A Battle With The Bandit

B

bad_dad_brad

New member
I live in an old house with a slate roof. On occasion a slate drops and depending where, there may be a hole in my roof. Most of the time, all I have to deal with is the squirrel. No big deal. But the latest was much more interesting.

After I repaired my roof, it seems, I had four juvenile racoons in my attic. What would you do?

I have a Sheridan Blue Streak pellet rifle. At 8 pumps it will send a 20 caliber lead pellet at almost 700 hundred feet per second. Two of the little bandits were dispatched with one shot. Indeed, two of them, after recieving a between the beady eyes charge, dropped like the proverbial shot dog totally still. The other two required a second.

I think this points out two things. Varmints will get into your house on occasion and a good pellet rifle will take care of things without alerting the local authorities.
Any one else have a similar experience?
 
I have dispatched racoons in the yard with a pellet gun in the past. An air rifle has to be one of the most underestimated varmint tools out there.
 
One building I used to live in had a crawlspace which was about a foot in height (excluding the space beneath the rafters and above the actual roof). It also had two 6" x 6" holes which was big enough for pigeons to enter. And so it came to pass that they did and began breeding there.

So, I wait until they're in there and then dropped an "L" shape board over the holes. They're secured in place with some bricks. With my quarry trapped, I crawled in there with my Crossman 760 and a flashlight. After cornering the critters, I proceeded to shoot them. Altogether three of those nasty critters were killed. They were placed in a garbage bag and dumped in a public garbage can - where they belong.

I still have that BB gun and a few years ago bagged a pigeon in my neighbor's yard.
 
I had a family of skunks move into the crawl space under my house. It was a baaadddd coupla weeks.

After the first "awakening", we started calling exterminators. After the 3rd time we awoke to the full force of the odor, and spent our 3rd truly miserable night, we started calling EVERYONE including several government agencies. (By hindsight, it was a glaring omission not to call the BATF). No one would take the job.

Finally a sweet little old lady at one of the exterminators we called (to double our initial offer) gave us the solution free of charge. I offer it here in case anyone else is similarly afflicted.

"Honey" she said, "you gott go out and crawl under the house at 4am. That's when you're least likely to run into 'em. Take a radio with you. Not one of them battery-powered ones. A plug-in. And take an extension cord. Now turn that thing on, as loud as you can to where it doesn't quite bother you in the house. No classical station, either. Make it some of that obnoxious rap or heavy metal. Leave it set for a coupla days. Meanwhile, scout out any place they could be getting in there.

"Then, a few days later, go out at 4am and seal up all them holes. If the radio weren't loud enough to drive 'em away, you'll know it in a few days. But honey, there's nothin' I can do about that."

Thank Heaven, it worked.

Sorry, couldn't handle that one with firearms.
 
Well craigz, the varmints were in my house, trashed my attic, put their musk smell on everything and had to be dealt with. I have a trap but the damage they were doing demanded quick action.

Raccoons in the city, in my opinion, are just big rats. They get into trash, are very destructive to gardens, and sometimes spread disease. Would you trap a rat and "humanely" let him loose. The city I live in is indeed infested with raccoons, crows, starlings, feral cats, opossums, and pigeons. The price we pay for "not discharging" pellet or bb guns in town. When I was a kid a responsible citizen could get a permit to take care of a varmint situation.

Varmints are varmints. They are by definition a nuisance animal and must be dispatched.
 
a friend saw 2 coons shimmying up the downspout & into the attic on the new beach house

she called a buddy who showed up with a compound bow

They propped the attic door and jack lighted the varmints

They did not consider what damage the bleed out would do to the ceiling...

kinda looked like the Amityville Horror



:rolleyes:
 
Varmints in house (attic or crawl space)

Tip that worked: moth balls. Throw them in the area they "inhabit" and they are gone in less than twenty-four guaranteed! And it takes care of the "fregrance" too!!

Used it years ago on a racoon family and squirrels. Yup, it works.

Shootist45



Do not only train, also teach.
 
Find out where the critters are getting in and place a photo of Janet Reno nearby. They'll clear out in a hurry.
A pic of Rosie may work too.
:D
 
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