Raccoon -- feeling guilty

[Doug from Elkhart]

I felt bad killing the first one. After seeing what a raccoon did to my rooster, I considered it a necessary part of my predator control program. If you keep chickens, predators will follow. I don't enjoy dispatching any of them, but understand it is part of protecting my flock.

I uh, I gave two raccoons the lead injection Euthanasia a year ago, AND I WAS NOT AT ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT!!! I did it because we've been fighting raccoon infestations for 20 years, and I had had enough. Well, I felt terrible about it, I put special rocks in the spots where the two raccoons died. I sworeI would never kill another of God's innocent creatures . . . Well fast forward, it got way worse we had about 24 raccoons living here in our house, part of our attic is not accessible and they always find a way into that part. So I bought pounds of black pepper and we have been turning on fans radios and lights and one pesky juvenile would not stop coming into our kitchen. Well one of the cats cornered it tonight and I found the two. I lost my effing mind. First I was ok, I grabbed our live trap and put it so that was the only place the raccoon could go but it had other ideas and started to slip out the side, I lost it, I effing lost it, I tried to kill that raccoon, it got away, I don't think I hurt it but now I'm in a personal crisis, I am peace loving, God's Creatures loving, I am not a madman, but I was for about fifteen seconds I was a killer, a dearranged killer. I was ready to choke it out with my bare hands, and now I feel like who the F am I??? I am completely rattled, something snapped in my mind and that poor raccoon was super lucky I opened the front door for it before I got it cornered again. I think it knows now the next time it shows up here will absolutely be the last time it shows up here. I am two people right now and we don't like each other . . . WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME???? On one side the gloves are off and I know the next raccoon dies. On the other side is the sweet guy who would never harm a living creature . . . how do you reconcile all that????

 

[McChooky]

I uh, I gave two raccoons the lead injection Euthanasia a year ago, AND I WAS NOT AT ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT!!! I did it because we've been fighting raccoon infestations for 20 years, and I had had enough. Well, I felt terrible about it, I put special rocks in the spots where the two raccoons died. I sworeI would never kill another of God's innocent creatures . . . Well fast forward, it got way worse we had about 24 raccoons living here in our house, part of our attic is not accessible and they always find a way into that part. So I bought pounds of black pepper and we have been turning on fans radios and lights and one pesky juvenile would not stop coming into our kitchen. Well one of the cats cornered it tonight and I found the two. I lost my effing mind. First I was ok, I grabbed our live trap and put it so that was the only place the raccoon could go but it had other ideas and started to slip out the side, I lost it, I effing lost it, I tried to kill that raccoon, it got away, I don't think I hurt it but now I'm in a personal crisis, I am peace loving, God's Creatures loving, I am not a madman, but I was for about fifteen seconds I was a killer, a dearranged killer. I was ready to choke it out with my bare hands, and now I feel like who the F am I??? I am completely rattled, something snapped in my mind and that poor raccoon was super lucky I opened the front door for it before I got it cornered again. I think it knows now the next time it shows up here will absolutely be the last time it shows up here. I am two people right now and we don't like each other . . . WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME???? On one side the gloves are off and I know the next raccoon dies. On the other side is the sweet guy who would never harm a living creature . . . how do you reconcile all that????

We aren't called super predators for no reason.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I uh, I gave two raccoons the lead injection Euthanasia a year ago, AND I WAS NOT AT ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT!!! I did it because we've been fighting raccoon infestations for 20 years, and I had had enough. Well, I felt terrible about it, I put special rocks in the spots where the two raccoons died. I sworeI would never kill another of God's innocent creatures . . . Well fast forward, it got way worse we had about 24 raccoons living here in our house, part of our attic is not accessible and they always find a way into that part. So I bought pounds of black pepper and we have been turning on fans radios and lights and one pesky juvenile would not stop coming into our kitchen. Well one of the cats cornered it tonight and I found the two. I lost my effing mind. First I was ok, I grabbed our live trap and put it so that was the only place the raccoon could go but it had other ideas and started to slip out the side, I lost it, I effing lost it, I tried to kill that raccoon, it got away, I don't think I hurt it but now I'm in a personal crisis, I am peace loving, God's Creatures loving, I am not a madman, but I was for about fifteen seconds I was a killer, a dearranged killer. I was ready to choke it out with my bare hands, and now I feel like who the F am I??? I am completely rattled, something snapped in my mind and that poor raccoon was super lucky I opened the front door for it before I got it cornered again. I think it knows now the next time it shows up here will absolutely be the last time it shows up here. I am two people right now and we don't like each other . . . WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME???? On one side the gloves are off and I know the next raccoon dies. On the other side is the sweet guy who would never harm a living creature . . . how do you reconcile all that????

