Squirrel Wars They're ba-a-a-c-k. Squirrels. They eat my strawberries and my peaches. Across the street, they strip my neighbor's pear and apple trees. My neighbor doesn't get any of the fruit He's grown. The birds get the blueberries and the cherries. It's a wonder that any fruit makes it to market. They don't touch my Brussels sprouts , chives or rhubarb. Fussy little pests.
On Park Circle, there is a little park. The squirrels love that wild area. From the park, they hop on the squirrel highway a.k.a. the telephone wires. Word has gotten around in the squirrel world, that Park Circle is good picking. They arrive over the telephone wires in hoards.
One wouldn't mind if they picked just one peach and ate it...leaving the rest of the fruit for me. I don't mind sharing. But no. ..those greedy little bastards attack my fruit trees before the fruit is half ripe. By the time the peaches are ripe, there aren't any for me.
I've declared war. I bought a Have-A-Hart trap. My neighbor bought two.
The traps are baited with a cracker with peanut butter on it. Reconnaissance: they appear about dinner time. I put the trap out and go away. A few hours later, I have trapped a squirrel. I've trapped 14 of them so far!
When they're in the trap, I can get close up and personal. They sure are cute little fellas...so fuzzy, with big, clear eyes...tiny ears...alert and watchful of me, watching them.
I showed one to Rascal, my dog. She wasn't interested, unless they were out and she was free to chase them.
They all look alike, but I've learned that they have different personalities. One squirrel went into an absolute panic. Another one was shell shocked. Then there was the squirrel who growled at me for the entire trip out of my neighborhood. A big human did not scare him (or her) I was challenged by a little bitty fluff of fur, caught in a trap. You have to admire him. He's a gutsy little rodent.
My neighbor pointed out an area across the bridge that seemed a good place to let the squirrels go. I drive the mile and a half, find the wild place with trees and let the squirrel go. They shoot out of the trap...faster than a speeding bullet!
This bridge is where my neighbor likes to fish from. After a fishing trip, He reports to me that he looked down at the base of the bridge....to see a squirrel exploring the area...trying to get across the water. Could he figure it out and return home to Park Circle? I should have spray painted a red "x" on him so I would know if I was catching the same squirrel over and over.
This year, I am taking the squirrels three miles out, to Eisenhower Park.