A Squirrel Gets Into The House!!

It has been great weather since my last post. The ground was soft enough to pull weeds and spread 15 bags of mulch, 40# each .. it made me realize whether I want to admit it or not, I am getting older. Some new developments ... all the hounds and dogs like to be brushed every day, except Watson. All the hounds and dogs like their nails trimmed except Watson. I put a leash on Watson in the backyard the other day and he jumped at me on his hind legs ... not good for taking a walk.

I cut everything (hydrangeas and rose bushes) last fall to ground level, except what was still living on the rose bushes. Hydrangeas are in bloom and I will not cut them as far back next fall. Something tried killing the rose bushes last summer. My neighbor was having the same problem with her rose bushes. They may not recover. 

The hounds and dogs have the same routine as always, only now they get to spend more time outside and the patio door stays open most of the time due to the great weather. 

Cletus still keeps me on my toes and reminds me never to leave any kind of human food out on the counter, even if it is in a brand new package. He tried the Starbucks coffee grounds while I was out shopping but obviously wasn't a favorite of his.

Yes, last summer the cable company put down new topsoil and seed where their truck tires damaged my front yard and the neighbors. Her property line is around 4' this side of her fence. I put down new topsoil and grass seed a couple of weeks ago.

This corner is low and a place worn out because the two bloodhounds like standing there when they are protecting the yard against squirrels, joggers in the street or people passing by walking their dogs. I built it up with some topsoil and I am trying GrowTrax to grow seed there. Unlike past years, Henry has NOT crawled under the fence to lay on the new seed. 

More GrowTrax as a test. I want to see if this works better or just as good as using topsoil and new grass seed. 

Henry had been helping me clean Cletus's ears. Cletus shakes his head so much I was positive he had an ear infection or my finger wrapped in a paper towel would bring out a lot of dark brown wax. I was shocked when there was nothing on the paper towel, even dirt. A vet told me years ago all I needed was a mixture of 50/50 water and vinegar for hounds ear cleaner. 

The yard is slowly coming back from those disaster photos I took in December. Those two patches, straight ahead and at the corner of the fence, are zoysia grass. Over the past 4 years all the seed I have planted has taken over the zoysia grass. I read that wasn't possible but it is. I'm going to tear out the roots of the zoysia in those two low tan areas, plant seed and cover with peat moss, a new technique I saw this morning on YouTube.

My test area ... topsoil and seed vs the GrowTrax mat ... the mat was laid two weeks ago and the soil was put down two days ago.

I am still in the process of filling in the low areas of the yard. The darker topsoil is Scott's and comes in 20# bags but at twice the cost. It is suppose to rebuilt turf. Good luck with that on hard midwestern clay. 

After all the berm cleaning I did, I was a little concerned not much would grow back and the view of the road and field would not be blocked. Those invasive bushes? grow back fast. 

Slowly but surely the grass is growing back. I will not cut it lower than 3" this year no matter what, even next fall when mulching leaves I will leave the fescue grass tall.

Not bad compared to four months ago ... the yard and the berm.

Brought out the old Nikon D3500 for some use. Most of my photos are from my iPhone 14 but I still like using the Nikon occasionally. 

Ava has been here at the house since last April ... she has changed a lot the past few months ... basically already out of her puppy stage of destroying things.

Cletus is just Cletus ... a funny, loud and limber bloodhound. Since I have had this breed since 1997 I am use to things that bloodhounds do, that would drive other dog owners crazy, so I can see why he was given away once and told to leave and don't come back by his second owner. Bloodhounds are so much different than other breeds. 

Henry got his nails cut back pretty far the other day. He doesn't mind and will lie on his back while I cut/trim them. I cut them until I saw the dark spot in the cuticle. 

Henry inspecting the yard late yesterday afternoon, after the predicted rain did not show up.

This is the same area of the yard that Henry is walking in, taken December 27th. Before I did anything last winter, maybe February ... I spread some fertilizer ... then seed a month later.

Not my finger but the ticks are here for 2025. I have pulled 4 of them off of me and one off of Walter. I have not found any ticks on the other four. I check multiple times per day on each hound and dog.

Remember these? They go in the ends of my patio deck. Eight of them on the step and over 56 of them on the patio deck. I installed them back in the other day and had to head to Menards for the 7 missing. I bought a few more that 7 just in case Henry decides to pull them out and use them has his bones like he did a couple of years ago. IF I find one missing then I will go back and glue every one of them to the end of the deck boards. So far after two days, all of them are in place.

I grabbed this photo from the internet but these are the squirrels that drive Watson and Ava insane. THIS IS A VERY LONG STORY BUT HAS HUMOR AND A SAD ENDING ... read at your own risk.

Usually first thing in the morning and sometimes at lunch, there might be one or two squirrels INSIDE my fence but with Ava sprinting full speed from the patio door to the far corner of the yard ... they always get outside the fence and out of reach of her and Watson.

The other day that process changed. It was after their lunch and I was in that rock area in back pouring more water into their outside water bowl. All the sudden Watson flies by me toward the house, the wall where the bathroom window is ... and this squirrel has climbed the brick wall hiding under the overhang ... with Watson and Ava just waiting for it to make a mistake. 

Not really thinking and not even thinking about the open patio door ... I turn the water hose from the dog water bowl to the squirrel and zapped it with water and down it goes running down the brick wall and sprinting away.

BUT ... by the time it touched the grass/dirt by the septic tank cover, Watson had already caught it, in his mouth and was heading for the patio door to go inside, where he would most likely take his prize to his dog bed ... I yelled "drop it" .... and he did about two steps from the OPEN door on the patio deck.

As soon as he dropped it, the squirrel sprinted INSIDE MY HOUSE !!!!

