CNN

Racoons carry rabies,fleas, ticks and are vicious! Wouldn't it be great if they invaded the house and the senate.

al

not funny

LOL

I certainly don't think there are racial undertones here. DC has a fairly serious raccoon and rat problem. They're everywhere.

Maybe those 'coons know all about the recall of peanut butter, being politically savvy republican coons held over from the 'great terror' of the bushie years....gave 'em their bushie tails, eh? Nope, not gonna fool 'em with no tainted peanut butter. Can see it now. A bunch of them lined up on a tree branch on the south lawn looking up at our new fearless leader's house: "Help! Save us! You said you were for change, right? All we want is some of the change the tourist's drop when they walk by your place, right........

Raccoons are very sweet... unless you try to pick them up... *LOL*

Blame it on Bush.

Al, is that what your mammy eats

Look past the color of their coats! They are really Wall Street big shots looking for more hand outs! First they stole the shareholders money and when that ran out they took the taxpayers money for generations to come. Now they are working their door to door strategy. What better place to start then a place where they have been feed before? Once a Bandit always a Bandit. Stop feeding them and they will move on!

good, i hope they get samonelia poison in them and drop dead!

It could be worse. It could be opossums. Opossums are NASTY.

Oh, and to the people complaining about CNN breaking up the serious stuff with a little levity: lighten up.

Kind of reminds me of the mouse in the bomb shelter....

What, they're trying to poison those poor little bandits with Peanut Butter !?

One more thing, peanutbutter is not poison. If you've been keeping up on the tainted peanut product articles you should have seen the one that said peanutbutter was not affected. It's the peanuts in candybars and other food items.

Uh Jon? What word, exactly, would you like someone to use to describe a racoon? Do you want the author to say "black & grey furred scavenging American"? If you see anything racist in this article you have problems my friend. Good luck in catching and these furry little tricksters and releasing them into the wild. I understand it can be quite difficult.

Maybe if you waterboard a squirrel he'll tell you where the raccoons are.....

I think we should put Rush and some racoons in a cage and see who comes out the winner. I'm putting my money on the racoons! (They love gargabe, you know .... they'd eat Rush ALIVE!)

Al-

Nice racist comment. What could be used to lure you into a trap?
Perhaps PBR and Moon pies? If that doesn't work maybe your 12 year old cousin is available.
Still like stereotypes?

Raccoons carry rabies but don't get it, so they need to be relocated. Maybe they haven't been successful because they are trying to "disburse" them (like money) instead of to "disperse" them (as in crowds).

I love raccoons. They are sooo cute. I especially love to see them when they have baby raccoons. The White House is fortunate to have them around. Just leave them alone and they will leave people alone-well unless there is garbage cans around then they are fun to watch as they try to get the tops off.

Once they get that dog, everything will be cleared up. My dogs snack on racoons. mmmm..tasty.

lol You know President Obama must be doing something right now that the 'teeth' are roaming aroud.....

Get those things out of there...

lol seems like a metaphor to me and a good one!

I wouldn't let me guard down with this. It could be a decoy now for something bigger later. Security don't get relaxed and believe a raccoons can't be rigged. Think I'm watching too many movies. Remember the rats in "Wanted".

Just call Pat Summitt, University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach, if you want to get rid of the racoons! She saved her beloved daog from a racoon and hurt her arm in doing so!!!

Al February 6th, 2009 4:51 pm ET
Try fried chicken and watermelon in the traps? Really? Al, your white sheet and cone hat are showing! You and the rest of your red neck republicans need to get a grip on reality! You lost... and nothing you can do is going to change that! I can't stop laughing! *LOL*

This too funny.

The ignorance of the people who think this has racial undertone astonishes me. Have we really gotten to the point where everything is about race? What has driven us to believe that everything has to be this way? Organizations such as the ACLU and the NAACP have made EVERYTHING about race. It is time to stop letting everything be about race and start letting it be based solely on the merits of the man. If the blacks want to have pride in their heritage, let them. On the same token, if the whites want to have pride in their heritage, let them, also, without calling them racists. If pride in your heritage makes you a racist, then we are all, indeed, racists. Get over yourselves and live life in a manner that contributes to the cohesion of America, not the destruction of it.

Raccoons are pests, they need to be eliminated. Try tuna from a can, it worked for my raccoon problem. Then blast 'em!

We used pieces of apple and segments of oranges to catch 8 this summer. Wouldn't have bothered except that they wouldn't leave the pepper plants alone (most years they try a few peppers and decide they're too hot but this year they must have been short of food) and were breaking plants, chewing plant pots, leaving paw prints on window screens, and happy to walk past us, 4 ft away, in broad daylight. They were also dancing on the roof at night (that's how it sounded). They had to go.

If you can't catch a racoon in a havahart you are totally incompetant – I caught 11 at my house in a month. Wear thick leather gloves when you release them but they usuallly run like hell. You should release them in a wild area and resist the temptation to release then in the back yard of your least favorite politician. Maybe that's why there are so many at the Whitw House.

I have wolves in my backyard – and when in Colorado I had mountain lions.

