No kidding:
They appear cute and cuddly, but the Department of Natural Resources says the raccoon is turning into a household problem in urban areas around the country and here locally.
[. . .]
That's because it's breeding season. Siri says female raccoons tear into attics to have their young, looking for just about any place to call home — like attics, chimneys and many other dark spaces.
I have a flat piece of roof at the back of my house. It mostly covers a porch that the last owner converted into a sunroom, but part of it goes over the downstairs bathroom just off the kitchen. That bathroom has a utility closet, the floor of which is over the basement. One of those rotten vermin has decided it likes to chew on my roof, and he picked the one spot where the water could leak into that closet and from there into the basement. I've tried reasoning with the fellow, but I fear stronger measures may be necessary. It occurs to me that I probably would not have fared well alongside the pioneers who had to cope with wolves, mountain lions and grizzly bears along their commuting path.
