Raccoon Chaser ?
05-26-2014, 12:36 PM
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Raccoon Chaser ?
.
Yeah, guilty as charged: this is off-the-wall.
The Short Story:
I am looking for something that can be used to chase away racoons in my yard from inside my house.
Seems like the requirements are:
The Long Story:
We have a family of foxes on our property and one of them has contracted something called "Sarcoptic Mange", which is a parasite that gets under the skin and eventually kills the animal. It's contagious and the whole family will eventually contract it and die if the infected one is not cured or killed.
Another place, another time; and I'd say "Good Riddance" and call it a day.... maybe even help them along.
But in our particular situation, having these animals around adds value..... so I'd like to cure this one before they all become infected and they all die.
The treatment is something called "Invermectin" injected into a hard-boiled egg, which the infected fox needs to eat.
At first it was going well: got about 15 eggs into the thing and it's tail fur seemed to be growing back.
Then the raccoons moved in....They have become progressively bolder and now it's gotten to the point where three raccoons will actually intimidate and drive off a fox before it can get to an egg.
I am thinking that maybe an RC car or truck would allow me to chase off the raccoons as they appear without my tromping around out there and spooking the fox - and maybe provide a little entertainment in the process.
First thing that came to mind was a "Stunt" car: http://tinyurl.com/oc3bcbp. Looks to me like it is basically a child's toy instead of a hobby-grade device - so I'm suspicious of both RC range and battery life, although the price is tempting.
So that leads to some sort of hobby-grade device like a crawler, truggy, or truck.
I don't mind a moderate amount of overkill, because it might allow for having some fun with the device above-and-beyond it's immediate use.... and it also might make some kid's day when it's usefulness is at an end.
Anybody got some thoughts on this? Cheaper is better, as long as it doesn't break too easily. I was looking at 1/8 scale crawlers like http://tinyurl.com/pgw8xtk but that particular crawler's reviews seem poor reliability-wise (mainly the plastic gears) and the vendor's support isn't getting any rave reviews either.
Yeah, guilty as charged: this is off-the-wall.
The Short Story:
I am looking for something that can be used to chase away racoons in my yard from inside my house.
Seems like the requirements are:
- The radio has to penetrate a bay window and/or balloon-frame house wall and reach at least 50'.
Sounds like just about any 2.4 Ghz radio will do that (??)
. - The device needs to be able to move at at least a fast walk (3.5 mph?).
. - It needs to be able to run on re-chargeable batteries. 9.6v would be the brass ring because I already have
a couple of 9.6v batteries for my cordless impact wrench. I do not have much hope of finding that
voltage, but I thought I'd mention it just in case...
The Long Story:
We have a family of foxes on our property and one of them has contracted something called "Sarcoptic Mange", which is a parasite that gets under the skin and eventually kills the animal. It's contagious and the whole family will eventually contract it and die if the infected one is not cured or killed.
Another place, another time; and I'd say "Good Riddance" and call it a day.... maybe even help them along.
But in our particular situation, having these animals around adds value..... so I'd like to cure this one before they all become infected and they all die.
The treatment is something called "Invermectin" injected into a hard-boiled egg, which the infected fox needs to eat.
At first it was going well: got about 15 eggs into the thing and it's tail fur seemed to be growing back.
Then the raccoons moved in....They have become progressively bolder and now it's gotten to the point where three raccoons will actually intimidate and drive off a fox before it can get to an egg.
I am thinking that maybe an RC car or truck would allow me to chase off the raccoons as they appear without my tromping around out there and spooking the fox - and maybe provide a little entertainment in the process.
First thing that came to mind was a "Stunt" car: http://tinyurl.com/oc3bcbp. Looks to me like it is basically a child's toy instead of a hobby-grade device - so I'm suspicious of both RC range and battery life, although the price is tempting.
So that leads to some sort of hobby-grade device like a crawler, truggy, or truck.
I don't mind a moderate amount of overkill, because it might allow for having some fun with the device above-and-beyond it's immediate use.... and it also might make some kid's day when it's usefulness is at an end.
Anybody got some thoughts on this? Cheaper is better, as long as it doesn't break too easily. I was looking at 1/8 scale crawlers like http://tinyurl.com/pgw8xtk but that particular crawler's reviews seem poor reliability-wise (mainly the plastic gears) and the vendor's support isn't getting any rave reviews either.
Last edited by PeteCress; 05-26-2014 at 05:27 PM.
05-26-2014, 08:46 PM
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An ECX 1/10 scale car sounds perfect, if you have good throttle control.
http://www.rcplanet.com/ECX_Circuit_...sScxQod3PD_BwE
http://www.rcplanet.com/ECX_Circuit_...sScxQod3PD_BwE
05-27-2014, 10:42 AM
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An electric 1/10 scale truck oughta do the trick. Anything sold by Traxxas or HPI usually is pretty good for taking it out of the box and running it, with excellent customer support.
Stampede is a nice truck and if you have a reasonably level yard, it should be fine.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXDNYC**&P=SM
If you have rough areas then you might want to opt for a 4X4. My favorite is the HPI Savage, but now we're getting out of the cheap range for a hobby grade vehicle. The HPI Wheely King is similar to the Stampede, but is a 4X4
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBUSA&P=0
Both of these trucks have a high center of gravity, so they might be a bit tippy. Practice with them before you have to do a "mission". If you have a really really rough yard, then you're into the higher dollar stuff to make it there and back. You might want to consider a professional pest removal service for the raccoons, or just take them out permanently.
