Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2007. Mattie was almost five years old. He was on spring break from his preschool, and we flew to Florida, to drive to the Keys. It was our first family trip to the Keys, and also our last. On the long drive from Ft. Lauderdale down to the Keys, we stopped at this store. Mattie could see all the shells and things from the car, so it was the perfect place to stop and stretch our legs. As you can see, he found a seat in the shape of a hand! I miss those adventurous and whimsical days. I think when in the throes of parenting, one thinks that is the hardest thing on earth. It is hard, don't get me wrong. Nothing is harder than parenting, and being responsible for a little one. Yet I have found a whole long list of impossibles from that moment on, and I long for those more "normal" tough days now.
Quote of the day: Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life. ~ J.K. Rowling
Each day I wake up and wonder.... what crisis will I face today? That may sound silly, but so far, NO DAY HAS DISAPPOINTED or changed my thinking! After I dropped my dad off at his memory care center, I decided to call my pest control service. A friend of mine encouraged me NOT to fix the four foot hole in my shed without dealing with the raccoon problem first. Truthfully I thought that was an odd comment she made, because in my mind, if you fix the hole, then the problem is gone. The raccoon would be locked out of the shed. Turns out my friend was correct. Raccoons are resourceful and TERRITORIAL. Even if I were to have a carpenter fix the wood, that wouldn't solve the problem.
My pest control company was NO HELP. Literally I made six phone calls around Northern Virginia until I finally found the right resource. Pest control companies do NOT manage wildlife issues. Any case, when VA animal control called me today, we had a long talk. I got the 411 on raccoons. Literally I was arguing with this poor fellow, who has been doing this work for 25 years. I clearly did not understand the complexity of the raccoon.
Here is what I have learned. Raccoons are territorial and this raccoon has adopted my shed as his home. Let me tell you how smart this fellow is. He has been opening up my trash cans for months, pulls open the trash bags, eats left over cat food while in the trash can, and never makes a mess outside the garbage can. Ricki the Raccoon is very neat. You would never know he was having a buffet until you open the garbage lid.
Any case, I learned that I could fix the wood on the shed, but that wouldn't stop the raccoon. He will just continue clawing at the structure until he gets in, doing more damage. So there has to be a two pronged attack to this problem. Today, they laid traps for the raccoon. Don't panic, these are animal friendly traps. Once Ricki Raccoon is trapped, he gets relocated into a lovely forest in Virginia. The traps remain in place for five days. I asked what happens if you don't catch Ricki? After all, maybe he has other homes to visit besides my shed. The fellow I was talking to tells me that raccoons visit their dens daily. So he is pretty convinced Ricki will be caught.
Once Ricki is trapped, then they have to seal up the four foot hole. But NOT with wood. Instead using sheet metal. He says that raccoons get frustrated clawing at steel, because they can't cut through and then give up and look for other locations. So at the moment I have traps set for Ricki and later this week, sheet metal will be attached to the inside of the shed. We can't access the back of the shed because it literally is up against my neighbor's fence. Making it impossible for a human to access the area.
The professional did a full inspection of my property and home today for raccoons and even did a walk through of our attic. He told me that if raccoons are on the property then it isn't unusual for them to wander around looking for ways to get in the house. For my house, they could potentially get in through the attic fans. He says once they are in the house, it is a huge expenditure, because they carry disease and their urine and feces get into the house insulation, which he says when all is said and done could cost $15,000 to do a professional cleaning and install new insultation. All I can say is this would be just my luck. So in addition to raccoon proofing the shed, I am also getting steel cages around each of the attic fans on the roof.
Literally I was derailed today for hours on this problem! But here is my next concern.......
After bats, raccoons are the second most frequently reported rabid wildlife species, according to the CDC. They can carry it without any outward signs or symptoms. Raccoons can also carry raccoon roundworm, a serious disease that can cause neurological damage. It spreads through the ingestion of soil or other materials contaminated with an infected raccoon's feces. In addition, raccoons may carry leptospirosis and distemper.
This information is crucial for me to know because I have a large clean out of the shed ahead of me. When I tell you everything is covered in urine and feces, I am not kidding. Many things have to be thrown out. In any case, I am not doing this clean out until Ricki is captured and the sheet metal is installed. But I am not looking forward to this hateful job. I started moving some things out of the shed today because there is so much in there, it will be impossible for the crew to install the sheet metal. Nonetheless, this is not the kind of spring cleaning I enjoy doing. What I do know is Ricki Raccoon would never have set up shop if my Sunny was still alive!
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