 

[FrostRanger]

I uh, I gave two raccoons the lead injection Euthanasia a year ago, AND I WAS NOT AT ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT!!! I did it because we've been fighting raccoon infestations for 20 years, and I had had enough. Well, I felt terrible about it, I put special rocks in the spots where the two raccoons died. I sworeI would never kill another of God's innocent creatures . . . Well fast forward, it got way worse we had about 24 raccoons living here in our house, part of our attic is not accessible and they always find a way into that part. So I bought pounds of black pepper and we have been turning on fans radios and lights and one pesky juvenile would not stop coming into our kitchen. Well one of the cats cornered it tonight and I found the two. I lost my effing mind. First I was ok, I grabbed our live trap and put it so that was the only place the raccoon could go but it had other ideas and started to slip out the side, I lost it, I effing lost it, I tried to kill that raccoon, it got away, I don't think I hurt it but now I'm in a personal crisis, I am peace loving, God's Creatures loving, I am not a madman, but I was for about fifteen seconds I was a killer, a dearranged killer. I was ready to choke it out with my bare hands, and now I feel like who the F am I??? I am completely rattled, something snapped in my mind and that poor raccoon was super lucky I opened the front door for it before I got it cornered again. I think it knows now the next time it shows up here will absolutely be the last time it shows up here. I am two people right now and we don't like each other . . . WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME???? On one side the gloves are off and I know the next raccoon dies. On the other side is the sweet guy who would never harm a living creature . . . how do you reconcile all that????

As much as it stinks, if there are that many living in one spot, a bit of population control needs to be done. Raccoons are no joke and they can mess you up and kill your cat if you aren't careful, not to mention the possibility of rabies
Sometimes the right thing to do isn't what makes you feel good

 

[SourRoses]

how do you reconcile all that????

Because it seems like a serious question I'll seriously answer, but just in case some of that was guy humor that I wouldn't really get, feel free to disregard this. lol

Introspection is the term for looking inwards, delving through the pieces of yourself. Meta-cognition refers to thinking about how you think.
And Self-actualization is supposed to be the pinnacle of personal development, where a person understands and accepts all the parts of themselves, which leads to balance. Notably wise elders might have arrived at this place, but it's unlikely for those of us much younger.

In other words, it's essential to acknowledge that certain parts of yourself exist in order to actually control them. Denial doesn't lead to control. It leads to being blindsided by yourself.

The wolf quote is handy for it's simplicity, but it does have a flaw, and that's the implication that anger is evil. There's nothing necessarily bad about anger. It has a purpose. That purpose is to protect yourself and the ones you love. When it's allowed to spin out of control, or target the wrong parties, anger is destructive. But in its healthy form anger is both necessary and helpful. Using the strength that comes from anger, humankind for millennia has been able to fend off all sorts of critters that would have eaten us to extinction, defend against other humans, and construct social boundaries to form societies with structure that actually work.

So what you say to yourself is, clearly Mr. & Mrs. Racoon have violated your boundaries.
A part of you may want to forgive them. I certainly feel that. But another, valid and respectable part of yourself is saying "No."
Show yourself some loyalty by listening to the "No.". Your cats, chickens, friends and family are also served by the "No."
In this light, it's not wrong or excessive to be angry. But feeling like you don't have control over your response is not pleasant, for either you, your cats, family or friends. So the best approach is to try to solve the problem proactively, while you're feeling calm. Start with finding a way to block off access to your house. Hardware cloth is good for that. Once you have your closest boundaries established, you can push the net outwards to other parts of your property.

