What Irked You Today?

[slusher]

Live traps really work well.....

[High octane]

10 hours ago, Snake45 said:

If you mean squirrels, I had them myself a few years back. In researching how to "get rid" them, I discovered that there is no throwing them out or running them off--once they've moved in, they are "home" and they will NEVER leave. There are only two alternatives: Kill them, OR trap them and release them AT LEAST ten miles away, so they can't find their way home. 

Good luck with your furry problem. 

GROANNNN

[Rob Hall]

One of my dogs in particular likes watching the squirrels in the back yard (then chasing them when I let her out).  Never caught one, though..they zoom across the yard and up one of the trees...

 

[Joe Handley]

On 5/28/2019 at 11:11 AM, Snake45 said:

If you mean squirrels, I had them myself a few years back. In researching how to "get rid" them, I discovered that there is no throwing them out or running them off--once they've moved in, they are "home" and they will NEVER leave. There are only two alternatives: Kill them, OR trap them and release them AT LEAST ten miles away, so they can't find their way home. 

Good luck with your furry problem. 

Luckily it isn't a squirell problem (we keep them well fed outside), but mice that have gotten into the house instead. We've caught a bunch of them, but they must have family hiding around the main floor. The stuff I have upstairs is ok, just this one that was on the main floor got chewed on.

[Snake45]

17 hours ago, High octane said:

GROANNNN

????????????

[espo]

Mice can and do breed faster than Rabbits. You can't just have one Mouse. Dicon is the answer, but only if you don't have any house hold pets. 

[Rob Hall]

I have at least one mouse in my garage--have seen it a couple times..put down traps.   Haven't had any mice in the house that I've seen so far.  But I do get black ants occasionally. 

[Tom Geiger]

12 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I have at least one mouse in my garage--have seen it a couple times..put down traps.   Haven't had any mice in the house that I've seen so far.  But I do get black ants occasionally. 

Your assortment of small dogs will keep them away.  They smell the dogs and avoid the area.

[High octane]

4 hours ago, Snake45 said:

????????????

When you said that the squirrels will NEVER leave.

[Snake45]

59 minutes ago, High octane said:

When you said that the squirrels will NEVER leave.

Oh. Yeah, that's the way I felt, too. 

I thought maybe you were disagreeing with my research. 

[shoopdog]

Found out today to go along with my mice and squirrels that we have a family of armadillos living under our shed. My yard is nowhere near nice but these things just tear it up.

[High octane]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Oh. Yeah, that's the way I felt, too. 

I thought maybe you were disagreeing with my research. 

No Snake, your research is great as I've knocked down a couple of squirrels nest by my house and they refuse to leave. DANG!

[Joe Handley]

1 hour ago, shoopdog said:

Found out today to go along with my mice and squirrels that we have a family of armadillos living under our shed. My yard is nowhere near nice but these things just tear it up.

At least we don't have armadillos here, occasionally will have rabbits camp out behind the garage, but they're fairly harmless, like the squirrels and chipmonks we get in the yard, and don'y bother anything. We usually have bigger issues with hornets, wasps, and the occasional territorial bird or skunks that can't seem to find anything to eat in the yard.

[Tom Geiger]

Squirrels -   Many years ago when I was back in New Jersey we had a very cold winter and the clan of squirrels who lived high up in the tree in my back yard chewed through a side vent into my attic.  You could hear them running around at night. Sounded like they were ricocheting off the walls.

I learned a bit of information...  I hired an exterminator to remove them.   Squirrels may have one entry hole, but they will dig a second one.  They always want two ways out.  Their second hole was behind a gutter.  The exterminator put live capture traps on my roof.  Squirrels are curious and will be attracted to the bright metal traps.  Once captured.... he would take them away.

Then I found out that it's illegal to relocate squirrels for a few reasons.   First, they are clan animals and if a single one was relocated to another area, the clan there  would not accept him and he would die alone, or be killed by the competing clan.  Second,  you cannot relocate them because of disease control.  The government doesn't want you spreading disease out into new areas.   An interesting fact... The "Have A Heart" catch 'em alive trap is designed to conveniently fit sideways into a garbage pail filled with water. 

