The raccoons are on my back porch again!!

[Critters2]

They're making me nostalgic for the groundhogs. At least they were never right outside my door!

[emilyg]

1. I love watching them

They bring their families to feast on the cat food I leave for them.

[Critters2]

8. You purposely leave cat food for 'em?

They scare the bejeezus out of me. I'm not feeding 'em on purpose.

[emilyg]

9. Yes.

Had a momma bring her little fluffy babies - my cats and I love watching the, from the safety of my living room.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Are they fornicating?

Had a pair outside of my window err.. rolling in the hay as it were. Loud little beasties.

[Critters2]

7. So far, I haven't seen any hot raccoon action. Cats. yes. Raccoons, no.

They're noisy, huh? Interesting.

[book_worm]

3. I went camping and we left our ice chest out side and came back from a hike

and there was a raccoon opening the thing--unhinging it and all--and going thru it. If I left my keys in the car, I'm sure it would have driven off with that too.

[elshiva]

4. Do you have garbage or cat food outside?

In our old house, we had raccoons because we had a barn where we fed our cats. They would leave some dry food over and the raccoons came along and ate it. We had one mama raccoon with swollen teats hanging down. I actually like raccoons, they can get annoying, but they are cute. :)

buffy/

[Critters2]

5. I put out cat food during the day, but bring it in at night.

I assume they're looking for it. So, I'm not sure what to do.

[elshiva]

6. Sorry, I don't know either.

They probably can smell something. :shrug:

buffy/

[orleans]

13. couple months ago my daughter came home around midnight

one night, i was watching her out the window, she is walking along the sidewalk to the front walkway that comes up to the door. she gets halfway down the sidewalk and stops. i wave at her, gesture for her to come in, and she runs back to her car and gets in. i thought she was joking. she calls from her cell and tells me there are five raccoons on the front porch, blocking the door!

so we talked for awhile, i opened the front door but they were gone by the time i looked outside. my daughter was very freaked out. it was crazy--5 raccoons?

[Gonzo Gardener]

10. Aren't they fun to watch?!

As a kid I slept on the front porch, from late spring through mid summer, a bag of old bread under my head, waiting for them to show up. They would show up around 2am and tug on the bag until I woke up to feed them.

While living in Southern California we had regular visits with a mom and her kits. I would roll a raw egg to the shy mother and hand a graham cracker to each of the little fuzz balls. She came back three years in a row to show off each of her new litters. We even had occasional visits from the grown siblings. Some of them would touch and examine my hands before they would take the crackers then sit down next to me to eat. It was wonderful.

We haven't had any visits here in Indiana. The locals use them for target practice and they have learned to steer clear of people.

Enjoy your wild guests!

:hi:

[mike_c]

11. gawd I wish they'd stay outside on the porch....

'coons come into my house nightly. Damned things are dirty, too-- I mean, if you've never cleaned up after them you probably don't have any idea how dirty they are. They look so nice.

Mine come in through the cat door. Most nights I remember to put away the cat food, but the occasional time I forget is enough reward to keep them coming back. Sometimes I get two or three at the same time. They and the cats ignore one another, of course.

[Critters2]

14. The feral cats seem to ignore 'em, too. Or even like being around 'em.

I can't decide. But the cats have no qualms about hanging out on the porch with 'em. They tend to scamper off when the beagle goes out. But the cats and the 'coons seem to be pals.

And thanks for giving me a reason not to get the beag a doggy door!

[sasquatch]

12. In this state they have rabies

Be careful.
:hi:

[Lil Missy]

15. Raccoons are nasty and destructive.

I had some years ago that tore up my shingles and roof, and were about to get through to the attic and into the house.

The advice I got from animal control was to surround the area and the entire side of the house with moth balls to keep them away. It worked, but damn. The moth balls outside my bedroom window made me puke every night from the smell.

Oh, and I did get the roof fixed after that.

[Monk06]

16. One year in Stanley Park Vancouver we had a lot of skunk and racoon kits

born at the same time. We used to feed them dried
fish flavored cat food.

The I set out separate piles for the skunk and raccoon
kits. A little skunk walked up to a raccoon kit who
was eating, turned and stuck his butt on the raccoons
head to drive him away from the food. As if to say
"you take the food, you smell my butt"

Didn't work though too young to spray.

[BlueCollar]

17. My advice is to discourage them as soon as possible

They may be cute but their still not a domesticated animal.

When cornered or surprised they can react extremely viciously and inflict severe injury. Should they decide to get really comfortable they'll look to take up residence in your home. Probably in the attic or crawlspace. The damage they will cause and their ability to feel comfortable defecating and urinating indoors will lead to some expensive repairs.

Trust me...I had two of the bastards take up residence in my attic last winter. Finally got them trapped and relocated but it took me awhile to get the attic cleaned up, insulation repaired/replaced and shimgles and boards replaced.