I got into airguns for pesting. My job appears to be done.

When we bought our house, the first few months I was too busy with home renovations to act. But there'd be raccoons fighting on our deck at night. Massive colonies of rats in our trees and the vines along our fences, and mice everywhere. The symptoms were bad:

1) taking a flashlight into the back yard at night, you'd see 20+ rats looking back down at you from the trees
2) raccoons coming in and out of the yard all the time
3) rats eating the wires on our vehicles in the driveway

So I got serious and started trapping the animals. Haveaheart for the young raccoons. Goodnature traps for the rats and mice. I got a small Haveaheart trap for the rabbits as well as most of the rabbits around our house appeared to be diseased.

The pests appear to be essentially all gone now. I can leave good food out in the open, and nothing touches it for days.

I got an airgun as well, but mostly this turned out to be for dispatching injured trapped, or sick animals. I haven't needed it as much as I thought. In the beginning there were some pesky raccoons that were hard to get any other way, but now that the population is under control, my airgun is largely idle as are my traps.

I'm a little surprised by this. Some of our neighbours feed the raccoons. Maybe the pests are still in the neighbourhood, but they know enough to stay out of our yard.

Each spring I see a new litter of raccoon pups that come by, but even they seem to be increasingly wary of our yard. They used to all come through, and I'd get them all. This year I think only one raccoon even looked into our yard. It did not dare trespass.

Is this a familiar experience? I kind of figured the raccoons would come in unrelenting waves. That's why I feel like I'm a little over-prepared. I live in a semi-rural environment, surrounded by a mix of acreages and farmland.
 
Similar experience here. After almost 50 squirrels I rarely see one these days which makes me miss the good old days of one a week. Racoons rarely roamed my yards, skunks have largely disappeared also but this probably partly because my neighbor got rid of quite a few trees and currently have construction going on to build a huge pool. Will see when the construction finishes.
 
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delooper,

◾your tales of target rich environments long past are saddening.... 😟
20+ rats looking at you at any moment of the night.... Wow. The proverbial pester's paradise.

I'm truly sorry for your loss. 🔳


◾ But tragedy has traveled far and came from you to me. Recently I have fallen under the successful pester's curse. 😖
And I can now relate to your suffering.
Again, truly sorry.

◾ But, let's not give up hope that there are a few more happy days of killing before we ourselves bite the dust.
Let's not give up hope. 👍🏼

Matthias


◾ PS: The tale of my own descent into the successful pester's abyss is told here:
 
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I actually look forward to not having to mess with pests as that is my goal.

This thread has been enlightening for me. 👍🏼

I now realize that there are two types of pesters:

🔘 The terminators (who like stoutblock, want get rid of them once and for all, terminate the problem, period).

🔘 The killers (who like the act of killing even more than the result of being rid of the pest)


Which type are you?

Matthias
 
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I've watched raccoons and skunks at night through an NV scope and there does seem to be a cosmic connection. In that like BlackPaw said they can tell where one of their own has met their fate. Possibly the unfortunate thing signing off on their spot of demise as a warning to the rest of the group. The different groups also follow their own invisible path markers in, around, and if lucky enough with their skulls in tack out again. Hey a man's got to do, what a man's got to do. :cool:
 
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I have almost no squirrels left. I’m good with that. If I see one it’s running away from me. If it’s not running away it’s dead.

Chipmunks breed too often to totally eliminate them. I enjoy stalking them with Penny. It is absolutely fantastic learning for both of us as we get ready for pheasant season. I have tried to wipe them out, can’t be done. This is before I had penny.

Mike
 
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I have almost no squirrels left. I’m good with that. If I see one it’s running away from me. If it’s not running away it’s dead.

Chipmunks breed too often to totally eliminate them. I enjoy stalking them with Penny. It is absolutely fantastic learning for both of us as we get ready for pheasant season. I have tried to wipe them out, can’t be done. This is before I had penny.

Mike

I eliminated most of the squirrels in my neighbourhood as well. The most interesting side-effect is I'm starting to notice baby oak trees pop up everywhere. Previous years, all the seeds would be consumed.
 
I got nearly 60 Starlings this year before my rifle decided to shoot more like a musket. They were mobbing the suet and feeders. After June they were few and far between. I haven't seen one a week and when they see me they are gone. The few that are left are the smartest of the flock. I'm afraid I'm creating a "Darwin" situation and a more intelligent variant.
 
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I try to live trap most pests (raccoons, rabbits, possums) then take them out into the country to release. I use a bucket trap for rats and then drown their souls. This rids me and my neighbors of about 90% of the local pests. The problem is the remaining 10% are too smart for traps, and due to the Darwin principle, are damn difficult to eliminate. A few years back I dedicated my rimfire ammo for these smart asses but the rapidly increasing quantity of neighbors talked me out of this method (I don’t blame them). So for about three years this 10% population multiplied to the point I was getting no pests trapped and 100% of the pests became experts at avoiding capture. Then I got my first PCP this year and pellets are now knocking this population down nicely. I actually look forward to not having to mess with pests as that is my goal.
Once a raccoon goes in a cage, he will never be caught in another. Please stop dropping your critters on "country" people. ETA- That 10% that are "too smart for traps" were probably nuisance animals caught and released in a greenbelt near you.

It is illegal in Washington to trap and relocate any animal. This is primarily due to the spread of disease. Washington has a very high rate of distemper in raccoons and almost all carry raccoon roundworm.
Possums are an issue around horses and horse feed.

Legally here if you want to release, you a have to release on the property they are caught on.

If you are going to trap- Euthanize! Do not relocate!
 
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Well if you need to repopulate your area, you can always order some up give them 6 months. :D


Smitty

I'd love it if there were a similar place where we could order badgers, wolverines, coyotes, bobcats and wolves. I live in a neighbourhood with too many old fuddy-duddies. Coyotes and bobcats would really liven things up.
 
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My first PCP was purchased last spring for pests. Racoons running around, but mostly it was the SEVEN rabbits nests with babies all found on the same day in my backyard as I cut the grass. I only have a 1/2 acre so I'd consider that a very dense rabbit population. Purchased that first rifle and of course didn't see a single racoon after it arrived and was sighted in. LOL I did however manage to shoot over 25 rabbits in my yard last summer. Fast forward to this year and I've shot exactly two rabbits, both at the same time, literally, pass through of both heads on one shot. Pure luck. That was months ago and I haven't seen a single rabbit since. I have however put down four racoons. Two in two nights a couple months back, two in two nights this past week.
I'm also now completed addicted to this PCP thing.
 
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