks in like a bandit, along the tall grass and ferns at the edge of the yard and makes his way to Donna's sunflower seed patch for dinner.

Maybe that's what we'll have to try, putting the seed on the ground, because we have Raccoon's coming to our feeders, too, but they destroy the feeder in the process of getting the seed they want to eat. We don't mind them getting a share, just wish they wouldn't be so ungrateful and destructive. Thanks for the idea on how to save the wear and tear on our feeders, Donna!

Always fun to take a peek at Donna's yard!!

Raccoons are so much cuter in someone else's yard.

Their "cute" appearance belies their evil heart.

"Raccoons are so much cuter in someone else's yard."

The same can be said about Rabbits. Two days ago I was admiring how well the pansies I planted in my front yard were doing. They were covered with blooms. Then last evening I noticed that every single bloom had been eaten by the horde of rabbits that are taking over our neighborhood. Apparently we need to import foxes or coyotes (Or Elmer Fudd) to control the wabbbit population...

Hi
One night in our cabin up at Cheboygan, we left the wood door open so we could get a breeze through the screen door, which was secured only with an hook. I heard the door rattling in the night. When I got up to look, I saw that a raccoon was jiggling the door trying to get it open. I quickly shut the wood door.

Wild animals are neither ungrateful (how would they make a connection between the food and human motivation?) nor evil, but they can come in conflict with our needs and plans. Raccoons are good at getting in where we would not want them, I agree.

David, have you tried putting a chemical repellant on your plants?

We had raccoon issues with our feeders in Red Jacket as well. I finally devised a way to keep them from climbing the post. I took a 3 ft. section of galvanized stovepipe and wrapped it around the post; problem solved! The raccoons couldn't climb the post from that point forward, but it sure was amusing watching them try....

I wish I had some photos to share, but I'll check my laptop when I get back later.

Electric fence. It works. The only way I could raise sweet corn. Let them learn the hard way.

David C. -- try the spray "Deer-B-Gone" which also works against rabbits. Our hostas were consistently mowed down like a lawnmower hit them until we discovered that stuff...re-apply after any heavy rain. Deer and rabbits Will B-Gone. Good luck!!

Just be thankful that you live where the "marauders" are fuzzy creatures.
Nice shots of Ricky, Donna.
I once fed a raccoon on my deck, he left for a while and came back with ten more family & friends!! Then they tried tearing the slider screen to come in!! Help!! That was enough. Door closed. LOL! :)

As an alternative, I use Waterboarding B-Gone, simultaneously with electic fences and galvanized stovepipe wrap :-)
I can't even get the sanitation department to show up to clean up the mess.

We've recently had reports of raccoons in metro Phoenix, AZ. That's in addition to the coyotes and hawks and an occasional mountain lion. They, and the feral cats might help to control the roof rats found in parts of the city.

However, note to kitty cats: Watch out for the coyotes, hawks, raccoons and mountain lions!

I take my feeder in at night. I throw seed on the
ground for the chippies and ground feeding birds,
(squirrels, etc) and it's amazing what all comes
in to eat that seed! I will throw chips, crackers,
bread, etc...out by the tree line...I had a deer
with a couple of crows fighting over that the
other night! LOVE the critters....and really, we
ARE in the woods....they were all here before we
were!

Thanks Alex, I just spit my bottle of water all over my desk!! lol

Truth be told...I'm waiting for the turkeys to
return too! :D

Thank you for the tip. I will try that!