New visitor!

[Bavarian05]

We don't mind him. He's pretty cute and entertains the cats/us each night.

[Masterlu]

That's the way it always starts; wait till all his friends move in to your backyard, just saying.

[eddiel]

Originally Posted by Volks

I hate them. They are a pest and truly a nuisance. If they did not have a "Cute" look to them nobody would give a sh*t about them . They are destructive , dangerous, diseased and a bloody nightmare to get rid of, but Rat poison works indeed(Large doses) and also "Farm Grade" Rat traps and medium sized "Teeth" animal traps laid out over the back patio will maim or kill them. They are overgrown ugly rats with a mask to me and are worthless.

In Toronto it's illegal to kill them. Many people have shopped their neighbours to the cops. All you can do is scare them away or put some deterrent out. Apparently coyote urine extract works.

A friend had some in his chimney. He called an exterminator who said he'd have to wait for the babies to grow up a bit so they could get out themselves. Once they were out he'd close off the chimney so they couldn't get in anymore. Well they waited and they secured the chimney at the top.

But what they didn't know was that a couple of the babies had died in the chimney before hand. You know what happens when things die right? Cue my friends girlfriend screaming her head off when she went down the basement and there were thousands of maggots on the floor.

[Masterlu]

Spray liberally around the house...

[Bavarian05]

But they are so cute. ;-)

[Masterlu]

Until, they're not so cute!

[Volks]

I dont find them cute at all

[AndyPandy]

Gosh - I love all animals. That saddens me.

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Volks

I hate them. They are a pest and truly a nuisance. If they did not have a "Cute" look to them nobody would give a sh*t about them . They are destructive , dangerous, diseased and a bloody nightmare to get rid of, but Rat poison works indeed(Large doses) and also "Farm Grade" Rat traps and medium sized "Teeth" animal traps laid out over the back patio will maim or kill them. They are overgrown ugly rats with a mask to me and are worthless.

I'm with you.

It is ridiculous that racoons (and squirrels) are considered wildlife that you can't just kill off, although many people do. I wonder why they don't have similar stupid laws to protect mice and rats.

I have two friends that had squirrels in their attic. They both decided to trap them themselves because the squirrel exterminators/trappers wanted in the neighborhood of $1000 to get rid of them. One trapped them and released them in a school yard a few miles from his house, the other drowned them by dropping the trap into a wash tub.

[custodian]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

I'm with you. It is ridiculous that racoons (and squirrels) are considered wildlife that you can't just kill off, although many people do. I wonder why they don't have similar stupid laws to protect mice and rats. I have two friends that had squirrels in their attic. They both decided to trap them themselves because the squirrel exterminators/trappers wanted in the neighborhood of $1000 to get rid of them. One trapped them and released them in a school yard a few miles from his house, the other drowned them by dropping the trap into a wash tub.

Why ridiculous?

Perhaps you would give us a list of which wildlife you would permit to live and which you would kill off without any thought of either the suffering caused or the effects on ecological balance. Would you extend that list to higher mammals?