Al, you're a hateful racist jerk.

deb in az – you're spot on. Here in Los Angeles, an opossum was found with a 9mm bullet wound to the head. Authorities took him to a vet and $9000 later, they saved him. That's a lot of money for a giant rat.

I think these racoons are just executives dressed up like little robbers trying to steal some of that bail out money. Maybe they should bait the traps with hundred dollar bills. If they happen to catch some of these greedy executives by accident, then disperse them into the wild as well.

Deb – Ashley Judd is not the only animal lover. Lots of us feel the same way she does!

The peanut butter has been recalled. The raccoons are smarter than we are. they won't touch it.

cat food can give raccoons gout – better to go with dog food.

Al, your comments are not proportional to your age, you can be smarter man, what kind of person are you? this is 2009. wake up

The racoons are most like natural to the area. They do live in cities. They are beautiful animals. They should trapped and relocated to a more natural wooded habitat. Not because they are a problem but because people who are nature idiots don't understand that we've invaded THEIR territory.

I really wish you would learn how to spell. You may be able to get a dictionary for a low price. Please buy one! And please use it!

Is there nothing those pesky Republicans won't stoop to????????

put a can of Tuna in trap also, put a hole near the top and place a wire through the hole and wire it to the cage so the big coons cant carry it off

We had a problem with raccons here in Canada . My 9 yearold daughter came up with a good why to get rid of them. Lace the things you put in the trassh can with chilli pepper and tobasco sauce. It worked for us they never came back . Should work at the White House its the eco friendly way to get them to leave. Good luck

The critters can probably sense the salmonella in the peanut butter bait and are avoiding it. No wonder they can't trap them!

Sardines work the best. Sometimes they are reluctant to just stroll into the big wire boxtrap....put a big cardboard box over the trap, leaving the end open where the door is. It's dark inside and they go right in because they don't notice the wires on the trap. Raccoons have to be moved at least 20-30 miles away, or they will just walk back home! The best thing is a permanent solution and we know what that is. The population has exploded because of a lack of hunting for fur and a lack of predators. Good luck!

Reminds me of "rabbit attacks President" from the Carter administration.

perhaps they read about peanut butter contamination so they are not going for the traps.... some educated raccoon family....

@Aj – you are truly a bottom feeder

Time to call in that nut case from texas,ted the mighty hunter,he has a recipe for them im sure.I just wish he and the alien Predator could meet in combat.

The best thing to use as bait is also one of the cheapest.

Go to the grocery and buy the smallest size can of seafood based cat food. Get the ones that say something like "seafood buffet", they have several different varieties of oily fish scrap. Just before dusk, stir it with a stick to expose a greater surface area, and put it in the trap.

"Nasty Cat Food" will catch raccoons, possums, ferrel cats, and probably coyotes and fox if you had a big enough trap.

Personally, I have no problem with raccoons on the White House grounds. In fact, I think it's cool. They eat insects and rodents for heavens sake! They will guard the White House against rats and mice! Will the Secret Service do that? Raccoons prefer to work nights, and don't need medical coverage!

( Keep a tight lid on the garbage, and there won't be any problems. )

Ohhh the Irony!!!!!

that's racist.

Love those little critters. They are so darn cute. Call off the search for a Whitehouse pet and adopt these RACCOONS!!!!!!!!!!!

What idiots. Raccoons love cat food. Anyone who has ever shared space with one knows that.

Why don't you leave them alone?

well first off .. i would like to say why in the heck are they using peanut butter.. isnt that the stuff that was making tons of folks sick ?

here is how to catch or trap a racoon.

you will need a live trap.
tin foil
and some sardines.

take the tin foil and put it in the back of the trap because racoons loves anything shinny and the sardines are like lobster to them..if they would use that method i promise they will catch them the first night.. jay

@ Tim Fitzgerald February 6th, 2009 4:15 pm ET
I have successfully caught several racoons in live traps this season. They seem to like dry cat food with honey poured over it and apples. That combination has worked for me.
______________________________________________________That seems like a good idea but the problem is that these are a special breed of Raccoons. It appears these are Republican Raccoons. Right or wrong, they are HELLbent on completing their mission at all cost.

They should try cheap, stinky dog food. The family of raccoons that lives behind our house goes through a 40lb sack of Wal-Mart's cheapest in about 20 days. They love the stuff, probably because it's made out of other raccoons, euthanized cats and dogs, chicken feathers and other wholesome ingredients.

Raccoons can carry a particularly dangerous roundworm which can kill a young child or disable an adult. There is no effective treatment. The eggs are shed in the feces and can persist in the environment for years. These raccoons need to be caught, tested, dewormed, and relocated ASAP.

Love those little critters . True, they can be a pest, but their so darn cute. Forget the

As a homeowner who has trapped and relocated over 50 raccoons in the past few years (I began using food dye on them post capture to make sure I wasn't re-trapping the same poor guy over and over) I recommend a sure fire bait – cheap dry cat food. They can't get enough of it, and it they get a little snack too...and no salmonella-laced peanut butter

They like to eat marshmellows. Give them a treat before you send them to the wild.

Due to their masked facial markings and their cunning harvest of easy to obtain rewards, raccoons are also known as bandits. These may be, in fact, bankers looking for more low hanging fruit. Please capture and contain them.

