Found a family of raccoons in a chimney in Asheville and the homeowner just shrugged

I was on a call in Asheville last fall for a routine cleaning. The homeowner, an older guy named Frank, met me at the door and said, 'It's been sounding a bit lively up there.' I got my gear and set up the drop cloth. When I poked the camera up the flue, I saw four little faces staring back. A whole raccoon family had set up a nest. I came down and told Frank. He just nodded, took a sip of his coffee, and said, 'Yeah, figured. They've been paying rent in acorns. Leave 'em be, they're quieter than the last tenants.' I had to explain that it was a major fire hazard and they had to go. He finally agreed, but only after I promised to call a wildlife guy who would relocate them, not 'evict' them. Has anyone else had a customer be that casual about wildlife in their chimney?

3 comments

3 Comments

luna_craig581mo ago

Honestly, did Frank ever say what he meant by 'the last tenants'?

haydenj901mo ago

That phrase "the last tenants" is such a classic landlord move, luna_craig58. It feels like they always blame some ghost from the past for any problem. My old place had a leak and they said the same thing, that the last people caused it. It's a way to avoid taking real responsibility right now. I see it everywhere, not just with apartments, just passing the blame down the line so no one has to fix anything.

sullivan.abby12d ago

Frank's attitude is just part of a bigger thing where people get weirdly used to problems. They stop seeing a raccoon infestation as a crisis and start treating it like a minor roommate dispute. It happens with all sorts of broken stuff, not just chimneys. People will live with a dripping faucet or a weird noise for years because it just becomes normal background noise to them. It takes an outsider to point out how messed up the situation really is.