"No thanks, I don't want to think like you do." "Everyone knows that...." "I doubt that you..." "I don't believe you. Sounds too good to be true, you must be making it up" "I bet that you..." It's almost pointless to have a conversation with you here. You make too many baseless assumptions like the quotes above. I asked you to re-evaluate how you think, not to think like me. "Is it legal to shoot baited deer in WV?" "...as long as it's legal." Does legality trump morality and ethics? The United States passed a law called the "Fugitive Slave Act", mandating that people return runaways slaves to their masters. Many people refused to do this and harbored slaves. While this was a clear violation of the law it certainly was not wrong to do this. The law was wrong. More recent and relevant: In 2007 California passed a law limiting the amount of hours you can tether your dog to 3 hours at time. This was done because some people keep their dogs chained up for their entire lives. They spend years on these chains and sometimes their collars become embedded in their skin. The fact that this was legal before 2007 and illegal now has nothing to do with whether it is morally right or wrong. I bring this up because you stated "as long as it's legal" that options like poisoning, dehydration, and drowning are acceptable. Legality has nothing to do with morality. It is a self-centered view to purposely prolong an animals suffering simply because 1) it's legal 2) it's convenient. While humans are animals we like consider ourselves more sophisticated than the other species of the planet. Humans should be HUMANE. That means killing animals quickly and respectfully with the minimum amount of suffering possible.

We live in Florida and have trouble with the raccoons getting it to our trash cans for food, overturning them and household refuse strewn and shared by all the neighbors. Cans do not have a locking for the lid, however, we have found a device advertised on E-Bay for just that job. It is a spring clip, fixes to the lid and can wall. Our Community now use it. The raccoon canÂt get in the cans, in fact we have watched him look at our can and pass-by. Hopefully when the Community gets all cans fitted with the device the raccoons will look elsewhere for food and this critter will be gone.

A couple weeks ago we heard a racket outside our bedroom and a raccoon had ripped off a soffit vent and proceeded to set up house in my attic. Next day I called a couple of animal removal experts out for an assessment and quote. The first animal removal expert told me my vents on top the roof "had been compromised" and he would cut me a deal and secure all four and the soffit for $495. Caveat emptor - there are many crooks in this business...and their websites are FULL of scare tactics and false information so you think you need the professionals. Many of the website will tell you that music and lights won't work. Don't believe them. The second company was highly recommended on Angie's List so I felt more at ease listening to him. His first attempts were not very successful but they helped us determine what was going on. He installed a "one-way" cage door on soffit so when the raccoon left to feed at night, it wouldn't be able to get back in. The raccoon went nuts! Chattering and running around and trying to tear off the cage door. Well, that was not good news because that meant the coon was a "she" and were little ones inside she was desperate to get back to. So we opened the door again the next day...we want her to move the litter on her own. People always ask "Why don't you just shoot her" and this illustrates exactly why...imagine the smell when 3-4 kits die and rot somewhere in the attic. They are much better alive because they will reveal themselves if you get close to them. So I started hearing noises in the ceiling in one corner of the house and this turned out to be the most secluded corner in the attic tucked away between intersecting low roofing beams...nearly impossible for a human to get to. So I read above to try music and lights. I installed a very bright CFL light shining into the corner and got a CD player and started blasting the worst heavy metal (I'm talking screaming) I could find into the corner. I just knew that old CD would come in handy for something some day LOL. Turns out she wasn't much of a heavy metal fan. She picked up the litter and moved to the other end of the house right next to the soffit vent she tore off - in the recess of the chimney. A few minutes later and I had moved the coon entertainment center to the new location to convince her that my attic was a noisy unsafe place for her litter. The removal company has installed a night-vision motion sensor camera outside just beside the soffit...we are waiting now to see if we can catch her moving the litter out. If we can get proof positive that the family has vacated, we will board up and secure the premises to prevent future infestations. As a matter of prevention, I'm also going to install very bright motion-sensor lights around my house and next to the pool. I read they like to be near water to wash their food, and bright lights that suddenly turn on is a good deterrent for any would-be future residents. Getting live footage of her is kind of exciting...the only cool thing I can say about the whole experience. I'll post again in the next few days with developments. :)

Raccoons love fish fertilizer. I really paid a price for putting in the ground. I had bands out of the soil. They dug and ripped at established roses for days. They are attracted to the smell but the reward comes from finding worms when they dig. The only way that I can use it is as a foliar spray. Then of course you can't spray when the weather heats up. The worst is when the babies start going out with mom. Can't have a fountain either they use it as a personal bath tub. It needed to be cleaned every day. Looked out early one evening to see the wee ones playing. They were placing their paws were the water comes out the top. Then watch it shoot across the yard.