What's going on here??

[nobarkus]

OK, so I get home on Tuesday and notice some things knocked off the fireplace mantel. Everything else in the house is fine that I can see. So all I can figure is the neighbors cat came in through the dog door and wandered into the living room and Buddy sprung out of the chair to chase and it jumped up on the mantel to escape, jumped down and ran back out. So Buddy continues to sniff around the fireplace area. It's dimly lite in there and I don't see anything.
On Wednesday everything is normal.
On Thursday I get home and Buddy is sniffing around the water heater in the wash room off the kitchen. I don't see anything and go in the kitchen and I hear this grunt sound. I'm like "what was that"? I don't hear anything more. Then I hear it again and notice it came from the wash room. I look behind the dryer and I see this black tail. I take a pole and tap the tail and it squeezes under the dryer more and makes more grunt sounds and I'm like "a squirrel?? How did that come in the dog door"?? So Buddy is squeezing along the side of the dryer harassing it badly and it's grunting and snorting at him. So I close the door between the kitchen and wash room shutting Buddy out. Then I open the back door and move the dryer out and it runs out. Then I noticed by the fireplace a hole was chewed through this piece of cardboard I have in front of it to block the draft. It apparently jumped from my neighbor's tree which has grown over touching my fireplace and fell down my chimney. Today I got on the roof and cut it way back. Neighbor has been promising to get the tree trim guys out to cut the tree back. He has it done every other year. Mystery solved.

[Basenjimamma]

Dan, that is absolutely hilarious…wow, I am so glad that was you and not me, I would've freaked...

[thunderbird8588]

It must have been a Santa Squirrel, Dan

[nobarkus]

@thunderbird8588:

It must have been a Santa Squirrel, Dan

He didn't deliver any gifts and he didn't even pay 2 days rent either!:D:D:D

[sharronhurlbut]

We had a dryer vent blocked by pinecones the squirrels were storing away for winter.
The dryer repair guy said he had never seen anything like it.
They are cute, but can really do some damage, if they get into the house/garage.

[thunderbird8588]

@nobarkus:

He didn't deliver any gifts and he didn't even pay 2 days rent either!:D:D:D

No wonder Buddy chased him then

[Kipawa]

Dan, good thing there were no hoses or electrical cords chewed up. Sharron is right, outside creatures that get trapped inside can wreak havoc due to feeling caged up.

We have lots of squirrels that come to our yard to feed. However, since Kipawa has been running around the back, I notice the squirrel feeder needs less filling. Same with the bird feeder. So I guess we have a new company called "Kipawa Protection Services" working for us.

[Lenora]

Never had a squirrel problem but I did discover 2 racoons in my laundry room this summer. Took the screen right off the window and came on in. Didn't turn out to be the little racoon love nest they hoped for!

[nobarkus]

@Lenora:

Never had a squirrel problem but I did discover 2 racoons in my laundry room this summer. Took the screen right off the window and came on in. Didn't turn out to be the little racoon love nest they hoped for!

I've had raccoons come in through the dog door into the laundry room.

Back in 92 I had a new cat that I rescued off the street. Apparently he lived off birds and such. When I got home from work there were little finch flying around in my house. I couldn't figure out how they got in until I came home to a pile of feathers on the kitchen floor. I have a bird feeder outside and he was catching ones on the ground feeding and then bring them in through the dog door then they would escape out of his mouth in the house. Wonderful cat I had for 16 years!

[Marie Heidebrecht]

I had a squirrel get into my basement a number of years ago. I borrowed a live trap from my neighbour, baited it, and took it down to the basement. Low and behold, there was the squirrel sleeping in a space between 2 window panes (one of the interior ones was broken). Thought, what the heck, held the trap up against the window, and the squirrel jumped right in! How easy was that?!
Took the trap outside into the driveway where I had left the dogs tied to the gate. (My previous dogs, including my border collie X basenji who could bark quite loudly!) Opened the door "just" out of reach of the dogs - who swiftly reminded the squirrel that he should run the other way as fast as he could and never come back!

[DebraDownSouth]

I am going to quietly leave this thread before I go into long tirade about squirrels, evil squirrels, diabolic rats with tails squirrels, destructive squirrels….................................

[Lenora]

I keep Billy the Exterminator on speed dial just in case.