 

[bill3607]

Because it seems like a serious question I'll seriously answer, but just in case some of that was guy humor that I wouldn't really get, feel free to disregard this. lol

Introspection is the term for looking inwards, delving through the pieces of yourself. Meta-cognition refers to thinking about how you think.
And Self-actualization is supposed to be the pinnacle of personal development, where a person understands and accepts all the parts of themselves, which leads to balance. Notably wise elders might have arrived at this place, but it's unlikely for those of us much younger.

In other words, it's essential to acknowledge that certain parts of yourself exist in order to actually control them. Denial doesn't lead to control. It leads to being blindsided by yourself.

The wolf quote is handy for it's simplicity, but it does have a flaw, and that's the implication that anger is evil. There's nothing necessarily bad about anger. It has a purpose. That purpose is to protect yourself and the ones you love. When it's allowed to spin out of control, or target the wrong parties, anger is destructive. But in its healthy form anger is both necessary and helpful. Using the strength that comes from anger, humankind for millennia has been able to fend off all sorts of critters that would have eaten us to extinction, defend against other humans, and construct social boundaries to form societies with structure that actually work.

So what you say to yourself is, clearly Mr. & Mrs. Racoon have violated your boundaries.
A part of you may want to forgive them. I certainly feel that. But another, valid and respectable part of yourself is saying "No."
Show yourself some loyalty by listening to the "No.". Your cats, chickens, friends and family are also served by the "No."
In this light, it's not wrong or excessive to be angry. But feeling like you don't have control over your response is not pleasant, for either you, your cats, family or friends. So the best approach is to try to solve the problem proactively, while you're feeling calm. Start with finding a way to block off access to your house. Hardware cloth is good for that. Once you have your closest boundaries established, you can push the net outwards to other parts of your property.

In other words, kill them and don't look back.

 

[Doug from Elkhart]

Because it seems like a serious question I'll seriously answer, but just in case some of that was guy humor that I wouldn't really get, feel free to disregard this. lol

Introspection is the term for looking inwards, delving through the pieces of yourself. Meta-cognition refers to thinking about how you think.
And Self-actualization is supposed to be the pinnacle of personal development, where a person understands and accepts all the parts of themselves, which leads to balance. Notably wise elders might have arrived at this place, but it's unlikely for those of us much younger.

In other words, it's essential to acknowledge that certain parts of yourself exist in order to actually control them. Denial doesn't lead to control. It leads to being blindsided by yourself.

The wolf quote is handy for it's simplicity, but it does have a flaw, and that's the implication that anger is evil. There's nothing necessarily bad about anger. It has a purpose. That purpose is to protect yourself and the ones you love. When it's allowed to spin out of control, or target the wrong parties, anger is destructive. But in its healthy form anger is both necessary and helpful. Using the strength that comes from anger, humankind for millennia has been able to fend off all sorts of critters that would have eaten us to extinction, defend against other humans, and construct social boundaries to form societies with structure that actually work.

So what you say to yourself is, clearly Mr. & Mrs. Racoon have violated your boundaries.
A part of you may want to forgive them. I certainly feel that. But another, valid and respectable part of yourself is saying "No."
Show yourself some loyalty by listening to the "No.". Your cats, chickens, friends and family are also served by the "No."
In this light, it's not wrong or excessive to be angry. But feeling like you don't have control over your response is not pleasant, for either you, your cats, family or friends. So the best approach is to try to solve the problem proactively, while you're feeling calm. Start with finding a way to block off access to your house. Hardware cloth is good for that. Once you have your closest boundaries established, you can push the net outwards to other parts of your property.

