fuggin' Squirrel in my basement

[emperor_black]

A BB Gun, a bag of chips, and a comfy chair. Stakeout

Scott...a little to the left. Ah! now, I've got you... :ROTF:

[Joelski]

#6 shot.

[Leftyzrule580]

"hey cat, there's a packet of food by the wall, go take a bite and see how you like it"

Hahahaha these are awesome!

[guitarsjb]

I tried it today and it did not work. All I got was an even colder basement. I am on 6 days with this crap already. As much of an animal lover as I am, my patience is pretty much gone. All squirrels carry diseases and to have this in my house this long is pissing me off. Don't forget, besides myself, Kathy and Kyle, I also have my dog and my cat to worry about.

No worries bro, I understand. Me, I'd try and make him a housepet LOL..I'm goofy like that. Seriously though, I know they have rabies and disease and you can't keep putting up with him. Hope you get rid of him soon.

[WarPig]

Hope I'm not too late with some advice...

1. Depending on where you live in NJ, there are some options to have someone come live trap him.


2. Call your vet (you have a cat, you've taken him/her to the vet, right?) and ask who they refer wildlife rescue to.

3. What size Havahart are you using? The squirrel size is about 5" square by 18" long. If it has doors at both ends, you need to modify it. Disengage the straight (non-trip) rod, and wire that end shut. Set the trigger plate as you normally would, but put the peanut butter in the far end. Also, make *sure* the wire locking loop is moving freely so it drops in place as soon as the door shuts.

[Cleveland Metal]

Seems that someone here may have trapped a squirrel or two in his day hehe...

Squirrel trap modding... Awesome...

Personally, I'd think you need to lube it with Lemon Oil... It's key to success with most things in life...

[WarPig]

Seems that someone here may have trapped a squirrel or two in his day hehe...

Squirrel trap modding... Awesome...

Yeah, done a bit of work with wildlife. SOMEBODY has to help the little buggers...

[lerxstcat]

At my old complex we had tame squirrels who would come down from the roof and eat nuts right out of your hand. Cute little guys with reddish tails, never had one sneak into the apartment though.

It's not just what he does while he's there. He's leaving dropings throughout the basement too and that shit will dry up and flake off into the dust of the air. That's how hanta virus is spread out west by deer mice, and that shit will kill you.

So try to find his droppings and vacuum them up after you get rid of him. Maybe research the right way to do it without making a Hazmat site out of your basement. I know most people got hanta virus when they came in to clean their vacation cabins and stirred up the dust with the virus in it.

[WarPig]

It's not just what he does while he's there. He's leaving dropings throughout the basement too and that shit will dry up and flake off into the dust of the air. That's how hanta virus is spread out west by deer mice, and that shit will kill you.

This is how panic and rumors are started.

First, from www.nj.gov/health:

"There are between 10 - 50 cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome diagnosed in the United States annually. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has not been diagnosed in New Jersey.


From NJ Environmental Health and Safety (http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/pa...95&pageID=32):

"Most people in South Jersey are aware of the problems associated with ticks and Lyme Disease. The Local Department of Health has emphasized the dangers of sick animals and rabies. Is Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome a new problem for local residents? Yes and no. It depends if you travel to rural areas in the western United States."

Unless that squirrel came into town from out west - which is highly unlikely - hantavirus is not a concern.

What may be a concern is that any animal that spends time outside may have parasites (fleas, ticks, sarcoptic mites, intestinal parasites, etc.) that could be spread to indoor domestic animals or people. That doesn't mean kill the little sucker - it means after he's gone, clean up the areas where he's been using a disinfectant (a capful of bleach in a gallon of water, or a disinfecting cleaner or spray from the store). And don't eat his crap.

If you live trap him, wear work gloves when you release him, make sure the open end of the trap is pointing away from you, and don't put your hand or another person between him and freedom: he's going to be terrified, and will run up and over anything in his path (which includes people - I've seen it happen!).

Last, one more trick that could get rid of him. Best time to do it would be just before dawn, on a day when you're home:

Buy a bag of peanuts. The morning you're going to "evict" him, dump the entire bag in the farthest corner of your yard.

Spread peanut butter on a piece of bread and cut it in pieces (or use cookie pieces, or those cheese-'n-peanut butter crackers).


Open a basement window (nearest where he hides), run a trail of p-butter/cookie/cracker pieces (every couple of feet) from near his hiding spot to the window (every couple of feet), across the yard to the peanuts.

Close the window as soon as you see the trail of crumbs is gone.

Leave the live trap set, just in case - he may decide to go there.

The above worked for a squirrel that wandered into the modelmaking shop of one of the places I worked. After a few unsuccessful attempts by animal control to catch him, he scrambled into the turret of a drill press. The squirrel was scared shitless, and sat in that damn machine all day, barking like they do. The machinist modelmaker tried the above trick the next morning, the squirrel came out and nibbled his way to freedom.

That was a model shop, with no food source or water, so your mileage may vary.

[SEEGERMANY]

What happens if he finds his neighbor sitting there eating the bag of nuts?

[Rsmacker]

Listen, just get a fucking big snake and let him loose in there. It'll be, and will stay, a squirrel free zone, they'll be able to smell it in there and won't want anything to do with the place.

It might even scoff that little Warner Bros bastard you have been kindly feeding.

Erm, dunno how you get rid of big snakes though.

[WarPig]

What happens if he finds his neighbor sitting there eating the bag of nuts?

One of two things: neighbor gets chased into the next county, or fugitive squirrel does.

[SEEGERMANY]

Hey Rich, it's those liberal West coast squirrels that carry all of the diseases!

[Vass]

On the aversion front- and I know that this doesn't help with inside- but I've used this stuff to keep squirrels out of flowerbeds & such...it works.

http://www.plantskydd.com/

Dried blood from slaughterhouses. Guess they smell it & presume there's been predator activity & stay away.

Vass

[StukaJU87]

Victory is mine!!!

Jeri, Mark and the others concerned for my furry squatter, have no fear. I set a brand new trap at about 6pm last night, sans poison at Kathy's request. I told her I was giving him a 24 hour reprieve on using the poison, after that all bets are off.

At 8am today I checked and he was in there. Brought him outside and took a couple pics.

Then I released him about 8 miles away in a nice park. See.....I got a heart after all. I got it from the great and powerful Oz.