Couple horrified as raccoons crash ceiling in North Philly apartment
NORTH PHILADELPHIA - A bedroom ransacked by raccoons and two local graduate students say it’s been a nightmare since the critters found their way into their home.
Brandon DeBlois couldn’t believe his eyes as he opened his bedroom door. "Oh my God," DeBlois exclaimed and added, "I recorded it in case something was in there, cause I heard crashing."
It was about 10 days ago and something was in there – two raccoons.
"It was a wild moment. I didn’t expect them to be on the bed and turn around and look back at me, but there they were. I think they were just as shocked as I was," DeBlois explained.
Brandon and his girlfriend, Amanda McCrossin are grad students at Drexe University. They’ve been renting a house on the 1600 block of Edgley Street, in North Philadelphia for just over a year. Amanda suspects the raccoons have been there for a while.
"On May 3rd, I submitted a maintenance ticket for animals scratching in the ceiling. Like, I could hear it at night and nothing was ever done about it," McCrossin said.
Until they came crashing through the ceiling.
After making lots of calls, the couple finally got a wildlife company to set traps on their roof to catch the critters. So far, they are up to eight.
"We thought maybe they got them after the first four and we were shocked after they got the fifth and sixth. We are just flabbergasted at seventh and eighth," Brandon said.
James Atkerson lives across the street and is not surprised. He says raccoons run rampant in the neighborhood, thanks to people leaving their trash out ahead of pickup day.
"I’ve seen them walking around just like people. There’s never just one and there’s always two or three at a time," Atkerson stated.
Raccoons were able to get in through a hole in the roof. Thursday, a crew was on hand patching up the opening. But, Amanda and Brandon are still dealing with a huge hole in their bedroom ceiling and have been sleeping on the couch for days.
"I would just like to sleep in my own bed," Amanda said.
"Do you think they’re gone or you’re not even sure?" asked FOX 29’s Dawn Timmeney.
"I’m inclined to think they’re not gone," replied Amanda.
"We’re done. We want our current landlord to peacefully let us go," Brandon added.
Dawn Timmeney spoke to a representative from the property management company which says they have been working to remedy the problem and once they are sure the raccoons are gone for good, they’ll repair the hole in the ceiling.
The management company says they are working with Amanda and Brandon on their request to terminate their lease and are, "optimistic there will be an agreement on all sides on how to move forward."