Mouse trap report

"Julia Altshuler" <jaltshuler RemoveThis @comcast.net> wrote in message
news:pZydnUkOkoCSUgHanZ2dnUVZ_umlnZ2d@comcast.com...
> tiny dancer wrote:
>> Don't have any idea why they might have invaded Lia's basement.
>
>
> It may remain a mystery. Nothing has changed about the house or the
> squirrels since we moved in 11 years ago. Suddenly this year, we have
> critters. Last post I was sure they were squirrels. Now I'm not so sure.
> The broken glass and missing trap would suggest something big, but it's
> not like we're infested with many of them. The humans haven't heard
> anything, and there's no other evidence of nesting or scat.
>
>
> Jim wondered if the fact that the broken glass was a Red Hook one contains
> a message, perhaps a threat of what they'll do if we let the dog down
> there or a request for (grain-based) beer.
>
>
> Our next step is an investigation of the chimney to see if that yields
> more clues.
>
>
> --Lia


Is this a fireplace chimney or a furnace chimney? We did have a cap
installed on our fireplace chimney. Usually a chimney cleaner can tell
what's getting in, I think. One of my friends had a raccoon that would come
down her fireplace chimney. Luckily, she had glass doors for the fireplace,
so it couldn't actually get into her family room. A chimney cap took care
of the problem. Don't know what else to suggest, but I kind of agree with
Jim. When I read your description, I myself was thinking a bit larger than
a squirrel. How about checking with a local wild-life expert as to possible
suggestions?

td



>
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

Lia said in part....
Any idea how to rid a basement of squirrels?
_____________________________
Lia,
I was going to guess squirrels as I read your post, before I got to
the part where you said you thought they were squirrels.
I love squirrels and have rehabbed dozens of infants, however I do not
want them living with me.
I swear by Rid X. They are electronic devices that plug into the
wall. I have never had any rodents in my house down here, that has been
almost 10 years. I just can't imagine anything being dumb enough to
come into this house.
Montana mentioned using a similar device. Rid X advises you to put a
unit on every level of your house. That is not an issue for me. I only
have one level. When I lived in Mi. they came in under the eaves of the
house and set up housekeeping above the ceiling in the bedroom. I
waited until the babies split and my husband sealed off their access. I
understand that is not an option for you, as you do not know how,
whatever it is arrives. Good luck!!!!


Be Free.....Judy
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

"tiny dancer" <tinydancer357.RemoveThis@nospamhotmail.com> wrote in
news:QI2nj.59219$Mu4.36034@bignews7.bellsouth.net:

> But we didn't have any problems with the squirrels trying to come
> into our house. Don't have any idea why they might have invaded
> Lia's basement.

It could have something to do with the fact that it actually gets
cold where Lia lives.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julia Altshuler" <jaltshuler.TakeThisOut@comcast.net>
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2008 6:02 AM
Subject: Re: Mouse trap report


> filly wrote:
>> They will vacate at dawn to feed and return at dusk, so as soon as you
>> are relatively certain that they are out you need to seal any entrances,
>> and you need to use metal to seal with. They will try to return and can
>> make their way through about anything else.
>
>
> Good information, thanks. I'm going to start paying attention to WHEN
> Cubbe is doing the wagging and whining. It's hard because she's always
> done some residual pawing at places. That is, she's not crazy when she
> identifies a spot where there's a critter, but she stays fixated on the
> spot long after the critter is gone.

Try listening around daybreak, you should be able to hear them rustling
around. Mine made a real racket, you couldn't miss it, but hearing them from
overhead is probably much louder than from down below. Still, I would think
you would hear them skittering around.
>
>
> I suppose we should be spending more time getting rid of them than
> figuring out how they got there, but I can't help wondering what was
> appealing about the basement in the first place. With mice, you figure
> it's warmth. With squirrels, assuming it is squirrels, why would they be
> interested in the basement?

You'll need to figure out how they got in there to block access. And I
haven't heard of squirrels in the basement before but I don't see any reason
that they wouldn't avail themselves of any warm, relatively dry location.
>
>
> We love watching them through the dining room window. They're amusing
> critters darting up and down trees.

I used to think they were charming, after living with them, not so much.

I ended up being afraid of them, mine became very protective of what they
perceived as their territory. I started waging my war by trying to chase
them out but they wouldn't chase out. They would stand their ground and
chatter at me.

Now, I would like to think it was in a threatening manner, and that they
actually lunged at me, but that didn't happen. They just wouldn't scare
away, and I ended up frightened of them.

Cubbe sometimes barks at them. As
> she's gotten older, she hasn't bothered as much.

I've heard lots of stories of dogs catching squirrels, but I've never had a
dog fast enough. They keep trying though. The squirrels come down the tree
trunks to within about four feet of the dogs and tease them, staying just
out of reach.

But what would they
> want with the basement? We bought a bird feeder at a garage sale once
> that had some seed in it, so we wondered if that enticed them, but that
> was years ago.

I doubt it was the bird feeder. Probably they just found access to a warm
place and moved on in.
>
>
> Other than that, there was no food down there UNTIL we put out the peanut
> butter in the traps.

They are very destructive and will chew anything. The insulation on your
wiring, the insulation in your walls, any paper-like books or pictures,
fabric, wood...they will chew anything chewable. If you have anything stored
in your basement, they will get into it and possibly destroy it. They are a
fire hazard and a health hazard.

I really hope you don't have squirrels Lia, but I don't know if rats or mice
are any less trouble. Probably not.

Karla
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

In article <q14nj.2594$7S5.1208@trndny08>, filly <johnhenry.RemoveThis@verizon.net> wrote:
>I've heard lots of stories of dogs catching squirrels, but I've never had a
>dog fast enough.

