Gardening and outdoors?

Raccoons are real pests to a gardening and birder. I have solved the rampages on my compost bins. Of course no meat or dairy to attract them, but as mentioned fruit is a favorite and it's such a great addition to compost. Now I have closed and locked bins or tubs. I use a Hav-A-Hart live trap to relocate because just the smell of the compost draws them. They are winning on the bird feeder attacks. I can't get a shepherd hook tall enough or suspend a feeder far enough from a tree. I even ran a fine gauge stainless cable between to trees at what should have been a safe distance and they walk or hang on the wire.If they get to the feeder and can't access the food they rip it down or try to destroy it. Yet, I keep trying.Be aware it is possible for raccoons to carry rabies so I wear thick leather long armed rose pruning gloves when lifting trap. I have pick-up truck to transport. No big deal to catch a possum, but so smelly so I always line truck bed with cardboard. Now skunk trapping is an entirely different challenge.

@gardeningjunkie I’m impressed! I was amazed when my daughter took care of relocating mice at our woodsy cabin Maine, I could not do that!
I’m glad that you did your research on the gold knee replacement. I would not risk it either unless i reached a point of total desperation.
JK

You daughter is kinder than I am. At our cabin when we leave I line the floors with sticky traps and have Decon poison stations. It's no fun to come back and need to clean out all the drawers, cupboards, bedding and so on because mice have moved in and their dropping are everywhere. I keep all food either in refrigerator or in sealed plastic tubs and yet they survive just fine. They will even eat plastic and rubber and have no need for water. They can live in a vehicle and chew the wiring or plastic arm rests in a car, this has happened to us. You daughter is a kind person but I have no mercy these cute little animals I consider vermin. Mice and pack rats can carry disease.

We also show no mercy. Mice have found refuge in our attic at some point, urinating in the same spots, and the ceilings got stained, of course. Initially we thought it was water damage, but alas, no. So we have traps in the crawl space, and in the attic. And squirrels are equally destructive. They like - among other things - to get under car hoods and chew on wires. Had my AC system wiring gnawed on, and after our February 10-day trip they snacked on another wire that made my car suddenly loose power.... about a mile from home, of course.