But the traps, which include peanut butter and apples as bait, have yet to allure any of the pesky mammals.

Smart raccoon – They know it is a bad batch of peanut butter!

I just fly around in my helicopter and shoot them. They scare the moose and bear that we love to eat.

use a bowl of Cat or Dog Food as bait. Pesky little things always raid pet food when its on a porch, and the trap has to look natural as these are sharp little pest.

Heck they don't even like the porkulus package either.

animals are highly over rated

I say pollute as much as you want and everyone needs a gun

no limits on guns, and carry them anywhere, in city limits etc

lord knows any limits on guns is against the constitution

lets allow shooting of the animals in city limits, otherwise we are taking NRAs rights away

pesky animals, club the seals, melt the polar ice cap, Bush would've wanted it that way, and so does Palin, and Rush too!

We don't need no stinking nature – I think China has the answer thats best, ever smelled the air in China? Don't let love of nature get in the way of free enterprise, don't put limits on my guns

Lets allow shooting animals universally from Helicopters all accross the U.S.

Fish is what they'll go for... not peanut butter!!!

We used a deep fried apple pie like you get in a grocery store. It worked. We caught a couple of the buggers. I don't think the pest control guys released them in the wild, I think they ate them!

Try sardines.

Apple's and peanut butter?? wow i didn't think those would bring in raccoons. But what if the raccoons are allergic to peanut butter? and if they died having it would that be a crime...I BELIEVE so! But this is just a pointless topic. Like really. Do we really care that theres raccoons all around the White House??? COME ON PEOPLE....get a life.

I think those raccoons just want to know how is the stimulus package can help them.

Raccoons love bacon. My family has caught them in from 5 to 45 minutes using a racoon-sized Havahart trap for release into the wild. It's on the instructions with the trap that this is their favorite food.

I never heard of any such problem before. Did someone idiot pull a stupid "A" prank, or is this a real problem? God, please keep my First Family safe.

Don't mess with the raccoons. They all carry radios and know what's going on.

Actually Racoons are not the funloving creatures as seen in Disney, but can really do some big damage, especially to hands.They may look cute, but keep your distance, after thry are WILD animals.

They can and sometimes do carry rabies, so don't play around with these guys, unless you like pain.

Let experts handle them, that is unless you enjoy the possible rabies shots. I have seen some of these guys popping out of storm drains late at night and these were rather large and hungry guys

This is hardly news...what is news is how did CNN stoop to this level of priorities when it comes to journalism

This would make a good comedy movie.

You might really want to consider rewording the tittle of this article.

Put a Glazer Doughnut in the trap for bait........It works here in Iowa. The little trash raiders cant resist!

I think rush and sean had something to do with this invasion .

Smelly cat food works:)

@ Amber's Caddyshack reference. I immediately thought the same thing. Maybe they need to remember what Carl said and take his advice: "I have to laugh, because I've outsmarted even myself. My enemy, my foe, is an animal. In order to conquer the animal, I have to learn to think like an animal. And, whenever possible, to look like one. I've gotta get inside this guy's pelt and crawl around for a few days."

Raccoons are ornery little fellers. From my own experience, they have a liking for the leftover Chinese takeout found in my former neighbor's topless trash can. Pork Lo Mein, that's how you trap yourself a raccoon!

Put some cat food in those traps. They love that!

You mean the inhabitants of the White House cannot coexist with a band of raccoons? That's pathetic!!! Leave them alone, all they want to do is live in a safe place, raise families and lead quality lives. Sounds just like the rest of us. What a disgrace it would be if the freaks in charge killed a few defenseless animals because they simply could not cope with another species. Kill the republicans instead, they're bigger targets and more worthy as wall trophies.

Quick! Call Mooseburger Palin, call in a chopper and she can get them fron the air, if she can't make it, call Cheney, have him bring his shotgun and he can shoot them in the face. Both have great experience in killing things

CNN, This only a JOKE!!! I repeat This is only a JOKE!!

Let the wildlfe just stay where they are or have Caribou Barbie or Cheney take them home. Both live close to the wilderness and Palin can see the forest from her home

watch the killing of the racoons or that nut ashley judd will be beating down your doors! she should make an effort to go to alaska and take in all the over abundace of wolves so they dont kill all the carabou off...shes got the money and could create a santurary for them in calif

At one time, raccoons invaded the building where I worked. Facility Services used peanut butter and tuna fish in their live traps; though it took a few days. They need to watch for mice and rats, too.

I love raccoons. They are great teachers about the masks we wear. When my mother-in-law lived outside Santa Fe, NM we had one get in under her trailer with her young ones. My mother-in-law told me I needed to close off all the openings to the underside of the trailer as they were very busy clanging on the pipes at night and we could not sleep.

I told her that there was no way I was going to seal off anything and jeopardize her babies and incur the mother's wrath as I had a young child at the time and it was against my principles.

