Neighborhood held hostage by aggressive raccoons

[Independent voter]

Probably the worst thing in the world is to have one of these nest in your attic. They're awake while you sleep.

I bet someone is feeding them.



http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/...treet/41633826



NEW ORLEANS —Residents on Gravier Street in Mid-City are keeping their children and pets indoors, after more than a dozen raccoons suddenly turned aggressive.

Drusilla Harry has faced raccoons on her porch, in her yard and chasing after her adult children near her home in the 2400 block.

“They just come up unexpectedly, and they'll start coming after you,” Harry said. “And thankfully, the people they have tried to attack were able to get out the way.”

From his front porch on the next block, Gerald Williams is also keeping a close eye. He said his backyard and alley are now off limits because they are popular paths for raccoons.

“My grandchildren can’t go play back there because I’m so scared the raccoons might come from the other side over there and come over here and bite one of them. And they'll stand up and fight you,” Williams said.

They said the raccoons have been in the neighborhood since Hurricane Katrina, but just this weekend, about 16 of the animals turned aggressive.

“We spoke to SPCA, (who) referred us to Wildlife and Fisheries and they referred us to people that want you to pay,” Harry said.

Elizabeth Taylor lives in the 2500 block of Gravier. Her neighbor hired a private nuisance wildlife control agent months ago, before the animals became aggressive.

“My neighbor hustled up about $300 to pay him,” Taylor said. “He came like about three or four times; reset the traps. He caught about four or five raccoons and one opossum and never came back. Now the raccoons are running crazy.”

WDSU talked to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries too. The office said it does not remove healthy populations of wild animals, but will call residents on Gravier Street directly to evaluate the health of the raccoon population.

Blight is a big problem on the street contributing to the animal infestation. Mattresses and trash bags started piling up there in March. Residents said since then, it has become a dumping ground, picked through by raccoons. They said many of the animals live in a crumbling home that has been vacant for 11 years.

Several residents said they have called the city, but have not gotten a response. Hayne Rainey, press secretary for Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s office, responded to WDSU’s request for information about the raccoons, blight and trash pickup.

Rainey said the home where most of the animals live was first inspected on June 30 and declared in imminent danger of collapse. The structure will be torn down, but Rainey said the city is still working on a plan to clear trees in front of the home from power lines, before the demolition can begin.

He said road construction has complicated trash pickup on Gravier Street, but assured WDSU the large dump on the 2500 block will be removed this week. Rainey also said the city is concerned about the reports of aggressive raccoons and hopes removing the house and trash will help reduce the number of wild animals living there. He said city workers will determine how to remove any of the aggressive animals.

[Blueobelisk]

Finally, dinner comes to my house instead of me needing to go out.

[Celista]

Do they have rabies? Raccoons are usually fearful of humans.

[Alvito]

One good shotgun blast and half of the problem is gone in that picture. Those things are a danger and menace, the city pawning it off on others while limiting what they can do is shameful.

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Do they have rabies? Raccoons are usually fearful of humans.

You haven't run into many that live near people then.

[Celista]

You haven't run into many that live near people then.

I mean, I see them in the early AM or at night, usually when on a run or walking my dog...they always tend to run away rather quickly...maybe it's me? Am I raccoon repellent? *sniffs underarms*

[THE Bigzoman]

I mean, I see them in the early AM or at night, usually when on a run or walking my dog...they always tend to run away rather quickly...maybe it's me? Am I raccoon repellent? *sniffs underarms*

What?

Racoons are ruthless.

[Cerus]

I mean, I see them in the early AM or at night, usually when on a run or walking my dog...they always tend to run away rather quickly...maybe it's me? Am I raccoon repellent? *sniffs underarms*

Once they've become used to humans being around they can be quite bold and aggressive.

[Witchblade77]

I have a hard time taking raccoons seriously - they're so damn cute looking - but those fuckers are vicious.

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Oh, they'll charge and attack you. It's pretty normal raccoon behavior if you're in their space, corner them or if they feel threatened. They're pretty stubborn and don't back down.

they really are. we've been having some issues with them damaging our garden, (and since they are known to litteraly pull chickens through the wire piece by piece, we wanted to do something about them BEFORE they would think about going after our girls) so got some traps. you look at it from far enough away and it looks so cute and pitiful... but we literally had trouble grabbing the trap because the moment you'd start getting close, it turned into a demonic creature snarling, clawing, the whole thing.

yikes.

[ovm33]

Option One:

A good pellet rifle, one you can legally and easily buy even in a Democrat utopia like New Orleans, will fix this problem.

