Damned Raccoons!

[gkdmaths]

Get ready for a RANT!

Im so pissed at my neighbors. Im sure they were thinking it would be fun to put some squirrel food out near our common fenceline and see some cute, cuddly wildlife randomly, but at least one night a week for the past few months Ive been chasing racoons off of the fence. I still dont think they get the connection between their wildlife buffet and my dog's INSANE barking.

Tonight is the last straw. After I booted the coon off the fence last night with a rake, tonight it came into my yard and got into a free-for-all with my 2 year old lab. my dog's bleeding from the face and they're giving me the finger from their back slider because of the noise at 1:51 am. I've put her bark collar on her (not the shock collar, btw) and I've even given her small doses of phenobarbitol to relax her at night, but nothing works when the damned thing walzes up and picks a fight.

:wtf: :wtf: :wtf:

Im so mad I could lob every pile of dog crap for the next week onto their porch!

The worst thing is that now its stuck up the only tree adjacent to the fence.

I think tomorrow I'll take the hose and power wash the food from their cute little squirrel feeder. Im just glad my pup's had her rabies battery. I still need to take her in for (expensive) tests now.

GOD I'm MAD! :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr:

[AirmensMom]

1. Damned neighbors!

Try this ... soak a rag in ammonia and hang it from the fence. The raccoons won't like that at all.

[gkdmaths]

2. Great idea!

Im a chemist and I have access to aboslutely any reagent possible. I'm so totally going to do that!

I was thinking that I could string a 8 guage wire along the top of the fence with about an amp of current running through it. That would seriously BBQ anything up there in a hurry, but the ammonia would take much less soldering!

[AirmensMom]

6. LOL!

:rofl: It'll probably get you in a lot less trouble, too.

My mom told me about the ammonia thing when we had a raccoon living under our hedge. I was afraid he'd come through the screen and get our kitties. But he left before I got a chance to try the ammonia (kept forgetting to buy it). Perhaps his girlfriend lived under a different hedge. :shrug:

[Crazy Dave]

13. Good idea

We leave cat food out at night for our cats that hate the indoors and all their stray friends that come to visit. Of course our kitties aren't very selective about who their friends are. We've looked outside and seen three or four cats eating side by side with raccoons and possums.

[xchrom]

3. i like raccoons -- but they are extremely tough critters

and can do severe damage to just about any dog.

especially dogs not used to raccoons..

[liontamer]

4. have you told the neighbors that they're causing trouble?

[gkdmaths]

5. Ive tried to say hi

and to ask if they'd perhaps refrain from attracting potentially dangerous wildlife, however they are a little nuts I think. At least once a day I hear her screaming at her kids, complete with the requisite expletives, and he is a lifer in the army. They're both ultra conservative and the only words Ive been able to say to any of them was when I had to ask thier son to keep his pellet gun projectiles from crossing the same fenceline - He was trying to be like dad I think.

There's a little bit of "ignorant bliss" going on over there.

[liontamer]

7. try calling the cops,

it might be illegal to deliberately draw dangerous wildlife to the area.

[gkdmaths]

8. I considered it

However, Im nearly certain that they've already called to report the barking (however, dog noise is not enforced in my county).

Somehow, I think if I involved the authorities, I would be causing more trouble than its worth (at this point).

I may call to ask what the laws are, what my options are with respect to resolving a conflict between us and getting in touch the with animal control officer to get a coon trap.

I dont want to kill the thing, but if it gets to my dog again I'll be working in that direction.

[AirmensMom]

9. If I remember correctly,

they will trap it if it has attacked your pets. If it's just hanging around, though, they won't do anything.

[gkdmaths]

10. Well, I just got back in,

She started going nuts again so I threw on my fightin boots and the spotlight.

I spotlighted the poor thing in the tree - Lily (the dog) really messed the poor coon up. It's gotta be a thirty poung raccoon, and I think its got some broken bones (my pup weighed in at a lean 112 lbs three weeks ago). I think its just trying to get out of the tree to find a spot to die, by the way it was barely hanging on.

