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Big Holes, Duke & Charlie and a raccoon!

2K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  jennretz 
#1 ·
I have discovered the cause of Duke's and Charlie's obsession with digging under my deck! I was initiating my new fire pit the other night. Duke was at my feet and Charlie was in the house. I saw a shadow and thought, "wow, I didn't hear my husband let Charlie out...." and then I realized he hadn't. This raccoon is huge. I had new lattice work put up to keep animals out from there and then added scrolls to keep Duke and Charlie from digging under the new lattice work. The raccoon is climbing out from the stairs. I've been researching ways to get him to peacefully choose to relocate and read that tennis balls soaked in ammonia might incent him to find a new home. Any other suggestions that don't involve harming the raccoon????

He clearly is not afraid of my dogs and I don't want him in my backyard.
 
#2 ·
I've heard Moth balls work also. I know for a fact it works on Skunks. I never have tried it for Raccoons my friend did and she hasn't seen another one. There is also some type of mint you can plant that they hate. I did a quick Google search and couldn't find it. I'll keep looking.
 
#5 ·
Be careful with the moth balls...I'm sure your dogs are smarter than mine but I would bet money one of my crew would eat one, as their motto has always been, "Eat it now. You can always throw it up on the couch later."

Can you borrow a hav-a-hart trap from Animal Control?
 
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#6 ·
Be careful with the moth balls...I'm sure your dogs are smarter than mine but I would bet money one of my crew would eat one, as their motto has always been, "Eat it now. You can always throw it up on the couch later."
?

Ha! I have a feeling Henry boy will have the same motto. :/


Sorry to hear you have an unwelcome guest, Jen.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App
 
#9 ·
I have confirmed with a trapper that the raccoon is NOT living under my deck like I thought, but rather moving through my lawn. I have one neighbor who has a squirrel feeder and another neighbor who is a hoarder with a house who's roof is falling in, but still occupied. The trapper believes that the raccoon is crossing my lawn to get to the squirrel feeder and that he is living in my other neighbor's (hoarder) roof. We are in the process of closing off my deck because I have learned the following about raccoons in IL:
1) It is illegal to relocate a raccoon off your property; the only recourse you have is to euthanize them (which I did not want to do)
2) Raccoons carry disease (which I knew), but which led to #1 above; my mother's dog Thor died last November as a result of a tangle with a raccoon; after getting bit his immune system turned on himself and his body became paralyzed
3) I am being allowed to avoid a difficult decision (do not want to hurt another animal), but will do pretty much what is needed to protect my 2 goldens
 
#12 ·
You typically have to relocate raccoons at least 7 miles if moving them in order for them not to return. It's not a fun car ride (speaking from experience)! :) Doesn't surprise me you can't relocate them in your area. They would just become someone else's problem. They are nasty little buggers and get into everything and carry so many diseases. Hope you can keep him out of your yard and away from Duke and Charlie.
 
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#13 ·
Ours is chipmunks. We live in the country on a 1 acre treed lot.
Bella routinely spots them in the back yard. I let her out yesterday, not looking there was a chipmunk on our deck.
I thought Bella had it cornered, but it went right up the brick, around the corner & along the wall up at the soffits until it was over the fence then on the ground & gone.
She was on hi-alert all after noon.
Mike D
 
#14 ·
I would try the city/town again...the fact that the hoarder's home is allowing vermin to propagate should be an issue for them.

Failing that...I'd hire a hit man/exterminator. I'm an animal lover through and through, but when it comes down to the health of my dogs, I take no prisoners. I think I've mentioned that one of my (vaccinated) dogs nearly died from lepto that was spread by the raccoons living in a mammoth tree in our yard. He spent a week in the vet hospital and they called me to come back from a business trip to England so that I could "say good-bye."

When you've been through that, you kinda lose your "live and let live" philosophy.
 
#15 ·
I went through this last fall with my mom's dog. He was young - only 2 years old. He was diagnosed with ****'s hound paralysis. Basically his organs slowly shut down. I was pretty upset with the vet because I didn't think they did what they could for him.

The trapper that came out said he could set a trap and would most likely get a raccoon because there are so many in our area. I live several blocks from the river/forest preserve. He can't guarantee it will be the one though.
 
#16 ·
I wasn't aware of all the issues that can come with raccoons! Chum had an up-close-and-personal encounter with a raccoon just a couple of days ago. They were face to face with Chum trying to bite it and the raccoon hissing and swinging at Chum. DS was walking Chum and didn't think they had made any contact with each other.

We determined that the raccoon was not well. I called the police and they disposed of the raccoon and sent it out for rabies testing which thankfully came back negative. The wardens feel it was injured by a car rather than ill. I took Chum to the vet for a rabies booster and exam and all is well, thank goodness.

Raccoons are cute but I have witnessed them killing chickens and baby chicks at my sister's farm and it definitely changed the way I think about them.
 
#17 ·
I wasn't aware of all the issues that can come with raccoons! Chum had an up-close-and-personal encounter with a raccoon just a couple of days ago. They were face to face with Chum trying to bite it and the raccoon hissing and swinging at Chum. DS was walking Chum and didn't think they had made any contact with each other.

We determined that the raccoon was not well. I called the police and they disposed of the raccoon and sent it out for rabies testing which thankfully came back negative. The wardens feel it was injured by a car rather than ill. I took Chum to the vet for a rabies booster and exam and all is well, thank goodness.

Raccoons are cute but I have witnessed them killing chickens and baby chicks at my sister's farm and it definitely changed the way I think about them.
Glad Chum is ok. Raccoon are cute, but they are predators. I grew up on a farm in NE and there were plenty of raccoons. My brother even rescued a baby one and named him Toby. He was best buddies with my parent's dog at the time. I look back now and can't believe that Mom allowed him in the house. I have pictures of him playing with Arnie - their dog. I didn't realize how dangerous they could be (from a disease perspective) until Thor died right before Thanksgiving. Thor's encounter came 20 years after Toby lived.

It might be worth another call to the city about my neighbor's house and suspicion that the raccoon is living in it, but my neighbor has threatened to kill the neighbor's dogs across the street before (I think because they called the city on him, but that's pure speculation). I worry because we share a property line and it would be very easy for him to hurt my dogs.
 
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