# We have guests...



## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

I think their cute, but apparently mom doesn't. My mom has been feeding the birds and squirrels and apparently these little fellows have decided the food is for them too.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

You will think they are cute when the start chewing on your props too. And if they decide to come inside it gets more fun.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Bone Dancer said:


> You will think they are cute when the start chewing on your props too. And if they decide to come inside it gets more fun.


i know, I just don't want to kill them.


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

I have cousins of your guest. I want to set traps, but not catch any birds, cats or dogs. Funny, I put up with the squirrels, but hate the rats. And the main difference is the size of the tail.


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## randyaz (May 26, 2006)

A single female brown rat can give birth to more than forty young in one year
Sexual Maturity: females, 11 weeks

rats begat more rats


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

scareme said:


> I have cousins of your guest. I want to set traps, but not catch any birds, cats or dogs. Funny, I put up with the squirrels, but hate the rats. And the main difference is the size of the tail.


my mom is the same way. She loves the squirrels. She can even make that chattering noise they make. When we lived in a different town she would go on the back porch, make the chatter noise and all the squirrels would come running to her to get food. They even brought their babies.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

GothicCandle said:


> i know, I just don't want to kill them.


You might be able to get live traps from your local animal control office. The main thing is that you don't want them thinking that your place is a good place to take up house keeping. Cute or not, they have to go, one way or another.:xbones:


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

I had a similar case about 8-9 years ago.
I finally live trappped the very large rat ( hence, I said fianlly).
I stopped feeding the birds after that.
You have to remeber that they are much smarter than you may think and if yo have ever had a mouse in your house, they will find the way in as well.


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## Jack Reaper (May 27, 2006)

Eventually also, other predators will figure out these mice/rats/rodents are there...


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

that would be pretty cool to see JR.


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## randyaz (May 26, 2006)

wait till they chew EVERY wire off the motor in your car


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## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

that would be bad!!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

We put out food for the birds in our yard, which guarantees we get squirrels as well, plus one deer figured out how to eat the seed out of a squirrel-proof feeder. Haven't seen any rats, but we do have chipmunks and there are mice living in the stone/brick wall around our patio.


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## Phil (Sep 2, 2007)

Reminds me of the saying "Squirrels are rats with better marketing". We used to have rats but don't anymore. The 6 foot snakeskin under the house was a little unnerving, but hey...no rats.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm not a fan of rats, I'd recommend borrowing Creepsters cats for a little while.


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## Jack Reaper (May 27, 2006)

Years ago, I moved into a house that had mice....I had a Corn Snake...a little escape artist I decided to call Houdini for obvious reasons....well, she got loose....couple days later, I found her sticking her little head out of a mouse hole....mice were gone...hmmmm.


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## fick209 (Aug 31, 2009)

Phil said:


> Reminds me of the saying "Squirrels are rats with better marketing". We used to have rats but don't anymore. The 6 foot snakeskin under the house was a little unnerving, but hey...no rats.


shuddering uncontrollably about a 6' snakeskin found under the house Snakes aside, these other guys, if you want to get rid of them, but not kill them..live trap is your only option, good luck


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## Zurgh (Dec 21, 2009)

Last Summer, I was up really late debugging my PC after a "viral attack" & heard a "dove" cooing in my back yard... went to investigate & found a big river rat... I told it (yes, I spoke to it) that it was free to come & go as it pleases & eat from my compost pile & garden leavening's, & could use my irrigation pipes as a highway, but was not cool to attack/disrupt/destroy my garden or house on threat of a gruesome death! No nesting either.... I have had no rat problems ever..... Seemed to understand English....


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Zurgh said:


> Last Summer, I was up really late debugging my PC after a "viral attack" & heard a "dove" cooing in my back yard... went to investigate & found a big river rat... I told it (yes, I spoke to it) that it was free to come & go as it pleases & eat from my compost pile & garden leavening's, & could use my irrigation pipes as a highway, but was not cool to attack/disrupt/destroy my garden or house on threat of a gruesome death! No nesting either.... I have had no rat problems ever..... Seemed to understand English....


Sounds like a good plan. No death. Hope these fellows are as smart as the ones you have.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

I had the cute, fluffy, mischevious squirrels eat the vinyl trim on my house one year and do lots of $$ worth of damage. They also eat our phone lines. D Con makes lovely solid brick baits, but I prefer a nice figure 4 deadfall...SQUISH! My neighbor feeds the squirrels peanuts, which the blue jays also eat..so there will be more squirrels to eat my house, and more blue jays to rip baby sparrows out of our birdhouse each year.


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

I satup in bed last night when I realized: OMG! I POSTED THAT STORY BEFORE ON HF!!

Sorry-I think I suddenly turned old.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

well, I guess we wont have guests for long. Our newest "guest" is a hawk. Mom doesn't think he'll go after the pretty birds and squirrels....hmm...somehow I don't think the hawk is flying about thinking "Oh I can't eat those cute quail or the adorable squirrels, and never the sparrows, Oh look a rat! Yum!" nope, I'm pretty sure he has just discovered an all you can eat buffet. This does not make me happy. I like our critters.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Yep, if you're feeding birds, you're also feeding hawks. We have one that passes through our yard every now and then, and I'm pretty sure he's not after the mice.

Here's a short article on feeder hawks:

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/predators/hawks_feeder.aspx


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