Well... the universe has jokes. As soon as I post that we're thriving other than Squirrel-Gate, the universe back-checks me into place. Yesterday morning, I awoke feeling pretty good about our current lack of squirrel situation and how Eliot was finally going back to work after a week. When I came downstairs, I did a bit of a backtrack... ("Were there that many markings on the outside of the door? I don't think so, but maybe I'm just losing it...") I left the house for my sewing class feeling a bit less confident.
When I got home from my class, it took only a few minutes before I heard it. The unmistakable sound of a squirrel scratching against the inside of the door. "Not again."
It had been a full week since we definitely knew the squirrel was in my office. This Monday, Eliot and I spent one entire stimulus check to have someone come out and seal the entire exterior of our house. Eliot was finally back to work after taking a week off to deal with the house and the squirrel. I was finally feeling an actual sense of relief. And both of us had stopped having problems with intense anxiety.
And now, the freaking thing is back in there. I could scream out loud in frustration.
Thankfully, I didn't; but I did text Eliot to let him know. After a few excruciating hours of waiting, Eliot finally returned home with two more live traps. (The other two are still set in my office, with a feast but he won't go near them.) Why the squirrel had to come back and go back in there I have no idea. There's no food in there. Eliot and I have cleaned most of the stuff out and put it all in the new storage unit at this point.
I'm worried now that it's a pregnant Momma squirrel trying to find a place to have her babies, or that babies are already in there. Why is our kitchen a picture of perfection without a thing out of place when there's tons of food available for a squirrel to pillage?
Ugh, I just don't know anymore. We still have more questions than answers. But one thing is for sure, the squirrel(s) want to go in and out of my office under the door.
Once Eliot arrived with the traps, we set them up right outside my office door. We kept the towel stuffed under the rest of the door, but we removed it from the area where the squirrel clawed the hole. Aside from the trap being there, the squirrel had access to leave my office again. I figured this was our best course of action to capture it.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. In fact, less than 30 minutes later, at 6:54 pm, Eliot and I officially caught the squirrel in the live trap! It took a few minutes, but I could hear it testing the waters trying to leave my office once it knew the trap was there. I held my breath tight and sure enough, we heard the loud bang of the trap closing.
Eliot and I both let out a whoop and then a sigh of relief. The squirrel was tossing and turning around inside trying to escape. We both got up to make sure that the hooks were secure. Then, we gave each other a high five and prepared to move it outside.
Eliot went outside and put the cage and squirrel in the back of the truck bed while I got dressed. (Someone was already in her PJs.) It settled down after a few minutes and we leaned in to get a better look at it. It was definitely a red squirrel like I said from the beginning. (This Maine girl knows her red squirrels.) And it was pretty cute, but only in the cage. (It wasn't so cute when it was running around my house.)
Both Eliot and I took a few photos and videos once it had settled down. It seemed as perplexed by us as we were with it. We told it we weren't going to hurt it. Then, we moved the cage into a larger box so we could transport it safely in the back of our Jeep. (We planned to take it to another location away from our house.)
When we arrived at our destination, Eliot took the cage out and placed it on the edge of the parking lot. It took the squirrel a few seconds to realize it was being released, but eventually, he jumped out onto the grass and bounced away. He stopped about 30 feet away to look back at us, then he jumped off into the night.
Eliot and I are both pretty relieved. I would have preferred that he hadn't come back, but at least we got him out- both alive and safely. We're not sure if there are more of them in the house, but we've got the second trap set up right outside the door to catch any others that try to enter or exit my office through the little hole in the door. As of right now, we haven't caught any more. We also haven't heard anything thus far.
This has been a really long week, but thankfully we've been able to keep a sense of humor throughout it. My brother Jeremy has sent me a few funny videos and pictures of his little Ty Beanie Baby squirrel. After I told him that we caught it, he sent me a picture of his squirrel in jail. I've also been singing "Squirrels in my Pants" from the Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb all week. At least it's made us laugh.
Hopefully, this is the end of our Squirrel-Gate saga. Universe, if you're listening, this is a good place to end the story. It has a happy ending and everyone is happy. Plus, I don't have time for another squirrel adventure. This girl has a blog to revamp, mouse ears to design, desk accessories orders to fill, and much more magic to make. °o°
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