"The Critters"

Hey Y'all! The Critter Control guy showed up as promised and did the inspection of the premises. I stayed with him the entire inspection so that I could see what he was doing and to also ask questions. Did you know that squirrels pee on their desired territory? Makes me feel all warm and gushy inside just knowing the furry little varmints call my home a toilet! So, half an hour later we sit down to go over the 'finds' and come up with a figure. We found one main entry point and one large nest (I found another one myself when I went back into the attic later). It looks like she has had two litters up there since Thanksgiving! Oh, Tim (the Critter Control guy) says that the male never comes near where the female has her home; she's been making all the noise herself along with her babies. Now I need to tell you that this inspection and sit-down cost $189, up front. The fascia on the house has a large gap in it just beneath the roofing everywhere there are gutters. (Thank goodness I do have four peaks that I don't have to worry about!) There are 224 feet of fascia that needs to be covered with 'critter proof' metal mesh that will cost $10 per foot, installed. There is a roof ventilation fan that also needs a mesh cover that adds on another $199 and then the repair of the main entry point. All that comes to a sub total of $2568 plus the initial $189, plus $59 per squirrel that is caught in the traps. Looks like these lovely creatures are costing me about $3,000.00 to get rid of and it could be more, depending on how many squirrels are caught in the three traps that are going to be set around the main entry point. Yes this is a lot of info but I want you all to learn from my experience and do not wait to call for help when you first hear anything in your attics or crawlspaces! I signed off on all the paper work and the job will start sometime next week as Critter Control is booked pretty solidly for the next five business days. I pray I can hold out until they are all gone. But I must be honest with you, I have felt the urge to borrow someone's six shooter and blast those varmints right out of my hair!

About the snakes: it seems that they could also have made their way into my home via the fascia gaps. Snakes can crawl up brick walls, I know because we caught one going up the wall by the master bath last year. But, Tim says that the snakes are much more likely to have made their way into the house by following the plumbing and coming in under the kitchen cabinets! There is no way to stop them except to remove the base cabinets and plug all the gaps around the plumbing and wiring then replace the cabinets and hook the plumbing back up. Sounds lovely doesn't it? I thought that when I made the decision to build the house on a slab instead of a crawl space that I had eliminated the need for pipe insulation, yearly crawl space spraying, and mold and mildew problems. Okay, I'm off this subject for now because I am getting cramps in my neck and back relating this all to you!

Please learn from my mistakes. That $3000 could have paid for my yard to be professionally landscaped or could have been a nice start to a college fund for the grandchildren (or even a nice gift for the church building fund). Thanks again for all your concern and your prayers, they are much appreciated.

Tootles!