Squirrel #4 - FINALLY

[dreamshark]

This one was a real Houdini. We've been  trying to catch it for more than a week. The trap was sprung over and over, but no squirrel. Sometimes the bait was taken, sometimes it wasn't. On the occasions where the bread was eaten and all the peanut butter licked off the strike plate, I think the squirrel must have actually been muscling one of the doors open.

I switched to single-door mode, and wedged the unused door closed with a pencil. That door seemed a little looser than the other one, so I was hoping it was the escape hatch. Squirrel managed to get out of that configuration once too, this time eating half the bait (which bewilders me. Did it eat half the bait before the trap finally sprung, and then it zipped out before the door closed tight?)

Since there was still some bread in there I quickly reset the trap and left it for a day or two. Finally remembered to check the trap and lo! There was a squirrel inside! I hope it wasn't actually stuck in there for 2 days. Probably not, since it seemed plenty lively.

Houdini has been relocated and I'm setting it again. Does this ever end?

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Do you think you still have MORE squirrels in your attic?

K.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

They aren't in the attic all the time - never were. But the number of neighborhood squirrels who know where the hole in the eaves is could be effectively infinite.

[davidschroth.livejournal.com]

Our squirrel relocation project got on sounder footing when we went from a small trap to a larger trap.

Until all entries into the attic/wherever are sealed, you're basically stuck in our mode of just keeping up with the unwanted squatters.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Oh, they've been sealed more than once. The squirrels just chew their way in again. We're hoping that if we first get rid of the squirrels that expect there to be a way into the attic it might be more effective to seal up the hole.

How many squirrels have you caught and relocated?

[quility.livejournal.com]

We had to put a metal sheet over one place they were entering. That has apparently done the trick so far. I think we used flashing.
Infinite squirrels do not sound fun, despite how amusing your posts have been.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Metal flashing didn't work on our squirrels. I don't think they actually chewed through the metal - just the nearest uncovered wood to where the metal was. Richard thinks the best plan would be metal mesh over the INSIDE of the hole. This requires crawling into a space nobody really wants to go into, but should be possible.

[davidschroth.livejournal.com]

I have not kept track. It's a bunch.

[quility.livejournal.com]

Bummer. Yeah no fun. Good luck!

[topum.livejournal.com]

Congrats.