I just moved into a house that I now realize has a racoon (or several) living under the front porch. I live in an area of older homes. A racoon has hissed at my son in the evening. I called DWB whose message said he wouldn't be back until Oct. 11 (it's the first). No message could be left. Based on some reading it seems that the animal must be killed, and I really dislike that as a solution. Isn't there another?

If you hire a nuisance wildlife control operator to trap the raccoon(s) for you they can release it back onto your property, but you would need to make sure that the access to under the porch has been sealed off so that the raccoon(s) do not just go back once they are released. Unfortunately, in many places there are not enough natural cavities in trees available for the raccoons to use. So they end up making den sites under (or in) buildings. The reason that "nuisance" animals are often euthanized is that there is no place to take them. It is illegal to release them at natural areas and parks. This is because those places already have populations of raccoons, and biologists do not want to possibly spread diseases to those populations. Additionally, the animals that are relocated often try to find their way back home, and in the process may be killed by vehicles. If you can't reach the DWB in your county, I'd suggest contacting the biologist in a nearby county for advice on how best to remove the raccoon(s).