A Road I’m traveling…
When I was around 11 years old, I was living in a very rural part of Arizona. Most of my days were spent exploring all the nooks and crannies of my desert surroundings. I remember begging my parents for a BB-Gun, eventually they caved to my plea.
Everyone has regrets in life, right? To this very day, I sincerely regret the use I put that BB-Gun to. In a very short time, I became deadly accurate with that rifle. I could shoot a thorn off a cactus at 50 feet. My days of exploring the scenic Arizona desert quickly turned into days of hunting expeditions.
One might think the desert a desolate and baron place. On the contrary, it teams with all sorts of beautiful and unusual wildlife. I found snakes of all types, especially rattlesnakes. I found lizards, jack-rabbits, birds, horned toads, road-runners, prairie dogs, tarantulas, turtles, bobcats, wild pigs (Javelina), coyotes, skunks & porcupines. If at all possible, I would stalk and kill these poor creatures. I showed very little respect for life. I killed them for no good reason, just the thrill of the hunt. I suppose it’s a good thing that I realize what I did was wrong. Hence, I’ve since shown great respect for the nature around me.
Now I find myself in a quandary. We have been attempting to deal with a rouge squirrel for over a year now. This particular varmint has a fetish for Wendy’s new $35,000.00 Buick Rendezvous. He crawls underneath and up into the engine compartment then proceeds to chew all the wiring and caps. He chewed some of the wiring completely apart and the vehicle actually sputtered and chugged down the road on one particular occasion. We took it in to the service department, and luckily, the dealer did the repairs at no charge even though that sort of damage was not covered under our warranty.
Wendy then ordered some Animal Repellant and periodically sprayed her entire engine compartment with it. We thought the problem was solved but it appears he’s gained immunity because the stuff doesn’t seem to phase him anymore. We then had to replace our entire coolant reservoir after finding it chewed to bits and leaking. Our neighbors brought over a trap and we attempted in vein to catch him in that manner.
So now I am at my wits end. I figure on one hand I have a $35k vehicle that needs to drive safely because my wife and 3 children ride in it. On the other hand, I have a relatively cute yet bothersome squirrel that I really don’t want to kill. Common sense tells me the squirrel has to go so I went to Walmart and purchased the Pellet-Gun above. Back to my murdering ways!
Hey Mike, why don’t you try soaking a rag in Cheese Wiz’s whiz. place the rag in the appropriate place in the engine compartment. When the squirrel smells dog he should stay away. Disguisting though it may be, it’s worth a try, eh?
Comment by Phyd — July 29, 2005 @ 11:56 pm
Have you ever considered a bird feeder in the same general area? I don’t know what it is, but I can’t keep the squirrels off of my bird feeder for anything, no matter how rediculous they make themselves look to do so.
They hang upside down, the straddle it and hang on for life, swaying in the Maryland breeze, and they KNOW I don’t like it, and I am SURE it makes it all the more fun!
Just LOOK at this cheeky thing!
Grrr
Comment by Xerraire — July 30, 2005 @ 1:32 pm
He’s here at this link, sorry
http://xerraire.com/sillysquirrel.jpg
Comment by Xerraire — July 30, 2005 @ 1:32 pm
Ummm… Phyllis, I think I’ll pass on the piss on a rag idea. When wendy sprayed the animal repellant into the engine compartment, the whole cab of the vehicle smelled like it… (Hot Peppers). Nobody is real hip on the idea of a family outing inhaling urine fumes! Besides, getting Cheezer to pee on a rag would be more difficult than getting rid of the squirrel I think!
Comment by Night Owl — July 30, 2005 @ 9:52 pm
Barb, although I do plan on eventually ornating my yard with Bird-Feeders, Bird-Baths, fountains and such… I doubt that would help. This critter has a fetish with plastic and rubber. He’s not eating it as much as chewing. Maybe it’s a she using it for nesting material, who knows? What I do know is that sucker has got to go. His/her days are numbered.
Comment by Night Owl — July 30, 2005 @ 9:57 pm
btw… cute picture but I’m still gonna plug him dead!
Comment by Night Owl — July 30, 2005 @ 9:58 pm
Hey Mike,
We had the same problem and after hundreds of dollars in repairs, traps and repellants we had to let him go.
We even caught him twice in the trap and took him to a nice park ( two different parks one a little farther away then the first) and he came back so in the end it was him or us. And we chose our safety. Good luck
And yes we tried urine as well (Stinky!!!!)
Comment by Stephanie — July 31, 2005 @ 11:07 am
I knew you’d never try Cheeze Wiz’s whiz, but the thought of you trying to get “The Wiz” to whiz on a rag made me smile …..
Comment by Phyd — August 1, 2005 @ 12:27 pm
Mike
Where are ya?
You’ve been silent for days.
I am kinda getting this picture of you…camaflouge outfit, mud on your face, foliage in your helmet, bb gun at the ready, half cocked, with you staking out this squirrel!
Comment by Xerraire — August 6, 2005 @ 12:05 pm
Shhhhhh……….
Be vewwy, vewwy, quiet. I’m huntin da wabbit!
I mean… squirrel!
Comment by Night Owl — August 9, 2005 @ 11:11 pm