Raccoons take over Whitestone woman's backyard
NEW YORK -- On a Sunday afternoon in Whitestone, Diane Mancini was relaxing in her backyard when she heard a rustle overhead.
"All of a sudden, I got up, and I turn and I look, and I see three raccoons sitting here looking at me," she said.
She watched them scramble down her fence onto the patio. And that was just the beginning.
"This is every day now. They're coming out during the day. They're coming out in the evening," she said.
She has tried deterring them with ammonia, cayenne pepper, and moth balls, but the raccoons seem to be multiplying.
"We're not talking one or two or three. We're talking up to eight," she said.
While she hasn't seen any foaming at the mouth, she isn't taking any chances.
"I just feel like I constantly have to disinfect," she said. "I don't know what kind of germ they might be bringing my way."
When she calls the city for help, she says, she's told to hire a trapper, which can cost up to $400 per raccoon.
"I can't do that. It's going to cost me thousands," she said.
It's a battle for the backyard, and the raccoons might be winning.
"I love animals," Mancini said. "Could I easily do something terrible to get rid of them? I'm not that kind of person."
According to New York State licensed rehabber Leslie Hyder, raccoons are intelligent, loving creatures just looking for a home.
"People keep building," she said. "But then, where are the animals supposed to go?"
She says raccoons out in daylight could be nursing mothers looking for food.
"There's an epidemic of distemper going around right now, so a lot of sick ones come out during the day, also," she said.
To keep raccoons away from your home, experts recommend sealing off openings to roofs and under decks and using a strong bungee cord to hold garbage cans closed.
You're urged to call 311 to report a rabid raccoon, but for raccoons not in distress, the city says removal requires hiring a licensed specialist.
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