"Planting a garden is to believe in tomorrow...." That is really nice :-)
Raccoons hate umbrellas, which go hand-in-hand right now!:-) It comes from the idea of suddenly making yourself much, much larger to scare away would-be predators. It has worked beautifully for me. I used to carry an umbrella on my backpack frame, on the ready for whatever. Mostly, it was used as a sunshade when resting. I now keep one by the back door for raccoons, but haven’t had to use it in quite some time. I think that perhaps after years of popping that thing in their faces and scaring the daylights out of them, there’s a possibility that successive generations have learned to steer clear of our yard.
The impetus for me being an umbrella-toting backpacker/backyard raccoon scare’er was a memorable encounter at Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur. While backpacking in the in Ventana Wilderness, I got covered in poison-oak blisters. I told my husband to continue on the hike, while I went to a pharmacy in Carmel. I asked the pharmacist for advice, and he suggested a DIY method of potato starch. So, that night while camping by myself under the stars at Andrew Molera with mashed potatoes on my face (a very dumb idea!), I awoke to the sound of growling next to my head. I looked behind me and there was an entire family of racoons lined-up for the buffet. The NY’er came out in me, and I screamed rapid-fire obscenities and scared them off.
I do like a good umbrella, and not just for the rain. Give it a try. :-) Sounds like the gopher trap is working pretty well for you. That's good. I hear that sometimes they're a bust. We had a gopher-killing cat once…..he was a lovable brute! |