[AirmensMom]

11. OMG!

Poor thing! Jeez! And all because of your stupid neighbors! Can't blame the pup ... and someone was going to get hurt in this mess. :(

[gkdmaths]

12. well,

I took her Lily a walk to give the coon a chance to get out of the tree and I heard it scratching down the fence a few doors down.

we'll see if we smell something bad in a few days.

I think it was on the fence and she knocked it off, thats the only way she could have gotten on top of it.

[AirmensMom]

16. I hope that's the end of the problem.

Maybe the other coons will think twice about messing with Lily.

[murielm99]

14. Poor thing??!!?

They are vermin. They dig up gardens, get in garbage, kill pets where they can. Get your gun.

[sendero]

45. I'm with you..

... nobody who's had their garden dug up, their bird food savaged and their compost pile decimated has any love for raccoons.

[China_cat]

15. First of all...GET YOUR DOG TO THE VET

NOW. Raccoons are a rabies vector and you need to be sure your pet is protected.

Then, you call the health department for your county and explain what happened. While the cops may not take this seriously, the health department will and they'll be all over your neighbors for creating a public health hazard.

[gkdmaths]

17. So Lily killed it:

it looked like she broke some ribs and a leg of the thing, and it was bleeding internally quite bad (what it died of im sure).

I'd estimate it to be wetween 25 and 30 pound male, not too old but extremely well fed.

Poor Lily got her first war-wounds against a formidable foe, but she's okay. We have an appointment at 8:30 tomorrow morning for a clean once-over with her favorite vet (my mom ;)). We're current on all required and all non-required vaccinations, though we'll probably give her another rabies booster.

I spoke with the neighbor woman this morning and asked her if she'd move the food, preferably to the garbage. she promply blamed it on her daughter (who is responsible for it cleaning up the squirrel feed according to her, it may have been her daughter's idea to attract squirrels in the first place).

I explained to her what had happened and she hesitantly began disassembling the feeder. I then pointed out the recently deceased monster coon two yards over, which convinced her to move more quickly.

problem solved, I hope.

:sigh:

[bicentennial_baby]

18. Ok, stupid question here (?)

Are you bringing your dog in at night? And if not, why?

[gkdmaths]

20. um, no

IMO, dogs do not belong inside the house. neither do cats.

it may be hard for most city folk to understand. I am not city folk.

;)

I want to edit to say that in the above text I kind of sound like a dick, but that isnt my intention. I grew up on a large farm where I developed my mentality re: pets. For the most part dogs watch the herd, their presence is required outside and that's where they belong. Cats belong in the barn eating mice and keeping the swallows out of the rafters. Its just the way I grew up and how I presently live.

I will say that my dog's doghouse is a palace. It has heating AND air conditioning. It has a front porch, two rooms, insulation and comfy padding. she even has her own swimming pool. Not only do we spoil her a little, she's also an extraordinarily well trained working dog (birder), though we cant work her because she has epilepsy. Even though she is an outside dog, she is always our princess.

edited again to spell "their" correctly. :eyes:

[bicentennial_baby]

23. Um, either am I, but...

Ok, I grew up in the country...but fuck no do my dogs belong outside 24-7...They are out from 6 am to about 7pm, and then inside...I guess we differ on this...But hell no, don't think for one second that I am "city folk"...

[gkdmaths]

24. After I re-read what I had written,

I edited my post, please read.

:hi:

[bicentennial_baby]

25. gotcha

:hi:

[gkdmaths]

26. what is odd is that

in my 33 years Ive owned 16 dogs, all working dogs (collies, newfies and labs) and this is the only time I've ever had a problem with somethig like this. I honestly think it's our proximity to neighbors. this is the first time in my life I've lived on anything less that 20 acres.

maybe that has something to do with it.

[XemaSab]

19. Can you send me the head?

:bounce:

[gkdmaths]

21. youre one of those sicko dissectors

who get their kicks off roadkill, arentcha? :rofl:

I only mention it because there is a whole sect of students that I teach who insist on dissecting only roadkill. They have oppossum and raccoon scavenge roadtrips on weekends and fill up lab freezers with gladbags full of meat pancake.

Oddly enough, I appriciate those students more that the kids that spend the fifty bucks for two sets of organs from Wards.

