The Setup
My rogue raccoon problem started a few weeks back. I would find my main feeder turned sideways in the morning. This feeder has a raccoon baffle on it so I’ve never had a problem with either squirrels or raccoons getting to it. Still, I thought it was odd to find the feeder this way every morning. Because it happened at night and because I’ve heard him getting the corn mix from my squirrel box on my fence, I automatically assumed it was him. I didn’t worry because as far as I could tell nothing was taken in the process. That changed one day.
I woke up one morning to find the feeder once again spun on the top of the pole. I should mention that I don’t have the feeder bolted down because of taking it down for periods due to the house finch mob and their eye disease. When I made it out to the feeder that morning, I found it was completely empty. Because I never fill them all the way during the summer I thought I might have just been very low when I put it out. Still, I didn’t think I remembered ever finding this feeder empty.
The next morning the same thing. My guess was that he must be shaking it and making it spin and throw out its seeds. I started bringing it in at night to be sure. I left my upside down suet feeder that’s on the same pole because he hadn’t disturbed it noticeably yet. That turned out to be a mistake.
The Last Straw
The next morning I found that feeder still hanging on the arm of the feeder but all messed up and obviously open. When I examined closer, I saw it had been shaken until it dropped the suet cake. Here are some pics.
What Did I Learn?
Moral of the story: never underestimate the strength and craftiness of your local raccoon. I am concerned about what I’m going to do this winter when he really gets hungry. I’ll have to come up with another interesting approach I’m sure.
Have you been tricked by your local raccoon? If so, leave us a comment so we can laugh and figure out a solution together.
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