Triple Play

What creature does more damage to bird feeders, and to the wallets of bird feeder owners, than any other? (Hint: it has eyes that glow green when you shine a light on them.)

I had thought the answer to this question was squirrels, because I often saw them hanging around the feeders. But eventually I noticed that the real damage was occurring at night, when the squirrels were tucked safely in bed. I started catching raccoons in the act in the middle of the night by shining a flashlight out of the bedroom window at a feeder. I know, I know, I need to get a life. Instead I got a trap. This photo is of the third raccoon it caught in four nights, a pretty good success rate. The remaining problem seems to be mama raccoon, who has witnessed her young-uns trapped and may be too cautious to go for the bait herself. Perhaps I should tempt her with some more exotic bait, maybe a nice string of raccoon pearls or her very own i-phone.