Surprise visitor in the shop

[LCHIEN]

last night, just a bit after midnight I opened the side door of my garage.
I have a detached garage with the drive next to the house, and a short fence going from the house to the garage between the big door and the "pedestrian" door.
had the small door open and was putting some items into the car. When I came back thru the gate stepping in the the garage I see this "Tail" disappearing into the garage. Darn, I though big, fat cat. Then I thought, what kind of a cat has a ringed tail? He turned and looked back at me with his burglar mask and I thought, sh*t, a raccoon. I was about to close the door and go to bed but that wouldn't do.

He headed to the left back of the garage so I headed to the right back and said, shoo, scram, etc. I saw him exit out the side door and was very relieved. Good thing I had the house door closed!

Not the kind of thing you want to see in your shop.

[Thalermade]

Not the kind of thing you want to see in your shop.

And definitely not in your attic. DAMHIKT

Glad your event ended quickly and safely

Russ

[Hellrazor]

Loring,

They make a great guard for the shop. Who is going to break in to steal anything with a racoon on patrol.

[cabinetman]

You gotta get a belt clip for your camera.
.

[dbhost]

Ooohhhh. Racoons in the garage / shop. Been there, done that. Got them in the attic once. You ever tried to move a havahart trap with a live ANGRY racoon in it down attic stairs? NOT a pretty sight...

I had to fix my soffits because of raccoons.

You gotta love living right on a Bayou huh?

[Ed62]

Never had a coon in the house or garage, but we had a 'possum in the house once. I think that's worse than a coon.

Ed

[SARGE..g-47]

I used to have a he and she visit when I had dogs. Leaving animal food bowls out in the shop will bring raccoons when they get really hungry. And once they find it there... they will be back. The male mentioned here is the largest raccoon I have ever seen. Almost a mutant.

Caution.. they can carry rabies and if they have found a source of food and they are desperate.. don't get between them and the food. Let them have it as those paws and teeth are extremely sharp.

Just quit putting food out. Once I did that they came around looking. It took an hour to clean up the mess they made as they tore everything open looking for the food that was there.

[cgallery]

You didn't have him for dinner?

[Uncle Cracker]

So many raccoon stories to tell... Suffice it to say that I'm still repairing dozens of scratches and urine stains on my drywall in the house from the last encounter... And if you think that is bad, you should see what the raccoon did...

[djcannon]

I love Racoons

I used to live in western washington and we had racoons and possems
we also had an electric chicken wire fence to to protect the chicken coop. when we got a dog that would tree them that was the best though, the dog would sit at the bottom of the tree and keep the coons from getting down. So me being the kind guy I am would bring the dogs food and water bowls to him so he could stay and keep watch. After about 3 day's we would bring the dog in and usually not have any problems for a few months.

[Richard in Smithville]

Better an animal with a mask than one with a white stripe

[p8ntblr]

Better an animal with a mask than one with a white stripe

That's where I thought this story was heading. Can you imagine the nice aroma of skunk every time you step in to the shop.

[StickSeler]

So many raccoon stories to tell... Suffice it to say that I'm still repairing dozens of scratches and urine stains on my drywall in the house from the last encounter... And if you think that is bad, you should see what the raccoon did...

Thanks, I haven't spit beer on my lap-top for a while

[Alex Franke]

Better an animal with a mask than one with a white stripe

Back when I lived in San Diego, I went out the door of our detached garage, pulled it almost closed, and turned my head just in time to see a tail shoot up into the air about three feet away. (Yes, it was the business end.)

I dived back into the garage before I could even think about it. Fortunately the laundry broke my fall... and even more fortunately I didn't get sprayed. I sneaked by it by it a few minutes later to get inside and grab a picture.



We get birds coming into the garage all the time -- it's really annoying... I don't want any animals (or critters) in my garage unless it's willing to do some sanding!

[jonmulzer]

When I was in junior high my father had a beautiful old home on the Ohio River. By old, I mean sandstone foundation old. As was usual, we were constantly repairing things and once we had to redo the plumbing into the bathroom I used so we cut a hole in the bottom of the vanity, reworked everything and then waited until the next day to patch the hole. That evening I was showering (I wear contacts/glasses) and was out of shampoo or soap or something so I go to get some from under the sink. I open the door and reach in and grab my item and see a shape there (did not have my glasses on) and it moved. At first I thought nothing of it so I put on my glasses and was nose to nose with a VERY mean-looking possum!! As soon as I saw him he bared his teeth and made this horrible sound I still remember to this day. So I did what all 14 year olds who think they are men do, I screamed like a girl and ran naked through the house to seek refuge with my Dad, who was eating dinner. I was so glad he was not having guests over! As soon as I calmed down I told him what had happened and we went back to the bathroom to find the possum still there, though he did finally duck back down into the cellar upon seeing the both of us.

I rinsed off (did not even really finish showering) with my glasses on and the shower curtain open so I could see and then we patched the hole that night. My father still laughs when he thinks of that and loves to tell the story to all my friends and such. It was certainly not one of my finer moments. I still hate possums to this day......