Raccoons

Many gardeners have trouble with raccoons eating their corn. Nothing is more infuriating than finding you've been raided: stalks toppled, ears ripped open and half eaten. (Even more frustrating is the idea, offered by animal researchers, that raccoons are wasteful because they don't really like sweet corn all that much; in fact, they seem to prefer sunflower seeds, dog food, and sardines.) The persistence and proliferation of raccoons has inspired many solutions; one of them is bound to work for you.

• Keep a dog -- a good dog who doesn't mind the night shift.
• Scatter blood meal around corn plants.
• Tune a radio to a rock station and set it in the middle of the corn patch.
• Garden near a bigger, better corn field -- the coons may prefer it to yours.
• Plant enough corn for man and beast alike.
• Grow tall varieties such as 'Silver Queen', 'Kandy Korn', and 'Lancelot'. Taller plants bear their ears higher, causing raccoons trouble getting leverage to topple stalks and ravage them. They prefer shorter plants.
• Install an electric fence. This is a good measure. A two-wire fence, with one wire four to six inches above the ground and the other at 12 inches, should be effective.
• Set humane, live traps. Raccoons will eat virtually anything, so traps baited with fish-flavored dry cat food, chicken necks, ears of corn, or whole peanuts may attract them. If raccoons don't enter your trap after a few nights, try switching the bait. If you trap a raccoon, use caution when handling the trap, and be sure to release the animal at least three miles away.