I really needed these responses, I am a humerous guy but I was most definitely having a crisis accepting that there is a part of me now that is very clearly going to put any future raccoons in serious danger. I felt like two different people, one is a scary monster I was unaware of. That was quite unsettling. But with people making the point about the raccoons will kill our kitties, it clicked, absolutely that is what that monster is focused on, preventing all the terrible potential outcomes of this. I really really needed to hear someone explain to me how we have different sides and we have to acknowledge that yes, There is a terrible and dangerous person inside when it's required. So what happened is the one side of me that loves all of God's innocent creatures has been ignoring the seriousness of this raccoon incursion while the other side of me knows full well something HAS TO BE DONE and DOES WHAT IS NECESSARY. It was unsavory to say the least, but This group helped me so much with your understanding and thoughtful answers. I didn't know I had that side it was a complete shock, now that I know I have that side the God and Creature loving side realizes it's gonna have to work twice as hard to save the raccoons and get them gone so the other side does not have to be invoked. But now I know there is the other side, and I'm prepared for it if it comes out again I think I can manage myself in a more deliberate and controlled fashion in that mode. Wow it was unpleasant . . . lol

 

[Doug from Elkhart]

I've had two racoons get agressive towards me when I heard commotion outside at night. Some are fearless and like a previous poster said, they are gluttons and will kill just to kill. I don't buy the "just trying to make it" in the world. I've seen them raid a coop, kill a bunch of chickens and hardly eat the meat.

When I first moved to my place, 3 young ones came walking through my place near dusk. Cute little things I thought and never thought of taking them out. A month later, my neighbor lost a lot of birds to racoons. Then I felt guilty - for not taking care of the problem when I had the chance to.

that's a really good point. Obviously we all will avoid taking action if we can, but sometimes the best action would be to do the unsavory task when it needs to be done . . . very good point. Your thing if you could even consider it as inaction was only because you're compassionate. This illustrates as clearly as anything I've seen how compassion can lead to other demise down the road. So basically my comment about feeling so blasted guilty for actually taking action, you have helped me handle this guilt with reason and logic. Thank you, I needed to read your post and it helped me

 

[Doug from Elkhart]

Because it seems like a serious question I'll seriously answer, but just in case some of that was guy humor that I wouldn't really get, feel free to disregard this. lol

Introspection is the term for looking inwards, delving through the pieces of yourself. Meta-cognition refers to thinking about how you think.
And Self-actualization is supposed to be the pinnacle of personal development, where a person understands and accepts all the parts of themselves, which leads to balance. Notably wise elders might have arrived at this place, but it's unlikely for those of us much younger.

In other words, it's essential to acknowledge that certain parts of yourself exist in order to actually control them. Denial doesn't lead to control. It leads to being blindsided by yourself.

The wolf quote is handy for it's simplicity, but it does have a flaw, and that's the implication that anger is evil. There's nothing necessarily bad about anger. It has a purpose. That purpose is to protect yourself and the ones you love. When it's allowed to spin out of control, or target the wrong parties, anger is destructive. But in its healthy form anger is both necessary and helpful. Using the strength that comes from anger, humankind for millennia has been able to fend off all sorts of critters that would have eaten us to extinction, defend against other humans, and construct social boundaries to form societies with structure that actually work.

So what you say to yourself is, clearly Mr. & Mrs. Racoon have violated your boundaries.
A part of you may want to forgive them. I certainly feel that. But another, valid and respectable part of yourself is saying "No."
Show yourself some loyalty by listening to the "No.". Your cats, chickens, friends and family are also served by the "No."
In this light, it's not wrong or excessive to be angry. But feeling like you don't have control over your response is not pleasant, for either you, your cats, family or friends. So the best approach is to try to solve the problem proactively, while you're feeling calm. Start with finding a way to block off access to your house. Hardware cloth is good for that. Once you have your closest boundaries established, you can push the net outwards to other parts of your property.

also being proactive, I have metal now to put over the access hole we just discovered in our roof, little bastards made a big old hole down through our asphalt shingles through the plywood through the drywall and into an upper room we never use. I have severely underestimated their capacity to destroy stuff . . .