A couple in their eighties had found there was an unwelcome guest and a big nuisance living in their attic. A raccoon decided to make it its new home. Its nocturnal meandering, noise and the destruction of telephone cables caused dramatic upset in their lives. They had an all too frequent problem in Boynton Beach, Florida: development has taken over natural environment where wild animals once roamed freely.
Raccoons, opossums, rats even alligators often encroach on living space in adult communities enjoying the benefit of protection from hunting and laws that govern the way they can be dealt with. Licensed trappers respond to animal pest complaints but they are an expensive option. When the older couple called a trapper listed in the Yellow Pages, the price quoted to come and trap the raccoon was $250. An additional fee of $80 for each raccoon pup would be added. It seemed that the raccoon pest in the attic was a mother that moved in with her brood.
My friends called me. They live on fixed incomes. It was a lot of money to spend to remove the offending raccoons. I called animal control and was informed about regulations entailed in trapping the raccoon. I got a Tomahawk Live Trap. My friends insisted that the raccoon and her pups be treated humanely. They didn’t want the animals harmed in any way, just removed from their attic.
The Tomahawk Live Trap I used measured 32“ x 10” x 12” in size, made with 12-gauge wire mesh that has one-inch square spaces. It has a spring-loaded trap door and a release door. Pretty simple concept. The trap has a large pedal. Once it is set after lifting up the trap door and securing a hook attached to the pedal, it is strategically placed and baited. I used a small can of cat food. Tomahawk sells non-meat bait to help insure neighborhood cats do not get caught by mistake. Since my friends did not think there were any feral cats or neighbor’s cats around, cat food sufficed.
The idea was to place the trap in the area beneath a drain-pipe the raccoons used to get to and from the attic. My strategy was to trap them, hold them in the shade and provide water if necessary, then to place a wire grille over the attic vent they used to gain access to the house.