Anyone else enjoy doing yard work?

[Gotmadskillzson]

For raccoons just soak a towel or long rag in ammonia and tie it around the areas they like to be at. They will move and so will every other animal. No animal like the smell of ammonia. Raccoons also don't like the smell of cinnamon and black pepper either. So you can sprinkle both of those on your back porch and bathroom spots too.

[PVarck31]

What's funny is I get some friendly raccoons around my house. They hang out with the 4-5 outdoor cats we have hanging around. It's pretty weird. So I don't even worry about them. They don't get into anything.

I do have coyotes though. I don't even live in the country I live on a quiet dead end street with some wood to the side and behind my house. I hear them howling sometimes.

And here's a crazy story that is something I will never forget. A couple years ago I took my dog out at about 4am and he's in the grass just kinda standing there and a mother freakin coyote shows up and walks right in between me and my dog and just went on his way. Now growling or anything just walked right by us. Didn't see him coming. Just appeared out of nowhere.

I wasn't even freaked out at first but then I realized he could have attacked my dog and probably would have killed him in second if he wanted to. So now I am extra vigilant when I take him out at night.

[JMD]

Quote: Originally Posted by l3ulvl

have you ever been sprayed? I'm a skunk wimp, they scare the hell out of me, in my younger days I visited a female friend and thought it would be funny to scare a stray cat in the front yard, which turned out to be a skunk and sent us both running to the backyard in a mad panic, the back door was locked and we were holed up back there in fear for an hour before finally gathering the courage to check the front, I have chills just typing about it

I got semi sprayed once back when I first started dealing with them. You can tell when they are going to spray because they usually will stomp their front paws before they let it go. Worst smell ever. Occasionally they will spray under the back of my house or under the porch and man it is bad. The whole house smells for days after. If they wouldn't spray under there I'd leave them alone , but they always seem to each spring. Usually around mating season. This year they did it in February. If the male approaches the female and shes not ready she will spray him to fend him off and that is what happens every time they get back under there.

I'm actually setting the trap tonight so I'll be taking one for a ride tomorrow morning. A little peanut butter on a small piece of bread does the trick. I want them gone before they give birth which is mid to late may. One time I waited to long and I saw the babies so I couldn't set the trap. I started feeding them cat food and waiting for them to grow and relocated the whole family in the fall. I bet I've moved at least 20 of these things. They have been a problem in my area my entire life , I bought the house I grew up in. This area is nicknamed "Skunk Hill". There are so many I should probably kill them but as much as they stink they are to darn cute and I just can't kill them.

I've tried to reason with them , telling them if they don't spray under the house they can live there forever but apparently they do not understand English. It's a Bummer.

[JMD]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

It's not skunks, it's raccoons. They basically live in a neighboring tree so can't completely get them moved away from there, but at least try to get them to go in someone elses yard. They do everything. Dig up yard(which this year I'm trying to kill the grubs beforehand) and worse, they basically vacation on my deck lol. I mean it. Like their whole family will come here,roam around, stay for awhile, use bathroom and leave. They don't destroy anything thankfully, but having to get a shovel every few days and a hose to clean up after them is getting annoying. It's in exact same spots too so they clearly know what they're doing. Can even put barriers up and they'll get past them and still head to same spots. Tried stuff from hardware stores but didn't work. And some solutions like using vinegar or mothballs MIGHT work for a night or two, but if it ever rains, it obviously will wash away. Motion sensor lights don't matter, and motion sensor toys(that'd make animal noises if anything moves past it) doesn't do the trick either.

I use Have-A-Heart live traps. They work for raccoons as well. Just put some food in it that they like and you will get em. Then take them for a ten mile ride to a nice wooded area. I've moved skunks, raccoons, groundhogs , and opossums.

If you do trap them be aware raccoons get very pissed off when cornered or trapped. When you get them to the release area what I do is quickly open the trap door and slide a stick through to hold it open so I can step away from the trap while the animal leaves. Just a precaution, every single animal I've trapped (except one) has run out of there like a rocket and could care less about me. One time I had a skunk that wouldn't leave the trap, I had to kick the trap to get him out. lol.

Forgot to mention if you do trap them put and old towel down in your trunk or back of your car under the trap, they sometimes poop during the ride. Groundhogs always do.

[doubledeuceR6]

I wouldn't say I enjoy the yard work itself but I love the end result and the yard looking nice.

I spent 2 days last weekend trimming my azaleas way back in the front yard since they've finished blooming now and just looks so nice and clean now that all the leaves and pine straw have have been raked from underneath. On the other side of the drive way we have a magnolia tree and that thing I swear sheds leaves all year round, but magnolias are the wifes favorite flower. So got that all raked up and looking nice.

Yesterday I cut the grass and redid the front flower bed with some carnations. The wife had put some iris in there previously but never could really get them to bloom. Also washed and detailed my truck in between the grass cutting and flower bed work.

If the weather is nice this weekend I plan to weed and put down some new mulch in the flowerbeds off my deck in the back yard.

[mgoblue]

I don't enjoy it, but it was a good feeling to blow out all the leaves we had....They left the exact same blower vac we had already, so we have 2...my wife was blowing the leaves together and I was sucking them up to pitch...I was so dirty after it though, you don't realize. Makes me respect the guys who do this landscaping stuff for a living all day. Happy to sit in a chair at work lol

[Gotmadskillzson]

You know what is weird ? I never used a leaf blower to get up leaves. I always raked them.

[doubledeuceR6]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gotmadskillzson

You know what is weird ? I never used a leaf blower to get up leaves. I always raked them.

Yeah the only thing I use it for is blowing grass or leaves off the driveway and also blowing leaves off the roof of my house and cleaning out the gutters