I am currently battling skunks and have also seen a racoon in my yard.
Calling the Animal Control Office is not always the answer. I borrowed a cage from a friend and caught a skunk. Called the Animal Control Office to pick it up. They sent a young lady who appeared to be all of 18 or 19 years old. Must have been her first day on the job as she ended up getting sprayed. The city didn’t even provide her with a $0.99 disposable rain jacket for protection. She departed but i don’t know if she took the skunk with her as i caught another one a few days later.
I called the Animal Control Office again just to have them inform me they now would only pick animals up if they are in a “skunk proof” trap because the agent who got sprayed ended up having to go home to shower and missed half a day of work. So i had a skunk in a trap in the heat of summer. Not real interested in getting sprayed or contracting rabies i wasn’t sure what i was going to do. Somehow the skunk got out of the trap.
The city has since procurred some skunk proof traps residents can borrow.
Can’t shoot them (within city limits). Have used water and smoke bombs but those only work in confined areas and there is a risk of fire.
Transporting them in a trap is also tricky if all your vehicles are enclosed. I caught one in the skunk proof trap a couple of nights ago and relocated it after bagging the entire trap. still stinked up the vehicle (it’s not just their spray that stinks!).
I saw a clearly sick racoon crawl under my porch on a friday at 4:30pm.. called animal control.. this thing clearly was wrong... lethargic, barely moving.... not remotely like a healthy animal would.... I was told they had left for the week and to call back monday....
I said, seriously, I have a likely rabid or other some other diseased raccoon, I know exactly where it is right now, but you can come out in 3 days?
I know they don’t staff 24/7... but still, needless to say, the raccoon went on living what was left of its life somewhere... hopefully no one else came in contact with it.