Racoons in the Seattle area? (Vancouver, Everett: rent, hotel, house)

[Madchen]

I am moving to the Seattle area in a few months from a lifetime of living in Las Vegas.

Do racoons bite? If they get in your house, do you call animal control and will they help you or do they tell you to call a pest control place? How likely is it that one would come inside? And what about those other small animals (marmots, possums, etc) ...are you likely to see them in your yard (I'll likely be in the Mukilteo or Everett area, if that makes a difference) or is it just if you're out hiking? What about skunks? I don't think I've seen a real one before.

I like animals. I saw a racoon by a hotel I was staying at in Anaheim once, and I wanted to pet it but got warned off. I'm sorry if I sound stupid, but I've never lived in an area where small mammals are part of the wildlife. My daughter and I went to Disney World a few years ago and spent a long time outside the gate watching a chipmunk because we'd never seen anything like that before. It will be our instinct to try to pick something up but I realize it's bad with racoons because it makes them lose their fear of humans and I realize they could have rabies.

[allforcats]

If you attack a raccoon, it certainly will bite its attacker, as anyone would.

If you live in the forest or at the edge of a forest or small woods, and if you leave your doors or windows open without screens, or have a pet door that works, and if you leave food uncovered such as pet food or human food, and if raccoons smell the food and decide they want it -- they can get into your house. When they finish eating, they may not know how to get back out of your house, and in frustration will rip your furniture to shreds.

Animal control will come and help you. But it's your job to keep your pets confined, away from raccoons, who can be rabid and/or can kill smaller animals.

Marmots live up in the mountains and have no interest in human pursuits and usually run at the sight of one.

Opossums are around in bushy and wooded areas but are rare. Like marmots, they have no interest in human pursuits and also usually run at the sight of one.

I've never heard of skunks here. Maybe they didn't make it across the Rockies. If they are here, they'll be living in forests, and the ones I knew back east hated humans and preferred to stay away from them.

Humans have no "instinct" to "try to pick one up". That's a deliberate choice you make -- based on your movieous belief that furry animals are all sweet and cute, an affliction of American culture. The wise, mature choice is to look from a distance and not touch, never attempt to feed them or leave food out for them, and to keep your own animals and children away from the dangers of the wild. And the larger the animal, the wise, mature choice is to get indoors immediately and made certain the animal has no way to enter the building you're in, and then call 911.

"Picking up" wild animals of any size makes the animal frantic to get away from you, since being picked up by you is not anything they ever want.
If they bite you, which they wisely and instinctively will do to get you away from them, you will probably contract rabies from any of them. That will mean you will have to go through a several-week-long series of expensive and extremely painful injections.

[jenlion]

What allforcats said.

Eight months in the burbs here and all I've seen from my house and yard is some squirrels and birds. We watch them from the windows and balcony.

In Texas a family of racoons lived nearby (in the storm drain next to our house, I think). We watched all six of them climb a tree one day, then climb down and disappear.

They're fun to watch. You just don't touch.

If you want a cuddly animal... by all means get one if you can. If you will have a house of your own, or if you rent where they allow animals, figure out if you could shelter and care for a cat or a dog. (There are good cat and dog forums on here too... throw a question out there and I'm sure they'll respond with good ideas). Caring for a pet is great for a kid, too. I've adopted out of shelters, both a dog and cats, and had great experiences. I have a wonderful mixed-breed dog (read:mutt!) that is GREAT, and we have a very affectionate cat that is graciously ignoring me... from a foot away... right now.

If you can't adopt due to housing restrictions, you can even volunteer at a shelter. Usually kids have to be of a certain age before they can do that, 12 is the minimum I've seen. I've volunteered too, when I wasn't in a position to have a pet in my home. I went to the city shelter and walked and played with the bigger dogs, sometimes bathed them, sometimes cleaned the kennels. It can be heartbreaking depending on the shelter: best to find a no-kill if you're sensitive that way. Volunteering at a shelter lets you get hands-on time with the animals, and improves their lives by getting them out of the kennels and keeping them socialized (and thus more adoptable). Win-win. The shelter I worked at segregrated dogs with a history of violence or any biting at all, and only let volunteers work with the rest. (Staff had to work with the harder dogs).

While driving around here you'll have the opportunity to visit woods full of deer (stay in the car!) and other animals. You can go on whale-watching trips to see whales, birds (saw a peregrine falcon and a bald eagle on our last trip!), seals, and other water animals. It's amazing the wildlife you see here.

But like allforcats said, you want them out in the wild, not in your house or in your hands.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Originally Posted by allforcats

...And the larger the animal, the wise, mature choice is to get indoors immediately and made certain the animal has no way to enter the building you're in, and then call 911.

:Really? Call 911?

[FrogInTheGlen]

I live in Lynnwood, which is about 15 minutes north of Seattle, and I see/hear raccoons all the time. I'm just off a fairly busy street, so they don't necesarily limit themselves to the woods! For the most part, they won't come in your house if you keep the doors closed, and the ones I've seen tend to get scared and run off if they know people are watching them. I don't mind having them around, since I leave them alone and they leave me alone, but you want to watch pets around them. I've heard of raccoons killing cats before.

I grew up in Shoreline, and we used to get them there, too. So yeah...they're around!

[Madchen]

Thanks for all the great advice!

Well, we do have two cats. One of them doesn't want to go outside and I'm sure she'll be at the window hissing at whatever she sees outside. The other one tries to get out constantly, and once in a great while (if a child or a deliveryman leaves the door open) will get out. I'm really going to have to watch him because he's attacked dogs before and I have no doubt he'd go after a raccoon and probably get beat up pretty badly.

Ok.. so look at the animals -- no touching, got it.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by ComfortablyNumb

:Really? Call 911?

Yes.

[MichaelinWA]

Based on the amount of roadkill I see virtually everyday, raccoons are certainly plentiful in the Seattle area.

A friend of ours in Southern WA (Vancouver) said that raccoons would prey on the fish in her backyard pond, before she put up a fence.

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by Madchen

I am moving to the Seattle area in a few months from a lifetime of living in Las Vegas.

Do racoons bite? If they get in your house, do you call animal control and will they help you or do they tell you to call a pest control place? How likely is it that one would come inside? And what about those other small animals (marmots, possums, etc) ...are you likely to see them in your yard (I'll likely be in the Mukilteo or Everett area, if that makes a difference) or is it just if you're out hiking? What about skunks? I don't think I've seen a real one before.

I like animals. I saw a racoon by a hotel I was staying at in Anaheim once, and I wanted to pet it but got warned off. I'm sorry if I sound stupid, but I've never lived in an area where small mammals are part of the wildlife. My daughter and I went to Disney World a few years ago and spent a long time outside the gate watching a chipmunk because we'd never seen anything like that before. It will be our instinct to try to pick something up but I realize it's bad with racoons because it makes them lose their fear of humans and I realize they could have rabies.

Very simple rules to live by:

1. If it has a mouth, it'll bite you under the right circumstances. Close proximity is necessary for a successful bite.

2. Treat wild animals like a entertaining, yet drunk, total stranger at a big rock concert. They may be fun to watch, but don't take them home, and it's best to avoid direct contact. You never know what they might do.

One other thing, if you buy a home here, make sure there are no branches overhanging your roof that come close to it, or have a lot of vegitation touching the sides of your house. Squirrels and rats (yes, rats) use these things as a path to gain entry into the attic of your home (where it's nice and cozy). Not good.