When I had cats living in my guest bedroom they killed a few
squirrels that came in through the attic.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore.RemoveThis@panix.com

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

> Try listening around daybreak, you should be able to hear them rustling
> around. Mine made a real racket, you couldn't miss it, but hearing them from
> overhead is probably much louder than from down below. Still, I would think
> you would hear them skittering around.


I've been waking up early, so tomorrow morning I'll do some investigating.



> You'll need to figure out how they got in there to block access. And I
> haven't heard of squirrels in the basement before but I don't see any reason
> that they wouldn't avail themselves of any warm, relatively dry location.


Right now, all bets are on the chimney as the access. This brings up a
question in the 'I don't know nuttin about rodents' department.
Squirrels seek warmer quarters in the winter? I always knew mice did,
but the squirrels seem so happy in the trees all winter. We see their
paw prints in the snow.


> I ended up being afraid of them, mine became very protective of what they
> perceived as their territory. I started waging my war by trying to chase
> them out but they wouldn't chase out. They would stand their ground and
> chatter at me.


I don't remember where the comic is from, but it shows a man outside
under a tree surrounded by menacing approaching squirrels. Inside, his
wife yells out the window "Give them what they want! George, you have a
family!"



> They are very destructive and will chew anything. The insulation on your
> wiring, the insulation in your walls, any paper-like books or pictures,
> fabric, wood...they will chew anything chewable. If you have anything stored
> in your basement, they will get into it and possibly destroy it. They are a
> fire hazard and a health hazard.


There's all sorts of stuff in the basement-- Jim's computer equipment,
books, a few logic analyzers, some clothes, wood working tools, an
oscilloscope.


The chimney is for the fireplace on the main level of the house and the
wood stove in the basement. We've never used the wood stove, and we've
used the fireplace only once many years ago. The house is heated by a
gas furnace, also in the basement. The plan at the moment is to
investigate the chimney ourselves (and by us, I mean Jim) and do what we
can with metal fencing wire. Then I'll bring out a chimney expert. The
guess that a cap or screen is off sounds like a good one. If that
doesn't do the trick, I'll look into the Rid X type noise makers, but
wouldn't that drive Cubbe crazy? She's so sensitive to all high pitched
noises.


--Lia
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

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 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

In article <Xns9A32897F574107544444 DeleteThis @130.133.1.18>,
Terri <Terri DeleteThis @micron.net> wrote:
>Even then we ended up having to shoot them with a .22.

I gave that some thought, mostly out of frustration, but
decided that it was probably a bad idea to shoot up the
kitchen (even though it might have provided an excuse to put
in a new one).

Last spring I had a major problem and Crow took care of it.
She killed 17 rats in about two weeks, and that was that
until this guy moved in about six weeks ago. Unfortunately
this one stayed in the overhead cabinets and I thought it
might be a bad idea to put Crow up in there, too.

>That was also the same year I ended up with mice inside of
>my car making nesting material out of the dashboard stuffing.

Lovely! How did you get rid of those? Mice move into one
of my barns in the winter, and every spring, the first time
I get out the tractor I'll be out on it and some stupid
mouse will come running out from somewhere and I have to
restrain myself from diving off the tractor while it's
moving.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore DeleteThis @panix.com

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

"Melinda Shore" <shore.RemoveThis@panix.com> wrote in message
news:fniih4$e20$1@panix3.panix.com...
> In article <q14nj.2594$7S5.1208@trndny08>, filly <johnhenry.RemoveThis@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>>I've heard lots of stories of dogs catching squirrels, but I've never had
>>a
>>dog fast enough.
>
> When I had cats living in my guest bedroom they killed a few
> squirrels that came in through the attic.
> --

My cats are slower than my dogs. Nary a squirrel corpse betwixt the three
of them.
Karla
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

"perrylep" <perrylep.RemoveThis@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:X05nj.74297$rc2.14820@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> On the home repair group, occasionally there will be a post about pesty
> squirrels. It surely, every time, erupts into a huge posting mess..
> Kind of like when someone here posts about housetraining a puppy and hits
> all the hot buttons.
>
> Perry
>
And I read it all, looking for squirrel deterrents. That's probably where I
got the ideas I used, which did end up being successful.
Karla
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

"Melinda Shore" <shore.DeleteThis@panix.com> wrote in message
news:fnir69$rfa$1@panix3.panix.com...
> In article <Xns9A32897F574107544444.DeleteThis@130.133.1.18>,
> Terri <Terri.DeleteThis@micron.net> wrote:
>>Even then we ended up having to shoot them with a .22.
>
> I gave that some thought, mostly out of frustration, but
> decided that it was probably a bad idea to shoot up the
> kitchen (even though it might have provided an excuse to put
> in a new one).
>
> Last spring I had a major problem and Crow took care of it.
> She killed 17 rats in about two weeks, and that was that
> until this guy moved in about six weeks ago. Unfortunately
> this one stayed in the overhead cabinets and I thought it
> might be a bad idea to put Crow up in there, too.
>
>>That was also the same year I ended up with mice inside of
>>my car making nesting material out of the dashboard stuffing.
>
> Lovely! How did you get rid of those? Mice move into one
> of my barns in the winter, and every spring, the first time
> I get out the tractor I'll be out on it and some stupid
> mouse will come running out from somewhere and I have to
> restrain myself from diving off the tractor while it's
> moving.
> --
> Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore.DeleteThis@panix.com
>
> Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

A few years ago, I had the task of pitching crumbling plastic bags of months
old garbage into a dumpster. About three bags into it, just when my throw
way getting good, a rat flew out of a bag about a foot in front of my face.

I screamed, ran, and locked myself in the car. That was the first live rat
I had ever seen.

I talked myself down and back out and three minutes later the same thing
happened.

I quit.
Karla
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

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