I have had several calls recently that involved safety issues with raccoon feces. Yes, I know this topic is a bit gross but it is important to understand the health risks associated with raccoon feces. It is particularly important to make sure that kids and pets stay away from raccoon feces. The good news is that infections are relatively rare but it is good to be careful. The photo is a “present” left in my yard by one of the resident raccoons. Raccoons carry Baylisascaris procyonis whose common name is raccoon roundworm. This worm lives in the intestines of the raccoon (apparently without harming it) and sheds eggs in the raccoon feces. This is where the issues come in as the eggs in the feces can be ingested by humans under certain circumstances and cause serious health issues when they hatch. Always be careful around raccoon poop!
Another Skunk Adventure
Every day working with wildlife is an adventure. In this case, picking up a young skunk (don’t try this at home) that had been injured. The tricky part, of course, is not getting sprayed or upsetting the skunk so it sprays the neighborhood. I spent about 10 minutes before the video starts with the skunk to settle it down and let it get used to me before picking it up successfully.
Skunk Exclusion
This video shows the complete exclusion project with the skunk video. Exclusion is an important tool as it prevents future wildlife conflicts for the client and helps wildlife by eliminating the need for future trapping. All my exclusion work comes with a guarantee against future intrusions by wildlife.
When is a opossum not a opossum?
A case of mistaken identity- I received a call last week from a home owner who said a opossum had found its way into his house that morning and he had locked it in the bathroom as he had to leave for work. It was now midafternoon and he was hoping that I could come and remove it. No problem, opossums are quite mellow and easy to handle, so I said I would be there shortly. I arrived and followed him up the stairs to the bathroom. As I peaked in, it was not a opossum that was staring back at me but a very large, very irate raccoon that was now in the bathtub. This was not what I was expecting. I quickly shut the door and went down stairs to get a control pole and some protective gear. As I entered the bathroom again, I warned the homeowner not to worry but things might sound a bit wild for a minute or two. Luckily, I lassoed that raccoon on the first try with the control pole but he was quite grumpy about it. He was growling and twisting like a small lion as I put him in a cage for transport. The homeowner was quite thankful to have his bathroom back and I was quite happy that the raccoon did not damage the bathroom or me! I forgot to ask about the case of mistaken opossum identity.
