Help! How do I stop the animals!?

[sheath]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yankee...ain't happenin'. Mostly because I get close enough to insane on a regular basis, I don't need Rush to help it along.

Ummm...BIG dog size. But not a dog. Which scares me to think about, so I'm not gonna think about it anymore. For a while.

I did attach the cans to the house with the bungees, so we'll see if that helps. I also weighted down the lid with the 'river rock' I mentioned earlier. I didn't put it IN the can because then I would have to take it out before I could move the can...and I'm not sure whether I'm just too lazy, but hey, I didn't put it in there.

So...waiting game. We'll see.

Thanks, all.

S.

 

[Willing and Unsure]

you can also try hooking the bungees to each handle (where the bungee is taught across the top) and it should keep the lid on then no matter what

 

[sheath]

you can also try hooking the bungees to each handle (where the bungee is taught across the top) and it should keep the lid on then no matter what

Amazingly enough, I didn't think of that. I guess my mind is just mush today.

I did it, and there's no way in HELL that thing is getting in there now.

Actually, I might not be able to get in there now. LOL

S.

 

[Phoenix Stone]

Hah, good luck. Around here they just Eat holes right thru the cans! Seriously.
Second place I've lived in this town where I've found holes 5 inches across in my big rubbermaid type can. I thought it was raccoons. (And some damned scarey raccoons at that.) Was told by a neighbor that it's SQUIRRELS!

It certainly is squirrels Using the holes. I've seen them going in and out and once my husband pulled off the lid and had one leap right at his face. If I hadn't mentioned seen one going in and out just a few minutes before he'd probably have had a heart attack.

We have two kinds of squirrels around here -- those cutesy, grey ones with the fluffly tales, and these sooty, scruffy, ratty-tailed looking ones that get in the garbage. Their not rats. We have roof rats, too, the size of small cats. Maybe their in-breeding.

This is an upscale, suburban neighborhood, btw, nowhere near any wilderness. They just have no fear around here because everyone's so nice, ecologically-oriented, etc. We get occasional stories in the local papers about things like 'squirrel gets into house, wreaks havoc.' Forget 'The Birds.' Alfred Hitchcock should have written about the squirrels. (the horror.)

 

[Willing and Unsure]

Amazingly enough, I didn't think of that. I guess my mind is just mush today.

I did it, and there's no way in HELL that thing is getting in there now.

Actually, I might not be able to get in there now. LOL

S.

we're all entitled to our slow days.... gosh knows I have a lot of em too.

glad to know that nothing should be getting in there now. Hopefully it will stay that way

 

[watergirl]

eeek!

A squirrel leaped out in his face??!? Oh my god, I would have had a heart attack...

You know, I always thought I was more skittish around small rodents than big ones, but last night, I saw something and I'm not sure what it was.

Today was some big main st. festival shindig, and so access to my parking lot from 6am - 8pm is a NO. So, I had to park around the block on a side street, and walking home I passed some kind of critter in the bushes alongside a law firm... I mean, this is like, quaint little town type town... not big city, not podunk, just 'historic L--".... and there was this THING looking at me from in the bushes, it was walking along the edge of the fence and coming out of the bushes, it stopped when it saw me... It was much bigger than a housecat, like maybe 3x as big... with a pointy snout and under the orange street light and the bushes, it looked white... an overgrown albino possum was my best guess... I walked on past, then had to walk back and do a double take - it was still there looking at me... I would have thought it was a dog, but it had a face like no dog I've ever seen in my life.

Startled the hell out of me.... my other thought than possum was "pot belly pig," because it was certainly sort of like that... I couldn't tell if it had legs like a pig or like a rodent, but it was disturbingly big.

Sorry, just jumping on the weird critter bandwagon. Wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of the thing.

 

[Phoenix Stone]

strange animal hijack

Possums look like pigs, especially they primordial and slow way they waddle. That's probably what you saw.

Did you know that little baby possums hiss?

They have tiny triangular devil faces and they hiss. I was out walking with my husband one night and we saw this thing that looked like a big rat or kitten. when it turned in the moonlight it looked truly evil -- and then it looked at my husband and hissed. Should have seen him jump!
Good thing he moved from a very rural state to California -- wild animals don't seem to like him. Or maybe he looks tasty or something.

For some reason, when I cry outside, admittedly a rare occasion, cats come to me. Toads seem to find me, too. And cute, friendly little dogs bark and growl. What do you think -- Witch in my last life? Guess we all have our strange animal karma to bear. When I was a kid, butterflies used to land on my head.



(guess I should include these, too -- )

 

[sheath]

Cool stories, guys.

Now that I think about that, it probably was a possum. (or is that 'opossum'?) I have seen them get pretty damn big. Though I have never had one HISS at me...that would scare the fuck out of me. I would be afraid of what it might do NEXT. *shudder*

S.

 

[SlickTony]

Sheath, when you mentioned something big the first thing I thought of was a bear. In acknowledged bear country, there are special garbage cans that are said to be bear-proof. I think the lids screw on, or something like that. People in real bear country are required by law to put their garbage in cans like that, or they face a fine. If they'll keep out bears they ought to be able to keep out damn near anything.

 

[Nightbird]

I'm leaning towards what Slick Tony said on this one Sheath. Are we talking like St. Bernard sized big dog?

Originally I didn't think it could be a bear but now I'm thinking maybe it is. And if it's hungry enough to get into your garbage then it is VERY VERY DANGEROUS. You need to be careful.

Any chance of seeing any prints left behind by this animal? That would go a long way in helping figure out what it is.

