Interesting camping experience

[Lee Schierer]

We camped at Tomlinson Run State Park in West Virginia starting Wednesday (9/11) evening. Thursday morning I took our dog Rudy for a walk and as we were walking we noticed two people from the campsite right next to us watching the roll off type 30 yard dumpster near the camp office. When I spoke with them, they said that they had thrown some trash into the dumpster an hear a lot of scratching noise. When they peaked over the side, they say 6 raccoons that were trapped in the almost empty dumpster. The man located a stout branch and had placed it over the side of the dumpster and all but one last raccoon had climbed out. As I watch the last one came up over the side and headed into the woods. The man left the branch in the corner of the dumpster and we went about our day.

Then Friday, Rudy and I were making the same walk and when I tossed a bag into the dumpster I heard a lot of noise. When I peeked over the side, I saw that they had knocked down the branch from the day before and there looking up were.....
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As I looked for another branch to help them escape, the same couple walked by with their dog and couldn't believe there were so many raccoons. We found another branch and pretty soon we had a parade of raccoons up the side, run around the rim to the back an then down and into the woods. There were 11 of them.

The branch was still in place the next morning so there were no raccoons.

[Mike Henderson]

Any idea how they were getting into the dumpster?

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

Yes, that's a lot of raccoons. But nature has it under control, when they get too numerous there will be a remake of
"Davy Crockett".

[Lee Schierer]

Any idea how they were getting into the dumpster?

Mike

On the Thursday night they most likely went down the branch we had left in the dumpster and somehow they knocked the branch down.

[Edward Dyas]

Raccoons are so illusive you just don't how many there are. Then they are nocturnal so you rarely see one in the day time. I live in the country and started feeding a racoon that was hanging around my shop. First thing you know I was feeding 15 of them.

[Frederick Skelly]

Good on ya Lee. Well done.
Really great picture too!
Fred

[Malcolm Schweizer]

That’s why they call them “trash pandas.”

[Larry Frank]

Cute but carriers of many diseases including rabies.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.

[John K Jordan]

Cute but carriers of many diseases including rabies.

I wondered about that too. Raccoon rabies has been eliminated in most of TN but is still prevalent in other eastern states including WV. A fourth rabid raccoon this year was found a few months ago in WV a little south of that area in Monongalia County and apparently on the rise according to reported cases. Something to keep mind.

I don't welcome them here because they kill poultry, most recently two adult guineas one night. Raccoons killed seven of a friend's young guineas in one day. One night I discovered one just in time inside my building with 12 young peacocks - it had squeezed through a 3" opening near the ceiling (since patched). Another raccoon pulled a young chicken through a 1/2" gap under a door and left a pile of feathers outside on the step.

I realize they have to eat too but I prefer they frequent some other restaurant!

JKJ

[Mark Blatter]

Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.

So many of nature's creatures are cute until you have to actually deal with them. Raccoons are one of the best examples, but stray (feral) cats, wild dogs, skunks of course, and so may others are a pain when they breed and are around your house. Deer are horrible and well, bears, I won't even talk about.

[Doug Dawson]

Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.

Once you have (inadvertently?) set up a scent trail to where they can reliably find food, the plague of them will be upon you until you can disrupt it, and we shouldn't talk about that. That's getting into the "Honey Boo Boo lifestyle", and it depends on what your tastes are, in stew, etc.

Leave nature alone, unless you like that sort of thing.

[Bruce Wrenn]

At least it was raccoons, instead of bear cubs. Our daughter lives across the road from Cacapon State Park. Any trash can left outside and not in a bear resistant cage is fair game.

[Ronald Blue]

Raccoons are a pest at best. They will destroy a sweet corn patch in a night or two if you don't take steps to prevent it. They will eat your pets food if you feed them outside. They can find their way into places you least expect as John alluded to. My parents always had chickens and you had to make sure there was no openings they could squeeze through. They love a chicken dinner too and will leave a trail of feathers. I'm sure after you left they ended up back in the dumpster again and they might not have had anyone to rescue them the next time. We've been noticing a lot of them killed on the road this summer. Often if there's one there are two or three or more. (Families)

[Andrew Seemann]

I was walking the dogs in the yard a couple months ago and saw this:

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My first thought was, "Where is your mommy?" Mostly because I was worried that she was nearby. My dopey lab and perky poodle eventually saw them (after about 10 minutes) and barked at them, until I dragged them back into the house. Fortunately when I went to check on them a couple hours later, they were gone. My guess is that the mom left them under the tree for safe keeping and later went back and got them.

As much as I don't like raccoons, I have to admit, they do make pretty cute cubs.

[John Stankus]

I have this set of clowns running through the yard. I have to go on "turd patrol" before I mow.:mad:


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I'm open to suggestions on how to reroute them elsewheres. (I'm in the city limits so, some of the solutions are not quite..."acceptable")

[John K Jordan]

I have this set of clowns running through the yard. I have to go on "turd patrol" before I mow.:mad:


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I'm open to suggestions on how to reroute them elsewheres. (I'm in the city limits so, some of the solutions are not quite..."acceptable")

Perimiter fence and get some big dogs, pack of coyotes? Electric fence, vigilante watch with super soaker full of ammonia? Offer a bounty?

Besides the dogs, I've never been successful with any "normal" methods other than trapping. When we lived in a city that's the only way I eliminated the nightly trash can trashing of a pack of rogue 'coons.

But what are they after? Trash cans, cat food left out, just passing through to neighbor's cat food?

JKJ

[Doug Dawson]

Perimiter fence and get some big dogs, pack of coyotes? Electric fence, vigilante watch with super soaker full of ammonia? Offer a bounty?

Besides the dogs, I've never been successful with any "normal" methods other than trapping. When we lived in a city that's the only way I eliminated the nightly trash can trashing of a pack of rogue 'coons.

But what are they after? Trash cans, cat food left out, just passing through to neighbor's cat food?


Yes sir, they do love wet cat food, the stinkier the better. That's the way to trap them. The problem here is, y'all have a pack of them, and you'll only get the first one before the others wise up to the camouflaged trap. Rogues OTOH are easy to trap.

If "food" has existed in a location, it will take a long time (months? years?) before their "handed-down social lore" of where to find it is extinguished, so get ready for a battle of attrition. Don't ever feed them or in any sense make them feel welcome, it will be noted in their (probably scent-trail-related) "guidebook".

[Edward Dyas]

You just need to get to know them. They are quite comical to watch.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

You just need to get to know them. They are quite comical to watch.

When I was in high school we lived near Ft Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania. Their sanitary landfill for garbage was a trench about 20 ft wide by 12 feet deep and the trash was thrown into it. Well skunks and raccoons would get down in there and until it is fairly full could not get out. My dad was a Game warden and deer that were flattened on the highway, were examined and then taken to the military's landfill. I loved to go along, because dad would let me have his pistol and walk along the edge shooting the raccoons and skunks. Workers were getting bit and the raccoons were trying to climb into vehicles. There were so many, and were such pests that the military wanted them eliminated. One summer evening, we shot over 40 of them. But that was no where near the record. A deputy game warden shot over 70 in one evening.