Help! Squirrels are eating my car!
Robert Fulmer
years now, and the squirrel appears to be winning.
Three years ago, my car would smell sort-of like a pot roast when the
engine would warm up. Turns out that the squirrel carried a bunch of
dog food from the puppy's bowl on the porch, and built a nice little
nest for himself on the engine block. I spent all that winter cleaning
dog food out of my engine. The squirrel would bring it back as fast as
I could clean it out...
Two years ago, the car started running really rough. Thought it might
need a tune-up; it had been a while since the last one. The cruise
control quit working, too. Oh well, it's an old car, and things break.
Well, the cruise control unit is nestled up under the fender well,
surrounded with fiberglas insulation. When I dismantled the fender
well to fix the cruise control unit, it turns out that the squirrel
thought that would make a toasty little nest. He chewed all the wires
and vacuum hoses off the cruise control, to make his new home a little
more comfortable. Took me all day to fix that one...
Last weekend, my car wouldn't start. Mr. Squirrel, again. Chewed all
the wires off the fuel injectors. Took me all afternoon to fix it.
Now I'm starting to get ticked off! I tried Ro-pel, a yecchie tasting
stuff that you spray on surfaces that you don't want rodents chewing.
I think Mr. Squirrel developed a taste for it. I've been using moth
balls on the engine, and they keep him away; but if I don't keep
replacing them constantly, Mr. Squirrel returns. I can't imagine that
the fumes off of those things are good for me or my traveling
companions, either. (Probably destroyed my brain cells; that's why I
can't outsmart this squirrel.) I thought about rat poison, but can't
figure out how to target just the squirrel; I certainly don't want to
launch a preemptive strike against all the wildlife in the area (yet).
I also thought about a shotgun, but thought that may have a way of
ending up on the six o'clock news (man shoots car with shotgun, etc.)
Any ideas?
- Boris Betternoff
John W. Keating
Robert Fulmer <rfu...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> [Squirrel defeating Boris story deleted...]
>
> Any ideas?
Comrade,
Try .22 rifle and squirrel pot pie. Wery Tasty.
PS: Watch for moose....
--
John W. Keating, III
kea...@clark.net
http://www.clark.net/pub/keating/keating.html
pape...@usa.pipeline.com
weather-resistant blocks. Check the pest control section of a good hardware
store or home center. We put this stuff in coolish parts of the engine
compartment of our vehicles to remove insulation-loving rodents from the
rodent gene pool. So far, it has worked wonderfully.
Alternative: cover the bottom of your engine compartment, and other
possible entry orfices, with 1" chicken wire.
*******************
*Perfection Is Not An Option*
*******************
-Kirk Kerekes
Manuel Robalino
: I've been having a running battle with a local squirrel for about three
: years now, and the squirrel appears to be winning.
: Last weekend, my car wouldn't start. Mr. Squirrel, again. Chewed all
: the wires off the fuel injectors. Took me all afternoon to fix it.
: Any ideas?
1. Dress up like a female squirrel, take him out to dinner, seduce him
then break his little rodent heart.
2. Find a Ferrari Show and convice him it is time to "trade up".
3. Paint some marbles to look like the dog food he likes so much.
4. Have a really long talk with your dog about that touchy subject "Dogs
who like Squirrels too much and the Squirrels that abuse them".
5. Get rid of your dog, the squirrels obviously feel threatened and thus
feel the need to "hide" the kibble.
Best,
Keira Robalino
Stormy Henderson
[deleted]
Build a garage. (c:
Be happy...
,-------------------------------------------------------.
| Stormy Henderson (sto...@gtlug.org) |
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| Stormy Mountain, a ROM 2.4 (phs.k12.ar.us 6969) |
| Marrying my Lisa on April 20th, 1996. |
`-------------------------------------------------------'
Ben Klausner
Robert Fulmer <rfu...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>I've been having a running battle with a local squirrel for about three
>years now, and the squirrel appears to be winning.
>
Rat traps (oversized mouse traps) work well. Bait a couple with apples or
such, and place under the car.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben Klausner, N5DJL | Give pizza chance
klau...@netcom.com |
Austin, TX |
David Kazilsky
>I've been having a running battle with a local squirrel for about three
>years now, and the squirrel appears to be winning.
>Three years ago, my car would smell sort-of like a pot roast when the
>engine would warm up. Turns out that the squirrel carried a bunch of
>dog food from the puppy's bowl on the porch, and built a nice little
>nest for himself on the engine block. I spent all that winter cleaning
>dog food out of my engine. The squirrel would bring it back as fast as
>I could clean it out...
>Two years ago, the car started running really rough. Thought it might
>need a tune-up; it had been a while since the last one. The cruise
>control quit working, too. Oh well, it's an old car, and things break.
