EVERETT, Wash. – Water falling from the ceiling was the first tip-off that something was wrong with Dean Rappleye's roof. Then it got worse.
"First of all they had to cut a large chunk of the sheet rock out and then pull out all of the insulation because it was all wet," said Rappleye.
And then he got a look at the outside of the roof.
"It was probably four, five, six different shakes had been torn physically from the roof, exposing the inside of the attic, a pretty good-sized hole," he said.
The damage was all caused by a furry little critter – a raccoon. Rappleye had seen one.
"It took a lot of yelling and stomping and all kinds of noise to get him finally to move off," he said.
It didn't move far.
Rappleye's next-door neighbor had damage too. He got a new roof, as did another neighbor two years ago.
"It's annoying at night when they're scattering above you and you can't sleep," said Rachel Schweitzer.
"They would leave in the spring with the babies and eventually when we put the new roof in they can't get in any more," said Darwin Schweitzer.
There's not much you can do. State law says you can't hunt or trap raccoons and each city has its own wildlife restrictions.
Rappleye gets that homeowners and raccoons have to coexist.
"I'm a lover of nature but I've got to tell you they've changed my mind a little bit. I wouldn't be above throwing a shoe at them or something like that," he said.
State wildlife officials advise homeowners to keep garbage can lids tightly secured and remove pet food.
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