Racoons in the Attick, tick... tick...

Damn! There are raccoons in the attic yet again.

I don’t know, but I have sprinkled my urine in the corners that is supposed to warn them off that the territory is already claimed, but these creatures pay no attention to the signal. This means that either they can’t smell (i.e., handicapped) or they had not bothered to read their own DNA-manual (mentally retarded)..

Now where had I put the live trap? I’m sure it’s in the barn someplace. I’m reminded that I don’t have a perfect record using this implement (certified 100% humane). I have repeatedly caught my cat, and the last time, a fully functioning skunk who let it be known it wasn’t amused. I had some difficulty letting the creature go without getting contaminated for a tomato juice bath. In the end I had to use a large plastic sheet, cover the entire cage and deftly employing a long stick spring the mechanism that is hard to manhandle in the best of circumstances. After considerable trial and error, I did manage, before the creature could sign the lease. For a month, the memento of that encounter lingered on the front yard.
But this is a new batch of raccoons. Strange, they usually come before winter and move out during the late spring. But this time, they chose a transitional period, not quite this but not quite that either.

2 years ago, I drove 6 raccoons (one at a time) to release into a forest about 15 k’s north. My friend warned me, to make sure to have a river between my location and the release site, so they won’t find their way back. No river, so had to settle for four lanes of the 400, as it is well known that raccoons are notoriously bad at crossing highways. If one makes it, then it deserves to make it.

But what am I worried about, this clutch(?) of raccoons are mentally challenged or handicapped, they can’t smell their way home, or use the GPS that the street wise urban raccoons can. In any case, I’ll let you know how I made out.