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Black blobs that smell like decaying animal along the side of the house #867592

Asked May 08, 2024, 2:03 PM EDT

Can you tell me what this black blob is along the side of my house? It smells like a decaying animal but it runs along the side of my house at least 8 feet or more. It is soft to the touch and looks moist. I'm familiar with cow, horse, chicken waste smells like and it is nothing like this.

Wayne County Michigan

Expert Response

Hello, I can't quite say for certain, but my guess is that this could be a raccoon latrine site (i.e., a place where a raccoon repeatedly returns to defecate. You could put a trail camera at the location to see if one returns.

Note, if this is raccoon scat, use caution if removing the scat as raccoon scat can harbor a dangerous parasite (Baylisascaris procyonis).

https://naturetracking.com/raccoon-vs-otter-scat/

Best,

Clay Wilton (he/him) Replied May 09, 2024, 2:12 PM EDT
Let me send you one more photo that I took. As you can see on the shovel, this scat is about 6 inches wide and looks more like a cow patty. Also, this smells like a dead, decaying animal. Is that what racoon skat smells like?

Thanks,

Norm


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - - WOW-WHAT A RIDE!



On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 2:12 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied May 26, 2024, 11:28 AM EDT

That is much larger than I thought it was from the original picture. I'm still not sure what else it could be other than raccoon. It's a really odd place for any other animal to defecate. Sometimes old decaying fungus/mushrooms can almost look like animal poop and can smell quite rotten as well, but you can usually still make out some characteristics of the mushroom. If it is a raccoon latrine, the scat may appear larger because multiple scats have piled up together. Raccoon scat can be highly variable because they eat such a wide range of foods. If they're eating more animal matter, it could explain why it smells so bad. Sorry I can't give a more firm answer, I might put a trail camera up if you're really curious what might be doing this.

Clay Wilton (he/him) Replied May 26, 2024, 11:45 PM EDT
Thank you for your thoughts. I do have some security cameras that I could temporarily move them to see if I could catch anything.

Thanks,

Norm


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - - WOW-WHAT A RIDE!



On Sun, May 26, 2024 at 11:45 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied May 27, 2024, 10:44 AM EDT

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