I hope the corn is all harvested, Larry. This year we didn't have a single ear of our corn eaten by either coons or deer. The birds pecked at a few and that was all the damage--other than earworms which we always have. And only the rain damaged the melons and I salvaged some of those.

That could be a good thing. Being coon-free before winter sounds like a good goal. I don't have anything against raccoons but they have proven to be vicious killers of chickens and cats here, so we don't put up with them. We have battled them relentlessly to keep them out of chicken coops and chicken runs, and if one chicken stays out at night and you cannot find it and get it locked up in the coop before dark, it is guaranteed the coons will find it and all you'll have is a pile of feathers the next morning. A little black banty hen stayed out one night several weeks ago and a raccoon got her.

There's been a terrible outbreak of canine distemper among the raccoon population in Texas. The coons have spread it to family pets by eating from dog food or water dishes left outside, and have spread it to rescued large cats living at a wildlife sanctuary. Knowing that the distemper outbreak is just a few counties away from us over on the Texas side of the river has made me extra careful this year. I always pour out the dogs and cats water dishes in the evening since all our animals sleep and eat indoors, and I check the yard area for raccoons (and skunks) every morning before I let the cats, dogs and chickens out for the day.

Most years, the raccoons will get every ear of corn if they can, but I've gotten pretty good at keeping them out of it most of the time.

We've only got the one big raccoon plaguing us this year. Chris has seen it in the yard and says it is the size of a medium-sized dog. So far, we haven't been able to lure it into a trap. Sometimes coons that have been around awhile can be pretty smart about avoiding being caught in a live trap.

Our bigger problem this week is venomous snakes. We have a sweet little cat who's been at the vet clinic since Friday. Her symptoms are consistent with snakebite and we didn't think he'd be able to save her. Our vet is a very determined person, though, and if there is a way he can save your pet, he will aggressively pursue that route. He said today she might get to come home tomorrow, although she still has some serious side effects.

I wish the snakes and coons would mess with each other and just leave our domestic pets alone.

Good luck getting all the coons. Keep us posted on how the coon campaign goes!

Dawn

There has been something eating my small pumpkins. I saw a rabbit run out of the vines several days ago so I set up the game camera and set my live trap. I did not know how bait for rabbits so I just left the trap open near the area of the eaten fruit. I have lost both pumpkins and cantaloupes. I never saw the rabbit again but caught two coons in the past two nights. I will start baiting for coons and re-set my game camera.

I have been pretty critter friendly this year, but have been getting too much damage lately.

Larry, I try to be critter friendly, but some years they wear out their welcome!

I bet it is the coons getting the pumpkins. I have some Seminole pumpkins growing low on the fence, and some Armenian cukes as well, and judging from the teeth marks on some of them, I think it has been coons and not rabbits trying to chew them through the fence.

The rabbits are out there somewhat close to the fence every morning and every evening, but they never seem to bother the stuff growing on the fence when I am watching them. I usually see them eating the little piles of hen scratch and cracked corn that I put out there for them, or they're eating grass.

Lately, I've been harvesting and slicing up the pickling cukes and putting them out there for the deer and the rabbits, and they come even before sunset and fight over the cucumbers. It is quite a sight to see a big buck trying to intimidate a cottontail into moving away from its cucumber. Mostly the rabbits ignore the deer and just keep on eating, which is pretty amusing to watch.

This week, I've been brushing the dogs and cats, and saving the hair from their brush and dropping it along the fence line...trying to intimidate the voles that run from the woods to the garden. I thought they had been doing most of their damage below ground by eating roots, but this week I've seen them in the garden above ground. They may be trying to nest in the mulch, and I may have to rethink mulching that back garden if the voles are going to think they can live in the mulch.

Good luck trapping the rabbits. If I was trying to catch a rabbit in a trap (based on what I see them eat at the compost pile) I'd start out trying apples or carrots. If that doesn't work, sometimes they'll go for lettuce or for anything from the brassica family.

To trap squirrels, we've had success with peanuts still in the shell and peaches.

Dawn