Windy Weather and a Trapped Raccoon in Holmdel, NJ
Challenge
Bright and early, I received a call from a Holmdel, NJ homeowner that one of the traps we had secured on the roof to capture raccoons had a none-too-pleased “guest.” A mature male raccoon had taken the bait and was caught in the trap.
Raccoons are one of the largest, most aggressive wildlife that we routinely deal with. They are also the major vector of rabies in New Jersey. With their razor-sharp teeth and claws, dealing with raccoons require your full, undivided attention! I stayed calm and steady to not further aggravate or upset the trapped animal. To make matters worse, the weather at the time was not cooperating — there was heavy rain and the wind was picking up as well. In those conditions, it’s challenging enough to be on a roof, but dealing with a trapped raccoon was icing on the cake. However, I needed to remove and relocate the trapped raccoon and set up a new trap for another one, and I can’t wait for a bright and sunny day.
Solution
I removed the trap with the pacing raccoon inside and slowly climbed down the ladder with him. I humanely relocated the raccoon. This raccoon turned out to be a sweet and innocent lad who happened to break into someone’s home. Of course, wildlife works on instinct and don’t understand private property. We deal with many types of wildlife from rodents to raccoons that simply want a private location to escape the harsh outdoor elements. It just so happens that our warm, often easily accessible homes are the most convenient place around.
This job represents the typical win-win situation with nuisance wildlife removal — we simultaneously help homeowners and animals by humanely transferring the animals to better, safer location for them to live out their lives and remove them from homes where the animals can cause major property damage and are a health risk for the home’s occupants.
