Dear Editor:
Re: Raccoons feast on her grubby lawn, Burnaby NOW, Oct. 8.
The City of Burnaby, in my opinion, is not responsible for the grub-eating raccoons, which a reader in my area believes should be the case. Why should it be up to the city to keep the raccoons from scavenging on people's lawns?
In my own neighborhood, I have witnessed people preventing raccoon damage by hanging CDs from trees, covering potentially affected areas with netting and trying to distract the pests with garden statues. Personally speaking, I believe our family dog is the best deterrent for saving our lawn from being ripped up.
Don't we think that our tax money could be used elsewhere in our community such as, promoting more officers in the police department to help track down local vandals from breaking into vehicles in our neighborhood.
After researching eco-friendly ways to deter raccoons, I discovered that lighting up the affected area has been shown to be effective, as well as using pure soap flakes and mothballs, all of which are low-cost, easy to use, and do not require city funds.
Although I understand the reader's situation and the annoyance that these animals cause, I do not believe that going to the city is the appropriate response.
Alison Shewfelt, age 16, Burnaby