Stampede is a nice truck and if you have a reasonably level yard, it should be fine.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXDNYC**&P=SM
If you have rough areas then you might want to opt for a 4X4. My favorite is the HPI Savage, but now we're getting out of the cheap range for a hobby grade vehicle. The HPI Wheely King is similar to the Stampede, but is a 4X4
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBUSA&P=0
Both of these trucks have a high center of gravity, so they might be a bit tippy. Practice with them before you have to do a "mission". If you have a really really rough yard, then you're into the higher dollar stuff to make it there and back. You might want to consider a professional pest removal service for the raccoons, or just take them out permanently.
05-27-2014, 12:42 PM
#4
The Raccoons will quickly learn that the RC truck poses little threat and will resume their activities in your yard . The best answer to your problem goes !BANG! really loud and then the unwanted vermin quickly expires of lead poisoning .....
05-27-2014, 01:00 PM
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But yeah, I had been thinking that any intimidation factor would wear off - especially considering how smart and adaptable raccoons are.
So I'm thinking maybe the Walking-Speed requirement is a little too tame. More like running speed so I can ram them if/when intimidation stops working. Then comes the prospect of a raccoon getting in to it with the truck and maybe tearing it apart....
As far as Final Solutions go, gunfire is out of the question considering the location. I had thought about live trapping and taking them for a ride - as in five miles away.... have done that with squirrels on occasion. But I see raccoons as quite formidable animals and would prefer to avoid messing with them up close.
05-27-2014, 02:31 PM
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You don't need "real" gunfire. I've been chasing off coyotes for years with a blank pistol -- the kind used for starting foot races. One pop and the critter takes off like the Roadrunner -- and stays away for weeks.
05-28-2014, 05:49 AM
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Will report back on how well it works or does not work for the application.
Last edited by PeteCress; 05-28-2014 at 05:52 AM.
05-28-2014, 08:46 AM
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From a strictly rational, cost-effective perspective I guess it should be Plan A - but I've gotten interested in the RC thing just in and of itself.
06-06-2014, 06:02 AM
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I just pulled the trigger on a Ruckus. A hundred dollars and change - shipping included: http://tinyurl.com/nyc8dst
Will report back on how well it works or does not work for the application.
Will report back on how well it works or does not work for the application.
Part of the problem was a healthy fox that was getting the egg before the sick one. For that animal, the Ruckus is totally effective. The moment the Ruckus makes the slightest noise/movement, the fox is out of there.
OTOH, the raccoons are *not* intimidated. I'll take a run at one of them and it will look at the Ruckus like "Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to eat here...". I can drive a raccoon off, but it's more via nuisance value than intimidation. One of them even came back and approached the Ruckus from the rear just checking it out. This is a 1/18th model and I'm thinking maybe lack of size/mass is a factor.
Right now, I'm quite clumsy. Also the IP cam that I'm using to view all this has a 1-2 second lag, which makes control iffey.... today I swapped it with another cam that I can connect to directly with a Windows browser for a more real-time image.
When I get more expertise control-wise, I'll try ramming a raccoon.... but am prepared to get my clock cleaned as it tries to tear the Ruckus apart.
Last edited by PeteCress; 06-06-2014 at 09:51 AM.
06-12-2014, 11:32 AM
#13
[QUOTE=PeteCress;11811498].
Yeah, guilty as charged: this is off-the-wall.
The Short Story:
(SNIP)
I am looking for something that can be used to chase away raccoons in my yard from inside my house.
(SNIP)
Some years ago I lived in a house right on the edge of a city but forested properties in a large subdivision. Animals were plentiful especially raccoons. I tried several methods for removing them from my rather small yard, but nothing worked. I worked on airplanes in my garage. Every so often a "Coon" jumped on the work table looking for a treat, cat left-overs. Finally I purchased a live-trap. I caught one each night when home. I took each one about 2 miles away, but they always came back. I started spot-painting them with some cheap spray paint. Yep, after about 2-3 nights he-her-they were back, painted and non-painted. Then I started going over a small creek some 4-5 miles away, and into a wooded area. Soon they ceased showing up. I did sell that house and move within about 2 years. But there were no more raccoons eating the cat's food!
Yeah, guilty as charged: this is off-the-wall.
The Short Story:
(SNIP)
I am looking for something that can be used to chase away raccoons in my yard from inside my house.
(SNIP)
Some years ago I lived in a house right on the edge of a city but forested properties in a large subdivision. Animals were plentiful especially raccoons. I tried several methods for removing them from my rather small yard, but nothing worked. I worked on airplanes in my garage. Every so often a "Coon" jumped on the work table looking for a treat, cat left-overs. Finally I purchased a live-trap. I caught one each night when home. I took each one about 2 miles away, but they always came back. I started spot-painting them with some cheap spray paint. Yep, after about 2-3 nights he-her-they were back, painted and non-painted. Then I started going over a small creek some 4-5 miles away, and into a wooded area. Soon they ceased showing up. I did sell that house and move within about 2 years. But there were no more raccoons eating the cat's food!
