Two years ago I persuaded my hubby to let me buy this old house on land adjoining our own property. It added five town lots to our already seven lots (yes, a whole LOT of mowing!) and our additional ten acres that attach to our property just on the other side of the city line.
It needed major repairs, such as I literally had the family GUT the house to the outer walls, all plumbing, every piece of wiring, everything LOL--gone. And then we began the tearing out walls, and putting up new ones, etc. And when we tore out the upstairs ceilings, a host of mummified squirrels came tumbling out of the loose insulation that had been blown in there who knows how many eons ago. Needless-to-say, we found all the places they’d managed to enter (but not able to get back out from), and repaired those areas.
BUT, the lovely old growth oaks that surround the house, still have many large branches that bridge the gap between tree and roof. And a whole new crop of squirrels run the gauntlet daily from trees to roof, even walking the wiring from garage to roof on the other side of the house.
Having them come to the roof is one thing. But they feel compelled to find a way IN. So there’s a lot of gnawing going on up on my roof! And talk about the Night before Christmas, when all you could hear was the patter of reindeer hoofs--well, these wee critters sound like horses thundering over my roof at a full gallop, when three or four of them get to chasing and cavorting across the many angles and sides of the roof.
It is, however, the gnawing that not only sounds irritating, it IS irritating. This old house needs a new roof. And they are NOT helping! They already broke through an eave area and we’ve had to mend that. And then they chewed a hole out UNDER the mending metal piece. They are SO destructive. How can something so CUTE and furry, be such a menace? They have become Public Enemy Number One around here!
The way the house is designed, there are a number of windows upstairs that are dormers--so the roof slants down on each side of the window. The squirrels come over from the trees with their walnuts and sit on each side of my window (of my office where I sit typing away at my computer keyboard), munching away, looking adorable. I have a front row seat on all this cuteness. And then they finish their nut, and begin to chew on my window framing! Argh! Those little . . .
SO, cute is not cutting it. Some of us have to go . . . And it’s not going to be my family!
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5 comments:
No, squirrels are definitely irritating in my book. Growing up in NYC, one of my teachers once told me, "squirrels are just rats in fancy clothing." That always stuck with me. I do like watching them, but my sympathies are with you!
Ooopss...I can only imagine! I don't get to see squirrels often in my place though, but rats, yes! Yikes! Can you put something in the roof that will annoy those creatures and will make them not go there? ;)
Oh, squirrels are pests. No doubt about it. I hate to say it, but a new roof is probably your best defense, although it's possible that some kind of minimal repair might help ward off the worst damage. Good luck -- you have my sympathies as well.
Yup, been there. Especially since our farm house is over 130 years old. For the past few nights we've had a visitor in the attic, which is right over our bed who is happily munching at something. I just can't bear to see what precious item has been turned into squirrel feed.
Beyond irritating - downright vermin.
Those cute little furry critters that we feed are pests? LOL Guess they are to some but we haven't had any problems with the Gray squirrels. It's usually the red ones that do the damage. Try one of those sonar thingys....
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