I have resided at the corner of 18th ad Washington Street in Long Beach for 15 years. Raccoons started to show up about four years ago. They usually came at nightfall and ran away from me. I know wildlife is all around us and we should feel privileged to enjoy and get along with them. Even the 200-pound black bear is small potato next to the raccoons. This year the raccoons became unafraid of humans, have killed and harmed dogs and are growling and attacking humans! I have armed myself with a steel rake and drag my water hose whenever I am outside.

The Sheriff dispatcher chastised me on the phone and told me to be more indulgent with the raccoons and to beat on pots and pans when I could go outside. They appear to be unphased by this technique!

Born with only two arms and hands, I can only carry the hose and rake and wish for the best and since I am legally blind, I can only hope for that my aim is accurate.

By the way, there were four raccoons, two of them 35 pounds each. They kept watching me. (Don’t turn your back on them or they will be right on your heels!)

Well, I did call a trapper. He advised me to not feed the birds since the raccoons will eat anything and everything. He told me they are looking for food and they can be vicious. We caught two in one day however, last Saturday he put out a defective trap. My friend, Pete, and I watched them go inside and outside the trap with no effective stay in the trap. I decided to go buy a trap myself. I went to Brim’s in Astoria, bought one for $88 and asked a friend to loan me another trap so that we could catch them faster. Well this was bad news to the trapper as he got “ticked off” and there is nothing worse then a ticked off trapper! I have already paid $40 a raccoon for a total of $180. No matter, my $88 trap did the job for two of the raccoons. So much for trapper Glen.

My reasons for this letter are, 1) the raccoons are not an endangered species, 2) they are vicious, 3) they have maimed and killed cats and dogs and 4) now they are after humans day and night. We’re supposed to live in harmony the Sheriff’s dispatcher stated, but if he wants them I suggest he take them home.

P.S. It is about time the Fish and Wildlife start to control the raccoon population in the city proper.

Jeannine Miller

Long Beach