Very Odd!! That’s just how I would describe what happened to us on Saturday morning.
I should preface this entry by telling you about an entry I wrote a while back. I called the entry “I thought I Had Seen Everything“… and I did think that! Yes, that’s right… a squirrel came down our fireplace!
You know what they say about lightening not striking the same place twice… Well, I would have thought that could be applied to squirrels also!
At 4:00 AM-ish on Saturday morning, I heard something in our attic. (Actually, I was hoping that it was our rooftop.) As usual, I was the person who went out and inspected for the cause of the noise… while my husband continued to sleep. After checking and checking, and then finally going back to bed, we realized that the noise was a squirrel in our attic, trying desperately to get out. Luckily, he did get out!
Unfortunately for us, we discovered that one of the ways the squirrel tried to get out of the attic was by climbing up the air conditioner’s drip pipe… which he managed to break apart. And, of course, as all things usually go >>> there is no possible way to access the part of the pipe that the little squirrel tried so valiantly to climb while making his escape.
Long story – short— We are going to have to have some repairs done in the attic so that the air conditioner’s drip pan can be attached to a new mode of drip pipe.
I’m starting to rethink having a bird/squirrel bath in our back yard. And also all of the evergreen oak trees we planted when we moved in 17 years ago… Between all of the acorns and the water, our yard has become a very popular squirrel hang-out!
Petie says
I love the squirrel stories! And how lovely the trees must be around your house. I think you need to go ahead with the bird/squirrel bath in the back – summers in Texas are still going to be hot and those precious ones need their refreshments. And reading your note reminded me of a book I’m going to “Santa” myself with: The Lady in the Attic by Tara Randel.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Petie, I put the bird bath in the back yard a few years ago, when we were experiencing a drought.
Also, please let us know if Tara Randel’s The Lady in the Attic is a good Cozy. We’re always looking for more of those!
Sandra says
Well, I have no squirrel stories since I live in the desert outside Phoenix and we only have squirrels up north in AZ BUT I Do have 2 skunk stories in my backyard that will make the squirrel stories seem very tame, but believe me, you do not want to hear about those!!! One of them died between our block wall and permanent storage shed in the 120 degree Summertime heat!!! Of course, it wasn’t as expensive as your problem was!!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
YIKES, Sandra! I can only imagine how awful that must have been! (It makes my little squirrel sound like nothing >>> well, almost nothing…)
Sandra says
No Danna, my skunk story is over with, your squirrel problem continues and continues with the frustration of getting someone there to repair everything. You would think people would be so hard up for work and money in this economy that they would be knocking your door down to get any kind of job today!!! Mine was a day or two of trying (and lying) to get someone from the county to come get the dead smelly things gone!!! All the time our county and local newpapers and alerts come about rabies being an epidemic so you would think they would come in minutes, suited up and test the poor animals for rabies. We had to lie after making at least a dozen calls and tell them that we believed the skunks to be still alive before one poor young woman came, without protective gear and used a long handled probe and fished the things out into a black trash bag. By that time the skunks were not only dead but squishy and nauseating. For all I know they didn’t even test them for rabies, because I figured we would get a notice from the county since they knew we had 2 little Yorkie Poo dogs that of course go out in the backyard. My story just lingers in our minds and paranoia of another such problem happening some day, we are forever waiting for that distinctive smell. And to compound it, the neighbor behind us said that 2 wks ago, they had a small skunk trying to attack their big outdoor dog.
Like I said squirrels haven’t been our problem but other than the skunks and occasional coyote and snake, the woodpeckers will drive you crazy and do alot of damage too. Why do they always have to make so much noise when I want to sleep in, and they are attacking my poor palm trees with a vengence. Oh well, that’s Mother Nature and we have to live with it!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sandra, it sounds like your rabies alerts were (like many stories in the media) designed to generate higher Nielsen ratings for those television channels, as well as increase the readership of the newspapers. One would think that they would have quickly retrieved the skunks and tested them as soon as possible.
As for my squirrel dilemma: I thought I had a roofer who was supposed to have taken care of the squirrel’s entrance, but unfortunately, the roofer was a “no show” >>> So, Monday my quest for a roofer will begin anew..
Carrie says
A few years ago I had two squirrels in my attic and the noise that their scratchy feet made nearly drove me insane. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of them but I eventually had to get the pest control people to come and remove them and then block up their access holes. It took them days to catch those pesky squirrels and the damage they did to my attic was considerable. They had built a nest and had chewed my beams, electrical wiring and packing cases. I now have squirrel teeth marks in many of the items that I stored in the attic, including quite a few of my books!
Considering the amount of trouble and money they caused me I’m afraid that I’m one of those people that think they are just rats with designer coats.
At least I was kinder to them than they were to me, I didn’t have them exterminated but caught and removed by the pest control people.
For those of you that love squirrels I can only imagine that you have admired them scurrying around in trees. When you have them in your attic the noise they make keeps you awake at night and begins to drive you insane, also the damage they do costs you a fortune. I like to see them in woods among the trees, I just wish they would stay there and not try and set up home in my attic!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carrie,
As awful as the squirrels were in your attic, I’m glad you wrote this comment. I had the air conditioning people out here to repair the damage that squirrel did to the drain pipe, but have been pretty lax in getting a roofer out here.
I have contacted three roofers (so far) who, when they finally called back, told me that they don’t want to take on this small task. (The west side of San Antonio has experienced a lot of hail damage recently.) [Note to self: Don’t call them when I have to get my roof re-shingled!!!)
So, my mission today is to finally get a roofer out here to find the actual hole that little fur-ball found >>> as soon as possible, and to block it off.
Annette says
You would love our town we have 4 foot painted squirrels all over the town. It is a fund raising cause. All of the squirrels are painted different depending on who is sponsoring that squirrel. We have Lady Justice, Ronald MacDonald, an disabled veteran, Santa, I guess you get the picture, we have calendars!!!! I just thought this was amusing with all the squirrel stories. In the Town of Olean we have literally hundreds of squirrels, gray, red and black.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Annette, I wish I had had your Lady Justice squirrel in my attic on Saturday AM, rather than the one I had! I bet I wouldn’t have had to track down a roofer for tomorrow!
Your town sounds like they have a good time with your squirrels, and the fund-raising aspect just makes it even better!
regina says
I loved your squirrel story. We have a different wild life story. About 10 years ago, I heard a strange noise in our chimney. I went into the living room and found a mallard duck in our fireplace. I called my husband at work. He accused me of sampling the cooking sherry, but came home, enveloped the duck in a towel and threw it out the front door. 2 years later I heard a whish in the living room, and, you guessed it, there was another duck flying around. We disposed of it with no damage to my precious Hummels. Now we have a cap on our chimney.
Sandra says
Regina, if I walked in and found a mallard duck in my living room, I think I would have found something stronger than the “cooking sherry” to drink while waiting for my husband to get home. Sure would have doubted my sanity and pinched myself to see if I was even awake and then put a little whiskey in my coffee!!!
Wonder what the duck thought when he found himself inside a living room instead of flying south for the winter or swimming in the pond?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, as cute as ducks seem… I know they would not be cute in your home! Two ducks in two years >>> that chimney cap sounds like it’s a must for you all.
(My husband’s brother and family were stationed in Germany, where they became devoted Hummel collectors. I am sure they would not enjoy the prospect of their Hummels being tossed by a derelict mallard duck!)