My mother-in-law was not happy, however, I stood my ground. Several days later I came home from work and walk around the corner and there stands the raccoon at the bottom of the stairs to the front door. I sure was startled. I had no idea they were so tall. However, we sized each other up and I silently asked her if she could please find another place to live in the next several weeks as she was keeping up my mother-in-law who was old and feeble and needed her nightly rest to be able to function on a daily basis in a reasonable manner because I was gone during the day.

Guess what? She moved by the end of the week with her family.

Raccons can have rabies. They need to catch them and if healthy put them in the wild.

Shari: No, a GROUNDHOG bit Major Bloomberg on Groundhog Day, not a racoon!

You are using the wrong bait. Use canned cat food. I have trapped and relocated seven racoons and two feral cats from my housing area in the past few years.

I have trapped many, many raccoons and the bait to use is cat food. It never fails. And I have never trapped a cat – too smart for it.

I WISHED one of those raccoons would take a big BITE out of the butts of Lindsey Graham, John Boehner, John McCain and all those other Republicans idiots for their continued show boating when it comes to the stimulus plan! LOL.

I hope they catch these little mean animals. There are 2 small children running around this could be very dangerous.

This story is better than the Etta James and Beyounce one. I like raccoons, as long as they stay outside and mind their manners.

Raccoons can be viscious, dangerous animals. They have a nasty bite and they can carry rabies.

I'd suggest tuna in the traps. Get them used to feeding in a certain spot at night. Get them used to eating things with your smell. Then get the traps in closer and closer and closer until the bait is in the trap.

Some night vision gear may help, even the cheap sporting goods store variety.

Hey leave them alone. They are just looking for some bail-out money for their crib!!!!

I used to have trouble with racoons in my yard,,mostly because we also had dogs, cats ,rabbits and geese. Coons will eat almost anything, but marshmallows work well in live traps. Disposing of them afterwards is a problem. If you turn them loose in the wild there will be conflict with coons already living there, but you can turn to the department of conservation for advice.

Forget the peanut butter and apples. Raccoons like peanuts in the shell. Just throw them around and some in the cage. Used them for years. Good luck

instead of apples and peanut butter use 9-lives dry catfood and they WILL come for that.

You can't blame them....they're just looking for their share of the stimulus package. Every other special interest got a share.

"Allure" is a noun, not a verb. The word you want is "lure".

You will have to take the raccoons very far, hundreds of miles, or they will return.

Whether their presence was calculated or not, the poor things are running out of places to go. That's why they learned to shapeshift. ^_~ Can't track down em' down when they blend in. Just watch Pom Poko. Raccoons rock!!!

I hope those raccoons are descendants of Calvin Coolidge's pet raccoon, which he kept at the White House

Under the Bush administration, the raccoons would have been rounded up to be water boarded in Gitmo. Sarah Palin would try to hunt them down with helicopters. No wonder the critters waited until now to visit the White House grounds.

Even the raccoons know to stay away from peanut butter...

Racoons are supposed

to bring good luck to the homeowner

and they are very smart. Good luck !!

The racoons know better than eat the peanut butter. They have been watching the news from the front lawn of the White House. The Parks Service need to get more creative in their catching endeavors.

No matter how hard you push the garbage can lid down they will still get in and rob you blind.

These cute masked furries love vanilla sandwich cookies–any store brand will do–and absolutely place the cooikies next to a bowl of water–they like to "dunk".

Are you going to kill the little racoons? why dont you just put them in then wild ?

This, if accurate, is a simple problem to fix. They love cat food and are quite easy to tame down. I cannot believe that Park Service folks are that clueless.

Sprinkle mothballs around the areas frequented by raccoons. After a few hours the smell won't be noticeable to humans, but animals will smell it.. It won't poison them, but will drive them away. I have had to do this to keep raccoons away from my koi pond. Given young children and an impending puppy, the raccoon problem should be dealt with as raccoons are known carriers of rabies. PS. I recommend a standard Parti-Poodle for a pet. They are the original poodle, allergy friendly, medium to large sized, long lived, few if any health problems, very intelligent, and a wonderful disposition. I have three standard poodles from Sisco's Distinctive Poodles. Best dogs I've ever had.

Get a "Havaheart". Oh God! Peanut butter as bait. What do you do with a pack of raccoons with salmonella? On further thought, maybe its a bunch of Republicans in costume looking for a handout.

Anybody ever seen a 300-lb. raccoon? Saw one (who'd apparently been feeding at a restaurant dumpster) when I was coming from voting. Fortunately he/she didn't see me. OMG! Serious fear.,,

Looks like those little critters are smarter than the humans in the White House... maybe they can offer some suggestions for getting our country out of this financial mess. After all, they have everything they need and appear to very content!

@ "Proud American" – if you were truly proud, you wouldn't bash "eco-friendly" people who are trying to make sure your children and grandchildren have clean air and water when they grow up. Stop talking trash and start picking it up.

Let them alone. It's nice to know at least some type of intelligent creature frequents the WH......

They should try blueberry muffins. I've caught no less than 5 racoons with these muffins. Please forward on to the White House.

Oh for heaven's sake. You use cantelope (cut up in small pieces) and grapes and some balogna. It rarely fails. It's flippin' freezing and they're hungry. It's the global warmin' dontcha know.

how cuute! how funny!

