'Aggressive Raccoon House' demolished

NEW ORLEANS, LA (KTRK) -- Growing frustration over a raccoon infestation in one neighborhood is now being alleviated.

Residents said the animals had taken up habitat in and around an abandoned house and were becoming more aggressive in recent weeks. The house became abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.

Neighbors were thrilled Wednesday morning to see the overgrown house that had become known as the "raccoon house" being knocked down after repeated calls to the city.

"I was clapping, and I went over there and shook the man's hand. I was so glad to see him pick it up," said Elizabeth Taylor, who sat on her front porch watching the house across the street.

Taylor said she was front and center for the demolition.

"I wasn't intending on missing a thing. I saw the bulldozer come last night. I got on the phone and called my friend and told her they (are) about to tear it down," she said.

Taylor is hopeful that the raccoons will be gone too.

"They rummage all night long and then they run back home in the morning when the sun comes out," she said.

WDSU reports that as the house was being demolished, Taylor said she saw raccoons scatter.

Renard Oliver worries now that the raccoon house is gone, the animals will seek refuge elsewhere.

"All them abandoned little lots right there, that's where the raccoons live," Oliver said. "They have a house just like that house they just tore down right here."