Would you prefer that I mail it to you regular, or are you willing to pay for overnight? :7

[XemaSab]

22. Regular works

But can you stick it in a mild alcohol solution for the trip down?

And package it like it's porn? :D

[gkdmaths]

27. Im in medical research, you know...

So I can easily put it in a 4% formalin and thentransfer it to PBS or modified alcahol.

And package it like its porn

:rofl:

[XemaSab]

28. I'm hoping to macerate it

and I'm thinking weak alcohol will keep it from rotting on the trip down yet hopefully not prevent the maceration critters from doing their thang.

What do you think? :shrug:

[gkdmaths]

29. Ive got a rather large

tissue homoginizer. I could just send you the paste

:rofl:

[XemaSab]

30. That reminds me of the gull I found this morning

on the overpass. Its tissue was pretty homogenized. :P

[gkdmaths]

31. I was going to make a gull

joke, but thought better of it lest offend the XemaSab and her funny broccoli.

Im glad you did it for me.

Me, Im not interested in anything that flys except those of the lepidoptera and odonata. That being said, I know car-grill-homogenized flying things fairly well (like half my collection, shhh).

:&

[China_cat]

34. except those of the lepidoptera

You're a moth-er?

[gkdmaths]

39. butter-fly-er

though moths are cool

I used to hunt with Bob Pyle and David Meyers.

[XemaSab]

36. The odonota are totally beyond me, I am afraid.

Leps are cool, but I haven't been out looking at them in a while. The cool thing about leps is you can stick them in your field guide, unlike birds. ;)

[gkdmaths]

40. meadowhawks

are the coolest things. I've always been temped to get a dragonfly tattoo.

;)

[XemaSab]

44. The only ode I know is saddlebags

:eyes:

[leftofthedial]

32. tell them instead of us

get your dog checked out by a vet.

[gkdmaths]

33. yer just a party pooper

and a little behind the times:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=5458807&mesg_id=5462848

;)

Telling them last night at 2 am really wasnt an option, so I complained about it to you folks.

o_O

[leftofthedial]

35. sorry, I didn't mean it to be so terse

I was interrupted in mid-post.

I think they would understand the problem.

My ex used to feed birds like she was the only food source for every bird on the planet. Dozens and dozens of all kinds of feeders and food. She also insisted on leaving the yard as natural as possible. We ended up with skunks, raccoons, foxes . . .

It was a regular Disney movie until the skunks started fighting with the raccoons and the smell would wake us from a sound sleep every night and our dog and other neighborhood pets started getting sprayed regularly. She wouldn't listen to reason, but your neighbors probably would. They had no reason to blame you for a noise problem they created.

[bertha katzenengel]

37. Okay, the bottom half of this thread flew over my head -- ZOOM

From "can you send me its head." :hide:

[gkdmaths]

42. You're welcome

:P

[Blue Gardener]

38. I feed the squirrels

But put the food away at night. Problem solved! I don't want raccoons either, but my cats really enjoy watching the squirrels through the window while I'm at work during the day. The bird feeders are inaccesible to the raccoons as well. There are ways to attract desirable wildlife without attracting the undesirable.

[skygazer]

41. Squirrel food?

They feed squirrels, too? Who are these morans?

Squirrels are smaller than raccons but they're still pests and it's idiotic to feed the damn things. I love animals but frankly feel it does a wild creature no favors to encourage their presence around people and pets, not to mention roads. Squirrels cause a lot of damage, they often nest in attics and crawlspaces and chew on wires which is not a good thing.

Raccoons are even stupider to feed, as is obvious from your experience here.

When I first moved in with my present SO, he was feeding raccons on his deck. They made a horrible mess, the food attracted blue jays which are noisy, messy and obnoxious and poop all over the place. I sweetly asked him if he'd mind if I took a shotgun to both raccoons and blue jays - he was somewhat taken aback but saw my point.

The coons stuck around for a few months after the banquet ended but I've not seen any in years. And the blue jays are less bothersome as well.

Feeding squirrels and raccoons! What the hell is wrong with people?

[gkdmaths]

43. terminal conservatism

they feel like they can do anything they want and the consequences are to be paid by others.

:nuke: