I hope this is ok to post here. I am out of options of people to ask at this point. I have called the police, the local natural resource office, animal removal businesses, etc....No one either knows what to do, wants to charge me a fortune, or I'm worried will be inhumane.

Two nights ago a raccoon showed up in my yard. We never see raccoons where I live. This raccoon then spent the entire next day sleeping in the open. Then last night he wandered around, looking for food, looking in our house, acting like he wasn't afraid. I'm worried he has distemper. If this is the case, I'd like to have him humanely killed. However, part of me worries that he/she isn't sick. Is this normal behavior for a raccoon? Would they do this with babies around? I have dogs and even though they are vaccinated, I am SO worried they are going to get distemper. Thanks!

Raccoons in the daytime doesn't sound normal.
I'd be worried about rabies.

At my house, I use a havahart trap... and then shoot unwanted pests.
Raccoons kill chickens, and if they are in my yard, they are pests.

There are animal welfare clinic that rehabilitate raccoons...
In Dayton, try erica miller:
http://ericamiller.org/

stone said: Raccoons in the daytime doesn't sound normal.
I'd be worried about rabies.

At my house, I use a havahart trap... and then shoot unwanted pests.
Raccoons kill chickens, and if they are in my yard, they are pests.

There are animal welfare clinic that rehabilitate raccoons...
In Dayton, try erica miller:
http://ericamiller.org/

Thank you! That's what I feel like. Out in the day seems so odd.....I have left a voice-mail for Erica. Unfortunately, I don't live in an area where we are allowed to shoot it

I would also be worried about rabies; you might want to contact your vet's office and see if they have any recommendations for you. Whoever you talk to, be sure to describe how the raccoon is behaving and that you are concerned that it could have rabies. Much better to err on the side of caution in a situation like you have!

Our county animal control will loan out live traps and collect the animal once caught. Have you tried the county?

Thankfully our area doesn't have rabies cases right now. So more than likely it's not, but it very well could be distemper.

No, the county won't take care of it.

Raccoons are a huge threat here too. I put out live traps then relocate them.
The wild life control will come to set traps for bob cats , not raccoons. They suggest I trap and relocate them. Once a bob cat attacked our horse. You could actually see the claw marks all five on each side of his belly in the fur , full imprints of five claw marks. But they don't deal with raccoons . Nothing worse than out at night turn the corner of the house and bump into one that stands straight up and hisses at ya. I ran like a lil girl scared it would give chase .
I don't leave any dog, cat food around even bird food out anywhere they smell it for miles. Will dot the garden with trail cams . They have raided a fortune in fish from the pond over the years. As long as the clapper is working next to the pond they don't bother the fish . If there is a power outage and the clapper stops working that's when raccoons make their move.
Some company's will come out set traps and relocate them especially since spring babies are around .
I had to call the bee guy to extract a bee hive inside my dining room wall once . It's always a surprise when nature takes the course to take over and a house or garden.
Catching momma raccoon and babies.
https://youtu.be/v_WEIF3zpMU

That's a good point about not having anything available for it to eat. Including trash. You might not be allowed to shoot it, but if you throw some firecrackers near it, it will probably leave and never come back. A smoke bomb might scare it away, if the wind cooperates. Spray it with the hose. It's not inhumane to convince it to leave scared but unharmed.

It probably drifted up from the river bottoms if there is flooding right now, then you see them in daylight- they lost their homes and areas they were able to take care of their food needs. They can chase you, but you scared it as much as it scared you, keep a baseball bat if shooting isn't allowed, cheaper to brain one than shoot it anyway. Distemper, there are signs you can see if it is, but I really don't think it is sick, you would be able to tell.

I like the idea of spraying it with a hose. If that doesn't work your local ranch and feed store should have animal traps. If you can trap it, relocate it somewhere far away. Be sure to wear heavy gloves and clothing, you don't want to get scratched.

The problem with trap & release... Is that other people are on the receiving end of your pests... And releasing pests is against the law, unless you have permission of the property owner....

Even that out of the way spot you have in mind... often has someone living nearby.

Those animals that are easily trapped at your house become trap smart... And impossible to deal with in the new location.

I had a problem animal biting chickens through the wire in the new build...

After setting out new traps, baited with live chickens, animal was able to kill a couple of my hens that had just started laying for the first time... Ripped pieces off the birds and pulled through the wire!

Gotta build a bank vault for chickens out here... I seem to have Billy the exterminator wannabes dumping pests out at my house!

Never did catch that horrible creature...

Don't just release... Do the research before dumping pests...

Agreed @stone. I live next to the mountains and can drop pests off in the forest; far, far away from other people and far enough away so they don't come back.

The mountains are often inhabited by people...
And... There was that time that a raccoon tore through my ice cooler to get at my food... and what it didn't eat... got scattered over the forest floor... also, it tore and befouled the tent...

Only legal to dump animal with property owner's permission.

The humane society's opinion on trapped animal dumping:
https://www.humanesociety.org/...

I have had success with moving raccoons to a distant part of my property that has no neighboring houses/barns nearby, and miles of river bank to scavange.(I guess that's not supposed to be a verb.)

Scavange IS a verb, a water hose doesn't often deter a coon, esp if they are in defense mode, and O My! to have a magic water hose where I need it. Imagine the possibilities!

*scavenge

A raccoon sleeping during the day is normal. If it's sleeping in the open, that could mean it isn't worried about predators (which isn't normal), or doesn't know the new territory well enough to find a safe place to sleep, and may too tired to find one.
You only saw it sleeping out in the open the one time?

Probably, it lost its last territory (to angry humans or another raccoon), which is probably why it just recently showed up in your yard. If it can find food and safety in its new 'territory', it will stay around, but otherwise, it's probably resting up before moving on to greener pastures. Perhaps it has already left?

Or it may have been a pet...

purpleinopp said: That's a good point about not having anything available for it to eat. Including trash. You might not be allowed to shoot it, but if you throw some firecrackers near it, it will probably leave and never come back. A smoke bomb might scare it away, if the wind cooperates. Spray it with the hose. It's not inhumane to convince it to leave scared but unharmed.

Or try using an air horn next time you see it. I've had success with that in scaring unwanted animals out of my yard (although I haven't tried it on raccoons...).

Find out if there are any wildlife rescue organizations in your area, and contact them about it.