bobcat question

C

crazyengineer

Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
1,140
well,

May parents have informed me that they and my neighbors believe that we have a bobcat living in our barn, and apparently its been seen by a few people running out of the barn or across the road when pulling up (we have land outside city limits). My neighbors have small children, ages like 2 or 3 and 5 or so i believe.

So here is my question.

We want and need it gone because of the kids. I believe that we have come to the conclusion that we are gonna kill it. The question is how. Does anyone have any advice for me in this?

the two ideas I have had (since I will be the one taking care of it) is either a live trap and shoot it or a predator call and bait of some sort. I am leaning toward the live trap for the sole reason that when I see it it cant get near me before I put a round or 2 in it (and I want to see the thing up close).


some additional details:
We have seen the burrow where it lives in the bar and they are bigger than the ground hogs we have had in there before. A good bit bigger, they go under a walkway that goes down tot he ground like a box flipped over about 3 ft wide and about 10 or 15 ft long and about 18 inches or up to 24 from the bottom of the floor to the ground. As I have said before, it has been seen and its not a small bobcat (I haven't seen it yet). I know these things can be really mean and I personally want it gone, Since my neighbors have small children and because I am in the barn enough (not a lot, but enough) that I could run across it and dont feel like having the crap scared out of me
 
I really doubt that the bobcat would attack any children but it's best to play it safe and remove the cat from your barn. I would get a large Havahart trap to live trap the animal, you can use catfood for bait or else get a mouse at a pet store and tye the mouse up inside the trap as live bait. IF it is legal in your state, you might want to also set some other type of leg traps or Conibear (sp?) traps in you barn where no other animals could be caught. Can you shoot a .22 inside of your barn? If so, try setting up a blind in your barn where you can hide and use a varmint call to get the bobcat come out of his burrow and shoot him.
Happy hunting and let us know the outcome, good luck.
 
Bobcats are classified as furbearing game animals in many states and their "taking", by gun or trap, is regulated by the state game and fish agency. I agree that the bobcat would more likely pose a threat to pets than children, but contact your G&F department and see what they say. Some states have trappers on contract to relocate nusience animals. They may well need bobcats to restore populations in other areas of the state.
 
crazyengineer said:
well,

May parents have informed me that they and my neighbors believe that we have a bobcat living in our barn, and apparently its been seen by a few people running out of the barn or across the road when pulling up (we have land outside city limits). My neighbors have small children, ages like 2 or 3 and 5 or so i believe.

So here is my question.

We want and need it gone because of the kids. I believe that we have come to the conclusion that we are gonna kill it. The question is how. Does anyone have any advice for me in this?

the two ideas I have had (since I will be the one taking care of it) is either a live trap and shoot it or a predator call and bait of some sort. I am leaning toward the live trap for the sole reason that when I see it it cant get near me before I put a round or 2 in it (and I want to see the thing up close).


some additional details:
We have seen the burrow where it lives in the bar and they are bigger than the ground hogs we have had in there before. A good bit bigger, they go under a walkway that goes down tot he ground like a box flipped over about 3 ft wide and about 10 or 15 ft long and about 18 inches or up to 24 from the bottom of the floor to the ground. As I have said before, it has been seen and its not a small bobcat (I haven't seen it yet). I know these things can be really mean and I personally want it gone, Since my neighbors have small children and because I am in the barn enough (not a lot, but enough) that I could run across it and dont feel like having the crap scared out of me
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check you local laws it may not be legal to shoot it out of season or trap it, mothsballs/ redpepper will drive it away or you can call animal control and they can live trap it. it will not attack your kids unless the corner it.
 
Why dont you call your local DNR or Fish and game place, have it caught, removed and relocated?
 
