Squirrel research
One of the best resources, friends and tools one can have in the war on squirrel terrorism is the Internet. Just the other night using search words Squirrel*Attic*Removal I Googled up 696 results and read many of these pages of helpful hints. Some more helpful than others. Most had the common first pointer, "remove trees and branches close to your home, these are pathways for squirrels to get into your attic". Well, Duh! Unfortunately my house is surrounded by trees and I'm not going to cut these down, remembering the first tip on Texas summertime gardening...plant trees around your house for shade.
I read pages on squirrel eating habits, squirrel mating habits, squirrel sleeping habits to the point that I now consider myself rather the expert on squirrels and their lifestyles. I did get some useful tips however. One supposedly effective method is to put cat or dog urine in your attic...squirrels don't like to live next to feline/canine urine. The problem there is that, I don't either, especially right above my bed which is where the squirrels live. I then came across a product from the Sunbeam Corp. that emits, "high piercing ultrasonic and audible level screeching sounds". This sounds good, squirrels don't like screeching sounds in their living quarters. But who am I kidding, I don't either, and I suspect the Big Gold Dog would take offense to unusual ultrasonic sounds all night.
But I think that I did make some headway, in the chemical warfare department. I found a product named "Scoot" that contains Napthalene, which apparently renders squirrels rather incoherent, scrambling there sensory ograns and making them search out fresh outdoor air. Sounds good, but you know it's really dark in the attic at night, and I can image squirrels running amok and crashing around up there. Here is a good example of squirrels running amok. What squirrels do when you are gone.
I'm at a crucial junction now. Squirrels have their young in February, and I'm sure there is nest building going on in my attic. The idea is to make the terrorist vacate the premises before she has her young. If I use chemical warfare after the young are in the nest, then the Mom will leave the young ones behind, causing more of a problem and making me feel the ruthless warlord. Yesterday, I thought that I had isolated the point of entry into the attic, so I placed cardboard over the hole above the storage shed that looked like the probable squirrel door. I hoped that if one were trapped inside they could force the cardboard out [emergency exit here..!] thus proving I had the entryway identified, or if they were outside they could not get back in. All was quiet while I went to sleep. Then....at 2 AM I heard the familiar sounds of squirrel claws scratch, scratch, scratching while I pondered weak and weary. And this morning the cardboard was undistubed. I have more work to do. But....
I will fight them in the attic, I will fight them in the gutters, I will fight them in the garden, so that if the Pancho Estate should last for 1000 years, men will still say, "This was his finest hour"!
One of the best resources, friends and tools one can have in the war on squirrel terrorism is the Internet. Just the other night using search words Squirrel*Attic*Removal I Googled up 696 results and read many of these pages of helpful hints. Some more helpful than others. Most had the common first pointer, "remove trees and branches close to your home, these are pathways for squirrels to get into your attic". Well, Duh! Unfortunately my house is surrounded by trees and I'm not going to cut these down, remembering the first tip on Texas summertime gardening...plant trees around your house for shade.
I read pages on squirrel eating habits, squirrel mating habits, squirrel sleeping habits to the point that I now consider myself rather the expert on squirrels and their lifestyles. I did get some useful tips however. One supposedly effective method is to put cat or dog urine in your attic...squirrels don't like to live next to feline/canine urine. The problem there is that, I don't either, especially right above my bed which is where the squirrels live. I then came across a product from the Sunbeam Corp. that emits, "high piercing ultrasonic and audible level screeching sounds". This sounds good, squirrels don't like screeching sounds in their living quarters. But who am I kidding, I don't either, and I suspect the Big Gold Dog would take offense to unusual ultrasonic sounds all night.
But I think that I did make some headway, in the chemical warfare department. I found a product named "Scoot" that contains Napthalene, which apparently renders squirrels rather incoherent, scrambling there sensory ograns and making them search out fresh outdoor air. Sounds good, but you know it's really dark in the attic at night, and I can image squirrels running amok and crashing around up there. Here is a good example of squirrels running amok. What squirrels do when you are gone.
I'm at a crucial junction now. Squirrels have their young in February, and I'm sure there is nest building going on in my attic. The idea is to make the terrorist vacate the premises before she has her young. If I use chemical warfare after the young are in the nest, then the Mom will leave the young ones behind, causing more of a problem and making me feel the ruthless warlord. Yesterday, I thought that I had isolated the point of entry into the attic, so I placed cardboard over the hole above the storage shed that looked like the probable squirrel door. I hoped that if one were trapped inside they could force the cardboard out [emergency exit here..!] thus proving I had the entryway identified, or if they were outside they could not get back in. All was quiet while I went to sleep. Then....at 2 AM I heard the familiar sounds of squirrel claws scratch, scratch, scratching while I pondered weak and weary. And this morning the cardboard was undistubed. I have more work to do. But....
I will fight them in the attic, I will fight them in the gutters, I will fight them in the garden, so that if the Pancho Estate should last for 1000 years, men will still say, "This was his finest hour"!