The exterminator told us  that once we captured all the squirrels he would seal the holes into my attic.  He needed to have them all or they would return.  And he did rid us of squirrels! Of course at a cost of several hundred dollars, which was reasonable since they were there daily for a few weeks.

Now the irony....  we thought we had hundreds of squirrels.  Any time you looked out our back windows there were squirrels dancing along the fence,   up on the trees etc.   He captured SIX squirrels and the world went dead!   No squirrels at all... so it must've been those six squirrels over and over!

Edited May 30, 2019 by Tom Geiger

[espo]

Squirrels at one time were thought to be cute. We didn't have any for many years after we built our home in a rural area. We have lived elsewhere and would see a few and they were entertaining to watch. A couple of years ago a lone squirrel appeared and the only problem he offered was getting into the bird feeders. We have a couple of Oaks and Cedars that offer enough food, but he seemed to like the bird seed the best. Last year we noticed another Squirrel hanging around and they presented us with SIX baby Squirrels this year and they are running thru the trees chasing and wrestling with each other and doing there best "Flying Squirrel" imitations. After seeing Tom's experience I'm starting to think some intervention would be in our best interest. 

[Rob Hall]

The deer stroll up to my back patio and eat from the bird feeders..

[slusher]

4 hours ago, espo said:

Squirrels at one time were thought to be cute. We didn't have any for many years after we built our home in a rural area. We have lived elsewhere and would see a few and they were entertaining to watch. A couple of years ago a lone squirrel appeared and the only problem he offered was getting into the bird feeders. We have a couple of Oaks and Cedars that offer enough food, but he seemed to like the bird seed the best. Last year we noticed another Squirrel hanging around and they presented us with SIX baby Squirrels this year and they are running thru the trees chasing and wrestling with each other and doing there best "Flying Squirrel" imitations. After seeing Tom's experience I'm starting to think some intervention would be in our best interest. 

i had that problem once. Two things worked. You can go and snap a stove pipe around the pole as high as the pole or put grease on your shepards hook.

[Snake45]

5 hours ago, espo said:

Squirrels at one time were thought to be cute. We didn't have any for many years after we built our home in a rural area. We have lived elsewhere and would see a few and they were entertaining to watch. A couple of years ago a lone squirrel appeared and the only problem he offered was getting into the bird feeders. We have a couple of Oaks and Cedars that offer enough food, but he seemed to like the bird seed the best. Last year we noticed another Squirrel hanging around and they presented us with SIX baby Squirrels this year and they are running thru the trees chasing and wrestling with each other and doing there best "Flying Squirrel" imitations. After seeing Tom's experience I'm starting to think some intervention would be in our best interest. 

I have bunches of squirrels running through my back yard again today too. They don't bother me at all as long as they stay out of my house. After I eradicated the previous tenants and then had their entry securely sealed, I haven't had any more problems with illegal residents. They can do whatever they want in my backyard and trees. First one I see even trying to get in, though, I go back to war. 

[High octane]

While my grandson has a "squirrel proof" bird feeder, the squirrels will eat the seed that's dropped on the ground below the feeder. So will the other birds, chipmunks, and rabbits too. Groannnn.

[espo]

10 hours ago, High octane said:

While my grandson has a "squirrel proof" bird feeder, the squirrels will eat the seed that's dropped on the ground below the feeder. So will the other birds, chipmunks, and rabbits too. Groannnn.

This is the same way I feel. I guess it's like the five second rule if you drop a cookie on the floor. The Morning Doves and the Squirrels can fight it out for what lands on the ground. I have tried several different "Squirrel Proof" feeders and even installed the umbrella type covers to keep the Squirrels out of the feeders. They always find a way to defeat what ever I do. I have seen them hang from their hind legs to get to the feeder and even jump from near by trees to land on the feeders. These critters are nothing if not athletic.    I can hear them on the roof sometimes and that worries me but as long as they aren't trying to get in and don't chew up the house I guess it's alright. 