Swampdog said:
I really doubt that the bobcat would attack any children but it's best to play it safe and remove the cat from your barn. I would get a large Havahart trap to live trap the animal, you can use catfood for bait or else get a mouse at a pet store and tye the mouse up inside the trap as live bait. IF it is legal in your state, you might want to also set some other type of leg traps or Conibear (sp?) traps in you barn where no other animals could be caught. Can you shoot a .22 inside of your barn? If so, try setting up a blind in your barn where you can hide and use a varmint call to get the bobcat come out of his burrow and shoot him.
Happy hunting and let us know the outcome, good luck.
Click to expand...

ya, there would be no problem using a .22 in our barn, so that is another option, though I dont know any of its time habits if that makes sense.

Codger_64 said:
Bobcats are classified as furbearing game animals in many states and their "taking", by gun or trap, is regulated by the state game and fish agency. I agree that the bobcat would more likely pose a threat to pets than children, but contact your G&F department and see what they say. Some states have trappers on contract to relocate nusience animals. They may well need bobcats to restore populations in other areas of the state.
Click to expand...

Ya, I forgot to mention my neighbors have dogs as well as we do when we are out there. Which is just another reason I would like it gone.

Rumbrave said:
check you local laws it may not be legal to shoot it out of season or trap it, mothsballs/ redpepper will drive it away or you can call animal control and they can live trap it. it will not attack your kids unless the corner it.
Click to expand...

I would rather just deal with it myself. Not with something that will just make it leave, as the area has a lot of barns around us, and it would probably just go there. Which in my opinion is too close. We are pretty wary of predators around us as well as the barn is used enough to make us nervous


We live in TN so it is TN laws, this is from the VA laws about it. I believe there is the same thing for TN land owners as well. I am gonna find out first though.

Bobcats legally killed by landowners outside the season and legally possessed road-killed bobcats are not required to be checked in using the electronic harvest reporting system. If you plan to take a bobcat to a taxidermist that does not require checking, you must securely attach the same information described above (except for the confirmation number) and a description of how the bobcat was legally obtained
Click to expand...
 
Codger_64 said:
Bobcats are classified as furbearing game animals in many states and their "taking", by gun or trap, is regulated by the state game and fish agency. I agree that the bobcat would more likely pose a threat to pets than children, but contact your G&F department and see what they say. Some states have trappers on contract to relocate nusience animals. They may well need bobcats to restore populations in other areas of the state.
Click to expand...

^ sums it up nicely. more than likely you can have someone come for free to remove the animal. btw mothballs work too. however this time of year she maybe prego and or have kits. so be aware of that also. i would prefer you not kill the animal. she is only doing what she knows to do.
 
Bobcats are so skittish, it probably is harmless. Are there many reports of bobcats maiming or killing children in Virginia? I don't know, but my immediate impression is that you're worried about nothing.

I'd be concerned about the neighbor's dogs harassing it though, so the decent thing to do would be to relocate it. You could likely trap it yourself and haul it off without anyone 'official' becoming concerned.
 
I work in pest control now and have convinced many nuisance animals( skunks, racoons, coyote, squirrels) to relocate with a cheap and easy method.

A "ghetto blaster" and lighting. usually playing some bad speed/death metal loud and very close to the den or roosting location. I lost one to angry coons once but since have put it in a closed havahart(staked to ground) and buried the cord a few feet

That and some daytime use of firecrackers into the hole a few times a day.......2 or 3 days of this and almost anything will move. I did this the first time in my crawlspace with a nesting racoon family 20 years ago, was fun to watch her move 7 little babies over the fence to somewhere else.

Hope it helps and I agree to adhere to fish/game laws with a furbearer, I would take a crack at relocation if possible.
 
I work in pest control now and have convinced many nuisance animals( skunks, racoons, coyote, squirrels) to relocate with a cheap and easy method.

A "ghetto blaster" and lighting. usually playing some bad speed/death metal loud and very close to the den or roosting location. I lost one to angry coons once but since have put it in a closed havahart(staked to ground) and buried the cord a few feet

That and some daytime use of firecrackers into the hole a few times a day.......2 or 3 days of this and almost anything will move. I did this the first time in my crawlspace with a nesting racoon family 20 years ago, was fun to watch her move 7 little babies over the fence to somewhere else.

