OT - The Raccoon in the Attic

We've had a houseguest on & off for the past year - in the attic! A
Raccoon! We finally decided to do something about it as it's been getting
bolder and wandering over to other areas of the attic that we wouldn't be
able to "clean".

Our house, as many of you know, was built in 1925. Plaster & lathe walls in
stead of drywall (sheetrock), except in areas where it's been replaced over
the years (one huge section by us after we moved in & started peeling off
the 10 layers of wallpaper & paint in the dining room - the plaster came
with it on 2 walls!) The roof is more recent (1950-60's maybe), but the
only access is over the kitchen from outside, about 15-20 feet up, and it's
a smallish opening (covered)! And when you get in there, you can see part
of the original roof (wood shingles) that they left on when they put on the
new (probably violating every building code in the state), hence the "not
being able to clean" statement earlier - the older roof blocks access to
some areas of the attic. Our house is not square, more like two squares
joined at a corner, making a boxy figure eight. There are some sections
where the eaves are higher than others, leaving itty-bitty spaces for
critters to hide from predators. It's been one of those 'merges' (for lack
of a better word) of two eaves that Rocky Raccoon has gained entrance. Some
evenings we could look out one of the kitchen windows up at this area and
see into the attic, and see his glowing eyes peering out at us.

We weren't too thrilled about him being up there, but didn't know what to
do, short of hiring someone to come & get the thing out. Some people
suggesting soaking rags in ammonia an placing them in the attic (ammonia is
the smell old urine makes, and that would probably scare them away - they
would be thinking another critter had taken up residence), but we thought
that the smell would eventually find it's way to us in the rest of the
house.

Rocky has finally been wandering over to the opposite end of the house, and
using that area as it's bathroom (we could smell it!) - and that's when we
decided to do something about it.

Got out our old live-trap. WD-40'd it all over (it wasn't wanting to shut -
what good is a trap that won't be sprung?), set it up on the roof near
Rocky's 'front door', baiting it with a block of wood liberally slathered
with chunky peanut butter (we usually put that out for the birds).

This morning, in the trap, was one *HUGE* raccoon! Unfortunately, the trap,
w/raccoon, was no longer on the roof! Rocky didn't appear to be injured, so
we don't know if he was in the trap when it fell (him banging around in it
trying to get out), or got in it afterward. We're thinking that he was in
it when it fell, as it falling would have spring it, and then how would he
have gotten in?

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the Land Rover,
grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove Rocky to the edge of
town a mile or so away, near a park with a creek, woods, fields & a couple
of limestone quarries and released him there. He wanted away from us so
bad, he ran over the ear of corn where I tossed it!

Rocky could be a she... and I'm glad we caught him/her now, before any pups
were born and sequestered in our attic.

Now to see if Rocky finds his way back, or if he/she decides that home would
be better where humans don't go tossing him off roofs (we didn't want that
to happen, but it did ).

We'll reset the trap tonight to see if there were any others sharing Rocky's
"apartment"

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the Land
Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove Rocky to
the edge of town a mile or so away

If Rocky liked his/her quarters, a mile is not nearly far enough. Ten miles
would be much better.

"Pat" wrote in message
et...

"Magic Mood Jeep)" wrote

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the Land
Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove Rocky to
the edge of town a mile or so away

If Rocky liked his/her quarters, a mile is not nearly far enough. Ten
miles would be much better.



My thought exactly. Not just distance, but "over the river and through the
woods"

Raccoons are entirely to resourceful for their own good. And I'd be willing
to bet Rocky is thinking about the chunky peanut butter rather than the
fall. Raccoons fall all the time without getting hurt.

Jo

In t,
Jo Firey purred:
"Pat" wrote in message
et...

"Magic Mood Jeep)" wrote

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the
Land Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove
Rocky to the edge of town a mile or so away

If Rocky liked his/her quarters, a mile is not nearly far enough. Ten
miles would be much better.



My thought exactly. Not just distance, but "over the river and
through the woods"

Raccoons are entirely to resourceful for their own good. And I'd be
willing to bet Rocky is thinking about the chunky peanut butter
rather than the fall. Raccoons fall all the time without getting
hurt.
Jo

Yeah - I was afraid of that - but *if* he/she comes back, she's going to be
taken to the far side of Lake Monroe's Stillwater Marsh area. It's a
Federally Protected wildlife area, but they *do* allow hunting during the
season, *unless* it's between Oct 1 & April 15 (then it's off limits to
everyone, except bird-watchers (lots of water fowl, including Bald Eagles),
and they can only go in specific areas - no boats of any kind) - and it's
clearly marked every 15-20 feet with bright yellow signs stating so, all
around it's perimeter.

