Squirrely Adventure

Contractor.  That's become a dirty word in my life.  Too many of them are worth ... well, not even good manure.  Yes, I am fully aware that in a state wide weather disaster, the clean up and repair effort is massive.  I understand having to wait.  I do not understand - and firmly reject - being told by anyone "I'll be there tomorrow" and then not showing up and not even calling.   And then to repeat that behavior a couple more times over a few weeks?  In the meantime, I'm left with a hole in my house.   One of the things I liked about Emmett Shutts the tree folks is they prioritized their customers.  Blocked driveways were their first order of business that first day.  Houses with trees on them were the next priority.  It appears the contractor I tried to hire to fix the house prioritized by biggest pay out.  When he thought he could wheedle a new roof out of my insurance company, he could get the job done fairly immediately.  But when the insurance company said "new roof because 5 shingles are broken?  Not!"   He just didn't show up.  Ok, I can accept that.  Your bottom line is more important to you than the hole in my house is to me.  But tell me.  I called him several times.  Each time he assured me he'd be out, the next day or so.  Perhaps if he'd been honest with me, I could have hired someone else more willing to protect my property.  Especially since he didn't even attempt to cover the hole even though I told him the insurance company would pay a separate fee for that.  The guy did work for me before and I was ok with him.  Now?  I have two words for him.  But not on the blog. 

So what got me so upset?  Yeah.  Squirrels moved into the attic.  That was quite predictable.  I told the contractor my concerns.  But, apparently that didn't concern him.  Now on top of the storm damage, I need new insulation in the attic. I put up a good fight with the squirrels though, so insulation is the only thing the squirrels damaged up there.  Well, not counting my sleep.  Some people suggested I plug the hole.  But look at that long photo.  From the outside, you need staging to get to the hole.  The inside?  Can't even stand up in the  attic.  And look at the slope of the eaves.  You have to crawl on your belly to get in there, and even at that, where the fascia is ripped open isn't even visible from the attic.  You can only see the light coming through from outside.  Nope, I can't plug the hole. 

At one point, there were two squirrels in the nest.  I think one chased the other off when the over night temps warmed up, because the twosome did not last.  I was left facing the clearly more dominant, more determined squirrel. Probably the one that lost it's nest when my neighbor's magnolia tree broke so devastingly.  That tree is right next to my deck and what's left of it is a nice conduit from the magnolia to my arborvitae near the house.  The arborvitae is what the squirrel traveled and leaped from to get to my roof.  The arborvitae also provides shade to the deck, nesting for the cardinals, and food for the winter birds.  I hate the looks of em but love the wildlife they draw, as long as the critters live outside as nature intended.  I decided the only thing to do about the squirrel was chase it off, make the attic inhospitable for it.  I armed myself with jacket over the jammies, warm slippers, hot chocolate, knitting, cell phone, flash light, and assorted long wood to poke and rattle in the direction of the squirrel and hole.   It worked, but only as long as I persisted.  I persisted for days.  And then came the night of a heavy and cold rain.  That squirrel didn't want to be out in that anymore than I did.  It started growling at me.  And stiff legged jump at me barking kind of stuff.  I thought it was going to attack.  So I puffed myself up and made even louder more threatening noises back at it, and poked more vigorously with the wood.  Go ahead - picture that and laugh.  I do.  The squirrel retreated but only to the dangling gutter which still offered it shelter from the rain.  And there it sat, growling.  I sat up there rattling my wooden sword and growling back at it for over an hour.  Eventually, the rain let up and the squirrel galloped off over the roof.  I waited for silence to reign supreme, then went to bed.  The squirrel was back in the nest in the morning.  Mixing hay and leaves in with the insulation. 

New approach needed. 

I am not experienced with a chain saw.  My first time ever using a chain saw was waaaaay back when I was a little kid, younger than high school age but not sure just how much younger, and my dad was cutting down a stand of trees, possibly arborvitae, in the yard.  I was keeping him company while he worked.  He got a phone call, and told me to make sure none of my sisters touched the chain saw while he was in the house answering the phone.  When he came back, the chain saw was firmly stuck in a tree.  "I didn't let anybody else touch it, Daddy."   He shook his head and then said, "I guess I need to teach you how to use it safely."  I've used a chain saw a couple times since then, but not much.  I am also kind of clumsy.  Inexperienced and clumsy.  Yeah, using a chain saw was not high on my list of fun.  But the need to defend my house when no one else would overcame my reluctance.  I rented an electric chain saw and promptly got it stuck in the tree.  Old habits, ya know.  Once I got it out of the tree, the chain of course had fallen off.  Could not get that thing back on.  Took it back to the store.  New guy said that chain saw is worthless and cranky, and he'd set me up with a better one, and reset my time.  Back to the task I went.   The second chain saw was indeed much easier, and the chain was put on properly.  Three hours of cut and haul later and my yard is nearly naked.  :(  Cutting the arborvitae was not enough.  I had two weeping white pines, one on either side of the front porch, both tall enough for a leaping squirrel to reach the roof.  One was uprooted when the maple crashed on the front of the house and I haven't been able to wrestle it into upright position so I decided it had to go.  And the other gave even better roof access, so it had to go, too.  And the pyrimidal yew at the corner of the house, the one perfect for Christmas lights outside, had grown to roof level as well.  Bzzzp.  Gone. 

More from the storm than from me, but a lot of my shade is now gone.  I don't even know if I have enough shade for the rabbits come summer.   I think I won Squirrel Wars but I may have lost more.

Comments

[Leslie]

Glad you're safe from the chain saw. They scare me to death. So sad about all the trees lost and I would have a few words for that contractor as well!

[Cathy]

What a mess! Glad you got it all straightened out.

We always cheer when a local squirrel is road kill - they have really made a mess of the neighborhood trees - and people feed them (horrors!!)

[Laurie]

Just miserable and frustrating. I spent megabux getting squirrels and bats out two years ago. But you and the squirrel growling at each other? more than funny!

[Terence Watthens]

Well, you and your roof survived those pesky squirrels. Perhaps you can take care of some of their natural enemies, like birds of prey, just to scare them off as you do insulation repairs. =)

[Alejamuel Sultz]

Go find yourself another roofing contractor. Fixing minor roofing problems at the soonest possible time is the best way to prevent further damage. I hope you also solve your squirrel problem soon. Instead of your ceiling, maybe you can relocate their nest in another place.