Racoon Population Estimation

I guess I need to update my previous post, since it's still June 8th, of #49 to #50. :cool:
37 males and 13 females.

My budget for mini marshmallows is going off of the rails. I may have to start a "go fund me" page. :ROFLMAO:
 
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spotstalkshoot said:
Raccoon sales were decent at auctions, there should be trapper interest this fall in areas that have good pelts/colors.
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My success is such that I'm wondering if it would be worth my time to take them to a fur buyer, when the pelts are in prime condition. Late December thru February might have some decent pelts and hopefully the prices are worth more than a couple of bucks. :unsure:
Last year, prime coyote furs weren't bringing $8. :cautious: I'm not dragging them out of the woods for that amount of money.
 
Thankfully GA allows the taking of coons, possums, and coyotes 24/7/365. I don’t foothold set until the fawns get older, but DP’s and cages have been wearing out the coons/possums.
 
My feist had this sow treed by the coup this morning. Whacking and stacking the Indiana panda!
 

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Well, from June 8th to June 25th, the tally is up to 61. :)
46 males and 15 females.

My property butts up against a 35 acre woods. I'm wondering just how many of these critters are living in this woods. I only have 2 traps set and if I set another 10 traps, I'm wondering how many more I'd catch. :unsure:
 
bowhunter57 said:
I live next to a 30+ acre woods and have had problems with racoons destroying things and being a general pain. Basically, a nuisance. So, I started using a couple of Duke (dog-proof traps) traps with mini marshmallows. There seems to be no end to the amount of coons that I can catch with this setup. :sneaky: I've only been doing this for a few weeks and have managed to remove 30+ with just 2 traps, set about 8' apart.

What's your best estimation or guess as to how many of these varmints can be caught? :unsure:

I want them off of my property, but at this point, there seems to be an endless number. I kinda thought it would've slowed down by now.
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In 2022 I trapped 100 raccoons off 20 acres. In subsequent years I have pulled off about 20 'coons on the same property, and the numbers have stabilized, which is what you want. There will always be more that move in, but you will see a bumper harvest that first year. I now see turkey and poults, which we did not have before the trapping.

Most were caught with dog proof traps. . . my preference is the Duke dog proof, having also used Tailfin, Minnesota Trapline and Wolf Creek.
 
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It's getting crazy, now. I'll catch 1 in a trap and there will be 2 more in the nearby trees. :rolleyes:

Officially, I'm up to #67. 50 males and 17 females.
In the last month, I've started catching a few more cubs. Looks like I'm working on next year's population too. :sneaky:
 
Spurchaser said:
If you keep it up, you eventually take fewer and fewer until you plateau out.
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You are so correct, but eventually they will come back as long as you have good habitat, which is sadly the same as appreciated by deer and turkey. My annual harvest numbers are always June to May (Note: May to July are ONLY traps around the chicken coop), as our season runs August to April. Here is what I posted on the Habitat Talk forum:
A Personal Experience: In the trapping season starting in....
2022, 100 raccoons were trapped. After the season ended, I conducted my first growing season burn.
2023, 14 raccoons were trapped.
2024, 18 raccoons trapped. That winter I conducted a dormant season burn.
2025, 23 raccoons trapped.
2025, 24 raccoons, 5 opossums, 1 skunk
2026 (so far): 21 raccoons, 1 opossum

Prior to 2021 I had a couple of dog proofs that I would put out periodically, but trapping was not part of a larger management plan, which was implemented in 2021 that included controlled burns, TSI, pollinator plots and predator control.
 
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This morning whilst sipping my first cup of coffee, my attention was directed to the muffled barks of my feist. I cracked the window and confirmed his location. Grabbed cup #2 & sipped away. Booted up, grabbed "chopper" the 22mag ar15 and headed south. Just across the holler from the one I shot yesterday in a tall Poplar stood Little Dan overwhelmed with excitement of my arrival. With the foliage, locating my foe was difficult, but after enough squalling and whistling he looked and gave up his hide. Psst, psst, psst, the 40grainers finally chopped a path for shot #4. Thump!!
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Afterwards my wife informed me that Little Dan was treed at midnight, 4.5hrs he awaited my arrival.
 
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