Brought to you by Evergreen Cottage Watch
Commonly called “tree rats” by most caretakers, squirrels can create an unbelievable amount of damage in a very short time. There teeth are razor sharp and are mounted in super strong jaws. While not a real danger to most people unless they are cornered or trapped, they are still a danger to your valuable vacation property when you are not there.
I was caretaking a beautiful , unheated log cabin on Merrymeeting Lake in New Durham,NH a few years ago. It was winter time and I had to snowshoe into the cabin once every two weeks. Upon opening the door I noticed the wooded shutters covering the windows were chewed and broken, pieces of pine was scattered across the floor. The bedroom door was agar and I cautiously opened it and a ” small wirling dirvish” blasted past me and started dashing around the cabin. It was obvious what had caused all the damage! I was able corner it a closet with a metal ash bucket and let it go outside without too much trouble. Then I started looking around. Oh Oh!
It appears he had gotten in thru the fireplace chimney and after pushing open the ash grate, it must have snapped shut behind him, thus trapping him and in his panic to escape he started trying to chew his way out. He chewed under all the wooden doors, chewed all the kitchen cabinet doors, and even the closet doors. The worst damage was to the custom wooden shutters covering all the first floor windows.
A hardware cloth screen around the chimney cap prevented further damage, but the cost of repair was over two thousand dollars. And this was back in 1995!
There are new items on the market to prevent this in the future. One of the most interesting is a strobe light which mounts in the attic and the strobe is designed to hurt the rodents eyes and drive them off. I’ll keep you informed on this non lethal solution. If squirrels have invaded the attic or elsewhere in your house you have a major problem. That’s because squirrels feel about their home the same way you do. They don’t want to leave; they may have family there; and they will apply all their energy and persistence to staying put. Let Evergreen Cottage Watch inspect your property and help you keep the “tree rats” outside where they belong!
Brought to you by Evergreen Cottage Watch
