This city's raccoon problem got so bad, they want to hire a professional trapper

Critters are causing chaos for some residents in the Village of Georgetown. Village officials say rundown or abandoned properties are part of the problem.

“Raccoons can get into just about anything,” said Georgetown resident Rick Banyea.

Banyea’s been victimized in the past.

“I've had them get into a pen of baby chickens and kill nine of them in one night,” he said.

This year, he’s seeing more groundhogs. Other residents complained about moles.

“There's lots and lots of them,” said Kelly Jones, Georgetown’s acting village administrator.

Village officials say the critters knock over garbage cans and carry diseases. Sometimes, they can act aggressively towards people.

Jones said he believes populations have increased due to less hunting.

Abandoned or rundown properties are adding fuel to the fire, according to Georgetown Mayor Kelly Bolington.

“Those types of places will draw those critters or animals,” she said.

The properties can be expensive to demolish. In some cases, a small home can cost around $10,000 to tear down, according to Jones.

Public funding is available to assist property owners, but village officials say it can occasionally be difficult to get in touch with them to help.

“Some of the owners are either passed away or family members live out of town, out of state,” Jones said. “It’s hard sometimes to locate those property owners.”

That can make the process of condemning a property and demolishing it difficult.

“The next best possible solution is to really look at public property,” Bolington said. “Anything that's surrounding that area that is public property.”

The village is looking to hire a professional trapper to help reduce the population of raccoons and groundhogs in the area. City council also recently passed an ordinance to regulate private trapping procedures.

“Just a nuisance,” said Banyea. “I usually try to live-trap them … problem is if you get them in a trap and they look back at you, they look so sweet and innocent that I can’t do anything to them.”