I used to have banana trees in my back yard which produced 40 or 50 lb bunches. For those in the Pac NW who's bananas don't produce fruit, you're supposed to cut the bunch green and then hang to ripen. Of course raccoons like bananas better then we do and they also wait till they are ripe. They trashed the first bunch but I figured It's out smart them so I hung the next bunch using a heavy hook screwed into the eave of a corner of my house. I tied a piece of rope around the stalk and a loop in the end which I hung over the hook. The bananas remained untouched until they were almost ripe. In the morning I found the bananas on the ground with the hook and loop still intact. Somehow the raccoons were able to lift the 40 lb bunch of bananas off the hook and drop them onto the ground! They didn't get the next bunch...I used an electric fence charger and some fine wire.. The raccoons in the Glades are fearless and stealthy! cya -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Evan Dallas Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 1:02 PM To: PaddleWise Subject: [Paddlewise] Racoons >Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 18:36:41 -0500 >From: "Vivian Oliva" <snook_at_gate.net> >Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] everglades> > >> -Keep your water out of reach of the racoons, they have few sources of fresh >> water and will chew into water bottles.People have had to turn back because >> the racoons stole their fresh water. We keep our water in our tents at night >> or inside the kayak hatches. >> > Good advice by Bob on all points except for water storage in tent: > >Do not keep your water in tent even at night. Some friends last winter had >a racoon tear up their tent at Pavilion Key looking for the water jug they >stored in their tent. Safest place to store food or water is inside kayak >hatches. I don't know 'bout Everglades racoons, but in the Pacific Northwest we have seen racoons claw through both a cockpit cover AND THE BULKHEAD to be able to get at food stashed inside a kayak, so we hesitate to keep food in the kayaks. Most racoons are very smart, aggressive and difficult to intimidate. In racoon country, we always hang everything that could possibly be a temptation. And even hanging the food is no guarantee unless it's very well hung (the food, that is), since the racoons are smart enough to gnaw at the ropes, if accessible. Evan Dallas Woodinville, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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