about
Then a few nights ago I awoke to the sound of footsteps racing across my roof. Back and forth they went followed by several thumps. I fell back asleep. (jack the ripper could be standing at my bedside and long as he was quiet about it, I'd go back to sleep)
But then a couple nights later I awoke to scraping, scratching, thumping, and bumping and I swear it sounded as though it were in the room with me! I got up and looked and....nothing. Bob slept on peacefully and I went back to bed.
Then it happened. I woke up and BOB WAS AWAKE TOO! This is not normal. Bob sleeps like the dead. All of sudden I too heard....not just scratching and thumping but....yes....chewing. Bob flipped on the light. And there was a hole in our bedroom ceiling! The second the light came on all sounds stopped. When I tip-toed over to get a better look, plaster fell in my hair and for a brief moment I saw a foot. Then it was gone. When the sun came up you could see daylight through the hole in our ceiling. I swear to you, if bob had not turned on the light right then, there would have been a third body in the bed with us before morning. No question in my mind.
Now for those of you who do not know, some racoons can be viscious beyond belief. They have been known to kill small dogs and behead chickens, ducks, anything at all. When trapped they will hiss, growl, scratch, and bite. They are not to be triffled with!
"We gotta call Critter Control, right?" I suggested, eagerly.
"No. We don't need them. I'm on it." Bob assured me. That's when he and his trusty side-kick Jake became ........ The Animal Terminators. Mean, and filled with blood-lust, they bated their trap, (peanut butter and cat food), loaded their 22 and got out the baseball bat and fire glove. The men were ready for action.
I must confess to you, at this point, I, myself had serious reservations about their plan. Most especially since firearms were involved.
I found the first raccon in the trap. No hissing, no growling, no nothing. Poor little thing. She looked up at me frightened and befuddled making herself as small as possible. "I won't let them kill you. I promise. It will be ok." I whispered to her.
When the guys came up in full raccon killer gear I told them, "She's just a baby. Look at her. There's no fight in her. You have to take her to a park or woods or something and let her go. I mean it. Do NOT kill her!
"Sure, we won't kill her," Jake says, slapping the baseball bat into his hand.
They carried out the cage with the raccoon in it balled up and small looking. Pitiful. They loaded her in my car along with the 22 and the bat. As they left I called after them, "You are NOT raccoon murderers!
They came back with an empty trap. They had decided in route to let the raccoon make the call. If she left the cage peaceably with no attack, they would let her go. From here on in, each raccoon would be delt with invidually.
Less than two hours later we had another one. This one was much bigger and far more frisky. But again, he was released without incident.
A third managed to eat the bait and not set off the trap door because leaves had blocked the lever. The trap is up there again. And today Bob bought ammo for the 22 while Jake checked out aluminum bats. I have a bad feeling about this. We have dozens of these critters and some of them are not so nice.
Poly, if we have a raccoon that size I'm running for the city. LOL!
Alan, good thinking. Nothing worse than a Terminator Raccoon.
Mone, I don't think my guys would have the heart to hurt one unless it turned on them. Neither have ever shot at anything living.
We may not be good country folk. All the people I know who live in the country think nothing at all of shooting a raccoon or any other varmit that causes them grief. But so far we've captured two bats that got in the house and released them and now we're doing the same with raccoons. Not to mention the "garage birds". Boy was that a mess.
We had trouble with these at my parents and grandparents homes (they live on several acres of wooded property). You have to find WHERE the coons are coming in and get that closed up.
Another thing - make sure your dog's rabie vaccines are up-to-date. Vets in my parents area are warning their clients of a higher than normal occurence of racoons with rabies. And you are right - they will attack dogs and/or cats.
We have squirrels to deal with ourselves! LOL
tina
Sign gurl, they're not coming back without a road map. The guys took them out to a whole different city in the country.
Tina, rabies are a problem here too. So far I haven't seen any evidence of it in the critters around here. We have hundreds of raccoons in that ravine. We also have coyotes, foxes, and some kind of owl that is on the endangered species list. Only thing we don't have that I know is bears.
DENNY! STOP THAT! Now you sound like both Bob and Jake. They too are trying to make me crazy. But....I remain normal as always. Today Bob even suggested that if they could get a trap with a remote control and an opening bottom, they could hang it from one of the trees over the ravine, plug the poor things, then hit the remote, let 'em drop, and reload for another one. PAH!
Jake, you have been watching way too much of the Sopranos. You can't just go around "capping" things!
Josh, I can't wait to see what book you're reviewing now. LOL! You do realize everyone in this house, including the animals are all nuts, right? Is it a book about the circus? ahhhhhhhhhh ha ha ha ha!
Helen, that's a great tip! They had an article in the newspaper yesterday about raccoon nesting in fireplaces. Apparantly it's one of their top 10 favorites places. The fireplace flu is where our bats were coming in.
Jake, you are so right. Cause somebody DRANK ALL MY FREAKIN CHAI! and ate my timbits.
Milky, these guys couldn't take me out if their lives depended on it. And the raccoons like me. Or...do you know something? I gotta come see what you did to your blog. I'll be right over. make cookies.
First I found something for you speaking of WhupAss
Next be very careful with those racoons. My Brother-in-law had a racoon in his garage that he could not find. The thing chewed up his garage door, stuff up in the rafters, ate the plastic filler tube to a can of gas so it could drink the gas, and absolutely scared the shit (sorry for swearing but that racoon deserved it) out of my niece as they did not know there was a racoon in the garage and she went in there and saw something move and then saw glowing eyes looking at her.
They trapped the critter in a very big cage and it was crazy. They got animal control to take it away. This thing was snarling and going for the person caring the cage. They almost could not carry the cage because of how viliant it was being. I know Bob and Jake think they are ready for the worst but if I were them with this one I would have killed it in the cage. Don't mess around with the racoons, you have been lucky. I can not believe the damage they have done.
By the way, I love animals. When I was a kid we had a mouse that was caught by the cat. It was terrified and out of it from being batted around by the cat. Call it stupid or what but I put on a thick pair of leather work gloves, picked up the mouse and walked several blocks away and released it. So when I said what I would do with the one racoon you know it was serious.
Good luck with your extended family.
Barman, I've heard that what your brother-in-law experienced is the norm. Why we've had such docile creatures is a mystery, unless they're just domesticated because the people around here occasionally feed them and stuff. The horror stories about raccoons doing serious damage to property, pets, and people are endless. That's why I was concerned about the guys trying to do this on their own. I'm an animal lover too but I'd shoot one if it came down to him or me. LOL!
Josh, um...cuz you're one of us? :)
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Check your shoes before you leave.
Tell them to pick on something
their own size.
Why can't we just all get along?
Hope Bob doesn't pull a Cheney.