[OldTrucker]

What irked me? (yesterday and still does today!) Trying to remove the trim on a newly aquired 1966 Buick Special (bought for me by my son's) so I could reseal it and fix a couple rust holes in the channel the windshield cracked in two spots.

Seems it had been resealed a long time ago and the windshield has slid down trapping the lower molding at the bottom edge. The glass being 53 years old was starting to delaminate all the way around making it an accident ready to happen.

The neighbor that I borrowed the trim tool from works at a body shop and said that even they would most likely have cracked it because the glass was so fragile.

Still doesn't make me feel any better though.

Wasn't looking to spend that kind of money for something that I really didn't need!

[OldTrucker]

17 hours ago, espo said:

Squirrels at one time were thought to be cute. We didn't have any for many years after we built our home in a rural area. We have lived elsewhere and would see a few and they were entertaining to watch. A couple of years ago a lone squirrel appeared and the only problem he offered was getting into the bird feeders. We have a couple of Oaks and Cedars that offer enough food, but he seemed to like the bird seed the best. Last year we noticed another Squirrel hanging around and they presented us with SIX baby Squirrels this year and they are running thru the trees chasing and wrestling with each other and doing there best "Flying Squirrel" imitations. After seeing Tom's experience I'm starting to think some intervention would be in our best interest. 

Rats with bushy tails is what we call them! They garbage pick around here chewing through the lids of the plastic garbage containers!

We put a guard on the pole that holds our bird feeder. Like a cone that sets on a ball and rocks if something lands on it. It is quite comical watching squirrels climb that skinny pole and then try to get onto the guard!LOL

Edited May 31, 2019 by OldTrucker

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm a little beyond "irked". Somebody is killing my cats. I found one by the side of the house obviously shot in the throat. Small entrance wound, exit wound tore half its jaw out. Cat was trying to get home and bled out. Now two more are MIA.

Killing pets is aggravated cruelty to animals here, a felony.

[Tom Geiger]

Don't go killing off the squirrel population on my account!     I have a lot of squirrels here in Pennsylvania that stay outdoors!   This guy I've named Howdy and he keeps his stash in this flower box that's on my deck.  He's in and out of there all the time, and it's right outside the kitchen window where I work most days.  So he's entertaining.

A few years ago I was sweeping the driveway of acorns and realized I had nearly a bucket full.  I was all set to put them either in the trash or back in the woods and I got an idea... I dumped them into Howdy's stash.   He probably thought he hit the jackpot!

And he will sit on this same branch and eat all the time.  It's up high and parallel to my model room window on the second floor.  I find it interesting that the squirrels in the region are brownish with touches of gray.   In other regions I've seen pure black and pure white ones!

And my little herd of deer for Rob...  This is all seven of them. Some of which I watched grow from babies.  We don't have any babies this season.  But they are very tame and will stay there while we come and go.  I got fairly close to get this shot and they all stayed there and mostly just watched me.  

And some of the girls just hanging out in the backyard.  We walked right past them and the worst they reacted was curious stares.

[Jim N]

3 hours ago, espo said:

I can hear them on the roof sometimes and that worries me but as long as they aren't trying to get in and don't chew up the house I guess it's alright. 

You may want to consider trimming one of the trees they use to get onto or off of the roof.  We had the same problem a few years ago and it sounded like a rodent track meet on the roof at times.  I thought it was kind of funny and cute until I realized they can crawl up the chimney very easily and then get into the fireplace and maybe into the house.  I remember a former co - worker telling me how squirrels got into the house of one of his friends and the damage they caused was extensive.  Insurance doesn't cover this because it is damage caused by vermin and they exclude this kind of loss, so it's not something to take lightly.  We called a tree trimmer and he trimmed the tree they used to get off of the roof.  It was interesting because they once their exit was taken away, they stopped getting on the roof even thought the other tree still gave them access to the roof.  With rodents, you often don't know you have a problem until it's too late.