MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A family of raccoons have taken over a home in Hickory Hill, sending a mom of four to find another place to stay.
The woman says the animals were just camping out in her bathtub on Saturday, and she’s not sure how long they’ve been in the house.
As soon as we opened the door to Karyln Shamley’s house on Jardin Place, one was looking right at us.
“I’m frustrated and upset.”
Shamley says the critters got in through a hole in her roof.
“The hole has been in my roof since last year, right before Christmas. I’d say in November I discovered it was leaking over there. It got worse in February,” she said.
Not only was water getting in, but Shamley also thinks there’s mold.
At some point, raccoons found their way in and cuddled up in the tub.
“The raccoon is in the shower with the seven babies. It’s just sitting there looking like, ‘Yeah. This is my house now. You can leave,” Shamley said.
So she did, and the next day she bought a trap.
“As soon as we opened the front door, it’s like seven babies crawling on the banister. The mom is just sitting there staring at us, so we just drop the trap and got out of there.”
But the animals are still inside.
“They like literally trashed my house. My house is trashed – it’s garbage. They’ve been eating on my kids clothes,” Shamley said.
So we called the landlord.
He says roofers came back in April and says Shamley hasn’t paid rent in the past two months.
She says she hasn’t paid because of the massive holes.
“It’s not my fault that the raccoons got in there. It’s your fault, because the roof had been leaking,” Shamley said. “If he would’ve fixed this least last year, none of this would’ve happened.”
The landlord tells us he plans to get the raccoons out as soon as possible.
Shamley says she plans on moving this weekend.
