Monday, July 20, 2009

Skunks & Racoons & Rats Oh My

We've been having lots of fun around the homestead lately with "Critters".
I think we've spent most of our miscellaneous income on the cute little creatures as well, and I also think it had better stop pretty darn quick.

This is the corner of our property where we have a very inviting shed. Apparently the underside of this shed is an ideal place for a family of skunks to set up house.
One morning, last month I looked out my bathroom window at about 5:00am, only to see 4 cute little baby skunks meandering around on the little stone walkway outside the shed door. They promptly followed one another down a little hole that had been dug, and disappeared underneath the shed.

Since then we have caught 2 baby skunks, 2 adults, 1 raccoon, 1 cat, (which was released) and discovered a rodent problem on the inside of the house (not the shed, but the place where us humans reside). Each of these caught animals cost us $139.00 and then we had the house checked out and all the 1/4 inch openings around vents, pipes, shingles, etc. all covered and protected for another $500.00. Then you have to add all the traps, and ba
it stations, and it seems to have been a very successful month for the "Critter Guys".

This last picture shows a gaping hole in the bottom of our fence, which shows a nice, well travelled pathway for the large animals. Guess we have a job for the gardeners if Michael doesn't get it done before school starts up again.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, joy. Skunks, rodents & varmints are not my favorite. But we sure get a lot of 'em around here! A couple of years ago, squirrels got in my attic and chewed a hole in the roof that we didn't see because it was underneath the solar panels. What a mess! When the rains came, my kitchen ceiling was ruined.

    Not too fond of critters over here...

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  2. wow, what a chunk of change to spend on the critters.

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