Coon Huntin'

The Raccoon Recon Kit

Osama, the sleep terrorist (named by Dad)

For the last 2 plus months we have had a "friend" living in our attic. It liked living on my side of the house so for weeks on end I would lay awake in the night listening to it scurry and scratching around the rafters. I thought it was a mouse, so a trap was set...and we did catch one. A few weeks went by and I started hearing the ruckus again and told my Dad. We set another trap and waited & waited & waited...nothing. We put peanut butter on the trap, we put chocolate out, we put dog food out, and the standard slice of cheese...nothing. The scurrying and scratching was getting louder and I started to hear ripping and shredding (most likely insulation). I told my Dad it was something bigger and he said I was crazy. I listened and followed the sounds and found it in the wall and it was definitely not a mouse. Every couple of nights I'd have to haul myself out of bed and follow the sound in the wall and then give a good pound with my fist! The noise would stop, but only for a minute or 2.

Well, my Dad went out of town and my Mom and I took matters into our own hands. She called a pest control guy and he came, looked around and found raccoon prints all over in the attic. He set a trap outside (even though my mom told him to put one in the attic where we new it was at) but he was the "expert" and put it outside. 2 weeks go by and nothing is caught.

Dad comes home and we tell him what we tried. He does an inspection of our roof line and sees all these holes where it has had access to the attic. At this point when I hear it in the night I have visions of a rabid raccoon busting thru my bedroom wall and attacking me (I know I'm dramatic)! Anywho, after having my cousin Andy board up all the exits we hear it trying to either get back in or get out. My Dad sat outside with a flash light and a pellet gun waiting to see if it was outside...nothing...so he then set up vigil in the attic( mind you this was in the middle of Wed. night)...nothing. Last night he set the trap (which he bought, we gave up on the "expert") and put a cup of water and some cat food out. He then sprinkled flour all over the floor (so if we didn't catch it we'd have a trail and know where to reset the trap the next night). In the middle of the night I heard the cage shaking and rattling! Victory! The visitor had finally been caught and has been evicted! Ohhhh sweet sleep come to me!

P.S. My Dad couldn't bring himself to shoot Osama like he'd planned to. He drove her up to Jeremy Ranch (just outside Park City) and let her go. I feel good about that decision.