Ugh

So I have just determined, with some certainty, that it is a raccoon that has been pooping on my back deck for over a week now. How long in total? I don’t know, we don’t go out there a lot. I remember seeing some once like two months . But there are now several piles of it. And they weren’t there at Amber’s birthday party, so sometime from 2-4 weeks ago this started.

Anyway… apparently raccoon poop is extremely hazardous to human health. *sigh* so not only do I get to clean up the stuff, I have to actually bag it up and can’t just kick it off under the bushes like the first time.

And, apparently it’s very hard to deter raccoons from pooping in a place once they’ve established the habit. Grr. I was going to try pepper, before I suspected what the animal was. It helps that Amber and I saw a fat, larger than a cat, nondescript animal eating in the back yard this morning, who stood perfectly still while we watched and then was gone in the blink of an eye – fast bugger!

I think I’m jumping straight to the bleach/ammonia method. If Meijer happens to have coyote, wolf or fox urine, I’ll get some of that. But in hunting season, I suspect the hunter scent is out of style.

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One Response to Ugh

  1. trekker9er says:

    Eileen Hogan and Allison S. Cartwright like this.

    Katie Colman
    It’ll be there, hunters are weird. With deer season coming on, people use it to heard the animals to cross in front of stands and blinds. Moth ball also work depending on the raccoon, and if all else fails scare the hell out of it. They aren’t dumb but they do scare easy. There are air cans that spray a jet of air when something cross in front of it. If you can set it up right without the raccoon being able to move it, it might deter him from businessing on your porch.
    October 5 at 6:52pm

    Jennifer Michelle German
    Have had two stories now of raccoons (one here in Ann Arbor) being un-phased by physical attacks on them in the form of a bb-gun and a high pressure air gun.

    But you’re right about the urine. I did find fox urine in the hunter aisle at Meijer!
    October 5 at 10:00pm

    Katie Colman
    0.o Wow really? They must be HUGE to ignore that. I am glad you found what you were looking for though.
    October 5 at 10:02pm

    Jennifer Michelle German
    The animal I saw this morning in my back yard was huge too. Despite being a little smaller, it likely weighed more than Amber. (Of course she’s a slight 27 pounds for a 3 year old, but still).
    October 5 at 10:04pm

    Alice Dancler
    Human urine works too… And it’s free. IJS… Lol!
    October 5 at 10:46pm

    Jennifer Michelle German
    I was wondering when someone would mention that! I’ve thought of it, but… oh, I just figured out a way I wouldn’t have to pee in public, heh. We’ll see how the bleach goes first.
    October 5 at 10:59pm

    Janie Chappell
    Just remember that wild animals may be carriers of rabies! Make sure there is a barrier between you and the animal (what ever it is) and don’t think that becasue it’s in the yard and you’re on the deck makes you safe. Tell Amber to ALWAYS go in the house and shut the door if she sees ANY animal that is not yours in the yard when she is outside. (Yes, I know that you’re always with her but it never hurts to make sure she’ll be safe.”
    October 6 at 1:48am

    Jennifer Michelle German
    I do let her out in the front of the house without me now. She knows to stay in the driveway/front porch and walk, unless the Taylors are outside too and then she can go across to their yard. So it is good advice to start teaching her to come back in if there’s any animal that’s not a bird or rabbit! (We have lots of skiddish rabbits, so I’m not worried about them.)
    October 6 at 3:00pm

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