Raccoons invading Corbin business

A raccoon destroyed this office at Tri-County Mortgage in Corbin over the weekend.

Officials with a downtown Corbin business claim they have lost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in repair bills to clever varmints that have somehow managed to infiltrate the building after hours and leaving an all-too-common scene of destruction.

K.R. Deaton, Vice President of Tri-County Mortgage, located on Main Street in Corbin, said Tuesday that his office has been the target of destruction by raccoons over the past six months. On three occasions, offices at the mortgage company have been thoroughly destroyed.

"To talk to other property owners, apparently they come up telephone poles, come across power lines and get into the tops of the buildings," Deaton said. "It happens all the way down Main Street. They can travel from building to building … it’s awful. Something needs to be done to solve the problem."

Most recently, one of the rear offices in the building was invaded by Deaton a raccoon that appeared to have descended down a network cable wire above the drop ceiling. The office was ransacked – papers strewn everywhere, furniture knocked over, a swivel chair chewed and mauled beyond usability and ceiling tiles decimated.

Whitley County Animal Control Officer Wayne Wilson said he captured the raccoon Saturday and took it away. Deaton said another small baby raccoon was captured after a similar incident about three weeks ago. It was caged in a small-animal trap provided by Wilson and released in a rural area, unharmed.

Deaton said he has turned to building owners, the Tri-County Elks Club, for answers. In turn, they’ve told him to seek help from Wilson.
Deaton said Wilson has brought by traps so that worker can try to capture the creatures. The plan has met with little success. He added he hopes Wilson can identify how and why the animals are coming into the building so that entry points can be eliminated.

"I have no idea why they are coming in. There is nothing to eat in these rooms," he said. "You would think they would be getting in there to get something to eat and I’m assuming that’s what they are trying to do. I can’t imagine they are coming in here just to destroy things."

Wilson said the problem is a relatively unique one, but did say he responded to a call of raccoons loose in the Corbin Fire Department at city hall a few months ago.

"It’s very strange that they would just be getting in Tri-County Mortgage," Wilson said. "I don’t know how in the world they are getting in. I’ve not figured that out."

Deaton said he wants Wilson to identify the problem and propose a solution. Wilson said he’s willing to help by providing traps or capturing animals if they are in the building, but cautioned that it is the responsibility of the building owners to prevent the raccoons from gaining entry into the structure.

During NIBROC, Deaton said the company had little problem with the creatures because "they were eating things off the street" left by festival patrons.

The company has turned to local pest control specialist Lenny Henderlight for answers. Henderlight said Tuesday that he has no license to deal with wildlife, but that he referred the company to Ronnie "The Critter Catcher" Simpson, of London, a wildlife specialist who focuses on problems with small animals.

Deaton said Simpson has been contacted and would be visiting Tri-County Mortgage late Tuesday or early Wednesday to try to rectify the problem.
"He will be setting traps and will identify how they are getting in here," Deaton said. "He told me they can be very destructive animals and that it is much more of a problem than people realize."

Deaton said Simpson advised him that the raccoons are likely coming into to the building from below, rather than the roof.
Simpson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.