A gaze of nearly 100 raccoons have swarmed a woman’s Washington home in the hope of finding their next meal.
The woman, who has not been identified publicly, was forced to call authorities after realizing that she was unable to leave her own home due to the abundance of raccoons on her property in Kitsap County, near Poulsbo.
What began as a kind-hearted gesture to help ensure the racoons were being fed eventuated into a pest problem.
For more 35 years, the well-intended woman was leaving food out for the racoons without running into any problems. But six weeks ago, that changed.
‘Somehow the word got out in raccoon land and they all showed up to her house expecting a meal,’ Kevin McCarthy, a spokesperson for the Kitsap County Sheriff, told King 5.
Fixing the infestation could create an even bigger problem as help to remove the racoons is asking for $500 per animal.
Nearly 100 raccoons swarmed a woman’s Washington home last week in a hope to be fed their next meal
A woman from Kitsap County, near Poulsbo, called authorities after realizing that she was unable to leave her own home due to the abundance of raccoons on her property, lingering and begging for food in broad daylight
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office shared a video of the home invasion which showed dozens of trash pandas surrounding her heavily wooded property.
She explained to the officers that she had never seen the animals arrive in such a large group and noted that some of the newcomers are becoming aggressive.
Her home had been a main source of food income as far back as the 1980s. They would regularly visit her backyard, but leave once they were fed, USA Today reported.
The raccoons would pay a visit to her house throughout all hours of the day and night, even scratching on the windows and walls of the house to get her attention.
But she only called for backup last week after the mammals surrounded her car, making leaving an impossible task.
When deputies arrived at her home to respond to the situation, they never could have expected what they encountered.
‘They were shocked,’ McCarthy added. ‘They had never seen that many raccoons in one place. Nobody ever remembers being surrounded by a swarm of raccoons. This was a first.’
The raccoons seemed to be on their best behavior once law enforcement arrived on the scene. They weren’t aggressive and there have been no reports of injuries.
The unnamed woman started leaving food out for the night bandits more than 35 years ago without running into any problems, but the raccoon population exploded just six weeks ago
But the Kitsap County Sheriff referred the woman to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to further address her problem.
The department then referred her to its ‘wildlife control operators’ program which connects residents to private trappers certified to deal with small animals, USA Today reported.
But after she got in touch with the trapping organization to help with the raccoon epidemic, they wanted a whopping $500 for the removal of one singular mammal – which would ultimately cost her thousands of dollars in the end.
Neighbors have also been noticing the influx of the bandits, noting that they have been piling up for about a month now.
‘I’ve had several raccoons in the yard recently,’ Wendy Cronk, a neighbor, told King 5.
‘My dogs have gotten in a scuffle several times with a raccoon. I’ve even had to take one of my dogs to the vet after tussling with a raccoon. And I’ve noticed there’s been a lot more hit raccoons up on the main road here.’
Under state law, animals trapped by the WCO department must be either released on-site or euthanized and properly disposed of, USA Today reported.
‘I just hope somebody steps in and helps her take care of this problem… and hopefully she’ll quit doing it,’ Cronk added.
Racoons are a common sight. They are often drawn to urban areas by food provided by human hands in the area, WDFW reported.
The raccoons would pay a visit to her house throughout all hours of the day and night, even scratching on the windows and walls of the house to get her attention
The most effective way to prevent raccoon issues is to simply not attract raccoons to the home – the most important recommendation being withholding food from the mammals and straying away from feeding them.
‘It’s pretty simple,’ McCarthy added. ‘Don’t feed wild animals. When wild animals have a reliable food source, they’re going to keep coming back to it. And that’s what these raccoons did until the number of raccoons expecting a meal got out of hand.’
Bridget Mire, a department spokesperson, also cautioned against feeding wildlife, noting that when animals gather around an unnatural food source, such as human food, disease can spread, USA Today added.
Feeding wildlife can also cause the animals to lose their own sense of caution around humans, even attracting predators that may interact with people.
Forbidding raccoons easy access to garbage or the ability to enter the home through pet doors are other ways to avoid raccoon infestation, WDFW added.
She only called for backup last week after the mammals surrounded her car in her heavily wooded backyard, making leaving an impossible task
Fencing up vegetable gardens and other orchards as well as thoroughly cleaning up outdoor barbeque areas also help keep the night bandits away.
But as long as raccoons are kept out of human homes, not cornered and not treated as a family pet, they typically don’t pose as a dangerous threat.
As of Tuesday, what happened to the raccoons remained unknown, but animal control is working to find a solution.
‘At this point, it’s been determined that the raccoons haven’t committed any crimes,’ McCarthy added.