This was a little after 6pm, while I was on commercial break from the Reds Baseball game. I found out that squirrels try to HIDE, not run away and outside an open door like a bird or the roadrunner I had inside the house in Arizona.

No, after hours I knew this squirrel had no intentions of leaving. At one time I had all the hounds and dogs outside in the backyard with the patio door closed and the living room door open ... why ???

I was chasing the squirrel from under each of the couch, the loveseat, end tables and even the tv/stereo cabinet in the living room. I was trying to lead the squirrel in the direction of the open door like I did with past birds and the roadrunner. Neither a mop, a broom or a Swifer Duster worked in corralling it. 

I had already broken my fairly new Buna Mop from trying to trap it in a corner earlier with a slap of the mop. After the furniture had been scattered all over the living room I realized he was not going out the door.

I had forgot that the doors to the computer room, my bedroom and bathroom were open during this chase and sure enough ... it sprints down the hallway, into the bedroom ... the last I see the squirrel is right at the chest of drawers but I didn't see him after that. I did not see him go around it nor behind the chest. 

There was no way he/she could fit behind that chest and the wall, no way. But the squirrel was nowhere in view. A flashlight under the bed, under the chest ... I shook out the pillows and blanket on my bed, shook out the two blankets on Walters bed and lifted up Watson's dog bed ... no squirrel.

I shut the door and went back to my baseball game. Not an hour later I am back at the bedroom with my vacuum, the long handle/pole from my broken mop and a plastic garbage bag. I thought it was possible to catch him with the bag over him ... that is if I could find him.

I was concerned about two things. The squirrel biting me as he fought to get away or biting Ava, Henry or Watson who was hot on his trail once they were inside the house. Did it have rabies?

I take off the mattress and leaned it on its edge against the chest. I thought he might have crawled up under my boxsprings because when Walter was a pup he got under the bed and tore the cloth covering of that boxspring.

Was it up inside the base of the bed ... flashlight ... no squirrel.

Although I vacuum under the bed weekly, there was still a lot of dog hair on the edges of my bed frame, by the wall baseboard so I had the chance to deep clean under the bed. My bed sits right up against the wall. 

There in the far corner of the room and the bedpost was a "clump of" what I thought was dark dog hair ... but when I touched it with my vacuum handle which was turned on ... it's tail curled up ...

It was the squirrel !!!!!

It was hiding the best it could, not moving even when I tried to suck it out of the corner with my vacuum that had only the long pole without any attachments. The squirrel would not move. So I carefully stepped inside the bed frame ... away from the squirrel but along the headboard ....

I poked it with that pole/handle I had. 

It came out of that corner and raced out of the room.

By this time we have passed the two hour mark for this insanity ... birds or the roadrunner was never this hard to get out of the house. I am tired, mad and slightly confused on what to do, to get this animal out of my house.

It had to get out of the house because I KNEW I wasn't going to bed with this squirrel anywhere in my house.

I check the living room and under all the furniture .... no squirrel. I check the mudroom, under the kitchen cabinets ... no squirrel.

It was time to let the  hounds in and they would tell me where it was.

I open the door to see the noses of Henry and Watson go immediately under the front of the couch couch in the great room. Walter sprints for the computer room and Ava and Cletus are standing there watching, not barking or howling.

I take the heavy couch with the two built in recliners on each end and tilt it back on this back but I don't see the squirrel anywhere underneath the couch. I tilt the couch forward after pulling in the recliners and don't see it anywhere but Henry and Watson have their noses pressed against that area ... the squirrel is there somewhere !!!!

Both Henry and Watson were wagging their tails as if they knew they had found it. 

Couch back in its normal position. With my bright small LED flashlight I am trying to see between the cushions. It is the only place it can be ... just barely ... from the back of the couch looking in-between the seat cushions I see the tip of his tail.

Now some of you may not like how this story ends so that is your warning ....

I take my long pole/mop handle and poke into that small area between the cushions ... nothing ... so I slide that handle in as far as it can go and I hear a loud bloodhound bay ... 

Just like that Watson has the squirrel in his mouth and the squirrel is squealing.

Well after almost 3 hours of trying to get this squirrel out of my house, my pulse rate high enough that my heart thinks I am riding my bike, I didn't care what happened as long as the squirrel got outside.

I yell at Watson "outside outside outside" and off he runs into the dark and into the backyard. It was dark enough that I couldn't see anything so I ran back inside to get my flashlight. BUT I did close the door!! By the time I got back all five hounds and dogs were standing in a circle looking at the ground. 

From the strength of Watson's jaws the squirrel had been injured but still alive based on movement of his tail. Watson is wanting to grab it and play with it. I take that long pole/handle and scoot the squirrel towards the fence but I have a long way to go. Watson is wanting to take him again so I have to move fast from him grabbing him again. 

I finally get the squirrel near the fence and slide it out into the yard on the other side of the fence, far enough away that Watson cannot get to it.

Now a true story ... the next morning the hounds and Ava go outside first thing in the morning, then come back inside for their breakfast and after that I let them out again. Normally all of them comeback inside and hit their favorite sleeping spots ... but not that morning.

30 minutes later I get up to get my second cup of coffee and all the dogs/hounds are sleeping ... except Watson. He is nowhere inside the house. I walk out to the patio and there is Watson laying down out by the fence facing the squirrel I left in the yard, which he never lays down outside, hardly ever except on the patio ....

Well he his laying at the fence just on the other side of what is now a dead squirrel .... whining and crying as if he wanted it to get up and play with him. I grab a shovel and move the squirrel to a wooded area on on the berm .... Watson came back inside, everything is back to normal now.

That was about as much fun as I needed here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.