Ok, so I’ve spotted a 40 lb. raccoon (weight is an estimate – but it’s HUGE) walking around my block for the last couple of weeks. In fact, the raccoon must have a den somewhere close, because it is in my background, as well as those of my neighbors daily. He/she comes out so often at night, that my friends are afraid to approach my house (very dimly lit walkway).
I’ve been in contact with the City and County animal control departments and they don’t remove wildlife. Looks like I’ll have to hire a trapper to come out and get it/them. I’m curious if anyone else near 28th Avenue South (I live between Lane and Dearborn) is having the same problem. If so, would you be interested in sharing the cost for a trapper to come out to our neighborhood?
Thanks
do you want it trapped? Is it doing damage to your home? If your friends make some noise (drag a stick or whatever) coming up your walkway it should run away. Usually unless cornered raccoons will run. They can be vicious if cornered, but, otherwise, they usually avoid humans.
I know here is Central Seattle around East Union west of 23rd Avenue there are some possum and raccoons that have not been a problem when the advice on the web sites below is headed.
Here are two sites that give some information about raccoons
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/raccoons.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74116.html
near Broadway…guessing they get good grinds from the dumpsters on the hill.
I wouldn’t go near them!
I’m near 31st and Dearborn and see them crossing 31st when I’m walking my dog in the evening. I’ve seen racoons for the 10 years I’ve lived here and they have never bothered me. Just keep your garbage covered tightly.
They may live in Frink Park as I see them up there, too.
our city into some sort of sterile wasteland? Is this some kind of new trend? I never in my life, living in four or five different cities, seen people want to rid an area of animals, except of course the pet dogs and cats, except here in this blog. Growing up back east, dog versus racoon/fox/deer events were common and accepted. Likewise, possum sightings in Los Angeles.
Unless you suspect it’s rabid, just secure your garbage and ask the restaurants nearby to do the same.
Sorry if I offended anyone, but I don’t like the huge raccoon on my doorstep. Right now I’m soliciting ideas, not a fight. Thanks
Last week we spent 20 min watching him sift through the leafs just outside our back door while he looked right at us and picking out the cracker crumbs we had dropped.
Just a little noise and a 20 seconds is all you need to solve non-rabid racoons issues.
Hi there,
I’m a wildlife rehabilitator, specializing in raccoons. The raccoon, along with all the other raccoons, opossums, skunks, etc, is your neighbor. If a trapper comes to get it, he will kill the raccoon. Since the raccoon is doing nothing to harm you, and will do nothing to harm you, why not leave it be to live its natural life? I can promise you that you can trap and kill raccoons from now until forever, and there will always be more to walk through your yard.
A better solution is to find out whether someone in your neighborhood is feeding the raccoon, either on purpose or by leaving animal food out at night. If there’s no food around, the raccoon is less likely to stay. However, raccoons and a surprising number of other wildlife species, live even in the middle of cities.
Once you start trapping wildlife, you’ll find that there is always more. Trapping and killing is expensive, doesn’t solve the issue, and is cruel and unnecessary. Feel free to contact me through my website, http://www.ranchoraccoon.org if you have questions or concerns. If the raccoon is doing something specific that scares you, I can most likely help you with a solution.
It’s too bad that builders and city palanners do not take our wildlife in consideration when building and destroying the habitat of our wildlife. We need life to balance our environment. PLEASE DO NOT KILL THE RACCOONS-IT’S NOT THE FAULT OF THE ANIMAL. We are taking over their homes.
LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN SAVE OUR WILD LIFE AND STAY SAFE AND PREVENT WILDLIFE FROM BEING A PEOPLE PROBLEM.
I am all for trapping and killing that raccoon it is gigantic and gross and will inevitably kill someones pet. They are gross creatures and do not need to run rampant through the neigborhood.
oh yeah. any pet food left outdoors also endangers your outdoor pets if they are nearby
I’d say we have at least 6 hanging out in or near the trees in our side yard on any given night. We don’t feed them, and don’t have pets, but they get what they need somewhere. I remember seeing at least a dozen of them in one tree in someone’s front yard on 19th in Capitol Hill. They usually don’t show much interest in people…
My father ( old coot from Texas ) swears by moth balls. He claims the smell bothers them and moves ’em down the road. An elderly preacher on my block does the same thing. I can’t say if it works but it seems like a harmless thing to try.