$200 - Decent Pellet Rifle
$20 - Cheap scope (Not required but ups the "cool factor")
$10 - 12 pack of Malted Beverage of choice ***
$5 box of pellets

Total: $235.

That's a lot cheaper than the pest control guy charged to get only 4-5. And with route you get to have the fun. Pellet guns are pretty quiet. Doubt anyone will even know they're doing it as long as they get rid of the dead ones.

Option Two:

$15 - Antifreeze

Total: $15 and a a year in hell for each pet dog you kill.

***Note: Add $10 for each night past the first.

[Usagi Senshi]

I'm not going to lie, I had fun football punting one of these assholes out of our garage a few years ago after it attacked one of our dogs. In retrospect though, still a bad move on my part.

[Celista]

What?

Racoons are ruthless.

I mean, I've seen videos that agree with you...I just haven't experienced it. Maybe it's because they aren't usually cornered when I run into them.

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They're all over here in Massachusetts. I see them a lot at night and have to be cautious when letting the dogs out to pee. One actually charged after my little pug and would have got her, but I happened to have a hot glass of tea I just made and threw it at the raccoon as it came charging.

Aww. That's not the first I've heard of raccoons attacking dogs, actually.

[Celista]

Such a good gif.

[Celista]

Option One:

A good pellet rifle, one you can legally and easily buy even in a Democrat utopia like New Orleans, will fix this problem.

$200 - Decent Pellet Rifle
$20 - Cheap scope (Not required but ups the "cool factor")
$10 - 12 pack of Malted Beverage of choice ***
$5 box of pellets

Total: $235.

That's a lot cheaper than the pest control guy charged to get only 4-5. And with route you get to have the fun. Pellet guns are pretty quiet. Doubt anyone will even know they're doing it as long as they get rid of the dead ones.

Option Two:

$15 - Antifreeze

Total: $15 and a a year in hell for each pet dog you kill.

***Note: Add $10 for each night past the first.

No camo? I think they started changing the antifreeze formula so it wasn't as appealing to dogs. Not sure about raccoons.

[ovm33]

>snip<
Such a good gif.

Best thing I've seen on this site all month...

lol

[THE Bigzoman]

I'm not going to lie, I had fun football punting one of these assholes out of our garage a few years ago after it attacked one of our dogs. In retrospect though, still a bad move on my part.

Don't be.

I saw a humongo on on a street on my way home from work a few years back. I hit the pedal and ran it over.

A choice with no regrets. One less of those fucks. Nothing of value was lost.

[Jester Joe]

I'm not going to lie, I had fun football punting one of these assholes out of our garage a few years ago after it attacked one of our dogs. In retrospect though, still a bad move on my part.

I'm not sure why you would if you were defending your dog honestly, there's not many other options at the time in that case.

I mean, I've seen videos that agree with you...I just haven't experienced it. Maybe it's because they aren't usually cornered when I run into them.]

We used to hear them screaming every night fighting with the cats that would prowl around until the woods were chopped down across the street for a house.

They were never really vicious to us though, and we used to have a family come to our back door every night because my dad would feed them the cold cuts that were getting a little too old, or leftovers.

[Usagi Senshi]

Don't be.

I saw a humongo on on a street on my way home from work a few years back. I hit the pedal and ran it over.

A choice with no regrets. One less of those fucks. Nothing of value was lost.

I meant more along the lines of what it could have done to me if I had missed/etc. I don't regret kicking its ass at all, don't worry.

[Celista]

I'm not sure why you would if you were defending your dog honestly, there's not many other options at the time in that case.



We used to hear them screaming every night fighting with the cats that would prowl around until the woods were chopped down across the street for a house.

They were never really vicious to us though, and we used to have a family come to our back door every night because my dad would feed them the cold cuts that were getting a little too old, or leftovers.

Aww. I think raccoons are pretty cute, so I can see how tempting it may be to feed them. I know some people keep them as pets, I imagine that they can be quite loving and sweet. For a non-domesticated animal, that is.



Then again, these things are pretty cute too, but I wouldn't want them around my house again anytime soon.

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Best thing I've seen on this site all month...

lol

Its glowing eyes disappearing into the darkness.... LOL!

I laughed for a good five minutes straight when I first saw this gif, lol.

[Hooked]

My grandparents had a pet turtle that used to live in the garden, raccoons ate its rear legs off one night. Raccoons are vicious around smaller animals.

[Deleted]

You sure that the Umbrella Corp hasn't taken over, and New Orleans is the new Raccoon City ?