Racoons eating my corn

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Anyone have any nifty tricks for keeping Raccoons out of the corn field - other than fencing it in?

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 01, 2001

Answers

BElieve it or not we used to keep close watch on the corn and when it was close to ripe we put a radio out there. We just bought a cheap battery operated one. It worked great. Now we move the dog house down there near the garden during the summer. Either will work.

-- Jean in Ky. (dandrea@duo-county.com), March 01, 2001.

Try planting a vining vegetable before you plant the corn. (watermelon, cucumber, pumpkin) The raccoons don't like climbing through the vines to get to the corn. I've tried this once and it pretty much worked, where the vines were growing.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), March 01, 2001.

We use a motion detector and a radio to keep the raccoon and deer out of our garden. As soon as there was any motion a light and the radio went on. It works.

-- Ardie from Wi (a6203@hotmail.com), March 02, 2001.

I heard that one of the reasons the Indians planted squash with corn was to keep the racoons out of the corn. I guess they don't like the tall, prickly, hard-to-get-through vines.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@seedlaw.com), March 02, 2001.

We plant lots of corn and usually have the cantoloupe and other melons on the edges of the garden. The coons started eating our watermelons--the melons looked great but on one side the coons 'cut' a hole the size of a golf ball and clean the ripe melon out! They messed up 100 or so! Two years ago, we let our dog run loose at night! Last year we didn't have a problem and the dog wasn't out at night! It seems when they get started it is a habit to keep coming back! Good luck!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), March 02, 2001.


We don't grow melons - they don't do to well here. Will the coons eat my squash that is on the outter limits of the garden? We grow butternut and spaggetti.

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), March 03, 2001.

Oh, I lost so much corn when we first moved here 2 yrs. ago, AND my watermelons. 6 dogs on the farm, and they'd just crowd at the corner of the building and bark! I'd go out there and my ripe corn would be laying down and stripped. The melons were just drilled thru! I talked to my neighbor and she said her father in law would put sulphur on the tassles of the corn and the racoons left it alone. You could sprinkle it around your garden, too. Sweet corn is the ONE thing most people won't grow around here, but the people who told me about the sulphur do, and enough for MANY of us to glean when they're done! Those racoons know EXACTLY when it's perfect for eating and will beat you to it every time! We get our sulphur from a nursery, or the pharmacy. Just lightly dip your tassles in it. Or lightly sprinkle around the edges. Pumpkins, the plants with the prickly leaves is what repels them. They love melons, not a good repellent.....(We live on a river and are heavily out populated by the coons here.....)

-- Louise Whitley (whitley@terraworld.net), March 04, 2001.

A portable electric sheep fence works wonderfully. But if you try the radio trick, tune it to talk radio. Otherwise the 'coons will eat and dance to the music! GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), March 05, 2001.

Electric fence is a simple solution to your raccoon problem with the added benefit of keeping ground hogs, rabbits.. etc. out also. I would suggest 2 strands of wire, 6" & 12" about the ground.

-- T. Markstahler (blitz_enterprises@hotmail.com), May 14, 2001.

Well I have corn here in Amber,Oklahoma and am going to try a couple of these tricks,one thing I did want to pass along that works for people with squash and cucumbers,instead of putting sevin dust or other poisons on these plants,try plain old flour that you get from the grocery store,put it on the leafs and stem,I have tried this and it really works for squash bugs etc,-Bob Wall Amber,okla

-- Bob Wall (Walltracker@aol.com), June 08, 2001.


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