Essays Contents
Traps
November 28, 2023
I came across a GREAT video on trapping farm pests.
Trapping Predators | How to keep your Homestead Safe
great video about trapping predator pests
That 1870's Homestead
YT Channel videos
'Tis the season to be... trapping... falalalalalalalala.
Maybe I've grown a little cold on this subject... of animal predators...
at LEAST on the subject of RACCOONS.
It stems from my experiences with them.
They multiply by sixes every year.
They can climb anything.
They're like cats... with fingers.
They're THIEVES...! and they are aggressive.
Camping one time...
we were all awakened by much rattling in the camp.
All the campers peered out of their tent doors...
to see easily 20... raccoons robbing the camp.
Raccoons were on top of tents...
they were opening boxes and coolers...
they were overturning pans and dishes.
Don't leave your shoes outside the tent...
raccoons will eat them... anything leather.
It was very much like these critters had been watching us...
waiting in the trees and bushes...
every one of them silent... careful... hungry...
until all of us humans were very still... and asleep...
then to come... all of them at once... into our circles.
Possum are less aggressive and tend to shy away...
but raccoons just seem to laugh at us...
at any human trying to control them.
The subject of trapping country pests is addressed in his video...
such as... what do you do with it after you've caught it...?
You can relocate wild animals if it's legal in your state...
such as let it loose near a stream and food source...
or dispatch them... and dispose of them...
bury the carcass 12 inches down... under a wild berry bush.
There is no doubt that pests... and carnivores... need room to hunt.
When they overpopulate a region...
they have to be controlled.
Possum and raccoon meat and other wild meats
may not be palatable to many humans...
but they are palatable to dogs, cats, and chickens...
and can be a food source for them... raw or prepared.
Cats... are good hunters to be friends with. Get a couple.
Give your cats a house like you do with your dogs.
The feral cat at our farm had a litter of kittens during the winter.
We kept them in the house and let the mother attend to them.
When they had grown big enough to wean
we found a row of six moles... on the outside window sill...
one for each kitten.
Dinner.
The field could have sustained a dozen cat families.
After watching the video, I scrolled down to read video comments.
These were intelligent contributions to the subject.
I was beginning to read through them...
but wanted to post something to remember all this.
I'm hoping to find some country hints on pest control.
I read somewhere that growing castor bean plants deters moles...
perhaps something around the roots of this plant bothers them.
And... most every animal hunts for food by its nose...
this includes mosquitoes and ticks...
and so... if you hang cloths soaked in vinegar or ammonia
the animal won't be able to smell you...
or anything else.
And they surely don't like getting sprayed with vinegar...!
or be blinded by our powerful flashlights.
Whether an animal population is overwhelming a particular area
or whether there is just NOTHING for ANY animal to eat...
or NO source of water...
is a good subject for discussion.
These animals are also creatures... children... of this planet.
If we aren't already, we should be ensuring
that our wild animal populations
have a source for food and water.
If that means planting raspberries... blueberries... wild grasses...
collards... cabbages... strawberries... apples... pears...
in the areas that you WANT them to inhabit...
then... hey... we took THEIR forage fields from them...
we need to replace them...
and we now need... to CONTROL them.
Making these animals resort to killing and eating each other
as a way of controlling their populations... isn't really right.
No animal should eat their own kind...? do you think...?
or die of starvation or thirst...? from a lack of food and water...?
And then...
I pictured a farmer... turning out all the lights...
and waiting... watching out his windows...
the whole night through... for the predator pests to arrive...
to see them sneak around his farm...
through his night vision goggles...
and then... practice his hunting technique with a silencer.
Trapping Predators | How to keep your Homestead Safe
great video about trapping predator pests
That 1870's Homestead
YT Channel videos
