I know nothing about them...especially when they live in urban populations.

Anyways, I've long heard that around here and with our underground tunnel/storm drain systems, up on the rock that the coons run through the sewers. I've seen them a few times down the bluff with babies trying to cross the streets and once in 2002, I found poo in my yard.

I also live within 2 blocks, one on a county easement that goes straight to the water, of two parks with ponds. On Thursday night, I was on the back stoop (this is really urban, btw) I see two young raccoons playing across the street on my neighbors front steps. The house right across the street from me, and I have a street light at the end of my 75 ft driveway.

My house and yard is covered with trees and brush, it's quite lush as is my adjoining neighbors homes. The easement to the lake dead ends in the SE corner of my lot and it's all cross-fenced except on the easement side of the pole.

So, these two are playing across the street in front of a street light while I am standing in my drive way. I make a clicking sound and they jump into the boulevard tree and hunker down for a bit. Cars went by, so I could see they were there and then, they looked for me, climbed down and moved on down the sidewalk.

The next night, Friday, we were having a major storm that dropped 3.5 inches on us in one evening. When it calmed a bit, I went out into my driveway to splash around in the water, etc. I was in my pajamas. The lightening started to pick up and I thought...oops, okay, time to go in. I was about 5 feet behind BF's 4WD, big Pick up which was butted up to my garage. There is fencing on each side of the garage. 6 foot on 2 sides and a regular fence with an 8 foot hedge right next to it.

The lightening cracked and I turned around only to see two raccoons running and flailing their arms and making a cackling sound. I screamed my fucking head off because they scared the bejebeous out of me. Then, at about 6 inches in front of me, the pair splits and each of them ran on either side of me, down the drive, across the street and back into the original tree on the opposing side of the boulevard.

I, of course, was still screaming and running inside at the same time. What little bastards! If I see them one more time...I am going to have to do something about them. Any suggestions?

That's stupid. I wonder why it rained so much on a friday night??..

quote:

Originally posted by Sheltieluvr:
That's stupid. I wonder why it rained so much on a friday night??..

What's stupid?

In my area they are serious vectors of disease including Rabies, Leptospirosis, etc.

Call your local animal control and see if they will come out and set traps for them.

We go coon hunting with out blue tick. When we have to catch coons for training the dogs we went and got a few live traps (have-a-heart traps) and baited them with tuna fish and put em out just before dusk. You'll catch one every night with that.

If you are funny about taking them somewhere else to release them go to your local ukc or akc hunt clubhouse and ask someone there to come get it in the morning. Heck they might even just come and set the live traps for you to get the coon themselves for hunting practice. (they don't kill them, they just release them to make a scent line!) hope this helps!

If you can't find a clubhouse near you, just go on the ukc website and look for hunts in your state and where they are located.