Can you have there house "Tented"? As they do for termites and such....the gas will get them.

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Originally posted by SpinZone:
If the house in that bad of shape and he is anywhere near as bad the only hoarder I knew, then anything short of burning it to the ground will just be a waste of time. I would stay on the sidelines for this one.

This. There's nothing you can do for him if he's let the house get that bad, especially if he's not committed to fixing it and cleaning it up. The raccoons are just the tip of the iceberg on this one.

My in-laws bought a place last year that was in pretty bad disrepair. Thankfully they didn't have to deal with the accumulated mess of a hoarder, but we did have to gut the place to the studs and reframe a bunch due to termite damage and mold. The roof had to be completely redone, and we have been slowly rebuilding one section at a time as they can afford it. It's expensive, disgusting, and takes a lot of work. There were some racoons living in that house that I had to eradicate, but getting rid of them was only one tiny step towards dealing with the rest of the house.

^^^ yeah... that's sad.

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I can't imagine the mess inside as my friend is a serious horder. He has stuff piled up for years now. He rents in a condo so he isn't living with wild life.

It sounds like he really needs to assess (soon) whether or not the house is worth saving, or just sell it to an "as-is" buyer for someone else to either rehab or knock down for the lot.

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Originally posted by HRK:

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Originally posted by SpinZone:
If the house in that bad of shape and he is anywhere near as bad the only hoarder I knew, then anything short of burning it to the ground will just be a waste of time. I would stay on the sidelines for this one.

Yep that's good advice, it's his home, he needs to hire a pro to seal it up and set traps, let them properly relocate if allowed.

You gents are so right. People have called the home condemned. It is a disaster. The raccoons are also getting in at the rear ground level. He just took on 3K more debt in a new privacy fence. I have nearly all the tree cutting, at least where I have been instructed, complete. He still owes me a couple days pay. He receives offers every day by mail from people wanting to buy the property. One stated he didn't even need to clean it up. It's in a Historic District of town and his place is terrible compared to any other on the street. Loss of his wife in 2009 and being a auction addict has laid waste to his home. It's beyond me.

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Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Sounds like time to get a welfare agency involved. Raccoons = Rabies.

Is there any value to the house? Perhaps the local fire department could use it for structure fire training.

I was thinking roof repair by US Air Force JDAM.

I'd run away from that situation so fast I'd leave a smoke trail.

Had racoons in the attic where I lived several years ago. Did not want to shoot or poison them so I contacted the Game and Fish Commission and found the solution. Was told to put moth balls, a bright light and noise (a radio with loud music would do) in the attic. One or two of these would not work, had to be all three. After a little over a week, all the critters were gone. Sealed the openings and never had the problem again.

In my first house, I had a raccoon making noise, just one, in the attic, we called animal control. He found the entry, it was a hole the size of a baseball. He told us that if a raccoon can squeeze its head through, the rest of the body can follow. We put out moth balls until we heard no more noises, then sealed up the hole with wood and wire mesh. No more after that.

But to echo others, sounds like the house is a tear down.

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Was told to put moth balls, a bright light and noise (a radio with loud music would do) in the attic.

I've heard they are partial to RAP

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Originally posted by Shaql:

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2021 Tennessee Code

Isn't Kentucky the Bluegrass State? Meaning, isn't David in Kentucky not Tennessee?

Oops, you're right. SW_Sig grabbed the link for KY.

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Originally posted by SW_Sig:
Per KRS 150.170, landowners may deal with nuisance wildlife through scare tactics, repellents, fencing and exclusion, or removal via shooting or trapping.
KY Fish & Wildlife

Just shoot the bastards.bb

A group of guys near here make an annual get together out of piling up the dead coons they have trapped over the preceding week or so. A hand full of guys gather a heaping full-size pickup bed full of coons. Every year. I’m sure more are trapped or disposed of year around. The woods are thick with them.
The farm and sportsman’s stores sell a small leg trap that requires putting a paw down in a small tube to reach bait. Snap. I’m sure you still need to put them down when they’re found. Cats and possum seem about the only other critters that fall to that sort of trap.
The big square body traps are deadly but are also a bear to reset and kind of gross to do so with an animal in it.
It’s kinda nuts to live trap and release when there are so many roaming around.

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The farm and sportsman’s stores sell a small leg trap that requires putting a paw down in a small tube to reach bait. Snap. I’m sure you still need to put them down when they’re found.

That's what I used. Very effective.

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Originally posted by photohause:
Can you have there house "Tented"? As they do for termites and such....the gas will get them.

That'd be one way to find out what a small colony of dead raccoons in the walls might smell like....if one had the desire to find that out.

Send them all for try-outs?

7 pissed off racky raccoons have a new home 12 miles away. Lots of shady pines, hardwoods and a stream. Joe gets to do the haul and release as I won't put the trapped bastards in my mini van. I only carried 1 in the havahartz because I ain't comfortable with their small bear growl. That and I watched 2 of them reaching over a foot out the sides of the trap with their front arms. I put 3 forks of cheap tuna I feed to 2 feral baby kitties, in on the trigger plate and one of the Tasmanian devils bark/snarreled at me. I jumped back and got tuna on my pant leg and New Balance sneakers.. These critters have a bad attitude for sure. I don't hear or see any more at the property at this time. Joe said he will keep setting the 3 traps. He said this evening it will cost him 30 grand to repair his home.

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7 pissed off racky raccoons have a new home 12 miles away. Lots of shady pines, hardwoods and a stream.

That sounds pretty nice for a cemetary, I mean final resting place for your departed racoon friends...

No, they are alive and well. There is a depleted auto scrap yard near by if they might have interest in old cars and trucks. I haven't seen the interior of my friends home yet. I opened the side door for a peek inside, not sure which is worse, raccoon destruction or the way my friend lived for decades and, mother nature leaking in from outside. It is a ghastly scene. He just says his house is a mess inside. He knows no other way to live so I will respect his wishes.

Joe informed me this evening, his home insurence is being canceled and, they are sending a home inspector to take photos. Pretty bad news when one cannot insure their home. When he reflects upon the decades of piling up auction junk, all the work and money involved, he stated, "well, it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time". I am going to buy him a new T shirt with that quote on it. He is my friend. The old gentleman has many friends. Many will miss him someday.