The Chipmunks May Have Won, BUT …The Squirrel Will NOT Win!!!

If it is not one creature, it is another.  Now, the squirrels are waging war with me.

I thought only the chipmunks hated me, but I was mistaken.  What angers me the most is when they eat every thing I plant!  They dig them right up!  I have tried for years to have tulips.  They seem to love those the best. We began to set live traps and relocated the chipmunks.  Year before last we relocated over 30 and I live in town!

Wes is gone more frequently and I do not want to take a ride with them and release them so we stopped the relocation practice.  I feed the birds and I always put some seeds on the ground to keep the chipmunks off of my feeders.  This has started to work…. a bit.  I still cannot have plants no matter what I feed them.  Last year, however, one would sit on my deck by my back door and stare me down.  (Perhaps it was not one and they took turns, I do not know.) He comes up to the screen door when it is open and torments the cats.  I would either make a noise or stomp my foot toward him and he would just spread his front legs and make a wide stance and stare me down! He would not leave at all.  They are fearless!  I have to shut the door now because I wonder if they will tear up the screen and get in the house.  So, they torment the cats and me.  Let’s move on to the squirrel….

The squirrel is bigger than the chipmunk obviously.  This could be a good thing.  A tiny little critter is somewhat more spastic and could easily be up your pant leg or anywhere.  At least the bigger a critter is, the easier it is to keep track of.  Also, the bigger the critter, perhaps the more damage or injury to a person.  Haha.  So…. today, I was telling the squirrel to leave in a variety of ways…clapping my hands, slamming doors, closing windows hard, etc.  The squirrel would inch away a bit with each noise.  Okay, so that appeased me.

I was sitting on the deck a little later on talking with Wes on the phone.  The squirrel hops up the side of the deck and comes right toward me.  I clapped my hands and told him to go away.  He inched forward toward me.   I stomped my foot and told him to get out!  He started that thing with his tail raising up and down.   I do not know if that means for his friends to come and help him or if he is saying look out here I come to get you.  I hesitate to find out which it means. Haha.  I thought I had once read that it meant they were warning their friends of danger, but I don’t think he felt that he was in any danger at all.  I am using “he” here but I have no idea of the sex.

Anyway…. he eventually got on the fence and started rapidly wagging his tail at me.  Wes said to hit the fence with something and the noise would make him go away and perhaps the vibration.  I did not want to get close to the fence so I threw a rock at the fence.  I did NOT throw it at the squirrel, so don’t get upset.  I am surprised, but I did hit the fence! It was even with enough force to make some noise.  The squirrel…unaffected.  Wes said he heard it hit and was surprised I hit it too! (He knows me too well and shows no confidence in my ability or should I say lack of.)  The squirrel looked at me as if to ask if that was the best I had.  Wes told me to throw another.  Again, it was a success and made a loud noise and again Wes was impressed.  The squirrel was not.  He finally just looked at me, shook his head and walked across the top of the fence.   He got over to the other side of the fence and started threatening me again with his tail.

Of course, I went in the house and shut the door.  I swear it is my yard, not his and I will win.  I tried to be nice and share it with him, but he is becoming aggressive.  We will see what the summer brings.  I will keep you posted. I hope it does not turn into a reenactment of The Mississippi Squirrel Revival!