"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote in message
...
We've had a houseguest on & off for the past year - in the attic! A
Raccoon! We finally decided to do something about it as it's been getting
bolder and wandering over to other areas of the attic that we wouldn't be
able to "clean".



Pat is correct. A raccoon needs to be transported *many miles* unless you
want him/her to return "home."

My parents once had a raccoon that set up quarters in their chimney.
Because of the height, they had to hire someone to block the entrance. He
made many trips to the top of the chimney and used a flashlight to look for
glowing eyes (just as you described). This was always done at night because
raccoons ar nocturnal animals. Finally, the raccoon was gone one night. At
that time, he placed a very sturdy "bird guard" over the top of the
chimney -- "sturdy" because in this case it was really a "raccoon guard"
designed to prevent the raccoon from gain entrance. In your case, I think
you need to do something similar and then block all possible entrances to
your attic.

MaryL

last night my sister heard a racket near the chickens, it was almost time to
shut them up, she grabbed her pistol and went to see, there was a huge
raccoon in the chicken feed, she shot it, her and my brother estimated it at
between 50 and 60 pounds, said it was literally the biggest one either of
them had ever seen, Lee
Magic Mood Jeep© wrote in message
...
We've had a houseguest on & off for the past year - in the attic! A
Raccoon! We finally decided to do something about it as it's been getting
bolder and wandering over to other areas of the attic that we wouldn't be
able to "clean".

Our house, as many of you know, was built in 1925. Plaster & lathe walls
in
stead of drywall (sheetrock), except in areas where it's been replaced
over
the years (one huge section by us after we moved in & started peeling off
the 10 layers of wallpaper & paint in the dining room - the plaster came
with it on 2 walls!) The roof is more recent (1950-60's maybe), but the
only access is over the kitchen from outside, about 15-20 feet up, and
it's
a smallish opening (covered)! And when you get in there, you can see part
of the original roof (wood shingles) that they left on when they put on
the
new (probably violating every building code in the state), hence the "not
being able to clean" statement earlier - the older roof blocks access to
some areas of the attic. Our house is not square, more like two squares
joined at a corner, making a boxy figure eight. There are some sections
where the eaves are higher than others, leaving itty-bitty spaces for
critters to hide from predators. It's been one of those 'merges' (for
lack
of a better word) of two eaves that Rocky Raccoon has gained entrance.
Some
evenings we could look out one of the kitchen windows up at this area and
see into the attic, and see his glowing eyes peering out at us.

We weren't too thrilled about him being up there, but didn't know what to
do, short of hiring someone to come & get the thing out. Some people
suggesting soaking rags in ammonia an placing them in the attic (ammonia
is
the smell old urine makes, and that would probably scare them away - they
would be thinking another critter had taken up residence), but we thought
that the smell would eventually find it's way to us in the rest of the
house.

Rocky has finally been wandering over to the opposite end of the house,
and
using that area as it's bathroom (we could smell it!) - and that's when we
decided to do something about it.

Got out our old live-trap. WD-40'd it all over (it wasn't wanting to
shut -
what good is a trap that won't be sprung?), set it up on the roof near
Rocky's 'front door', baiting it with a block of wood liberally slathered
with chunky peanut butter (we usually put that out for the birds).

This morning, in the trap, was one *HUGE* raccoon! Unfortunately, the
trap,
w/raccoon, was no longer on the roof! Rocky didn't appear to be injured,
so
we don't know if he was in the trap when it fell (him banging around in it
trying to get out), or got in it afterward. We're thinking that he was in
it when it fell, as it falling would have spring it, and then how would he
have gotten in?

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the Land
Rover,
grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove Rocky to the edge
of
town a mile or so away, near a park with a creek, woods, fields & a couple
of limestone quarries and released him there. He wanted away from us so
bad, he ran over the ear of corn where I tossed it!

Rocky could be a she... and I'm glad we caught him/her now, before any
pups
were born and sequestered in our attic.

