[AT] coyotes

[Ralph Goff]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "H. L. Staples" <hlstaples at mcloudteleco.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] coyotes


> Raccoons really like corn and will do lots of damage. The coons are caught
> in live catch traps bated with cantaloupe and or dry dog food.  David 
> takes
> them to his place and turns them loose.
>
> Normally we don't kill the coyotes because they eat lots of mice and rats.

H.L. I am willling to give a coyote a break most of the time because they do 
help control our gopher and other rodent population. But when it comes to 
raccoons, they are on the vermin list as far as I am concerned. I'm sure 
they do their share of good sometimes but the damage they do around a farm 
yard has far outweighed any benefit that I can see. Shingles and boards 
ripped off roofs, chickens killed, grain spoiled, just for starters.
Yes , they were a cute little novelty when they first showed up in the area 
some years ago but they have worn out their welcome now.
Several local farmers have started using the big plastic grain bags to store 
grain in the fields. These bags hold thousands of bushels and work pretty 
good as long as there are no  holes in the bag. Raccoons seem to like 
crawlling around on those bags and puncturing the plastic to sample the 
grain causing expensive damage.
I hear there were  raccoon traps and a few boxes of shotgun shells sold this 
fall.

Ralph in Sask.