Raccoon Invasion

A few weeks ago, in early April, I went out to the shed for the first time in a few months to pull out the lawnmower and make sure it was properly running before it was time to mow the lawn.

I opened the door and to my surprise a large raccoon scurried across the bench, clawed up the wall, and hid in the back corner of the top area where I have some wood stored.  No big deal I thought.  There's a couple of missing panels in the awning along the side of the shed, so it's not uncommon to find a stray cat in the shed.  Never had a raccoon, however.

Anyways, I set to work on my mower, and then I heard some quiet squeaking noises which I traced to a litter of raccoon babies!!!  Mom had made a nest on a bag of dirt in the shed.  I took a video that you can see below.

Very cute!  But also a problem.  Raccoons are typically afraid, but can be mean little critters if you get on their bad side.  We didn't want to call a pest control company because they'd kill them.  My wife contacted some wildlife people she knows and they told us that by opening the door and bothering the mother, we had already set in motion their removal.  Sure enough, two days later the raccoons were gone.  Mom was PO'd by my intrusion and moved her babies to a safer place.

An interesting way to start the spring season!