Why does everything have to be about race? It is possible that raccoons decided to move into the white house.

More and more of their land is being developed.

The raccoons are probably just being themselves. For one, if they're making themselves at home, THEY probably planned for them to be there. They're behaving like typical urban wildlife; they've found a place with few predators, good water, food, and shelter, and are being their resourceful selves. Racoons are awesome in their adaptability, and I love 'em, which is why I'm an EX trapperman. And FWIW, peanut butter maybe but apples no. Cheap canned cat food worked for me for years.

They're too smart for most traps.

PEANUT BUTTER for bait – that stuff is being recalled!!!! Where is PETA. If Bush used salmonella peanut butter it would be headlines.

They're searching for single payer national health insurance around the white house.

Bait the trap with raw chicken skins and you will catch them in no time.

they are in a hard time too so lets feed them and care for them.

Will be release into the "wild?"

Do they have any "wild" on the East Coast?

Only in Washington would this be a problem or newsworthy. Trap them, kill them and don't think twice about it.

Has the press found a way to blame this on Bush yet?

These are smart raccoons – they know when someone's trying to pawn off their recalled peanut butter on them!

Heck, they are smart critters. They would come to our camp site, take the tarp off the food, eat the bread and leave the crust and then put the tarp back. Maybe we could send some to Congress. We need smart critters there.

Quick, get rid of them before the Dems add $6 billion to the stimulus for raccoon care. Oops, too late.

Bring in Sarah Palin in a helicopter and let her take care of 'em from air!

you people are ridiculous in your claims about salmonella tainted peanut butter. Raccoons are scavengers that will eat almost anything in a garbage can, their stomachs can handle just about anything you throw their way.

Canned fish like mackeral, traps them everytime.

Grow up people. Your juvenile comments about the inauguration crowds are pathertic.

That said, they should try dry cat food for the bait. It seems to draw the raccoons to my back porch all the time.

ANY SCAVENGER WILL INTRUDE YOUR TRASH IF IT'S NOT SEALED AND COVERED. I GUESS THE WHITE HOUSE IS NOT
VERY TIDY IN WHAT GOES OUT THE BACK DOOR. NOT VERY
GOOD SECURITY AT THAT HOME----

NAM VET NH

Tell them to put sardines in the cage if the what to catch them

Just some more bankers trying to get more of the bail out money. Give them and the rep. some peanut butter

The trappers need to use canned sardines in oil.I've used them in the past with great success.

Leave them alone.. They are probably smarter than the majority of Congress . (Which isn't saying a whole lot...)

Local Animal Control dumped a can of dog food in a have-a-heart trap and caught a particularly pesky raccoon in my yard in one night.

They heard there was a section (pork) in the stimulus package so they're just showing up for a portion before it gets removed.

Pesky??? Raccoons are beautifully smart aminals. My biggest problem with them is they break into my squirrel feeders.

But these raccoons, these raccoons are so smart they where able to make their way through a city to arrive at the White House for their handout from the Spendulus package. Smart!!!

Try canned cat food. When we trap ferals, we get racoons and opossums a lot (and release them of course .

Peanut butter– are they trying to kill the little buggers.

Never had furry pests running around for 8 years, and now?? Maybe it is the CHANGE they want! Take out the trash and they will go away...

I , Guess I will have to repeat!! IF the GOP,and SEN. McCain have all the solutions to solve the economy,WHY???,OH WHY are we in this mess. BUT of course their income is not in jeopardy,or is it?maybe in pork

It's funny because I don't care

this story seems potentially offensive,
just a thought
why not cover news cnspin?

By watching the news in the last few weeks, are we living in the same country. Itseems to me that the politics as usual. Are we forgetting what the last eight years were like. The republicians are forgetting they were in charge six of those years. If I amnot mistaken the dificet doubled in those eight years. There is enough blame to go around, please do the job you were sent to Washington to do.

Hey! My opinion once more is to invite them as non voting members of congress for the stimulus bill. They may offer an idea or two. How are they affected by the bill? Anybody needs to know?

We had racoons once and momma chased them off the back porch with a broom!

We kill em' an eat em down here in Mississippi. Racoons that is.

In regards to trapping these pesky varmits, try using something sweeter, like powdered koolaid. I have found that certain families like grape the best.

Happy Hunting

- TJ

No wonder they aren't catching them...they're using the wrong bait! Even the racoons have been watching the headlines and they know to avoid peanut butter!

Name them W and Dick.

Sardines and a dish of water. Racoons like to wash their food first!

What is "the wild" where they are to be disbursed? Rock Creek Park? Anywhere in NE Washington?

More seriously, I was ordered by my local animal control officer here in NJ to release the raccoons who invaded my garage right back into the neighborhood. It is not right to relocate raccoons to some other area and place them in competition with the family of raccoons that have staked out their own territory.

Use salmon skin or shellfish and they'll get into a bobcat size cage. I promise. They can carry rabies and should not be around the kids or their new puppy. Then.......
Send 'em to Sarah and she'll take care of them!

I love my little raccoon visitors!

F.Y.I. they are especially fond of red seedless grapes and non-poisonous, unsalted peanuts in the shell.

