Always Something

@"Oak Fig"#32 

I'd pay money to see that delicate dance!

I'm trying to picture in my mind how you release the lock on the door to lift it.. .
 
@"TorontoJoe"#1 @"Oak Fig"#32 @"ktrain"#2 
((Team Skunk)). My Beautiful Dog Kali. Who faught Off the hordes of backyard skunks on my behalf for 17 years. Keeeping my property free untill she just became to old to do it. Her biggest claim to fame was having 3 two week home quarantines awarded to her in a row for killing skunks while waiting for her rabies tests results. :heart: Miss that girl... How was your Thanksgiving holiday meal boss? Got any pictures of dinner??
 
It probably did look comical to look at  :D

But it wasn't that hard, really. Once the trap is activated, the handle flips from right all the way to the left. All I have to do is hook it up and lift up. It's extremely challenging to pull it back all the way to the right to secure the door open,  but not necessary; simply holding it up is enough to open the door all the way. Did it twice this summer. The first time around it took me a good half an hour to figure out how to deal with the situation. Once I figured out the solution, it took literally a minute. The second time, it was quick to open the door but it took a couple of minutes for the dummy to figure out how to walk backward through the open door.

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@"Figless"#18 

I've told this story before but perhaps before your time growing figs

On my first accidental trapped skunk years ago I geared up in a rain suit, gloves and full face shield. one of the hottest days of the year and it was full sun. Brutal.... I tried to open the door of the trap quickly and I kept missing.... Many missed attempts later opening the trap I was getting frustrated.... I was dying in the rain suit and decided to hold on longer while I held the door open with a pony clamp....I'm glad I was covered.  I was so intimidated I totally got sprayed while messing recklessly with the trap door as the small skunk ran out of the trap... while my wife stood in the living room window, and laughed and laughed.... She still says she regrets not recording it. I still have the face shield I was wearing.... it still has yellow goo on the cover.

The trick with skunks is keeping your cool. They generally don't want to spray... It takes them time to reload so they only do so if very frightened. Not to say you shouldn't protect yourself.. but the most important thing is to keep your cool and stay calm. More times than not the nocturnal skunks are sleeping by the time I go to set them out... Sometimes I need to hit them with a hose spray to get them on their way.
 
Ahhh... you have the newer model... Seems like a better design then the HavaAHeart I have... I don't have the lever thing on top..... This is the one I have

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@"TorontoJoe"#1. That is an amazing backstory Joe. My feeling is once a skunk has sprayed inside a trap it's probably not much use for trapping skunks again. Is it possible that the traps can be used successfully after a skunk has sprayed the blank blank out of it? Anyway at the moment we're just ceiling off every access hole under the fence to keep them on their side. LOL we'll see how that works out thanks again for the story I'm grinning from ear to ear.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos last night.  BTW I subscribed to your channel.  Keep those videos coming.  Maybe you can post one of you making your specialty meats.  All those jars of tomato sauce you recently canned would have made a great video.  Well there’s always next year.
 
:@ Last night when I moved the trap I broke my own rule and left it on the ground. Of course this morning I had to deal with a skunk. Not a big deal but appears I had an additional visitor. 

I took a look around after work and found a few gifts were left for me.


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This is a big, experienced raccoon. I raised the trap and hoping to entice him somehow. I’m guessing it’s been in a trap before and is being very cautious 

I’m also think I might drop the bags for what season is left. It may very well just be a signal that there’s food in them
 
Good thing there weren't any children in the area.... they would have learned a few new words. Yeah... I was pretty steamed. Especially since this is coming up to the end of the season and there's not much left.
 
That's outrageous. I especially hate it when little effers rip the figs off the tree and don't even eat them.

I also stopped bagging what's left on my trees - there aren't many insects going after my figs at this time and, I agree, the bags just seem to attract vermins. I found nearly perfectly ripe Tia Penya in a bag on top of the fence. Something took a little bite from it and left it there. Several other nearly ripe figs were untouched on the trees.

You need a good hi res camera or two to capture their behavior. Once you see who they are and how they behave, it will be easier to deal with the situation.

I also highly recommend an alarm system with microwave motion detectors. They can be very effective at real-time intrusion detection, so you can prevent a lot of damage. I am thinking of getting a few relays that will be linked to motion detectors and that will activate certain countermeasures instead of me running outside in middle of the night in my undies  :D
 
I look forward to seeing this detection system. Sounds interesting. I’m dealing with a big, smart one. I need to do something
 
You have to see this. Look how smart this big guy is. I thought some tie wire would be enough to make it difficult but he still was able to reach past and get all the treats I left for him without tripping the plate. More modifications tonight 

[video=youtube]

[video=youtube]
 
Joe, get a tall glass, put the treats in it and zip tie it to the back of the cage 
It forces him to have to reach down to the bottom and he'll have to get close to do it.
BAM!
 
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