Now to see if Rocky finds his way back, or if he/she decides that home
would
be better where humans don't go tossing him off roofs (we didn't want that
to happen, but it did ).

We'll reset the trap tonight to see if there were any others sharing
Rocky's
"apartment"

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

All I can say is ... *DAMN*

Dat's one huge raccoon!!!!!

Our dog is 2 foot tall and is about 20lbs

In ,
Stormmee purred:
last night my sister heard a racket near the chickens, it was almost
time to shut them up, she grabbed her pistol and went to see, there
was a huge raccoon in the chicken feed, she shot it, her and my
brother estimated it at between 50 and 60 pounds, said it was
literally the biggest one either of them had ever seen, Lee
Magic Mood Jeep© wrote in message
...
We've had a houseguest on & off for the past year - in the attic! A
Raccoon! We finally decided to do something about it as it's been
getting bolder and wandering over to other areas of the attic that
we wouldn't be able to "clean".

Our house, as many of you know, was built in 1925. Plaster & lathe
walls in stead of drywall (sheetrock), except in areas where it's
been replaced over the years (one huge section by us after we moved
in & started peeling off the 10 layers of wallpaper & paint in the
dining room - the plaster came with it on 2 walls!) The roof is
more recent (1950-60's maybe), but the only access is over the
kitchen from outside, about 15-20 feet up, and it's a smallish
opening (covered)! And when you get in there, you can see part of
the original roof (wood shingles) that they left on when they put on
the new (probably violating every building code in the state), hence
the "not being able to clean" statement earlier - the older roof
blocks access to some areas of the attic. Our house is not square,
more like two squares joined at a corner, making a boxy figure
eight. There are some sections where the eaves are higher than
others, leaving itty-bitty spaces for critters to hide from
predators. It's been one of those 'merges' (for lack of a better
word) of two eaves that Rocky Raccoon has gained entrance. Some
evenings we could look out one of the kitchen windows up at this
area and see into the attic, and see his glowing eyes peering out at
us.

We weren't too thrilled about him being up there, but didn't know
what to do, short of hiring someone to come & get the thing out.
Some people suggesting soaking rags in ammonia an placing them in
the attic (ammonia is the smell old urine makes, and that would
probably scare them away - they would be thinking another critter
had taken up residence), but we thought that the smell would
eventually find it's way to us in the rest of the house.

Rocky has finally been wandering over to the opposite end of the
house, and using that area as it's bathroom (we could smell it!) -
and that's when we decided to do something about it.

Got out our old live-trap. WD-40'd it all over (it wasn't wanting to
shut -
what good is a trap that won't be sprung?), set it up on the roof
near Rocky's 'front door', baiting it with a block of wood liberally
slathered with chunky peanut butter (we usually put that out for the
birds).

This morning, in the trap, was one *HUGE* raccoon! Unfortunately,
the trap, w/raccoon, was no longer on the roof! Rocky didn't appear
to be injured, so we don't know if he was in the trap when it fell
(him banging around in it trying to get out), or got in it
afterward. We're thinking that he was in it when it fell, as it
falling would have spring it, and then how would he have gotten in?

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the
Land Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove
Rocky to the edge of town a mile or so away, near a park with a
creek, woods, fields & a couple of limestone quarries and released
him there. He wanted away from us so bad, he ran over the ear of
corn where I tossed it!

Rocky could be a she... and I'm glad we caught him/her now, before
any pups were born and sequestered in our attic.

Now to see if Rocky finds his way back, or if he/she decides that
home would be better where humans don't go tossing him off roofs (we
didn't want that to happen, but it did ).

We'll reset the trap tonight to see if there were any others sharing
Rocky's "apartment"

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

On Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:40:27 GMT, "Jo Firey"
wrote:


"Pat" wrote in message
news:U8udnRJMpdt1PwvYnZ2dnUVZ_rOqnZ2d@centurytel. net...

"Magic Mood Jeep)" wrote

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the Land
Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove Rocky to
the edge of town a mile or so away

If Rocky liked his/her quarters, a mile is not nearly far enough. Ten
miles would be much better.



My thought exactly. Not just distance, but "over the river and through the
woods"

Raccoons are entirely to resourceful for their own good. And I'd be willing
to bet Rocky is thinking about the chunky peanut butter rather than the
fall. Raccoons fall all the time without getting hurt.