Jeez, I can't believe the comment thread on this became political. The raccoons arrived earlier in January (when we had President Bush) and are here still (we have President Obama). The non-political groundskeeping staff at the White House is trying to capture the raccoons. Anyone reading politics in this is really pathetic.

Just wait for the Armadillo Attack Squad.

As relocating raccoons is essentially just dropping them off to be someone else's problem, I suggest freeing them in some republican's backyard.

Better yet, ship them to Rush's estate.

OF COURSE WE KNOW, CHENEY LEFT THE RACCOONS BEHIND!

Can Sarah Palin shoot them from a helicopter?

Raccoons are scary wild animals. When I was a kid, I used to accompany my brother or sisters to throw the garbage onto the dumpster. The scariest thing to us, were the raccoons. They looked scary at night.....

Just don't use the recalled peanut butter on those racoon traps.

I like how the article says they will release the racoons into the wild right after they trap them. Yeah right....they are baiting them with peanutbutter (salmonella).

Make sure you don't give them salmonella with that peanut butter! You'll have Ashley Judd down your throat.

Bananas, marshmallows and grapes. Anyone who knows raccoons knows that. Peanut butter is for squirrels.

Oh dear, time to get rabies shot!! NOW!!! Everyone working there!!

I do hope they didn't get the peanut butter from that plant in GA....

Let them stay. Yes they can!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try fried chicken and watermelon in the traps.

SARDINES!
For you American friends please....
YOU MUST OPEN THE CAN!

Maybe raccoons are smarter than we think. They know enough to stay away from peanut butter.

And here I thought that bandit was Nancy Pelosi.

"And it's always nice to see an animal outsmarting a human being. "

We are talking about Washington here, remove brains and common sense upon entering.

I say lets kill em' they're probably linked to al-queida

Ethen...lighten up. Christmas is over. You can take off the grinch costume.

Marshmallows work really well as bait for raccoons. They should try that instead.

Maybe if there wasn't so much trash left by the eco-friendly crowd at the inauguration, there wouldn't be a racoon problem in Washington.

I'd worry more about republican rabies than racoon rabies.

On another note, I'll bet Palin is saying this is one more reason she and McCain should have been elected. She would have used a moose gun on a racoon.

Not news, move on to continue fixing problems. We can goof off when we're back on track again.

I used to used fish

Traps with sardines and juice from the can is what works to catch raccoon's. Believe me, it worked at my house in Houston.

Get rid of them they are a big carrier of rabies.

It's obvious. The raccoons are Republican spies! I know that may sound far-fetched, but no more so than some of the other whacky ideas the kook libs have thrown up on these posts.

I bet they can even tell that the stimulus plan is garbage. Hmm, maybe that's why they're hanging around.

Raccons? Can this not be more obvious!

I don't like the racial undertone but I do think the White House has been invaded by a person that is going to turn the country upside if something isn't done about it!

Cute but destructive. My husband and I had a family of racoons living in our attic and I would listen to them run up and down at night. It was funny, but they sure did make a mess.

This is about as non-newsworthy as it gets. Thanks CNN.

You can use peanut butter to bait a racoon. But what works better is to use shiny objects, like aluminum foil or little mirrors. Try those in the traps instead.

Good luck. The racoons in my parent's yard sneak into their house through my parent's dog door. They are smart, hard to trap, and very pesky. Even if you catch them in the trap, they are able to escape. Mary D

This is a stupid story. The headline is misleading. No where in the story does it say that there are any raccoons in the WH. But you think the story is cute and funny. You are amazing. The story is a worthless , not worthy of being printed, however I am sure it made someone day.

Try marshmellows – we had a racoon problem and caught them using marshmellows, which they can not resist.

Good for the raccoons. We all deserve a place on this earth and what better place than the White House.
Thank goodness our President is a caring human being and not some trigger happy has been.

To catch a racoon in a live trap the best bait to use is an open can of sardines. You must also secure the trap to the ground as these varmits are very smart, and will turn over the trap to get a free meal. Good luck, and good hunting!

A raccoon bit Mayor Bloomberg when he was at a Groundhog Day ceremony in NY. These little critters are not joking with polticians.

Seriously, "anonymous" you want to make this racial?? How ridiculous is that!

I'm with Gene. Just cut little Sar-Sar loose with her AK 47 or something and the problem will be solved !

Traps?? Get one red neck, pay him $20 and say he can use the meat to feed his family. Problem solved! Very economical and "green" too!

@ Anonymous – The racial tone is very clear. It's sad that someone probably released the racoons onto the grounds.

PULLLEASE!! Only a racist moron would see this as being racist.

Use marshmallows for bait. I know the raccoons that used to come to my backyard LOVED them!!

They must be looking for a bailout too.

Peanut Butter! What? Are they trying to poison them? (just kidding)

A bit of advice. If you wish to get rid of the racoons, just spread large amounts of cayenne pepper around the areas they have been seen. It works like a charm, their sensitive noses can't stand the stuff, the hotter the better. Maybe they will end up around the senate office building, where the senators can argue, and argue about what to do with them. They will probably hire Sarah Palin to come in with her helicopter to get rid of the pests. Can't wait to see the you tube on that.

