That Varmint

I've been a fan of game cameras for years.  I've used them to watch wildlife and considered them just another way to enjoy the outdoors.  Also, as a full-time cop, I've used security camera footage to try to help solve crimes.  The downside to using video to solve crimes is that you have to watch the video.  For example, a high school where someone is suspected to have been in the building between the time that the custodian locked up at night and the time the principal unlocked in the morning might be 10 hours.  Do you know how long it takes to watch 10 hours of video?  You guessed it, 10 hours.  It's like watching paint dry.

Sometimes your video doesn't show anything, but sometimes there's that "AH-HA!" moment, when it all comes together, and you've got it all on tape.  Those are good times.

In this particular case, Milady and I have been plagued by a varmint, eating cat food and re-arranging the furniture on the patio.  I suspected a raccoon, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and I wanted times so that I could mount a proper response. So, in proper police fashion, I laid a trap for my bandit in the form of my old, trusty vame camera.  And sure enough, he tripped it.

 There's the varmint, right there.  Just as I suspected.  I know what he looks like and I know what time he tripped the camera.  A review of the evidence shows that's a big ol' coon, fat and healthy.

So now I consider my options.  Several come to mind, but I've rejected a couple.  For example, if I set a box trap, I'd probably catch my inquisitive cat, leaving the coon to continue his depredations.  I live in a suburb, so the idea of gunfire isn't particularly appealing.  I admit, as a gunny-person, it was the first thing that comes to mind, but I have to deal with the possibility of pass-through, fields of fire, and collateral damage.  These things I'll ponder in the days to come.

However, the first problem to consider was how the varmint was getting into the yard.  He's been doing this for several days, so he's probably found a route in and out.  It's simply a mattter of finding it.  Fortunately, the weather has conspired against the coon, in that the ground around the house is saturated.  My son, who was spending the night with us on a job, found the trail as he was leaving for work this morning.  In the mud outside the patio gate, he noticed two small tracks.

Sure enough, those are raccoon tracks in the mud outside the  gate, so I can be fairly certain that he's coming in from that direction.

So, now we've identified the target and his route.  We know approximate times.  All that's left is to determine an effective response.  Readers are invited to game this scenario.