We have a new guest at our home.
An unwanted guest really. Or, perhaps we are the unwanted guest at its home?
It could really go either way.
I am of course speaking of the young raccoon that apparently lives at our new house.
And by at our house I mean on my roof, at my front door, on the new cushy patio furniture that just got delivered. Actually, I cannot really fault the raccoon for the last one. Clearly this raccoon has taste.
But I do confess to being more than a little concerned about the fact that it:
a) is active during the day
b.) not afraid of humans and seeks us out
c.) appears injured or sick and has a bad eye.
I called all the wild life organizations in our area but they aren't interested unless it is already trapped. And did you know its illegal to relocate raccoons in the state of Florida?
Not that I would ever consider doing such a thing of course.
But here is my dilemma. I can have it trapped for $200 but they will kill it.
Which makes me feel guilty.
Or I can trap it myself and drive it in my car to the wild life sanctuary.
You know, in my spare time with a house full of contractors, children to homeschool and a load of boxes in my garage to unpack.
What would you do?
4 comments:
I would call Animal control they should remove him for free. Raccoons are nocturnal. Seeing one around during the day is very concerning. There is a very real chance that it is rabid. Very Scary!
Karin,
I read your post and felt compelled to immediately send a comment. You really need to get rid of that cute little critter ASAP. Not that you should be fearful, but just aware.
I worked in Veterinary Medicine for 15 years before retiring to be a homeschooling mom, and my first job out of college was actually working for the State trapping raccoons and other little critters in order to vaccinate them for rabies-trying to stop the spread of a rabies epidemic among raccoons in the area. Besides rabies there are a couple of other diseases that the sick little guy can spread to both dogs and cats (if I remember correctly you don't have any furry pets, but your neighbors might) AND children. For one they carry a intestinal parasite that causes blindness in people. So, if your kids are outside playing in the dirt and get some raccoon poopoo on their hands, which sounds yucky enough, if they touched their face before washing their hands, it could be dangerous. The chances of this are low, but still something to be aware of. And if he is sick, the longer he hangs out around your house, the longer he could be infecting his raccoon pals, so they too will get sick.
If you can find a trapper to borrow you a trap, it's not too hard to trap raccoons. Especially one that is not too fearful of humans. A bait that seemed to work back when I was doing this on a regular basis (20 years ago or so) was an egg shell filled with peanutbutter and jelly. This captures all their senses and tastes. Most raccoons have eaten an egg of a bird or other critter at some point in their life, so they are enticed by that, plus the odor of the peanutbutter and jelly appeals to them whether they prefer sweet or salty fare;)
The toughest decision is probably whether to have someone come out and take care of the problem for you or for you to try it and hope that the wildlife sanctuary will find him fit enough to find a more suitable home for. However if he's sick, they too may decide that the best thing for all is to kill him to.
This is the end of my public service announcement. I wish you the best in your decision making.
Nancy
I have called a trapper and $200 dollars later we still haven't caught the little guy. Three traps are stationed around my house with tuna fish in an open can! Maybe I will try peanut butter and jelly in an egg shell next?
I hope he gets caught soon!
Raccoon poop is ick. But the chances of diseases and parasites is even worse.
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