Uninvited family of raccoons moves into woman's home on Detroit's east side

DETROIT – A woman and her son are living on Detroit's east side with not just one raccoon, but an entire family of raccoons -- and that raccoon family wasn't invited to move in.

Neighbors said the raccoons are some of the biggest critters they've ever seen and the situation has gotten so bad the family reached out to Local 4 for help.

Raccoons aren't unexpected in most neighborhoods, but most people don't want to live with them. Tara Ford is fed up with sharing her rental property with the nocturnal omnivores. 

"We hear them all the time, it's just more at night," Ford said. "It's to the point where you can hear it over the TV and I've taken a broom knocked on the ceiling trying to scare it. On the scale of one to 10, it's an eight."

Ford filmed a raccoon climbing out of the garage, and neighbors have even spotted an entire family of them. The family has been seen climbing inside Ford's house.

Ford said her landlord told her to have someone come and take care of the raccoons and he would take the cost out of her rent payment, but she has yet to find someone who is willing to deal with the situation.

A Detroit spokesperson said the problem is in the hands of Ford's landlord, who Ford said is passing the issue onto Ford herself.

"Raccoons are dangerous. They will fight you. They carry disease," Ford said.


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.