First time in 45 years we had a raccoon visit that was interested in cat food. When I saw some footprints around my largest pond I flipped. We bated the trap with cat food and he went in. He's gone now.
We can't stay up all night to shoot one and they are fast and hard to see in the dark so I borrowed a trap and it worked fine. I see them hit in the roads often. If I could just get rid of the armadillos that are digging all over my garden in the mulch that would be wonderful. They will be my next hunt project. They can be shot anytime here because they are an exotic in Fl. I'm thankful the raccoon never went into the smaller pond to go fishing. It does have 1 plant shelf in it. Larger pond is straight sided and 2 feet deep. No rocks anywhere except around the top.
Good luck all with keeping fish safe and plants intact.
Bonnie D.
