The picture is definitely not a squirrel. At least it doesn't look like any squirrel I've ever seen. It's tail is like a rat, smooth and hairless, and its snout doesn't even resemble a squirrel. It's a "tree rat" or opossum.
Spring is my time to battle natural enemies. Supper was being prepared one evening when gnawing was heard in the kitchen wall. It was loud and made me want to cringe. Something was definitely chewing on my house. I smacked the wall where the gnawing seemed to be loudest and it quit . . . but only for a few minutes. A check of the outside showed no beastie, but up high, on the third story some siding had been pulled back and there was a hole. There was definitely a beastie in my walls. As we kept watch, we found squirrels leaping toward the gnawing place with mouths full of nesting material. Oh, no, you don't! Not my house! It's bad enough to battle rabbits for my flower garden, but no house ground would be sacrificed to squirrels.
The search began for a pest control company to eradicate the squirrels from the house walls. To my surprise, many companies will not remove squirrels. It seems squirrels are quite stubborn and often return. Finally, we found a willing party who brought the traps to catch the squirrels for release elsewhere. Some wonderful tasting muck was placed in the trap and we began serious war against the beasties. Two, then three, were trapped and taken away. But today there was an opossum in the trap. Was I ever thankful I didn't have to open that cage.
Pest control is one of those things one doesn't sign up for when one purchases a St. Paul home, but it somehow gets added to the job description. My hope is all the horror stories I've heard about squirrels returning to their old haunts have no basis in fact. Otherwise, the squirrels and I are going to do battle. For now, I'll be polite and keep the live traps, but if they keep persisting, they'll find they've got a tiger by the tail!
We first became aware of the squirrels when we heard them climbing down the wall. We passed it off as being outside. It wasn't until the gnawing happened that we took it seriously! Our neighbor has a walnut tree just 25 feet from our house. It's no wonder we have squirrels. My son has tried boarding the hole, chicken wire, etc., and none of it has worked. They keep returning to his house so he also had to resort to trapping and hauling them miles away.
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | March 17, 2008 at 09:23 PM
I had a house years ago and a squirel got in the walls and he would fall and you could hear him slide down the inside of the wall. Really freakey. We found where it was getting in at the gable corner and when we were sure he was out we boarded it up. Problem solved. My parents years ago had squirels and they hid the nuts in the attic. We had 3 walnut trees in the yard. We hear them at night rolling the nuts around. A little bit of chicken wire and they couldn't get in. The best one is we had pigeons on the metal roof and they coo and cluck all day and night. Someone told my dad paint the roof red and they never land on the roof he did and they never came back. We were told be experts that they are color blind and not possible but it worked.
Posted by: Port Orange Florida Real Estate | March 17, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Carole, Cute until you see his teeth! Besides, the picture's probably been airbrushed! As far as the squirrels, I think they are gone for now, but that doesn't mean they won't return! Does anyone have a recipe for 'possum stew?
Posted by: Bonnie Erickson | March 16, 2008 at 07:22 PM
and that little guy in the cage IS kinda cute, not that I'd want him living in my house or yard lol
Posted by: Carole Cohen | March 16, 2008 at 06:53 PM
It is never dull owning a home! Do you think they are all gone now? One can hope!
Posted by: Carole Cohen | March 16, 2008 at 06:52 PM