Raccoons force family out of Memphis home

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis family has been forced out of their home due to an unlikely situation. Raccoons have taken over.

"I have a family of raccoons living in my residence," Karlyn Shamley told WHBQ. "(It's) pretty scary."

It started with a hole in the wall of the family’s rental home and a hole in the roof. Shamley told WHBQ they complained about the animals to their landlord months ago.

On Friday, the problem escalated. Shamley saw the mother raccoon run up to the front of the house.

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“She sat there and stared at us on top of the roof, so we left,” she said.

The family eventually came home. But when they went to bed, they discovered the raccoons had made their way inside. Shamley’s daughter was the witness.

"She just let out a like a killer scream like somebody was chasing her with a knife," the mother told WHBQ.

Shamley called her landlord for help. She said the landlord told her to call pest control.

Getting the unwanted guests out would have cost her hundreds of dollars, and that was not an option.

“I feel like I shouldn't have to pay that because they came in through a hole that was leaking that's been leaking for months, and if he would've fixed it this would've never happened,” Shamley explained.

WHBQ's Scott Madaus went from room to room in the house. He eventually found the raccoons. A mother and her babies were sitting in the bathtub.

“We were thinking it was one… and it's like a whole family of raccoons,” Shamley said.

Madaus called the owner of the home. Midway through their conversation, the phone was disconnected.

For now, Shamley and her children are staying with other family members.

Cox Media Group