Hope it helps and I agree to adhere to fish/game laws with a furbearer, I would take a crack at relocation if possible.
 
Bob W said:
Bobcats are so skittish, it probably is harmless. Are there many reports of bobcats maiming or killing children in Virginia? I don't know, but my immediate impression is that you're worried about nothing.

I'd be concerned about the neighbor's dogs harassing it though, so the decent thing to do would be to relocate it. You could likely trap it yourself and haul it off without anyone 'official' becoming concerned.
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here in NC (down east NC) there were quite a few reports of bobcats attacking joggers and etc. come to find out some of those cats had rabies.
 
SX3-shoot, shovel and shut up. I agree that following game laws is best practice but sometimes you have to deal with things. If you are not on that wavelength good luck with going the route with your local game department. Maybe you will find someone who is community minded but those folks tend to be spread out over a large area and lots of duties so focusing on these issues is not usually a high priority. Not trying to knock them but between water and land there's lots of work to do. You may ask around, there might be licensed pest controllers who handle bobcats. Getting one into a live trap is not going to be easy but even better luck to you getting one out...stinker will be MAD.
 
Don't hurt kitty--convince it to leave.

Win-Win.

If you're gonna do something illegal (i.e. breaking the fish and game laws), don't post about it.


Hey, send it out here to California. If it really is a danger to "neighbor kids", I'm HUGELY interested.:eek:
 
Scott Free said:
Almost certainly. If it truly is a bobcat, I'd consider myself fortunate just to have seen it.
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I've never seen one, seen tracks, scratches on trees, and some hair once that could have been. thought i saw one once but not sure enough to say i did, probably a grey fox,(it was running through the woods before sun up in turkey season) it was probably a fox, or bigfoot.

if it is a bobcat and its living in your barn this time of year its probably female and has kittens already. odds are it will move them as soon as it can. count yourself lucky if you see it or the kittens. it'll move by itself.

may want to call the DNR to find out what the laws are. here in Ohio you can't just shoot things because its on your property.
 
Bob W said:
Bobcats are so skittish, it probably is harmless. Are there many reports of bobcats maiming or killing children in Virginia? I don't know, but my immediate impression is that you're worried about nothing.

I'd be concerned about the neighbor's dogs harassing it though, so the decent thing to do would be to relocate it. You could likely trap it yourself and haul it off without anyone 'official' becoming concerned.
Click to expand...

+1^ I wouldn't kill it. I would try and catch and relocate it.
Here in S.W. Ohio there is evidence of maybe two or three around the area but are never seen. Mostly nocturnal or early daylight/twilight. So I don't think the bob cat would be a threat to the kids. They are so weary of humans but I agree with being safe. Try and relocate it would be my advice.
 
I have seen a bobcat once at a state park in Indiana. It was in the woods with a 40 foot deep or so ravine separating us. Very cool and elusive animal. On a similar side note I also came into extremely close encounters with an owl. I was playing hide and seek at night with my nieces and nephews and while looking for them my brother-in-law and I saw this owl flying down by the creek. We went closer and then the owl came and perched on a tree. We had a flashlight and shined it into its eyes and approached it very slowly. It never saw us, and looked towards our feet a few times because of the noise we were making. We got so close we could have touched it. My brother-in-law almost did but I was not taking a chance with that beak or talons. We stared at for a solid two or three minutes at arms length with a flashlight on it until it flew away. I am guessing something with its night-time vision or the inability to adjust to our flashlight was the reason it could not see us but it never appeared to grasp that we were there. We shook the tree it was in to see it fly. Looking back at pictures we think it was a bar owl if I remember correctly. Certainty not a Great Horned or Screech Owl.
 
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