Official Luthiers Forum!

be gardeners. You guys have followed my adventures with armadillos this year and offered some fine advice. I'm not looking for advice this time, but rather, solace.    The electric fence and chicken wire took care of the deer and rabbit problem just fine, HOWEVER, when I went out to pick the garden this morning, this is what I found:












My melons are gone! But I have a suspicion what happened. I also found this:

AND HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE HIS BRACES OFF YET!!!!






They also took my corn patch a couple of weeks ago. Next year, farmer's market!!!

Ronold man38926.4718402778

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Ron, that is a masacre. I'm sorry all that effort went for naught.

Perhaps instead of sitting on the rocker picking the guitar, you could sit on the rocker and pick off some critters...with your 22 that is.

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Nefarious little beasts they are.

I'm a live and let live kinda guy, but when I lived in the woods in western WA, I had a gang of adolescent racoons start to decimate my chickens. One night upon hearing one of the flock being carried off, screaming in terror, I'd had enough. I declared war! Duct taped a Mag-Light to the 12 gauge, and went into Terminator mode. Couple a nights later, no more problems!

I've caught many a trout on the flies I've tied from those pelts!

I feel for you Ron. Beware though, they will keep coming back until everything is gone...

-MarkMark Tripp38926.5824305556

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

We have the same problems with tree fruit crops here - the birds will not just eat 5 plums, or 30 cherries completely and fill themselves up - but rather they sample each one - just to make sure it doesnt taste better than the one they are currently eating, cause you never know right?
We have a dog to take care of ground critters!~
Cheers
Charlie

Thanks, guys. I might have to start shooting, but I really hate to. Maybe I'll sit in the rocker and play my banjo at night.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

That’s why I have completely given up on gardening. Last one I planted the coons ate everything from the squash to the cayenne pepper plants. But I can tell you what will work, a have-a-heart trap baited with a quartered apple & peanut butter on it. They can't resist it!
If you call your animal control people they may even have a trap you can use. Other than that the only thing that'll work is a good 22 rifle. If you do have to dispatch a couple of them you might want to check around and see if anybody wants them, there alot of people that still eat coon.
In my younger years I use to coon hunt all the time, we use to get between $25 & $35 dollars for one & then we would use those funds towards the care of the dogs.
You have to leave a foot on though so they know your not trying to sell them a cat.

I have a friend who baits his trap with vanilla wafers.

I looked at traps today and will probably buy some next year if I don't quit gardening, too. I don't have anything left but okra, and so far they haven't bothered it.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Sorry Ron!
They probably left the okra alone because of the variety.
You must have planted boiled okra, and not fried okra.

Hope all turns out ok. I like the idea of piking the banjo at night. Then again, your neighbor might get his 22.

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

[QUOTE=old man] Maybe I'll sit in the rocker and play my banjo at night. [/QUOTE]
Animal cruelty!!!

Next year you guys might see me playing one of those armadillo backed geetar things and wearing a coon-skin cap.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=old man] I have a friend who baits his trap with vanilla wafers.

I looked at traps today and will probably buy some next year if I don't quit gardening, too. I don't have anything left but okra, and so far they haven't bothered it.

Ron[/QUOTE]

They probably migrated from up North
If they were the southern variety they would have ate the okra with the mater's

DaleH38929.4355787037

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

      We've got possums that go after the avocados but they don't do any damage like that! They're pretty reasonable! But the racoons are killers they don't even care! No respect!

One word Ron! One Word! Dog!

A watermellon's best friend!

Thank goodness Mellony didn't see this! Billy T38927.2397337963

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Mellony, huh?

I had a fine dog until last June and someone stole him. Half lab and half something. I guess I nedd to replace him pretty soon.

Billy, I probably should have let you do the picture for me. I'm sure you could have made a more professional image of the coon with watermelon, but this was fine for me. Thanks, though.

Ronold man38927.4327777778

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Twinkies. They all like Twinkies. Twinkies have a shelf life of....forever.

I live on the edge of town and it seems every raccoon, opossum, and skunk thinks my backyard is a maternity ward. A mama raccoon killed my Yorkie 2 years ago. She then met the business-end of a shovel. THUNK.....

Anyway, I toss a Twinkie or two into a live-trap. The next morning I pay someone to cart the culprit away.

Yeah, just call me "Ellie-Mae"Jeanne38927.8012731482

Hi, Jeanne
I'd probably crawl into the trap for a twinkie.

You have a lot of nerve relocating a skunk. . This has been a huge year for varmits around here. It wouldn't bother me if I didn't have the garden and I'll probably stop gardening, at least on a large scale, as my granddaughters enjoy the deer and rabbits.

Maybe you don't have as much nerve as I thought, I read your post again and see that you paid someone to remove the animals. Smart, too.

Ron old man38927.8063541667

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

You know you're a redneck when every shotgun and rifle in the house has a flashlight taped to it!( I think this is my original)MT

[quote]Billy, I probably should have let you do the picture for me. I'm sure you could have made a more professional image of the coon with watermelon, but this was fine for me. Thanks, though. [/quote]

You did great Ron! He kind of reminds me of my Aunt Jo ann!! I think she lives in a tree too!

   That stinks about your melons Bud! DO you have any left?

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Nope, they got all the melons.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Ron, i did tell you about the banana and the hammer huh? Remember ?

Sorry, Serge, I thought that was just for armadillos.

Sure glad to see you back posting again, and I really regret missing the big get together. They had lots of nice things to say about you and your talent.   

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Ron, it works for raccoons also, just put some brown sugar on the banana!


Thanks my friend, I thought of you very often during the week end, will post more comments tomorrow, off to bed now!