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Brooklyn Man Opens Up Wall To Get Pesky Raccoon Out

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Any homeowner who has ever had a problem with squirrels or raccoons knows how hard they are to get rid of.

And as CBS 2's John Slattery reported Friday, one Brooklyn man decided to take matters into his own hands.

Home video showed the actions of William Levin of Park Slope, Brooklyn. He appeared shirtless and wielding a large flashlight as he pulled the young raccoon out of his wall.

Baby Raccoon Rescue in Brooklyn by William Levin on YouTube

"I would say it was a nightmare until the moment we pulled it out," Levin said.

The female raccoon may look kind of cute, but inside a residential wall, she was a nuisance. It is believed the raccoon is about five weeks old -- one of a litter that took up residence in the Levins' fourth-floor apartment.

William Levin and his wife, Malya, had heard animal noises over the last two years.

"It was pretty irritating, first of all -- the noise off and on," Malya Levin said.

"They got progressively louder and disruptive, and started going throughout night, and it sounded like wild animals having a party in there," William Levin said.

So, with little help from the landlord, William Levin decided to engage in hand-to-hand combat himself -- breaking open the wall behind his kitchen stove.

"I just felt it had to be done -- maybe caution went out the window at that moment," he said.

They got the female raccoon one out and gave her to a trapper, who set two other large traps like behind the wall board that is temporarily sealed off.

"We're going to wait a few days to see if any more animals are caught," William Levin said.

Afterward will be a little interior demolition to make sure the raccoons are gone, and the sealing of the exterior wall and roof to keep them out.

The trapper who currently has the young female raccoon plans to turn her over to an animal rehabilitation expert, who will raise the raccoon until she can be released into the wild.

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