Raccoons!

[JB]

Is anybody else seeing raccoons in their yards?

About a month ago, I watched one climb in to my neighbors chimney and take her babies one by one down the side of the house, across the street, down the sidewalk, and in to the bushes on the corner of Southwest and Pine St.

One afternoon last week, I saw one under my car. When I went outside, it was gone.

Last night in the middle of the night, my husband took one of our dogs outside to use the bathroom and a raccoon was in our backyard. It hopped on the fence and my husband chased it off.

The raccoons are bigger than my dogs, so it's a concern! Since they are also out in the daytime, I'd be concerned if I had small kids. Does anybody know how to shoo them away? We keep lids on all of our trash, and they clamp down so the raccoons can't get to it, but I do see open trash cans elsewhere... if everybody can keep their trash secure, hopefully they will move on to an area more secluded and away from kids and small pets. The only thing I've found online for removal is for trappers, but I don't see one in Johnson City. Does anybody in the neighborhood trap for fun? :) 

[Cynthia]

My granddaughter seen one last night going down the alley between Poplar and Locust St. She said it was huge. Then this morning, I looked across the way and someone's garbage(bagged but not contained)  was strewn all over the alley. People definitely need to secure their trash. We also had to run one off of our roof last year. It was huge too. Sounded like a human was walking on it.

[Kathy Serago]

I don't sleep with my windows open anymore because of animals on the roof.  Last year I had an animal hand print on the outside of my window that was about 18" up on the window.  I don't know if it was a raccoon or possum but it freaked me out.  I started sleeping with the window only open 3" until one night I woke up with two possums having a fight on the roof right outside my windows.  The windows have been closed since then.

I did have a raccoon in the back yard by my pond about a month ago.

[Cynthia]

You think that's bad. This was about 15 years ago but my husband went out on the back deck late one night and he thought our cat was rubbing against his leg. Right before he went to pet her, he looked over at the screen door and there stood the cat inside totally freaking out. He looked down and it was a big raccoon. My husband bought crapped his pants. The raccoon then went over to the storm door to peer in at me and the cat. I grabbed my camera and took a pic of it. He stayed on the deck about 20 minutes snooping around and then went on his way. Totally blew me away that it wasn't the least bit afraid of us. The thought that it could have bit my husband ran through my mind ,too.