“They just won’t leave”: Woman Has to Call 911 After 100 Raccoons Took Over Her Property

A Washington woman called 911 after what she described as an overwhelming invasion of raccoons took over her half-acre property, crowding around her home, tearing up her yard and making it difficult for her to safely get to her car.

The unusual call happened on October 3, 2024, in Kitsap County, where deputies responded after the homeowner estimated that somewhere between 50 and 100 raccoons had gathered around her property.

WildlifeWarden, a YouTube channel focused on wildlife-related bodycam footage, showed the responding deputies speaking with the woman as raccoons moved around the yard and nearby areas.

“I’ve got anywhere between 50 and 100 of these things,” the homeowner told deputies.

She said the problem had been building for about six weeks and had reached the point where the animals were gathering around her house, scratching and banging at doors and making it difficult to leave.

A Problem That Grew Over Six Weeks

The homeowner told deputies she had lived at the property for 38 years and had seen raccoons in the area before, but nothing on this scale.

She acknowledged that she had fed raccoons over the years, in part because food was also being left out for cats. WildlifeWarden’s host explained that regular feeding can cause raccoons to lose their natural fear of people and begin associating homes with an easy food source.

Once that happens, the narrator said, the animals may start returning repeatedly and gathering in much larger numbers.

The homeowner said she had already tried to stop feeding them, but the situation had become complicated because the raccoons were now waiting around the property and approaching her whenever she tried to move outside.

“They just won’t leave,” was essentially the problem she described to deputies.

At one point, she said the only way she could get from her house to her car was by throwing food in another direction so the raccoons would move away from her path.

That detail makes the situation both strange and genuinely concerning. A handful of raccoons around a yard is one thing, but dozens of animals crowding a doorway turns a nuisance problem into something that can affect basic daily life.

The Yard and House Were Being Damaged

The woman walked deputies around the property and showed them areas she said the raccoons had damaged.

“They’ve tore up my whole backyard,” she said, pointing to moss and grass that had been disturbed while the animals searched for grubs.

She also said they had ripped weather stripping from around a door, climbed onto her deck and damaged parts of the property.

According to the homeowner, the raccoons sometimes gathered on her upper deck as well, leaving waste that she had to clean up regularly.

She said they would also bang against the front door.

“This is the first time they ever rushed me to the car,” she told the deputies, suggesting the animals had become increasingly bold.

WildlifeWarden’s narrator also noted that raccoons can carry diseases that may pose risks to people and pets, including rabies and raccoon roundworm.

Large concentrations of wildlife around a home can increase those risks, particularly when food, pets and animal waste are all present in the same area.

She Wanted Help Removing Them Legally

The woman told deputies she had already spoken with people who were willing to trap or euthanize the animals, but she was worried about what could legally be done on a property measuring only half an acre.

She said one licensed trapper had quoted her hundreds of dollars per animal, an expense that could quickly become enormous if dozens needed to be removed.

“I figured out at least 50 of these raccoons,” she said. “I can’t afford $25,000.”

She also mentioned another person who she believed could legally handle the raccoons under hunting rules, but said he did not want to risk being arrested if shooting the animals was prohibited on a property that small.

The deputies repeatedly explained that they could not simply authorize her to kill the raccoons.

They told her that trapping and wildlife rules fell under the authority of Washington Fish and Wildlife and that she would need to remain within those regulations.

“As far as hunting and trapping, that’s Fish and Wildlife,” one deputy explained.

The deputies seemed sympathetic, but they were careful not to give the homeowner permission they did not have the authority to grant.

That is one of the more interesting parts of the footage. The problem was obvious and immediate, yet the legal solution was much less simple because nuisance wildlife rules still apply even when the animals have become a serious problem.

Feeding Had Changed Their Behavior

The deputies asked the homeowner when she had first begun feeding raccoons.

She said she had done so for many years, although the number had usually been small and manageable.

Before the recent explosion in numbers, she estimated that perhaps six to 10 females and their young might come through the area.

The huge increase had only appeared during the previous six weeks.

The homeowner said many of the animals seemed young and suggested they may have come from nearby areas, possibly around a salmon hatchery. She also wondered whether construction and tree removal in the broader neighborhood had pushed wildlife toward her property.

She said neighbors kept goats, sheep and other animals nearby, meaning there were still possible food sources in the area even after she stopped leaving out food and water herself.

A deputy asked if the raccoons simply waited outside until she fed them.

“All night long,” she replied.

She also described struggling to get one of her cats inside because the raccoons remained gathered nearby for hours.

At another point, she said she had stayed awake until around 1:30 a.m. waiting for enough animals to leave so her cat could come home.

Deputies Call Fish and Wildlife for Guidance

The deputies tried to contact a Fish and Wildlife officer while they were at the property.

They told the homeowner that trapping appeared to be a more realistic option than shooting, especially given the size of the property and uncertainty over local restrictions.

One deputy suggested she might also ask whether some type of court order or waiver could be available, though he emphasized that he did not know whether that was actually possible.

The homeowner made clear that she did not want the animals to suffer.

“I don’t want to kill,” she said at one point, adding that she did not want the raccoons poisoned, tortured or otherwise mistreated.

She appeared caught between sympathy for animals she had watched for years and the reality that the population had become unmanageable.

That tension gives the bodycam footage much of its unusual character. The homeowner was not reacting to wildlife she hated; she was describing animals she had once enjoyed watching but could no longer safely live around.

The Raccoons Eventually Began to Disperse

The deputies ultimately told the woman they would ask Washington Fish and Wildlife to follow up with her and provide more specific guidance.

They again advised that trapping was likely the better route and made clear that they could not recommend shooting the animals.

According to WildlifeWarden’s closing narration, the homeowner stopped feeding the raccoons and continued working with authorities on the problem.

Officials later said the animals gradually began dispersing.

The situation eventually eased without the large-scale removal the homeowner had feared might be necessary.

In the end, the strange 911 call became a sharp example of how feeding wildlife can change animal behavior over time, even when it begins with harmless intentions.

For this homeowner, years of seeing a few raccoons eventually turned into dozens of animals waiting outside her home, damaging her property and making something as simple as walking to her car feel unsafe.