N.B. couple wants raccoon roommates gone after critters make home in son's bedroom

They may be cute and cuddly in cartoons, but there's nothing lovable about a raccoon inside a home.

Tara Betts and Dan Dupuis, who live in Riverview, N.B., say a mother raccoon and her baby have been trapped inside their son's room for two days.

They're certain the animals crawled down the chimney and now they've settled in a bedroom.

Betts said they've contacted several organizations for help, but no luck.

"The Department of Natural Resources, the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, the SPCA, animal control, there's been a lot of people I've contacted and either they don't want to help because it's a rabies vector species, or it's not within their scope of practice," said Betts.

Their children are staying elsewhere while they seek a solution.

"We watch them through the camera. They are on the bed, the computer desk. They're rifling through the clothes. They're everywhere in the room," she said.

Clearly frustrated, they've tried everything to get the critters to leave.

Tara reached out on a local Facebook group seeking ideas on how to lure a raccoon into a trap. She received several ideas, including peanut butter on crackers, bananas, cat food and even sardines. The couple have had luck catching raccoons in traps outside their home in the past using an old campfire favourite.

"Marshmallows," said Dupuis. "Yeah, we thought people were crazy when they put that, but sure enough that's what caught the other two. So we figured the marshmallows would catch the mother, but apparently she's a little smarter than most."

Rick McCulloch, the Orkin service manager for New Brunswick, said it's not rare for animals to enter a home or a shed, but setting up quarters in someone's living space is unusual.

He said raccoons can squeeze through a gap of four inches in a wall into a dwelling and make a litter.

"Calling a professional is the best thing to do because they do carry rabies in the Maritimes. So, having somebody with the proper training to deal with them is the best thing," said McCulloch.

McCulloch said when an animal is handled by a nuisance wildlife operator they are obligated by the province to kill them due to the risk of rabies.

Dupuis admits they may have to do that.

"As much as I hate to say it, it's our house. It's not their fault that they came in here. They're just looking for a place to have a family," said Dupuis.

The couple is hoping someone will hear their story and offer a solution that doesn't involve killing the raccoons.