SQUIRRELS ( Noisy Upstairs Tenants)

I am of the opinion that squirrels have Engineering degrees. They seem to have the ability of analyzing a situation and then drafting plans to thwart your best efforts to fool them.

As a case in point, I recall watching a squirrel attempting to get feed out of a bird feeder. The bird lover had hung the feeder from a branch of a tree on a long rope. Between the branch and the feeder was a disc of metal that hampered the squirrels' efforts at reaching the feed. It overcame the obstacle by hanging onto the rope with one 'hand' while its body weight shifted the metal disc aside. It scooped the feed out of the feeder with the other 'hand' onto the ground. It then climbed back up the tree and then down to the ground where it dined in comfort.

Another story: Many years ago I purchased a small house from Miss Gwen Mackenzie of Galt. The house had seen better days but I was determined to patch it up and rent it for a few years before tearing it down and building our dream home.

One day the tenants said that squirrels had taken up residence in the attic. No problem. I can fix that easily; or so I thought.

I found where they had eaten a hole through an eighty year old fascia board. I got the ladder and tools and made short work of patching it.

The tenants called to say "Theyyy're back." This time they moved to the soffit and chewed another hole.

Back with the tools; I patched again. This time they went to the end of the house and ate through the gable.

This called for new battle tactics. I had been told that they can't stand the smell of moth balls -- so I bought a couple of boxes of moth balls and put them inside the hole. They took them out and placed them in a pile on the lawn - rather neatly I thought at the time.