How do I Trap a Raccoon & Not a Skunk?

Raccoons are resourceful, intelligent and pesky.

Wherever you live in North America, your home is likely to be visited at night by uninvited four-legged interlopers looking for food. It may be a pack of marauding raccoons turning over your garbage cans or a lone skunk helping itself to your pet's leftovers. Raccoons in particular can present a real problem if they return frequently. Trapping them is not an activity to be taken lightly, but it can be done. Just as no one wants to surprise a skunk at night, though, no one wants to deal with a skunk caught in a raccoon trap.

Things You'll Need

• Raccoon trap
• Fruit rinds and nuts
• Plastic container

Instructions

1. Bait a raccoon trap with fresh fruit rinds or nuts. These will attract fruit and vegetable-loving raccoons, but skunks may stay away, preferring their usual diet of bugs, rodents and worms.

2. Set the bait in a covered plastic container, but leave the cover loose. Raccoons are very curious and are experts at finding and uncovering food in closed containers. Skunks may also have this ability, but they are more likely to pass by a closed container.

3. Locate the trap off the ground so the animal has to climb to get to it. Skunks are not good climbers, but moderate height is no obstacle for raccoons. A picnic table, a bench or even a chair will provide solid footing for the trap while being too high for a skunk to enter.

4. Put the bait on the opposite side of the trap from the door so that the animal has to enter the trap to get the food. If it is too close to the entrance, a raccoon can just reach in to get it. You do not have to place the bait on the metal plate that triggers the door. Once the animal is in the cage, it is likely to step on the plate while reaching for the food.

5. Check the trap in the morning and call an animal control expert if you catch a raccoon. Caged raccoons are dangerous. You should never try to relocate one yourself.

Tips & Warnings

• If you catch a skunk, approach the cage very cautiously and drape a heavy cloth over it. If the skunk can't see you, it is less likely to spray and if it does spray, the cloth will intercept it. Cautiously raise the door, then back away and wait for the skunk to leave.

• If you catch a skunk and you see it stamping its front paws, back away, because it may be getting ready to spray.

References

• Compassionate Action Institute: Skunks

Resources

• Professional Wildlife Removal: Raccoon Control & Removal
• Professional Wildlife Removal: Skunk Control & Removal