Tale of a midnight raid...

[startx]

While camping at the Texas Rally at Guadalupe State Park, we made the mistake of not getting everything put away for the night.  We had been very busy on our first night of camp, and didn't quite think like a snacking critter before going to bed.  We awoke the next morning to fresh produce scattered around the campsite.  I always have a three tiered basket for my fresh produce when we camp, and had placed it hanging next to a tree without thinking.

Of the available items for a raccoon to take, doritos, pringles, marshmallows, apples, onions, tomatos, and avocados, can you imagine what they took?  Two avocados, neatly peeled and pitted, and left only the piles of peel and pits behind!  They had taken one bite of an apple, and spit it out next to the avocado peels.  They did also take a bag of dog food, but all the other stuff was untouched.

So, what is the strangest thing you've had raccoons come and eat in camp?  We are usually much more dutiful in putting things away, and we were on all the other nights of the trip.  I was just surprised of all the items they had to choose from, they ate avocados?  They shouldn't even know what an avocado is!

[Martorious]

They were probably having a party and needed them for their quagamole!

[MommaMia]

[soap box mode on]

I have brought this up before but I think that it's always good for a refresher.  This topic may be a good feature in one of the future PUT magazines!

 Being a  Wildlife Control Officer, licensed by the  CT DEP, I get so nervous when I hear about raccoons raiding food stashes.  Keep in mind that in most areas, racoons are a rabies vector species.... basically meaning they have a high likelihood of carrying rabies.  Raccoons have been known to be carriers for months and months without showing clinincal signs of rabies.  Rabies is only spread through infected spinal fluid, brain matter and most importantly, saliva.

If a raccoon were to raid my supplies, anything that could have saliva would be trashed.  Never mind that the bag of chips wasn't opened, or the fruits and veggies didn't look like they were gnawed on.  If it was moved, there is a good chance that there is saliva on it.  Into the trash it would go for me.  And I would use gloved hands to pick up and dispose.  No gloves?  Use empty plastic shopping bags.   If coolers were left outside and could have been investigated by those crafty critters, I would also spray them down with a cleaning solution that contains bleach and set in full sun to dry.   You don't want to be touching the latches that have saliva on it then inadvertently putting your fingers in your mouth.  I know it sounds anal, but better safe than sorry.

[soap box mode off]

[MommaMia]

BTW... avocados are very high in fat, probably the reason why they snagged those.

[startx]

Wow Cindy, that was quite a soapbox.  I didn't go into my clean up methods, but suffice it to say I feel as though it was safe for my family.

I'm pretty sure the reason they took the avocados was the fat content.  Same with the dog food, high protein and fat content.

[MommaMia]

I'm sure whatever you did to clen up was fine!   I was just posting what I would do since I am a complete worry wart!

To answer your ? about what we have had stolen...

A child's toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste!  One of the girls left it on the table before we all went to bed.  Got up the next morning to find a thouroughly chewed and mostly empty tube of toothpaste and the pink Barbie toothbrush was nowhere to be found!

Also, one time my DH was sitting 3 feet from the table, watching the fire as night fell.  I came out of the camper to find a huge raccoon sitting smack dab in the middle of the picnic table holding my full, freshly opened can of Pepsi in both hands, chugging it down!  I yelled "HEY", the raccoon startled, the can of soda went flying across the table, spewing the rest of it's contents everywhere!  All this, just 3 feet behind DH.

[birol]

Sigh .... I forgot our garbage outside and it was raided so bad at the eastern rally, and I collected it all with my bare hands Talk about stupid, how long before I get rabies now ? I washed my hands immediately afterwards though . I hope that helped, live and learn i guess .....

[Martorious]

Sigh .... I forgot our garbage outside and it was raided so bad at the eastern rally, and I collected it all with my bare hands Talk about stupid, how long before I get rabies now ? I washed my hands immediately afterwards though . I hope that helped, live and learn i guess .....

I think you would have to either have had an open cut, or rubbed your eyes or licked your fingers for it to have transferred, even then I think the chances of getting it that way are slim to nil (I don't know how long rabies can survive outside of a host body, Cindy do you know?)

[MommaMia]

I think you would have to either have had an open cut, or rubbed your eyes or licked your fingers for it to have transferred, even then I think the chances of getting it that way are slim to nil (I don't know how long rabies can survive outside of a host body, Cindy do you know?)