 

[SIC]

you got a raccon there and if he wants it we will get it they are smart

 

[sheath]

Not "St. Bernard" sized. More like small Rottweiler? That's really the only dog I can think to compare it to. Mostly because that's the only kind of dog I've ever really had, myself. Pit Bull? A kinda mid-size, husky dog. But definitely not a dog. And it did waddle.

I went out there just now and looked again for a place I might have missed, that would show prints...the backyard and all the area around it is very grassy, so prints in mud or silt aren't going to happen. I wonder, if I spread something down around the trash can, if that would work? I'm open to suggestion.

Considering my penchant for wandering around outside at night, it would be a good idea to figure out exactly what it is.

S.

 

[Missingmeds]

Sheath, if you really want to know what it is, do a paw print analysis.

Just wet the ground good and then put some table scraps in the center of it. That way you can get a good track to look at and compare to known animals tracks. That would actually be the easiest way.

 

[SlickTony]

My mother lives in a subdivision where there are lots of raccoons. In fact, they rule the night. It's understood; the cats all come in because the racoons are out at night. It's the custom to lash bungee cords over the tops of the cans, and this generally keeps the coons out. If they're getting in there in spite of bungee cords, maybe we've got something bigger than a raccoon.

 

[sheath]

I'm definitely going to do something to figure out what it is...I've gotten enough PMs and calls from friends who have said, don't fool around with this, you never know...enough that they have got me pretty concerned.

A friend of mine suggested sitting out in a particular place in my yard, and watching for it at night...he loves to hunt and is very good at it, so I'm sure he would spot that thing before it had any clue he was there. And at least he could tell me what it is.

In the meantime, let's hope the bungees work. And that whatever it is doesn't decide to get in the house.

S.

 

[Nightbird]

You know Sheath I just thought of something. This animal is big dog sized like a Rottie and has a lopey type run. What about a large Cat? Like a Mountain Lion, or Cougar? If it is it's just as dangerous as a Bear. What worries me is this thing appears to have no fear of humans or human scent. Thats not a good thing. Also it associates the scent of humans with food. An even worse thing.

 

[sheath]

You know Sheath I just thought of something. This animal is big dog sized like a Rottie and has a lopey type run. What about a large Cat? Like a Mountain Lion, or Cougar? If it is it's just as dangerous as a Bear. What worries me is this thing appears to have no fear of humans or human scent. Thats not a good thing. Also it associates the scent of humans with food. An even worse thing.

I became used to mountain lions when I went to college in the mountains. My first experience with them was the ungodly mating scream. *shudder* Still makes me feel a shaft of fear when I hear that. Then I saw one, in the wild, and ohmyGOD that thing was huge.

Do you think a mountain lion would make it THIS far west, though? In an area like this, that is mostly Delta flatland, in the grand scheme of the national map?

We do have bobcats in this area. But they don't get all that big. I've seen those here and there, and they are just like big housecats, almost. And you can tell the distinctive run it has.

I dunno...

S.

 

[car nut]

Im telling ya a good size bowl of regular old car antifreeze/coolant (same thing but its referred to by both names) animals LOVE to drink it, itll destroy theyre nervous system pretty quickly and no more animal. Its a lil harsh, but if you have a family id rather have an animal suffer a lil then be scared for loved ones.

 

[sheath]

Im telling ya a good size bowl of regular old car antifreeze/coolant (same thing but its referred to by both names) animals LOVE to drink it, itll destroy theyre nervous system pretty quickly and no more animal. Its a lil harsh, but if you have a family id rather have an animal suffer a lil then be scared for loved ones.

Honestly...I cannot do that. Really. I'm not capable of it.

If this is something that really needs to be removed from the area or could cause harm to me or my kids, I will do what needs to be done...even if that means it has to be shot. But I can't kill an animal in such a way as poisoning. Ever.

S.

 

[Machiavellian]

Getting rid of the animal humanely is better than doing it and having the guilt on your shoulders.

 

[SlickTony]

If someone's willng to help by staking the place out you should take them up on it. I'd be dying of curiosity even if the garbage wasn't being scattered.

 

[Nightbird]

Do you think a mountain lion would make it THIS far west, though? In an area like this, that is mostly Delta flatland, in the grand scheme of the national map?
We do have bobcats in this area. But they don't get all that big. I've seen those here and there, and they are just like big housecats, almost. And you can tell the distinctive run it has.
I dunno...
S.

*Scratching my head* Ok I don't know very much about the area you live in, I'm a Canuck after all. I was just trying to guess at what it could be. So I could be totally wrong and making myself look really stupid.

 

[Alyx]

If you’re looking to get prints of the animal, try damp coffee grounds. My grandparents discovered this on accident when a bear and her two cubs tipped over their garbage. The sow stepped into the spilled coffee grounds making a perfect print. After that, my parents used damp coffee grounds around their place to identify bigger animals that have wandered through. So far, they’ve found tracks from both black bear and mountain lions. Just make sure the coffee grounds are thick enough to take the print.

 

[sheath]

Thanks for those responses.

Yes, SlickTony, I admit...at this point, I'm so curious as to what is out there, it's ridiculous. I'm actually hoping it will come back just to see what it is. That one glimpse of it was enough to make me wonder.

I'm happy to report the bungees worked...for the most part. With the exception of the fact that the bungee on the top of the can was ALMOST gnawed clear through by something determined to get in there. It didn't, obviously, but I wouldn't bet on anything for next time.

I'm going to try different methods for paw prints and see what happens.

And of course, I'll let you know!

S.

 

[PinkOrchid]