COMMON GROUND COFFEE HOUSE #95

Oh, you're trying to get rid of them! Do you know how they're getting in? Maybe you could block them out?

 

Hi Petrel,

Yes, they chew right through the wooden siding...I am making a change this summer and installing steel from the soffit down to the upper ledge of the windows.

Squirrels are very dangerous rodents. Not only for the diseases they carry, but they chew electrical wires and can cause a house fire. They chew their way right down into the insulation in the walls and through the drywall into the house. No laughing matter, I assure you.

This has been a four year battle. It start right after a chap stopped hunting for squirrel in the front woods. There are literally 100's of squirrels in the woods.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Jim,

I haven't been keeping up here, are the squirrels living in your attic? I have read that you can leave a radio playing and they will leave. Just a thought.

 

Elnora,

We have tried everything, including leaving a radio on..that is a myth, according to the exterminators, who also gave up.

The squirrels get down in the walls by chewing through the outside siding. I had all new boarding installed to put up aluminum siding and they chewing through the new plywood,,,at $42.00 a sheet!!!!

I have cut down all the trees within 20 feet of the house so to give a clear path for the dogs to chase them,,,they wait for the dogs to leave.

I think these squirrels are baptists and getting back at me cos I'm Anglican....

Cheers,

Jim

 

What are they looking for? Is it that there are so many that they all don't have enough food? Due to loss of habitat or predators perhaps?

 

They only come in the late fall,,,we all think it is for accommodation to have their young. They collect the insulation to make their bedding.

There is plenty of food in the woods...lots of oak trees and other nuts..except us. There is no food in either the attic or the walls.

Since I have using the Hav-a-heart trap I have collected three squirrels and deposited them four miles away....I don't think they have had any young yet, but we will find out when we remove all the damaged drywall from three rooms.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I was wondering the same thing. Lack of food or shelter or a combination of both. Jim have you considered your pet food? I know chipmunks and racoons will eat about anything. Is it possible they are getting easy access to your dog and cat food? But for them to literally eat through your siding! I would think they have to be desperate. Are you positive it's the squirrels doing all of this?

 

You replied fast Jim!

Sorry. You know, any animal will take the easiest way to survival including access to a warm house and dog food over foraging for nuts etc. The best suggestion I can think of is to seal the house in a way that they can't get in and keep the pet food out of their reach, even it that means picking it all up as soon as the pets finish eating. Hope you find a solution. I am sure it is very frustrating for you.

 

Fast reply cos I was sitting here watching AMerican Idol..........wot a waste!!

The squirrels don't come downstairs at all, and the dog and cat food is stored in a steel garbage can with lid on.

We know it is squirrels cos we watch them in action. I think they keep coming cos they established a safe place and we are told by the pros that squirrels return to where they were born to nest, so we have to get the young removed far away.

We'll see how it goes after we install the steel under soffits and on the wall down to the top of windows...Hard chew through steel. Not very attractive for house, but it is just a place to live and not a castle to adorn.

Cheers, and thanks,

Jim

 

Well I wasn't much help but I sure hope it works for ya!

God bless you Jim.

 

Thanks....now get on with having a good time...I don't really like to dwell on my problems.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Jim, I missed the American Idol show, who got kicked off?

 

Pastor,,the 16 year old coloured girl, Lisa,,I think her name is. She said, "She just wanted to be where God wants her..." when asked how she felt about leaving.

There wasn't much to choose this week from the lot of them, to be honest!

Cheers,

Jim

 

A colored? I hope she was purple, I've always wanted to see a person colored purple.

Ok, da Gina is noticing that Barnabas is now from da Bronx.
Dunno about anyone else, but that gave me a big grin tonight!

 

"I think these squirrels are baptists and getting back at me cos I'm Anglican...."

I've only read this one page and that cracked me up!

Have you tried rat poison or shooting them when you see them outside?

 

There you go! You need a new hunter!

I don't like killing animals (heck, I won't even poison the ants in my kitchen. . .) but I would feel quite tempted in your situation. I don't like the idea of rat poison at all because it could be lingering. I think it would be better to shoot them. Then you could have squirrel pot pie, too.

I hope the steel siding works.

 

Yikes! If that's true you should go to the ER! Hope it improves today.

 

Morning all!

Sue, I think I saw the same telly program with the crafty squirrels....even going around in circles on a ring to get to the feeder.

Sue, do get to emergency and get those ankles tended to. AND don't stay on your legs so long during the day and night,,,elevate them. I wear special socks which help circulation.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Afternoon all (or close enough)!

It's almost 80 here today! The heat index is over 80. There are storms moving in from the SSW and we need that rain!

Viv stayed home yesterday. She was far too ill to go to work. She was as red as a lobster! I was stuck in bed most of the day with the inability to breath and severe vertigo. But, I lived through it by the grace of God, and so did Viv. She's at work today, but says that many just didn't show up for some reason or another. Hours have been up and down, and she's really getting worried.

We're going to start working on the garden plot this weekend if it doesn't rain too much...and we've still got to visit a church or two this weekend.

Sue, get yourself checked ASAP for high BP...it's far more serious than most think, and many let it go far too long and suffer the consequences! Go! NOW!!!!

Tomorrow we go back to the doctor. I am not looking forward to that. My bloodwork is back, and I'm praying I don't need more transfusions.

Ya'll have a great day! Stay warm!

T