Wildlife: raccoon trouble and rabies treatment

Raccoons....a common problem in my world - well any day from May to October!
I just phoned the Ontario SPCA, they directed me to their website with a ton of information, specifically on wildlife-proofing your property. They suggest I print it and give it to my neighbours...

Rocky, our favourite raccoon, has been getting into the neighbour's veggie garden. No doubt- as she pops her head up every evening near the bird feeder. I saw another neighbour, who looks after her property, prepare to go down and place a live trap. It is a shame.

Rocky is lactating, and there are babies somewhere. To live trap and move a critter doesn't work, since another simply moves in. This is why they trap and treat raccoons for rabies photos here and above left). I watched the process in NOTL by the Ministry Of Natural Resources woman. Very interesting as they trapped the whole family, put on ear tags, inoculated them and let them go.
There is much written about this:

Wildlife Custodian Authorization - Ontario Wildlife Rescue (.doc)

“authorized wildlife” means the species listed in this authorization. ... 15. The wildlife custodian shall consult, as necessary, with a licensed veterinarian ... and all specimens were captured within the allowable release distance from each other.

Background information
The problem is that
a) the 2 - 6 babies they usually produce will die a horrible death,
and b) another raccoon will simply move into this raccoon's territory. In fact, I have seen three of them on our property at once. They wander, normally nocturnally, but often can be seen at dawn and in the afternoon. They give birth to babies in April or May, our began coming around in May with signs of lactating teats.

Habitat
Raccoons prefer wooded areas near water and in natural habitats.
They den in hollow trees, ground burrows, brush piles, or rock crevices. In the city home owners have problems with attics and under porches with increasingly limited suitable spaces.

Around Muskoka habitat isn't an issue - it's getting into gardens and garbage! Some cottagers leave their garbage out on a Sunday when they go home, for a Wednesday garbage day...we had a bit of a mess at the collection spot last Wednesday. Smart cottagers get metal or wooden bins.

Food sources
They are omnivores: their diet includes rodents, snails, insects, eggs, nestling birds, fish, plant matter, garbage and pet food. They gather fruits, berries, nuts, acorns, corn, and other types of grain. Animal foods include crayfish, clams, fish, frogs, snails, insects, turtles, rabbits, muskrats, and the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds, including waterfowl. If it doesn't move, they eat it!

Deterring raccoons
This post, on Cottage Life, shows how they kept them out of the boat slip by putting garden mesh on the edge. The 'coons liked to winter in the boathouse! I have noticed droppings in strategic places around our front. They like to make a statement.

Chicken wire, motion-sensitive water sprays, or a motion-operated floodlight may work.
One blogger suggests ammonia soaked in paper towels, and placed around the garden. Others suggest that you deter them by keeping them our of attics, and other hidey holes. Close openings around your house, outbuildings or deck, first making sure that the animals aren't inside.

Rocky is a pest - she was into my big flower pot in which I have put morning glory seeds. I discouraged her the other day. They say not to put cayenne pepper, and the like, into pots. The pepper can get into their eyes and cause infections. I put some hot pepper flakes instead, which seemed to work. She could smell them before she started back at the pot. She has been digging everywhere, even in the Flower Rock pot out at the end of the dock, that has no flowers only a fake (gourd) mushroom. I guess it is instinct.

The SPCA has info on various topics:
Wildlife Proofing Your Property
Why Live Trapping and Relocation Don't Work
Wildlife Friendly Driving
Protecting Your Gardens and Lawns
Species-specific
Bats
Birds
Coyotes
Eastern Cottontail Rabbits
Groundhogs
Raccoons
Skunks
Squirrels
Waterfowl