> Well, the cruise control unit is nestled up under the fender well,
>surrounded with fiberglas insulation. When I dismantled the fender
>well to fix the cruise control unit, it turns out that the squirrel
>thought that would make a toasty little nest. He chewed all the wires
>and vacuum hoses off the cruise control, to make his new home a little
>more comfortable. Took me all day to fix that one...
>Last weekend, my car wouldn't start. Mr. Squirrel, again. Chewed all
>the wires off the fuel injectors. Took me all afternoon to fix it.
>Now I'm starting to get ticked off! I tried Ro-pel, a yecchie tasting
>stuff that you spray on surfaces that you don't want rodents chewing.
>I think Mr. Squirrel developed a taste for it. I've been using moth
>balls on the engine, and they keep him away; but if I don't keep
>replacing them constantly, Mr. Squirrel returns. I can't imagine that
>the fumes off of those things are good for me or my traveling
>companions, either. (Probably destroyed my brain cells; that's why I
>can't outsmart this squirrel.) I thought about rat poison, but can't
>figure out how to target just the squirrel; I certainly don't want to
>launch a preemptive strike against all the wildlife in the area (yet).
>I also thought about a shotgun, but thought that may have a way of
>ending up on the six o'clock news (man shoots car with shotgun, etc.)
>Any ideas?
>- Boris Betternoff
Very interesting story. I had a similar problem with squirrels and
rabbits but it was my garden they were eating not my car. I put a
large diameter pipe near the area where I see them hanging out. I put
some food (peanut butter etc) at the entrance of the pipe. The other
end of the pipe is sealed shut. It took a few tries but one day the
critter saw me comming and ran into the pipe to hide. I promptly
sealed the end of the pipe and transported the little guy to my
neighbors yard. Actually to was a forrest 5 miles away. I have
captured 4 squirrels that way. The rabbits however are another story.
Good luck.
PS You can try and call the DNR in your area if it is possible and
maybe they can offer more advice.
David
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
dhk...@execpc.com
What the mind can conceive
and believe
it can achieve
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Michael J Rothberg
Keep getting the J.C whitney catalogs!!! Great replacement parts!!!!
Oh.. and do not forget those Chilton repair manuals. You never know
what he will eat next!
Sorry I could'nt pass this up. :)
Michael J Rothberg
In <4b8g53$c...@NNTP.MsState.Edu> sto...@gtlug.org (Stormy Henderson)
writes:
Upmanu Lall
it would be a qualifying charity.
Thank you for a most entertaining posting!
In article <4b7ul1$l...@cloner2.ix.netcom.com>,
rfu...@ix.netcom.com(Robert Fulmer) wrote:
--
Upmanu Lall
Professor
Utah Water Research Laboratory & Civil Env. Eng.
Utah State University
Logan UT 84322-8200
(801)-797-3184
FAX: 801-797-3663
Philip P Calvert
If you don't want to kill the squirrel you should ask around to see if anyone
you know owns a Hav-A-Hart trap. Or go ahead and buy one if you think you
will probably have a need for it. Catch the sucker and let him (or her) go
as far away as possible. But for the sake of others, don't release it near
any homes!
--
Phil Calvert
============================================================================
cal...@eos.ncsu.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity."
--H. Ellison
============================================================================
Hugh J. Gilley
Have you tried a rodent trap or
more commonly called a live trap.You bait the thing an catch the squirrel
and take him for a ride to the country or to the zoo or park if its not to
close.You would bait him with what ever he is eating;its pretty simple.
Tim Hicks
A. E. Siegman
couple of weeks ago from a woman who parked her Toyato
in a corral, and horses ate the outside rear view mirrors
and a substantial fraction of one of the (plastic) quarter
panels.
RON
>running battle with a local squirrel for about three > > years now, and
>the squirrel appears to be winning. > > > > Three years ago, my car would
>
"scratch" marks on the frame. Little 1/8" pairs of vertical grooves
where the undercoating had been removed. At first I thought that I had
gone through some brush or something. Then it dawned on me, those
scratches would have been somewhat horizontal. Man, was I ever puzzled.
Then, one day, as I came out of the house, Mr. Squirrel darted out
from under the truck. All of the sudden, you know how those little
movies replay in your mind, it became clear. I had seen this same
squirrel run from under my truck before. Now I'm thinking, cute little
squirrel, pair of little "Buckey Beaver" teeth, vertical scratch marks....
Prior to this I was about to replace the fuel gauge when it quit
all of the sudden. I finally traced it to a broken wire. And yep,
there were those little vertical grooves on the frame again.
Well, the next time I came out of the house, Mr. Squirrel darted
out from under the truck. Only this time he made the mistake of going
up a nearby tree and proceeded to chastise me for interrupting his
lunch. What can I say, twenty-two, cross-hairs, hollow point magnum,
squeeze. The little black-toothed bastard dropped like a brick.