Shocker

[DannnyG]

I've been dabbling with electronics since retiring and am hooked!  My wife is an animal lover so I help her trap Ferrell cats so she can have them cared for spayed or neutered then released.  I rigged up a remote trap and watch on a cam for just the right moment.  She feeds them with a wifi feeder on our front porch
  Here's my problem
I have a racoon who kicks that feeder around and turns it over etc.  I bought a pet mat and robbed the shocker part and used mig welding wire on a box that covers the feeder.  It uses a 9v battery and produces a quick apprx 25 volt surge with small mamps of current (Can't zero in because of fluctuations).  The racoon seems confused with the shock but not detered.

What's an appropriate voltage/amps to kick his butt but not hurt him?
Can I modify the pet shocker?
If I start from scratch What's the best choice of components?

[Algoma]

Perhaps turn that wire into a touch sensor instead, with a bright light and noise scare, than to dial in a good shock. Something that lasts longer than a momentary poke that the raccoon might think was a mistake.

Most pet collars only deliver enough of a poke to get attention, far lower than anything needed to properly discourage. With electrcity, there is often a fine balance between oww that hurt, to oops I think that stopped my heart, from an accidental touch. A proper poke would be salavged from an electric fence driver.

[CaptDon]

25 volt surge? I think you got that wrong. 25 volts wouldn't even be felt. I had 2.5Kv A.C. with a sustained 1 amp available on a wire screen referenced to earth ground. I saw a raccoon back legs on the dirt, front legs on the energized screen taking food off the screen!! Apparently my sandy soil is a poor ground conductor!! Can't say I'd want to try his trick in my own bare feet.

[Nominal Animal]

Is it even possible to deter a raccoon reliably without harming them when food is available?

[BrokenYugo]

Easiest nonviolent solution is probably hanging the feeder out of reach, rig up a chute for the food to fall through.

[Algoma]

We had a Raccoon take on a 115KV transformer, blackout the northern part of the city, and win with only loss of fur, according to the pictures. Those critters seem to be excelent surface conductors to be initiate trasmission line plasma arcs without penetrating its body. Likely launched it halfway across the substation, if not partially into orbit first.

[themadhippy]

Likely launched it halfway across the substation, if not partially into orbit first.

Rocky Rocket  Raccoon

[brucehoult]

A proper poke would be salavged from an electric fence driver.

I'm so old I remember a a kid using purely electro-mechanical electric fence energisers somewhat like this (but different brand, box shape). 2m20s is a good time to look at.

https://youtu.be/-bflY0jNNvY

Late 60s to mid 70s in my case (before we got much more powerful electronic CDI ones), but no idea how old they were at that point. They seemed to work well enough. We had them powered by a small car battery which probably lasted weeks or months.

[aeberbach]

A zap from the past...

https://schematicsforfree.com/files/Misc/Home%20Electronics%20%26%20Appliances/Misc/Electronic%20Mousetrap%20ETI%201524.pdf

But doesn't the raccoon get trapped in the same way as the cats would? (I don't know much about them, no raccoons locally)

[xrunner]

I have a racoon who kicks that feeder around and turns it over etc.  ...

You have "a" racoon as opposed to several?

Like John Wick, a racoon is an animal of focus, commitment, and sheer f*cking will. It will go after any food whatsoever any way it can and won't give up. I know because I've tried to feed local cats. But if you have a single racoon you can trap it and set it free many miles away. It might not come back, or it might, but it's worth a try.

[Smokey]

We had a Raccoon take on a 115KV transformer, blackout the northern part of the city, and win with only loss of fur, according to the pictures. Those critters seem to be excelent surface conductors to be initiate trasmission line plasma arcs without penetrating its body. Likely launched it halfway across the substation, if not partially into orbit first.

A squirrel tangled with a transformer and blacked out my neighborhood once.  Unlike your racoon, we found what was left of a very crispy hairless squirrel at the base of the pole.

[CaptDon]

I don't like causing harm to any creature but we have a bad situation here. The raccoon population is nearly out of control. They are cute in their own way but so damned destructive!!! They have torn siding off off walls and come through the internal wood structures of homes. They can be a rabies menace. In this area when a raccoon is trapped the game wardens require it to be euthanized. They are not allowed to be transported to other areas due to the rabies concern. It does pain me to see them put down. Two of my friends each had a household pet raccoon raised from before their eyes were opened and they were good pets that were raised with behavior standards when allowed out of the cage to be with the family. They did have to be caged when no one was home. We have a destructive squirrel and chipmunk population also but they are trapped and taken elsewhere. It is said that squirrels don't transmit rabies. Sadly the entire raccoon population suffers being euthanized when trapped because a rabid raccoon can be a very vicious animal attacking humans and pets. Squirrels standing on a pole pig transformer and grabbing a hold of the 4160vac feeder makes one hell of a bang. What's left of the squirrel is usually thrown clear!!

[DannnyG]

The fence charger video is interesting.  I'm gonna try to build one just for fun

[Teledog]

Perhaps a small N/O switch under the feeder, to activate a HV unit when closed (ie: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006049610582.html).
Place the HV electrodes ~1cm apart
It doesn't need to actually shock a critter, the arcing light & noise alone scares the S**t out of my dog or any other animal I've seen.
G' luck!

[SteveThackery]

No way would I use a shocker.  If it's powerful enough to scare the critter in dry conditions, it'll probably be fatal in damp conditions.  I reckon you need to rethink the whole approach. There must be other ways of preventing access.

[Doctorandus_P]

This thread reminds me of the picture below

[BillyO]

A zap from the past...

https://schematicsforfree.com/files/Misc/Home%20Electronics%20%26%20Appliances/Misc/Electronic%20Mousetrap%20ETI%201524.pdf

But doesn't the raccoon get trapped in the same way as the cats would? (I don't know much about them, no raccoons locally)

Think of a burshtailed possum with a college degree and sociopathic attitude.

[MrAl]

I don't like causing harm to any creature but we have a bad situation here. The raccoon population is nearly out of control. They are cute in their own way but so damned destructive!!! They have torn siding off off walls and come through the internal wood structures of homes. They can be a rabies menace. In this area when a raccoon is trapped the game wardens require it to be euthanized. They are not allowed to be transported to other areas due to the rabies concern. It does pain me to see them put down. Two of my friends each had a household pet raccoon raised from before their eyes were opened and they were good pets that were raised with behavior standards when allowed out of the cage to be with the family. They did have to be caged when no one was home. We have a destructive squirrel and chipmunk population also but they are trapped and taken elsewhere. It is said that squirrels don't transmit rabies. Sadly the entire raccoon population suffers being euthanized when trapped because a rabid raccoon can be a very vicious animal attacking humans and pets. Squirrels standing on a pole pig transformer and grabbing a hold of the 4160vac feeder makes one hell of a bang. What's left of the squirrel is usually thrown clear!!

That's very interesting, I've had the same experience with wild mice.  They will bite the crap out of you, but if they have babies and you have them in captivity, they becomes the most gentle and nice pets.  They will come to your hand and take a peanut right out from between your fingers and not bite you even a little.  I found out because one day I went to feed them and one jumped up and grabbed the peanut out from between my fingers.  Another one got out of the cage and I went looking for him, and he must have seen me because he came out of hiding and walked right up to me!  It was not a full grown mouse yet but still very very small compared to my height, yet he was not afraid because he knew me I guess.

It's amazing how these wild animals become domesticated when raised in captivity and fed properly.  I have a feeling they begin to think you are their new mom

I've had problems with a nest of squirrels in the attic too.  I was able to trap them one at a time and move them to another location that did not bother anybody.  They make a hell of a racket at night.