amen, just got a new little trail partner, hopefully by next summer he's ready to fend off some raccoonsOriginally Posted by oldgringo
Take a big dog.
I've only had one incident but at least I was asleep for the whole thing, woke up and the one door on my tarp was off the stake and my pack was knocked over.. thankfully Stormcrow and Thorwren make amazing gear and I slept like a baby through it all.. until 11am...
I like to hang a little higher for piece of mind
Had a one wander into camp while at Wekiva Springs SP Florida poking my pot I cleaned and tried to make off with my stove stuff sake tied to the stove leg of a MSR Dragon Fly...needless to say this campsite, Otter Camp has few visitors and once that stove fell it ran off.
Non-camping related, I have at my house that consistently greets my on a full moon night at the porch door...paws extended reaching for the latch. He runs off as soon as I shine a light to him.
my son and i were looking out our tent and a raccoon unscrewed a jar of jiffy and was scooping it out and eating it. it was so funny to watch we just let him at it.
"Tenting is equivalent to a bum crawling into a cardboard box, hammocking is an art" KK
I'm sure i would have done the same. (watch him eat it)my son and i were looking out our tent and a raccoon unscrewed a jar of jiffy and was scooping it out and eating it. it was so funny to watch we just let him at it.
my son was 10 he's 31 know and still laughs. sat with it between his legs like a little person.
"Tenting is equivalent to a bum crawling into a cardboard box, hammocking is an art" KK
Almost 20 years ago (Can't believe it's been that long ago) at a campground near Carolina Beach I sat with a flashlight pointed through the screen of my tent to catch whatever it was that had gotten in the trash can every night. It turned out to be the biggest raccoon I've ever seen. It literally threw the trash can lid off the raised metal can! Then stood on the rim and reach to the bottom of that can and dug through it eating what it wanted and throwing the rest all around. It made a huge mess. But I just sat and watched, hardly believing my eyes!
Hootenanny Hang June 11-13, 2021
Love many, trust few & always paddle your own canoe. American Proverb
Adventure is Calling... nolilearn.org
I just lost my 13 year old dog to something called coonhound paralysis. Dogs get it from raccoon saliva, either getting bit, or ingesting something the coon has had in their mouth. It paralyzed my dog from the neck down, and we had to put him down after he spent four days on a ventilator because he couldn't breath.
Coons also carry a parasite that can cause major damage to humans. It is a worm that can get into your brain, your eyes, or infect your nervous system. Worst case, it will kill you. Do not have contact with raccoon feces.
My advice-stay away from raccoons.
Hadn't heard of this before. Good information. All the more reason to remove raccoons from our property if we see them. From my reading, it does not seem that a causative infectious agent has been pinned down on this one, perhaps related to an overactive immune response to a protein in the saliva. Has occurred in cases where no raccoon-dog interaction can be established, and rarely can occur after standard vaccinations. It is a polyradiculoneuritis analogous to Guillain-Barre Syndrome in humans (not to say that GBS is caused by raccoons!)
Very sorry to hear about your dog!
Baylisascaris procyonis. Endemic in many raccoons. Eggs shed by the millions in feces and may stay viable for months. Eesh! Parasitology always makes my skin crawl! (Funny aside, I met my first wife in a parasitology class in college...)
Also a reservoir for rabies in the US along with dogs, cats, bats, foxes, skunks, coyotes, and bobcats.
Agreed. Should have snuffed this little b@st@rd in the back yard when I had the chance. Cute but potentially problematic.
Last edited by BER; 11-21-2011 at 00:07.
Here is my raccoon story. Needless to say, they aren't to be trusted.
Wasn't the wilderness and it wasn't very scary, but it certainly fits the "What was that?!" portion:
Sleeping outside my house in Florida one night I had my Hennessy hanging under my SG 9x9 (neo tarp) when I awake to an odd sound. Can't really type the sound, but similar to a rustling. It was quite rhythmic and made me wonder what it was. I opened my eyes (because that somehow will help me hear better) and my tarp is 'breathing'. It is going up and down in rhythm to the sound I hear. Being a little more awake, I can tell it's coming from the left side of my hammock. I raise my head to look over and what do I see? There is a rather large raccoon hanging from the ground connection point of my tarp. My tarp is being molested! He was making rather rude motions against the tarp and causing it to 'bounce'. I yelled at him, but he had no time to be bothered with the likes of me. I finally put me feet through the entry slit and when that very non-stealth sound of velcro was made, he dropped and ran.
The varmint was having the time of his life at the expense of my tarp's dignity. Once I inspected the tarp for damage or bodily fluids and had assured myself that neither were present, I did allow myself a little chuckle. Slept the rest of the night with one eye open.
Trust nobody!
1. They climb very well. A couple actually climbed the corner of my Dad's brick 2-story house (rough bricks) and got into the chimney for shelter. A rag saturated with soapy ammonia chased them out, and a cap kept them out.
Hanaging your pack on an adjacent tree is no guarantee of keeping them out.
2. They are persistant, especially the ones habituated to humans in campgrounds. Fie on the dumb campers who feed them!
3. A big coon can seriously wound a dog, and as already mentioned are disease carriers.
4. I wonder if a couple of continers of moth balls under your hammock would keep them away? Perhaps a couple of sachets of mothballs hung from teh suspension lines?
Jim
Did I really say "sachet"?
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