Here we go again

Like a bad sequel, the squirrel problem is back. One started knocking around in the attic again this week. This was quite the noisy squirrel. He liked to make these purring, meowing sounds when he was hanging out in the knee wall, and he shrieked when he was scared.

At first I thought Hammy was back, because this squirrel also kept trying to get through the access panel. I was surprised when I opened the door to retrieve the cage, and I had a different squirrel - darker coat, less bushy tail. I've read that squirrels are attracted to light, so they must see some around the edges of the panel or something. Otherwise I don't know how they'd figure out it was there.

This particular squirrel had a new trick, though. He figured out how to get in between the floor upstairs and the ceiling downstairs, and run around right over my head. That wasn't annoying.

I didn't have any more sunflower seeds so this time I used peanut butter and granola. Then I went out for supper, and came back to a neatly packaged squirrel. It doesn't take long. These guys are gullible.

This afternoon I went into the attic kneewall to see if there was any damage caused to the electrical wiring, and to see if I could block off where they were getting in. I made a number of interesting findings:

• Underneath the fiberglass batting on the attic floor just inside the access panel was a small blower motor, which is connected to the flexible HVAC ductwork that runs through the wall. This runs to the extra vent in the room below. That must be how the heat is distributed from the unused solar panel system.

• There was a small cut on the romex running the blower motor, which went through the outer insulation and paper, but not through the inner insulation. Since the blower motor is unused, I don't think it prevents a hazard at the moment. I think I'll disconnect this system in the future, though, for safety's sake.

• The original romex for the electrical outlet was untouched.

• The kneewall space is filthy, tiny, and unfloored. I had trouble squeezing through the 24" x 18" access door to get in there without putting a foot through the ceiling, and I'm only 5 feet tall. I can't imagine how a guy ever got in there to setup that flexduct.

• I can't figure out how on earth Hammy got into the HVAC ductwork from there, or how he got himself out.

• I can't see how the second squirrel was able to get into the second floor joists, but I didn't go all the way to the exterior wall.

• I'm never going in there again.

The vent in the gable is already screened, and is undamaged, so I can't figure out where these darn squirrels are getting in. I've looked around the exterior for gaps in the eaves or the siding, but I'm not seeing anything. I know they can get through pretty small holes, but there isn't an opening to speak of.

Ice storm

Hammy's capture was the good news. The bad news is that yesterday's ice storm did some damage and pointed out some changes that will need to be made in the spring.

First off, the rooftop TV antenna, a pretty big model, was damaged during the ice and wind. It's still on the roof, but the mast is bent, and it doesn't seem likely that it can be fixed. I've got a ham-radio-nut friend who I asked to take a look at a couple of pictures I sent him, to get his opinion. The roof is a 10-in-12, so I've got no business up there, but he climbs small radio towers for a living. I don't doubt he can safely get up there.

It's a good thing I don't watch television anyway because down in the holler here we can't get decent reception without an antenna (or satellite or cable for you modern folks out there). I hate to lose the thing though, because it was a nice model with a rotator, so it was just such a neat toy. I used to dx when I was a teenager, and I always though someday I'd hook it up and play around with it to see what it could do. But with all the distant stations I want to listen to on the Internet now, it's not really necessary. Maybe if we can salvage the parts I'll rebuilt it - this time on the garage roof!

The other big problem is the driveway that slopes down from the street toward the house. The whole lot slopes back to the creek, so there's a good fall for drainage, plus a place for water to go, but the house is in the way! The garage filled with water front-to-back, at least 2 inches deep in the worst spots. It was half-frozen, like a giant garage slushie. I spent an hour and a half today pushing slush and water out with a broom and sweeping it around the corner of the garage and back toward the backyard.

I've had to sweep out the garage three times this week (although not anywhere near this deep before) due to melting slow, but this was the last straw. I'm going to have to get a driveway drain installed to route that water behind the garage to the natural fall in the backyard. I know a lot of people have done those themselves, but I don't have the manpower (or the time probably) to sledgehammer out a section of the driveway. It's time to throw money at it, as my sister would say.

Hammy

Hammy the Squirrel finally made such a nuisance of himself (including an incident in which he got into the HVAC ductwork - I still haven't figured out how he did that) that I had to relocate him despite the cold weather. I used a Havahart live trap borrowed from my sister's place (thanks, Logan!) and used a bait recommended on the 'Net; peanut butter mixed with sunflower seeds. I put the trap just inside the access panel of the attic kneewall and sprinkled a few extra sunflower seeds around the trap to lure him over to investigate.

I then transported Hammy to park several miles away, where there's plenty of shelter and birdfeeders in the adjoining neighborhood he can raid.

There are few things noisier on a Saturday morning than a squirrel banging around in the heating ducts.

Squirrels in the Attic

I thought I'd start blogging my adventures in homeowner hell in an attempt to get back on track with my Heritage House. I've been sidetracked way too much by work and problems with vehicles, and now that the annual Christmas panic is over, it's time to get something done around here.

Today I went to the hardware store and got a third utility knife. I think the second one will turn up eventually, but I've pretty well given up on the first. I manage to hang onto hammers and other things that people lose, but I can lose a utility knife inside of a week. I think I get this from my father, who owned four drill keys (none of which we could find), left a flashlight in the attic, and a screwdriver in the bottom of the furnace. I used to laugh at him, and now I'm the one wandering around and muttering "where did I put it this time?"

There was some good news; the attic isn't anywhere near as dirty as I thought it would be, and Lowe's still sells the cabinets I planned for the kitchen over a year ago. I screened over the open access panel in the attic to keep the squirrels I suspect have been coming in, out. Now when I hear little furry feet scampering, I can feel more certain they are on the roof, and not actually in the house.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to take some of the overtime money I've earned at work and hire some things done, or it's never going to happen. I'm definitely going to have to hire the attic ceiling redone because I'm clearly in over my head there (ha, ha). I want to get going on the kitchen though, while Lowe's still sells the cabinets I want.

First I need to get all these boxes of phone equipment and other items from work distributed to the right offices, because right now it's like a freight warehouse in here. It always comes back to work...

Luann

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