The raccoon is a persistent critter. Raccoons are resourceful wild animals that are constantly on the lookout for their next easy meal. Each year countless hunters spend thousands of dollars on deer feed and corn for deer hunting. Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of corn and deer feed consumed by non target species, especially raccoons. Raccoons will not only consume a large amount of deer corn over the course of a hunting season, they can also damage feeder as well as drain feeders prematurely. However, there are a few tricks you can use to prevent raccoons from draining your deer feeders. We will even share a homemade deer feeder design that can almost completely prevent raccoons and hogs from eating your deer corn.
What kind of feeder do you use
There are several different deer feeder designs on the market. Each design has its place in the deer woods however, some designs are more easy to raccoon proof than others. Let’s talk about the different designs and how to raccoon proof each.
Common tripod spin feeders
As most of you probably already know, there is one common problem with raccoons and tripod feeders. Raccoons will often climb the legs up to the spinner. Once they are in reach of the spinner, the will literally spin the spreader plate. They can also damage the shaft connecting the spreader plate to the motor.
Solution
Prevent the coons from reaching the bottom of the hopper where the spinner is located. There are few products available on the market that will help reduce a raccoon’s ability to reach the spinner. However, there are some cheaper alternatives you can use that work great.
Grease
Grease is a great tool for creating a slippery surface on metal legs of tripod feeders. I have found you will have to apply grease periodically through hunting season however, fresh grease creates a huge problem for raccoons looking to climb a feeder’s metal legs.
Another trick is PVC pipe/grease combo. If you have a tripod feeder with homemade or wooden legs, you can place oversized PVC pipe over the legs then apply grease to the pipes. This will create an extremely slick surface that hinder a raccoon’s ability to reach the spinner on a feeder.
If you choose to use grease on the legs of your feeders, keep in mind grease is messy. Oil based grease is not good for the environment. I recommend using a vegetable based grease that is harmless to the wildlife and environment. Crisco used for baking cookies works great! Be sure to coat the legs from top to bottom in order to make it as difficult as possible for a raccoon to get traction while trying to climb the legs.
Handing spin feeder
Hanging feeders are great for preventing raccoons from damaging or draining a feeder. However as mentioned earlier in this post, raccoons are persistent critters. If feeders are not hung properly, raccoons can and will damage or drain the feeder.
Solution
Use distance to you advantage. Be sure to space hanging feeders heigh enough from the ground to where raccoons cannot jump onto them. Also, space hanging feeders far enough away from the pole or tree it is hanging on. I like to space mine at least five to six feet away from the tree I’m hanging it on. The illustration below demonstrates proper height and distance that we attempt to use for hanging spinner and gravity feeders.
Also, use cable to hang the feeder. Some hunters hang feeder on limbs of trees while others hang feeders with rope. Rope material is extremely easy for raccoons to grab and hold onto. Cable on the other hand, is a hard surface that can be made slippery when grease is applied. Using cable to suspend the feeder will make it difficult for a raccoon to climb down to the feeder.
Gravity feeder
There are several different types of gravity feeders on the market. For the most part, they all work pretty good. I personally love gravity feeders for their simplicity and effectiveness. Plus, gravity feeders seem to not spook older bucks like the common spinner feeders. However, some gravity feeders can make a raccoon’s life extremely easy during deer season. On the other hand, some gravity feeders can be almost completely raccoon proof if placed in the right area at the right height from the ground.
The small gravity feeder above is extremely hard to raccoon proof. I cannot give you any helpful advice on the above design. However, the gravity feeder in the picture below can easily be positioned height enough from the ground that a raccoon would have to practically have to leap to reach the feeding hole. This why I love using gravity feeders. You can position the height of the feeder’s feed slot height enough to where hogs and raccoons have an extremely difficult time accessing feed.
So what is the magic height?
Based on my experience, 39 to 45 inches works great. Thirty nine inches is typically height enough to prevent raccoons and hogs from feeding yet, low enough for deer to feed with relative ease. The illustration below is an example of my homemade gravity feeder. You guys can use your own method to elevate the feeding slot out of reach of a raccoon.
The above design is one I use. You can get creative and come up with your own designs. Build at your own risk. I cannot guarantee it will work for you but it has work pretty good for us over the years. The height of the feed slot is too height for a raccoon or hog to reach. One of the drawbacks to this feeder design I have found is, deer take time to learn how to feed from it. Another draw back is it can take weeks and in some cases, an entire season to train the local deer how to feed from the feeding slot. You will need to use peanut butter or some sort of attractant to show the deer where the feed slot is located on the pipe. However, once they get it figured out, you will only feed deer and possibly a few birds with this simple homemade feeder.
Just remember to stay safe, Always use safe practices when installing deer feeders and be cautious while working on deer feeders of any kind. You might want to get some hunting buddies to give you a hand when hanging and setting deer feeders. Always follow safe practices when working on deer feeders of any kind.
I hope this post was helpful to you guys combating the critters eating your deer corn. If you would like more great tips and tricks for hunting fishing or cooking wild game, check out our home page then click on our Blog section.
Thank you guys for reading and good luck in the woods and on the water.