I had heard rumors but tonight I saw it with my own eyes, a raccoon in Borough Park.
Have you seen any raccoons where you live?
Have there been any incidents of people being bitten?
Does Hatzoloh have any advice on this subject?
No jokes, please. Rabies is not funny.
I was once standing in front of my
House and I heard a shuffle in
my neighbors tree, I look up
and see two huge raccoons climbing
up the tree- scared the wits out
of me
I also once saw them on 61st street
climbing up the gate by the Tracks
Pretty scary
I saw possums in Midwood too
Last year my brother had the scare of his life when he woke up in his sukkah in middle of the night & heard his schach rusttling. He went outside and sure enough there were 2 racoons on his schach! In the middle of Boro Park!!
gee you go a few weeks without consistent garbage pickup and look what happens.
We have a lot of them in Riverdale. Unfortunately, some have turned out to have rabies.
We also have a skunk that lives partly in our backyard. It is a beautiful animal but we steer clear of it.
And Baruch HaShem we have lots of feral cats so we have no rats in the neighborhood.
I spoke with 311 and they said the City will not send anyone unless they believe the raccoon has rabies. If not, they said you need to call someone on your own.
Personally, I have no idea who I would call.
Raccoons are OK as long as you don't threaten them. If you corner them, they will possibly bite you in self-defense. Otherwise, they're basically pacifist. Just make sure your garbage cans are metal and locked shut. No bags - that's just like a cafeteria for them.
Don't worry about rabies unless the animal is acting sick or weird, or coming up to people. Then...run, and call 311 ASAP. Any contact with one - call your doctor to see if you need the shots. make sure your kids know about not getting close to them.
Remember - they're just as afraid of you as you are of them. And, of course, they were in Boro Park when it was still a cow pasture. We're trespassing on their turf, not the other way around.
Raccoons should be hibernating this time of year,if there is one out in about in winter weather,(I think I heard something about snow in NY)it may be ill.Cal a pest control company they can set traps for it. Generally Raccoons can be destructive nuisance (they will chew their way in to anywhere they want to nest) but are not dangerous they rarely bite or attack.
Tell your kids to stay away from them if they see them. Unlike the cuddly way they are portrayed in cartoons, they can be very dangerous and often carry rabies.
Do NOT try to confront them yourself. Call an exterminator who is experienced with raccoons or a licensed trapper.
NOTE: This DOES get expensive, so I would not rush out to do that if you only saw them once. If they are rountinely seen by your house, you may have a problem that needs attention. They do look for ways to get INSIDE your house (usually through hole in the roof or openings by damaged gutters).
The same applies for possums, also in Brooklyn, and very nasty critters!
We have lots of rocky raccoons in Midwood, saw one last night.
Here in Chicago it's no big deal to see a raccoon possum or skunk. I had a open field across from my house (B"H it's gone) and there were skunks living there that would walk across my lawn and into my backyard so I would always clap or stomp my my feet before going into the backyard at night to scare them off before I came then an annoyed neighbor set traps and got rid of them but I see possums all the time and raccoons not so often but often enough for it to be normal.
...to get there!
Raccoons and possums in Midwood.
The raccoons of Bensonhurst are far more entertaining.
Raccoons don't hibernate, so you'll see them around, but they den up when the snow is too deep. Then they come out and destroy your garbage cans :-) Check around to make sure you don't have any nice cozy corners for them to curl up in. We had one under our porch - it moved there after we fixed the garage roof. We fixed the porch, and it seems to have moved away.
And don't fool with them yourself - they can bite pretty competently. Call an exterminator or Animal Control.
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