You are correct.

 In a Connecticut Wildlife   article published by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division; Vol. 13, No. 3 May/June 1993 This was reported:

 "In order to be considered an exposure, one would have to have infected saliva come in contact with an open cut or scrape, or mucous membranes of the mouth nose or eyes.  

The rabies virus cannot remain viable for very long outside an animal's body and is rapidly destroyed when exposed to open air and warm teperature.  Once the saliva dries, it is considered non-infective."

All documented infects are cause by bites, (mostly by dogs, cats and bats)or by recieving infected tissue from organ donation.  In one case, there was no conclusively determined mean of infection, although family members do report that a bat was found in the child's bedroom a couple months before the girl became ill.  They did not know if the girl had been bitten.  But if you have an open cut and are exposed to infected saliva, it is considered and exposure and post exposure treatment needs to be taken.


While there has never been a documented case of a person becoming infected by an inanimate object, the potential is still there.  Therefore, you should wear gloves when handling objects you think may be contaminated (especially if those object are still wet, say from evening dew) and if you have open cuts or sores on your hands. Disinfection of the possibly contaminated surfaces should be done with solution of 1/2 cup of chlorine bleach mixed into 1 gallon of water.


Boy... I am starting to sound more and more like Cliff Claven (Cheers) with every word I type!  :yikes:


I'm thinking that this change of topic (hijack of this thread) should be moved to it's own thread.  Is that something I do, or does the Admin do that?

[Lablover]

Im thinking maybe a California coon. Probably would have grabbed the sprouts if youd had them.
     Sandy and the gang

[Wild Wild Qwest]

We never leave any food outside.

We had some raccoons pry the lid off of our portable grill and toss it aside at o'dark thirty in the morning. It made a loud crash and the lid had a nice sized ding.

Maybe we all should start leaving a few habaneros on the pick-a-nic table.  :yikes:

[birol]

We had accidentaly dropped a nut container next to the PU one afternoon, we picked them up as much as we could with DD, but there were some left, next morning I woke up to the sound of birds, and knew what was going on, crows or some other bird were going banans on the nuts, but when I opened the PU's door, it was Blue jays !!!! Such a nice view to watch them that close up diving for the nuts ... I think I watched them for 20 minutes or so.

[startx]

I really wish I had some footage of the raccoon trying to get the mixed nuts out of the bottom of that overturned tub.  I'm sure every time they stepped in it, it rolled, I imagine it would have been funny to watch.

We've never had any toothpaste stolen, although think about that raccoon, it must have been popular with it's friends with that minty fresh breath.

Birol - here's a tip for you.  Buy a small box of latex gloves for the camper.  They come in handy for ALL sorts of things, and I use them a lot in food prep.  I don't mind handling raw meats, but just don't quite feel like I can get my hands totally cleaned up afterwards.  I wear latex gloves while working with the meat, and then pull them off and dispose of them with all the germs in the trash.  Especially great if you are making hamburger patties etc.  They are also super for the rare occassions when I want to "bread" something, like fried chicken etc.

Cindy, don't feel alone in your germness.  I always carry bleach, and my dish stand has an extra wash basin specifically for a bleach solution to sanitize the dishes.  I only do it when camping, but I make Brian and the kids do dishes when we camp, and I just worry they don't get them clean enough.

[Steve-o-bud]

We are involved in Indian Princesses, and do quite a bit of camping with my "Tribe", of which I am the Chief. We were up at Silent Valley, having set up camp, and getting ready for dinner. It got dark, so I went to our car to get something out of the back.

When I got to the car, I realized I had left the tailgate open. As I approached, I suddenly felt that someone, or something, was watching me! I looked to my right with the flashlight, and there were a bunch of rancoons, sitting there, stareing at me with their beady eyes!

I then shined the light into the back of the car, and there were four or 5 racoons sitting in my car, helping themselves to bread, hot dog buns, etc.

As I was quite startled, I called out for assistance from my wife, in kind of a scared voice... "Hooollllleeeee!!!" Then, I shouted at the Racoons, and chased them off, using a flag pole with a pointed eagle on the end.

My fellow Indian Princess Dad's, and the girls, thought this was all pretty hysterical, especially me, the Brave Chief, calling out my wife's name to come save me. They have since presented me with an authentic Rancoon Skin hat!

For some reason, they let me continue to be Chief!