Jo


I' thinking that if one raccoon got in there, another one, along with
squirrels, birds, etc., will also.

Is there any way to block the opening?

Perhaps as temporary measure, you could use chicken wire until you have
time/money etc. for a better solution.

An opening to an attic is just an invitation to animals. There will be
more. The raccoon was keeping them out, but something else will take up
residence, and soon

Think about it: clean, dry, and with some warmth escaping your house,
perfect winter quarters. I shudder to think if pigeons (AKA flying
rats...) get in there!

it was huge and she said with the amount of feed he ate from the time she
heard him to the time she shot him, he was probably genetically related to
either a hog or a Hoover vacuum cleaner, Lee
Magic Mood Jeep© wrote in message
...
All I can say is ... *DAMN*

Dat's one huge raccoon!!!!!

Our dog is 2 foot tall and is about 20lbs

In ,
Stormmee purred:
last night my sister heard a racket near the chickens, it was almost
time to shut them up, she grabbed her pistol and went to see, there
was a huge raccoon in the chicken feed, she shot it, her and my
brother estimated it at between 50 and 60 pounds, said it was
literally the biggest one either of them had ever seen, Lee
Magic Mood Jeep© wrote in message
...
We've had a houseguest on & off for the past year - in the attic! A
Raccoon! We finally decided to do something about it as it's been
getting bolder and wandering over to other areas of the attic that
we wouldn't be able to "clean".

Our house, as many of you know, was built in 1925. Plaster & lathe
walls in stead of drywall (sheetrock), except in areas where it's
been replaced over the years (one huge section by us after we moved
in & started peeling off the 10 layers of wallpaper & paint in the
dining room - the plaster came with it on 2 walls!) The roof is
more recent (1950-60's maybe), but the only access is over the
kitchen from outside, about 15-20 feet up, and it's a smallish
opening (covered)! And when you get in there, you can see part of
the original roof (wood shingles) that they left on when they put on
the new (probably violating every building code in the state), hence
the "not being able to clean" statement earlier - the older roof
blocks access to some areas of the attic. Our house is not square,
more like two squares joined at a corner, making a boxy figure
eight. There are some sections where the eaves are higher than
others, leaving itty-bitty spaces for critters to hide from
predators. It's been one of those 'merges' (for lack of a better
word) of two eaves that Rocky Raccoon has gained entrance. Some
evenings we could look out one of the kitchen windows up at this
area and see into the attic, and see his glowing eyes peering out at
us.

We weren't too thrilled about him being up there, but didn't know
what to do, short of hiring someone to come & get the thing out.
Some people suggesting soaking rags in ammonia an placing them in
the attic (ammonia is the smell old urine makes, and that would
probably scare them away - they would be thinking another critter
had taken up residence), but we thought that the smell would
eventually find it's way to us in the rest of the house.

Rocky has finally been wandering over to the opposite end of the
house, and using that area as it's bathroom (we could smell it!) -
and that's when we decided to do something about it.

Got out our old live-trap. WD-40'd it all over (it wasn't wanting to
shut -
what good is a trap that won't be sprung?), set it up on the roof
near Rocky's 'front door', baiting it with a block of wood liberally
slathered with chunky peanut butter (we usually put that out for the
birds).

This morning, in the trap, was one *HUGE* raccoon! Unfortunately,
the trap, w/raccoon, was no longer on the roof! Rocky didn't appear
to be injured, so we don't know if he was in the trap when it fell
(him banging around in it trying to get out), or got in it
afterward. We're thinking that he was in it when it fell, as it
falling would have spring it, and then how would he have gotten in?

Poor thing was scared to death of us, but we loaded him into the
Land Rover, grabbed an ear of dried corn (squirrel food), and drove
Rocky to the edge of town a mile or so away, near a park with a
creek, woods, fields & a couple of limestone quarries and released
him there. He wanted away from us so bad, he ran over the ear of
corn where I tossed it!

Rocky could be a she... and I'm glad we caught him/her now, before
any pups were born and sequestered in our attic.

Now to see if Rocky finds his way back, or if he/she decides that
home would be better where humans don't go tossing him off roofs (we
didn't want that to happen, but it did ).

We'll reset the trap tonight to see if there were any others sharing
Rocky's "apartment"

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep