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Family of Squirrels (or something) living in my attic!?!

Melensdad

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
OK just an update.

I put in an 'access panel' by cutting a hole and installing a pre-fab hatch. I left it open and this afternoon 2 very cute young squirrels dropped out of the hole. They can't get back up into the hole, so they are out of the attic. The problem is they seem to be stuck on my 3 season porch. The screens are all off, so it is totally open to the world, but these little squirrels can't seem to find their way over to the Japanese maple that brushes against the house in the back, or to climb down the honeysuckle vine that comes up to the front of the porch.

Consequently, I now have two squirrels that my wife and daughter want to adopt because they are "so cute."

Now what?

I'm thinking a tennis racket and just trying to launch them (of course, I'll be gentle) into the woods that should break their fall.
 
muleman said:
It ain't that big of a drop. Take a broom and sweep them off.
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About 15 feet down from the top of the railing.

BUT, I came up with a GENIUS idea (even if I have to pat myself on the back) for this one. I made a bridge from the porch railing down to the honeysuckle out of some scrap. The squirrels ran down the bridge to the honeysuckle vine and then I removed the bridge :clap:
 
At least 1 is still up there.

I'm going to run up to Tractor Supply and see if they have an inexpensive LIVE trap. If not, some rat poison will be the ticket. I'm getting pretty sick of this!
 
Melensdad said:
At least 1 is still up there.

I'm going to run up to Tractor Supply and see if they have an inexpensive LIVE trap. If not, some rat poison will be the ticket. I'm getting pretty sick of this!
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Want me to come visit with my MP5K? We could go through a case of your 9mm in no time and your squirrel issue would be GONE! :clap:
 
Thanks for the offer, but I put a new roof on the house last spring!

I went up to TRACTOR SUPPLY. Got to love their pricing.

Buy 1 "small" Hav-a-Heart style live trap for $30 -- OR -- buy a pair of traps, that includes the very same "small" trap + 1 much larger raccoon size trap for only $24.

Yup, you got that right. 1 small trap for $30. A 2-pack of traps for $24. Go figure.

So I put the small trap up in the attic, baited it with an OREO that I smothered in Peanut Butter. Now its a waiting game.
 
300 H and H said:
My bet is you won't be waiting very long...Hopefully before bed time. Other wise at oh dark thirty....
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Stuck my head up near the access door and came face to face with a squirrel that was trying to figure out how to get that OREO. Its just a matter of time. :hammer:
 
Melensdad said:
Thanks for the offer, but I put a new roof on the house last spring!

I went up to TRACTOR SUPPLY. Got to love their pricing.

Buy 1 "small" Hav-a-Heart style live trap for $30 -- OR -- buy a pair of traps, that includes the very same "small" trap + 1 much larger raccoon size trap for only $24.

Yup, you got that right. 1 small trap for $30. A 2-pack of traps for $24. Go figure.

So I put the small trap up in the attic, baited it with an OREO that I smothered in Peanut Butter. Now its a waiting game.
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Oh, I'm hurt. You just don't want me to visit! Just like in college. I'm from that fraternity on the other side of the railroad tracks; literally. Or are you just teasing me because I'd eat all your bait??
 
Dargo said:
Oh, I'm hurt. You just don't want me to visit! Just like in college. I'm from that fraternity on the other side of the railroad tracks; literally. Or are you just teasing me because I'd eat all your bait??
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BOTH :hammer:

Oh, and I still hold a grudge against you for setting a new college record in the canoe race, a record that I held for 3 straight years!!!
 
Oatmeal butterscotch cookies work better. Oreos are so lame! Fried squirrel is good for a breakfast meat.:whistling:
 
So I wonder if melons dad slept last night...or caught a squirrel! My luck would be at about 3 AM...

So how did it go?

Regards, Kirk
 
Gawd, what a slow news week. No mass shootings. No politics to argue. Mak2 is out for a while.

Can't believe I'm reading/posting about a squirrel saga.
 
No squirrel yet. I'm going to reposition the trap so its not directly over the access hatch. I think the squirrels may be a bit wary about walking on the open wire mesh base of the trap over the 9' drop offered by the access hatch opening???
 
Yep! And you should have washed it down with some mud to get the factory/store smell off it. If it is mom and you already kidnapped her kids good luck. Better cookies than oreos are needed. When was the last time a squirrel in the woods had an oreo?? Oatmeal cookies work! Caught more than a few critters with them before. Even groundhogs!
 
Yea, proper bait is important (unless you're going for raccoon in which case anything works).

I had to laugh to myself earlier this year. We have a few of those 2-piece live traps from TSC. My son saw a rabbit in the garden so he proceeded to get the trap out, set it and then fill it with what I call "rabbit food" which is lettuce. He set the trap in the middle of the garden. The rabbits would have to climb over several rows of veggies (including lettuce) to get to the trap. He didn't understand why he didn't catch any...
 
WE ARE AT WAR!

I got rid of 1 of them the other day. He is back.

The other squirrel stole the cookie out of the trap without tripping it.

So the gloves have come off, the gauntlet has been thrown down. We are officially at war.

I was trying to be nice when I let the one squirrel go and run down my chimney out into the yard. Apparently he remembered the route and returned the same way? The goal is now to trap them (live) and release them on the OTHER SIDE of the river.

Status as of 3:34pm CST, one squirrel is in the attic, the other is running around the 3 season room. The Hav-A-Heart trap has been re-set, at its lightest setting. Bait is another OREO cookie, coated with Peanut Butter. The wait begins.

Hopefully I get the one out of the 3 season room trapped before I have to leave for the fencing club. If so he will come for a ride with me and I'll release him 10 miles north of here at the fencing club. Then when I come home I can reset the trap and, with any luck, get the other squirrel over-night???

If progress is not made soon, then I might take up Dargo and his MP5 offer.
 
Throw another bug bomb up there to force them out. Once gone, seal it back up without bridges and such.
 
oooohhh, the one in the attic is very angry now!!!

WASP spray into the "eve vents" and a Bug Bomb inserted into the access panel hole. I hear it up there and it does not sound happy. Perhaps it will GO AWAY now!!!

The one that was bouncing around the 3 season room took off, he ignored the cookie and the trap. I expect he went out and down the chimney again? The trap will get him eventually. Let's be honest, nobody, not even a squirrel, can resist an OREO coated with fresh peanut butter!!!
 
Hell, you gave the enemy provisions so it can hold out longer. I expect a long standoff in the offing.:yum::yum:
 
Well I'm off to the fencing club. No noise in the attic at all. Maybe the one up there took flight after the bug bomb/wasp spray assault? Maybe he's just taking a nap? Who knows.

As for the trap, well that is empty, except for the cookie. Which looks so good that I may reach in and eat it! The squirrel that was bouncing around the 3 season room is also nowhere to be found.

I'm betting they are having a strategic conference in a neighboring tree, planning, watching and waiting.
 
Why not? A nice cozy place to spend the winter and plenty of insulation to crap and piss in. Not to mention the free cookies to munch on.:whistling::yum:
 
I would like to commend you on taking the high ground with this squirrel issue. Seriously MD, you’re OK in my book…
 
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