Every raccoon knows that peanut butter with apples is entrapment food, so they'll stay away. Try table leftovers and a big bowl of water for that after dinner wash-up. And most likely, those raccoons are a family unit.

This is not news.

Only idiots would be trying to catch a carnivorous animal with fruit and nuts.

Those critters are actually Cheney, Bush, Hannity, Limbaugh, Romney, McCain and Palin in disguise.

They all seem to have so much input about the mess their party made and expect someone to wave a wand in TWO weeks that took them EIGHT years to mess up!!!!!

Try to talk your kids into a West Virginia Blue.

Life altering news. Bravo.

I'm sure its GWB's fault

Anonymous.... get a Life. You must be a true left-wing wacko to be playing the race card on this one! Raccoons are incredibly adaptable creatures that can thrive anywhere.

They are Bush & Cheny reincarnates coming back to create more havoc for the American public. They just cannot seem to get enough of ruining the country..so they are back with an odor.

Use sardines as bait. It's like a raccoon magnet. Works for me every time...

I'm surprised Cheney didn't blast them with his shotgun.

My great grandfather was a famous tracker/trapper here in West Texas, back in the day. The thing that works best for raccoons is sardines, with a lite coating of sweet oil of venice.

@ obama all the way – Racoons are not beautiful, they are scavengers and are quite mean. They need to be in the woods where they belong, not the White house...Derka Der.

i'm sure racists will have a hay day with this one....

The Plum LineGreg Sargent's blog

Latest Cuts To The Stim Package: Head Start, Child Nutrition, Food Stamps Public Transit

I’ve just obtained an internal Senate committee memo detailing the latest cuts being eyed by the gang of Senators being led by Dem Ben Nelson and GOPer Susan Collins. Here is what’s being eyed in the bill right now:

*****************************

Total Reductions: $80 billion

Eliminations:

Head Start, Education for the Disadvantaged, School improvement, Child Nutrition, Firefighters, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Prisons, COPS Hiring, Violence Against Women, NASA, NSF, Western Area Power Administration, CDC, Food Stamps

*****************************

Reductions:

Public Transit $3.4 billion, School Construction $60 billion

*****************************

Increases:

Defense operations and procurement, STAG Grants, Brownfields, Additional transportation funding

*****************************

Nelson spokesperson Clay Westrope confirms the authenticity of the memo, adding that the figures obviously could change. But this is currently the general direction.

As you can see the amount being cut appears to have fallen, to a total of $80 billion, though Westrope says the actual number is closer to $100 billion. Also, it appears some of those cuts are being maintained even as defense funds appear to be getting added.

Those raccoons are smart. If they had been caught during the Bush/Cheney administration, they would have been tortured. Thank goodness there's a new sherrif in town.

Racoons are very smart animals, they know the peanut butter contains samonella, so change the bait.

One thing for sure is, they need to be trapped before the Obama's get their puppy or the puppy will become racoon meat.

There are too many of you talking about how cute they are and to leave them alone. You obviously have no experience with racoons. Although cute, they are far from cuddly and are actually a menace. They are extremely intelligent and too brave for their own good. They are aggresive animals and will do nothing but create problems.

If W was still in the White House, they be dead by now. He would call his Dick to shoot them off the property.

Let the poor things alone. I think that a touch of nonhuman wildlife around the White House is just great. The occupants need to learn how to cope.

Just let them be. We live inside the perimeter in Atlanta and have raccoons, possums, a coyote and 2 foxes. Whoever let them loose, live and let live. At least, this has made me laugh when there is not a whole lot to provide a laugh.

For God's sake. Cajun is offensive to your moderators? I would be willing to bet Sarah Palin is more offensive to your bloggers.

If they are rabid they are Republicans.

I'm sure bush left the other half of his family when moving out of the white house.

Anonymous: I think I speak for everyone here in saying that you're an idiot.

Just put the sniper team stationed on the roof of the white house to good use. Im sure they wouldnt mind some target practice. Its a joke people calm down lol.

Cajun's love raccoon. Let's eat!

Anonymous I thought the same thing.

Tell them to bait with canned sardines. I've caught plenty that way. They can't resist.

Anonymous @ 4:12, raccoons are rodents that can be found in any urban environment anywhere.

They probably came to the White House because it has a big lawn, some earthworms, a few trash cans to dig through, and no predators.

I live in Los Angeles and despite being in the middle of a vast urban sprawl, I get raccoons in my backyard sometimes.

So I think that claiming someone released them onto the grounds to reference the shortened version of the word "raccoon" in relation to the race of our president is a bit like our friends on the right wing saying that they faked the moon landing.

Peanut butter?! Are they trying to give these poor racoons salmonella???

And 10,000 bigoted jokes are born.

And the concern over the racoons is? I have some around my house... should I be afraid?

For Pete's sake. Send in a couple of Cajuns, a big stock pot, some butter and flour...and you'll have gumbo before dinner.

Raccoons are OK, keep GOP as far away from White House as possible!

Relax people, peanut butter is fine, it's the spread that's used on some premade crackers that's the danger. The raccoons will be fine. Can we worry about the serious stuff now.

it's raccoon & beans time...for those poor, uneducated, mainstream republiklans who looks up to rush limbaugh & sean hannity for their hate-filled gibberish talking points!

rush limbaugh & sean hannity are getting these hilibilly's fooled – advocating for millions of dollars of tax cuts to line their pockets while you clueless idiots will be eating raccoon & beans!!!!!!

the white house get aplenty – go help yourself republiklans!!!!

Why are they giving these beautiful creatures peanut butter...have they not heard its TAINTED!?!

'sides...we know that McCain and Palin put them there!

This could be job for palin at white house. Shes good at hunting isnt she?? HAHA

Smart raccoons! They know the new White House residents love nature & the environment! Hope the Park Rangers don't use any tainted peanut butter, as we don't want these crafty critters succumbing to human food errors! Former raccoon visitors to my home enjoyed my attic & chimney, so check the White House chimneys, too!

Didn't they have a group of beavers that were nawing down the cherry trees and others along the Tidal Basin some years ago...Where are all these animals coming from. Raccoons can be dangerous there are a lot that are rabid.

Notify the half-wit the raccoons are on the premises!

But let her know the airspace over the WH is a no-fly zone, so she needs to leave helicopter in Alaska.

Then let us all know about the raccoon stew when TMZ interviews her about how Levi was named after a pair of jeans!

Isn't raccoon a racial slur about African Americans? ITs either that or coons.. Bad wording on the authors part

They are probably aware of the contaminated peanut butter!!!

I smell a Disney movie in the making...

To hell with the Labradoodle: let the Obama girls adopt Bandit and the Gang.

What they didn't tell you is the 3.7 Billion Dollar Raccoon project will be added to the stimulis package...

This part actually worked... as the two trap guys got some work out of it... at just over 1.85 Billion each.

LOL... slow news day eh?

I have successfully caught several racoons in live traps this season. They seem to like dry cat food with honey poured over it and apples. That combination has worked for me.

The Secret Service might want to scan them for "bugs"...

Maybe they read the news reports about the tainted peanut butter?

Seriously, raccoons are clever cusses. They can also be dangerous for several reasons...they bite, they can attack in a group, and they carry diseases such as rabies.

Groundskeepers: suggest you set up feeding stations, and dart them. They love cat food, by the way, which is a lot less messy than peanut butter! And be sure that they get immunized before freeing them...they have been known to make their way back over 100's of miles!

With the usual government position that there's no problem too big or too small that it can't be solved by throwing more money at it, why not just offer the raccoons $10,000 each to go somewhere else?

Gene February 6th, 2009 4:04 pm ET

They're going about this all wrong. Just send Sarah Palin in a helicopter over the white house grounds.. the racoon problem will be taken care of quick
________________

You beat me to it

raccoons are COOL!!! we used to have them along with deer, goundhogs, turkeys and pheasant come into our yard when we lived outside of Pittsburgh years ago and we enjoyed watching them very much.

besides, raccoons are probably smarter than the average Washington politician

All of a sudden there's a raccoon problem, yeah right

They are beautiful animals.

The racial tone is very clear. It's sad that someone probably released the racoons onto the grounds.

this will be one good meat during this hard economic times that GW Dubya created for Pain-Lin, Joe the Plumber and those hillibily right-wing republiklans bigots!!!!!

raccoons are smart little buggers, I hope they are fully talking to animal services people, if you don't take them far enough way they will just walk right back... adn pull shingles off your roof.

The Secret Sevice might want to scan them for "bugs"...

THAT IS HILLARIOUS. THEY WANT A BAILOUT TOO.

Hope that bait of peanut butter doesn't do them in with salmonella!

Try using marshmallows–I've heard that racoons can't resist them.

That being said, I just have to root for the racoons–they are cute little buggers.

"coons?"

LOL, shame on you CNN!

awwww!

Let 'em stay I say.

And it's always nice to see an animal outsmarting a human being.

Don't even start...

The economy is tanking, union jobs are dissolving, and you just gave us the news equivalent of Caddyshack.

Bravo...

With the right Peanut Butter as bait, the racoon problem could be solved pretty quickly.

cue the racist republicans in 3 2 1

Let the conspiracy theories begin.. it was the repubs that sent the racoons loose to cause havoc with the democratic dogs! JK

They're going about this all wrong. Just send Sarah Palin in a helicopter over the white house grounds.. the racoon problem will be taken care of quick

Raccoons are smart, Washington insiders are not. I know give them a bailout! And they will leave Washington just like everyone else.

First he had to ge rid of the rotten snakes in the Bush Administration now it is raccoons. I would like to change my answer on what kind of dog to get. Make it a pack of hound dogs.

THEY PUT PEANUT BUTTER IN THE TRAPS!?!?!?! ARE THEY TRYING TO POISON THE POOR THINGS????

I wish this story hadn't been published. I can only imagine the racist comments being posted on message boards all over the web.

Hopefully the WH is killing two birds with one stone by using salmonella-laced peanut butter in the traps!

the tainted peanut butter?

can they vote on the stimulus package?

Just call in Palin and let her shoot them from a helicopter.

Peanut butter?! That stuff is poison.