Ok, so I've never really loved squirrels, but now I have even more reason to consider them worthless, bothersome creatures. They've chewed their way into my attic for the second fall in a row! We got them out last time by trapping them and then patched the hole with a piece of steel. Now, they're back in a different location! What's even worse, my renters upstairs say that they've heard them since Halloween trying to get in, and gnawing on anything they could get their teeth on! They're determined little buggers!

I've called a pest control expert.. he's been in the business for 20 or 30 years.. and was nice enough to give me a lot of info over the phone. Part of which was that it would add up to about $500-$600 to take care of my problem. The other thing that he told me that really stuck in my craw, was that my house is now a 'generation house' as they say in the squirrel removal business. This means that litters that were born in the house will come back as grown-ups trying to nest for the winter and have their own litters. Well, excuse me squirrel-lovers, but this is far from cute to me!! (Insert long trail of swear words here.)

So I've gotten two cats - free from Craigslist - which were supposed to be mousers, but one won't come out from behind the couch unless really really coaxed and the other would probably sleep through a visit from a furry little intruder. Maybe the smell of the cats will be enough to deter the squirrels from scampering around my basement anymore! Oh, did I mention that in older houses, the walls are 'balloon' construction and are open, besides cozy insulation, all the way from attic into the ceiling of the unfinished basement?! My renters are scared to go down and do their laundry! I guess she had a squirrel chase her when she was younger.

I'm glad they don't scare me.. because I have a big fight ahead of me. I've got 2 traps, an endless supply of walnuts, and a hell of a lot of persistence behind me. I will probably not be hiring the expensive removal guy to do the work for me.. nope, I'm resourceful on my own!

Wish me luck and please quit feeding squirrels! They're definitely capable of taking care of their own needs.. and they're way too comfortable in our urban areas. They have no problem with their numbers, and I've just read that even though they have natural predators, like snakes, eagles, foxes etc. it never seems to dwindle their numbers.

Too bad. Maybe next I'll get a snake and put it up the wall cavities! Hmm.. good idea! Does anyone have a hungry snake I could borrow!?