She probably has babies in the area and felt you were threatening them. If you are out in the country you are in IT'S home.....not it in yours.

True, but you might want to be sure it's babies and not rabies. I've had raccoons make threatening gestures toward me when I was trying to run them off but never to leave and then come back to threaten. Of course, she could have been running back to check on the babies. I saw a squirrel do that one time when she was fending off a hawk, ran back to check on the baby then came back to run the hawk off.

amen Lisa!

Dusty

Let's not beat up on Cheri here, raccoons can become territorial and territorial over a food source, not just protective of their young. We don't even know if this was a male of female to have young.

We don't know either that she has moved into a new development and displaced them, or is in a 100 yr old farmhouse - either way, a raccoon aggressive enough to make a run at a person sitting still, in daylight, isn't normal and she's within her rights to protect herself.

Cheri, I hope your trapper has had some success. We have a lot of raccoon here in the last few years (my house is more than 80 yrs old as are all the others in the neighborhood - this is a old coastal town with no new residential building happening of importance). By not composting kitchen scraps in other than animal proof enclosures, ceasing feeding any pets outdoors, we've managed to live peacefully with them other than some minor garden damage (Not quite so minor to the woman behind us who has a water feature with fish...she rarely has fish for any length of time and is considering making a bog garden of her man made pond.) - but this takes neighborhood cooperation, one household can't do it alone.

I was trying to be clear that I wasnt beating up on Cheri. I understand her need to feel safe in her own home. I live out in the woods and my house definatly dispalced wildlife when it was built some 50 years ago. In the 5 years we have been here we have worked hard to plant native things for all sorts of critters. My husband and I have the annual fight about his veggie garden, like the critters are suposed to know what they can and can not eat. I just think people should consider what wildlife is naturally on a property and expect to cohabitate. BTW the coons have never bothered my pond I think because the sides are straight down. I hope Cheri was able to work out her coon problem in a safe for all manor.

What works for me living in the woods and having a garden is an electric fence of 4 wires. Squirrels and chipmunks go under the lowest wire, but this year I am experimenting with hardware cloth just below the bottom wire. I am from a farm, have horses, and it is easy for me to set this up.
I bring in all my bird feeders at night because of bears. I am thinking that if the night prowling animals don't find food, then they probably won't come back in the daytime.

Woodlandgal, did you know there would be bears when you moved there? Next year DH is going to do somewhat of the same thing, let me know how the hardware cloth works, he was thinking sheet metal of some sort, sunk a few inches underground and high enough chippers could not get over it. Hes got a 6' fence to keep deer out. Next thing he will be complaining about is the birds I am sure. LOL As far as the bears go ...as Morz8 says it takes the neighborhood to cooperate so we can all live in harmoney. Bears kinda make a racoon seem like a small problem! I am not quite sure I would want to live in a bear or mountain lions habitat but I guess if I did I would have to respect it's home and live accordingly.

I agree with you, Lisa. We live in the country in a hollow in the woods surrounded by acres of woods and farmland. We have a visiting raccoon if I keep out the cat food and the bird feeders but when I remember to bring them in every night, we don't see it. We moved from the city 4 years ago to an existing home that was quite new and there were still signs of the abuse of the land to build this house, so we have made an effort to let everything go back to nature. I look out my back patio door into the woods and see many different species of wildflowers and birds feeding on the feeder. Looking out the front door more birds and vegetation, and the side door a huge trumpet vine being frequented by many hummingbirds. I know there must be inconveniences and problems living here but I don't see them - I appreciate them - coyotes fighting right outside out bedroom windows, the nice skunk perfume permeating the house at night, numerous whipporwills overlapping each others calls ALL night etc. Aaaahhh, what a life. Couldn't get any better. I understand that I am the outsider that moved into their world. There have been bears spotted in this area but I have never seen one, so I don't think I'll even worry about it.

Lisa, there were always bears in our area, but not as many as the last couple of years. I usually pick up the feeders around 8:00, but a couple of nights ago a bear came about 7:30 and took my newest feeder which I had bought to replace the other ones he smashed earlier. I forgot to bring them in one night. When I saw him, he was reaching for the other feeder and I yelled at him. He ran off. Now I am putting an electric fence around the birdfeeding station. I will still pick them up at night though.
So far the chipmunk fence is working well. I haven't seen any signs of them in my garden.

Thought I would chime in as I have a 'coon (or more) coming in my dog door every night to eat the dog food. I stopped leaving any food in the bowls, so he/she/they proceeded to tear open the bag & help themselves. So I bought a plastic container with handles that act as locks. Took them one night to figure that out! Except for leaving debris in the bottom of the water bowl & dirty handprints wherever they climb about, they have done little damage. The dogs usually don't hear them as we only have AC in the bedroom & are in there when the little bandits come. I walked in on one as he was climbing a bookcase looking for the milkbones that used to be on top! He just looked digusted about having to climb down & leave and didn't even hurry much. This was a fairly young one-at least a fairly small one. Over the years I have had 'possums, moles, snakes, 'coons bats and an Eastern Hercules beetle come to call! Luckily wildlife doesn't bother me as long as it stays out of my bed!
Susan

So far you have been lucky it is only raccoons and well behaved ones it sounds like. Having skunks in the neighborhood keeps me from having a cat/doggie door. My dog would still bark to be let out even with a door.

maifleur,
I agree I've been lucky so far, but it's not like they just stroll in. The dog door leads to a set of steep steps (back porch), that leads to a second dog door(basement), that goes to a fenced in area (dog lot). Of course for raccoons it's a piece of cake but I think other critters just get in by accident. Sometimes the second door to the outside is open & that makes it easier & there are probably gaps that a possum can get through now that the fence has been there for years & the ground settled. Finding the Hercules beetle in my shoe Tuesday am was much more puzzling-how did he get in & why was he in my stinky gardening shoe? Also I now have to let my Molly dog out the front as a bad hip prevents her from using the steps.
Susan

The raccoons made their own door into the screen room where we used to keep the metal cans of cat food. They were sometimes able to pull the bale down and get the can open. We no longer keep the cat food in the screen room so I guess it's safe to get the screen repaired now.

cjc45,
Now that's making me nervous. I saw the 'coon (if there's only the one)early Sun am as I was going to the kitchen for a drink of water. It is a young one and was calmly dunking dry dog food in the dog water dish-he waddled on out the dog door. I decided to place the plastic baffle over the door at night until Junior finds a more natural food source.I don't mind sharing but don't want him to become dependent or bring others. There is plenty of wild food right now so once he gets over the shock of being denied easy access to my house he should be fine.
Susan