We are on 29th, between King and Lane. We think its a she because she had 4 babies with her last summer. We’ve seen her in the trees on the east side of 29th, in the tall weeds on the corner of 29th and King, in our backyard with her whole family eating our figs right out of the tree – and worse, under our garage!
We had a team of three raccoons that were coming through our cat door in an attempt to steal our cat food. We started leaving our back porch light on and that seems to deter them; they’ll hang out in the yard but won’t come up the back steps. If I were installing something new, I’d get a motion activated light. You might also look into ultrasonic motion activated deterrents. Raccoons are very adaptable so switching up your devices on occasion might be something to consider.
In the end, I agree with what others have said, you’re probably going to have to learn to live with them to avoid the frustration of getting rid of one to have it replaced by another.
It seems as a society, we don’t have a problem saying there’s too many rats or it’s worth trapping coyotes to protect our “special” pets…but when it comes to “cute” mammals our emotions get all worked up.
There can be too many raccoons, possums, feral cats, feral rabbits. It’s not the animal’s fault: they’re just doing what they do, breed and look for food. But we ALL live in a completely artificial environment that is managed. The number of raccoons we have would not be “normal” in a forest..they succeed so well in our cities, because just like us, they are clever and can scavenge. I think some trapping in the urban environment is a bit like hunting for deer. Yes, that’s brutal and sad to some, but without culling out deer, they too are over-successful in a lot of man-made environments and then over-graze and are prone to disease and sickness.
Yes, it is expensive to trap them, and yes, more will replace them eventually, but the reality to me is that’s ok. That’s part of living in our built environment and animal control (e.g. trapping the squirrels in your attic, trapping the raccoons fighting your cats) is just part of managing the population to a reasonable level.
I like spotting a raccoon or possum now and again. It reminds me were part of a larger world of interesting critters here in the city. But there can be too many.
I make a habit of tracking wild cats too – they are vicious and destroy a ton of birds and scare me. I take them to the pound when i get them. some of them have completely lost their fear of humans and come right up to me, especially when I offer to pet them.
My cat’s have peacefully coexisted with a family of raccoons under our deck for 6 years. When we moved, I learned we have 4 raccoons in our new yard. I have no plans to trap or move them, urban raccoons behave much differently than those you see on tv, unless they are rabid.
It may not be legal to trap raccoons in city limits – from the WA.gov wildlife site:
Trapping Raccoons
Trapping and relocating a raccoon several miles away seems an appealing method of resolving a conflict because it is perceived as giving the “problem animal” a second chance in a new home. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is quite different. Raccoons typically try to return to their original territories, often getting hit by a car or killed by a predator in the process. If they remain in the new area, they may get into fights (oftentimes to the death) with resident raccoons for limited food, shelter, or nesting sites. Raccoons may also transmit diseases to rural populations that they have picked up from urban pets. Finally, if a place “in the wild” or an urban green space is perfect for raccoons, raccoons are probably already there. It isn’t fair to the animals already living there to release another competitor into their home range.
Raccoons used to a particular food source, type of shelter, or human activity will seek out familiar situations and surroundings. People, organizations, or agencies that illegally move raccoons should be willing to assume liability for any damages or injuries caused by these animals. Precisely for these reasons, raccoons posing a threat to human and pet safety should not be relocated.
In many cases, moving raccoons will not solve the original problem because other raccoons will replace them and cause similar conflicts. Hence, it is more effective to make the site less attractive to raccoons than it is to routinely trap them.
Trapping also may not be legal in some urban areas; check with local authorities. Transporting animals without the proper permit is also unlawful in most cases (see “Legal Status”). See Trapping Wildlife for information on trapping raccoons.
They were here before we were, and they’ll be around long after we are gone. I suspect we have a little family living in our attic, and I welcome them. Peoples’ dogs are much more obnoxious and dangerous. I cannot advocate any sort of raccoon wrangling.