The bad things about steel, live or dukes is that I have seen them set and then left unattended for a week. What is more humane? A raccoon starved for a week. A raccoon left to chew their leg off. Or one that drinks something and dies in a few minutes?

my feeder cage has a electric wire built into it, no coons so far.

The war has begun. Up here for a few days. 2 Duke's set and will check them in the morning with the veinte dos. Hope I baited them right. Cat food, sardines, and festive mini marshmallows. 'Wanted them to have a colorful exit.

One outa two this morning.

What are you guys doing about fire ants on your bait? I've started using the Z-trap but almost immediately my traps are covered in fire ants.

To keep the coons off your feeders, go buy a tube of grease, like the one that goes in your grease gun. Put on some latex gloves, open the tube, smear the grease on the legs of said feeder. I haven't had a coon on my feeders for 10 years and it works 100% of the time. I only have to apply once a year. It's cheap and very effective! Deer won't be spooked by it and the coons spend the rest of the week trying to get the grease out of their coat. I love making the little &*%$#!'s miserable.

Eliminator Spin plates have worked great for me.

I still like my 4" PVC on my legs. I tried the grease it seems the smell just didn't have as many deer coming in afterwards. Then tried the lard with hot spices mix in smeared on the legs NO GO, washed off with rain. PVC the cheapest for me. Just hunted in pop up with 22 at night.

I bait mine in the late afternoon, no problems. If you can find Drione insecticide, dust the mound