Family Homeless Because Of Squirrel

DailyArtsyCrafter

DailyArtsyCrafter

Crafter Writer Artist Amateur Photographer
Location
Florida
This came up in my YT stream today and because it was so sad and tragic, I decided to share the video. TRAGEDY Elderly Couple Lost Everything 💔homeless because of a squirrel https://gofund.me/f3a7b1fc0 Most sad about it is that they just paid off their home 3 Days Ago and they couldn't afford to get insurance. The fire marshal said a squirrel ate into an electrical cord and caused the fire. 😢

God bless the little non-profit run by DeAnna and Ronnie (Sisters In Christ) and their YT channel, South Mountain Channel. They have a singlewide mobile home to give to them (that someone gave to them) and they are trying to get a long-term hotel room set up for the homeless couple. They have also started a GoFundMe. They are pulling together help to clean up the site, which I guess is where they will put the mobile home to replace the burnt out house.

 

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Owlivia said:
What a tragedy. Thanks to the couple who helped them, that's a miracle and also the elderly couple survived.

Thanks for posting this.

Also, best wishes for you and your new home in Florida, hope you will settle in and love that water view for years to come.
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CaliS said:
That is very sad!!!! :( 🙏
God Bless those helping!
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PeppermintPatty said:
What a lovely thing to do. God bless the family that helped them.
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Amen! If we just reach out to help others with whatever we can, we feel blessed and the good will come back to us.
 
I have squirrels who visit my back patio. They drop squirrel food all over the patio. Somebody in the neighborhood feeds them so the squirrels keep hanging around. They dig up my planter boxes and pots looking for food or burying it. They are all too familiar with humans and have no fear (yet!) of humans.

I am thinking of getting a slingshot and practicing using it with the squirrels as a target.
 
IrishEyes said:
why do things so darn cute have to be such evil little critters? Umm, could be a lesson if life about people
sometimes, Oh man! Now every time I see a cute person I will wonder how evil they are.
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I was wondering the same thing after @Brookswood's post. Sad how something in nature that is so sweet to watch and feed can quickly become a bane and a hazard. 🙁
 
Why do they chew on the wires? I know that RV and auto wires are wrapped in soy material. Rats think it's food and that's why they are quick to chew on them. The auto industry won't find another material for wires, as I understand it. It's a serious problem when vandwelling/camping/boondocking. Constant vigilance, keeping hoods propped open, sprays, powders, drowning devices, lights, etc.
 
IrishEyes said:
My son had his Ram truck parked for quite awhile to find out squirrels had chewed up the wiring in the motor when he went to start it.
Cost him 2k to get it redone. It's in the garage now as they only use it for hauling basically now. The other cars are driven daily.
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Yep, I've heard that it usually costs thousands to repair. I can understand why some would want to shoot the little creatures.
 
Before I bought plants for the front porch area I researched which plants/flowers squirrels don't like. I didn't take one website as gospel, I got a bunch of sites and they said squirrels hate Geraniums.

Well, that suited me as I enjoy geraniums. So there they are all my pots of geraniums and half of them had the plant pulled out. Some eaten a bit. I found golf balls buried in two pots and the closest golf course is at least 5 miles from here.

My cherry tomatoes were pulled off the plant, munched a bit and then left, over and over. What a waste, stinking squirrels.

Squirrels gorged themselves on the bird seed I put out. Looked online for remedies: baffles, slinkies, plants they hate, and so on.

The slinkies rusted away and after one day when the squirrel went for a little ride up and down, they figured it out and just climbed the slinkies to reach the feeders.

They knew me. I used to yell at them, oh yes I did, silly I know, but it felt good. When I drove onto the driveway they looked at me and took off.

I chased a couple of squirrels with a bottle of water, spraying it, not even getting close enough to them, but they got the drift. It was funny seeing one of the squirrels trying to wait me out- he lost- and perched on the very tip top of a utility pole his tail twitching wildly.

Currently I put those circular baffles on the poles. I spray the underside of the baffle and the pole with peppermint essential oil mixed with water. That's the next remedy, will see if it works.

Supposedly squirrels won't touch anything with pepper, chili flakes, or similar. That didn't work for me when I put that on the flower pot soils. The squirrels probably get used to it.

Bird seed is sold with pepper and pepper type ingredients to stop the squirrels from eating it. I haven't tried that, but may if I see the squirrels at the feeders.

I feel sorry for the loss of your house @squatting dog , it's stunning the damage, it's horrible. What an ordeal.
 
Owlivia said:
Before I bought plants for the front porch area I researched which plants/flowers squirrels don't like. I didn't take one website as gospel, I got a bunch of sites and they said squirrels hate Geraniums.

Well, that suited me as I enjoy geraniums. So there they are all my pots of geraniums and half of them had the plant pulled out. Some eaten a bit. I found golf balls buried in two pots and the closest golf course is at least 5 miles from here.

My cherry tomatoes were pulled off the plant, munched a bit and then left, over and over. What a waste, stinking squirrels.

Squirrels gorged themselves on the bird seed I put out. Looked online for remedies: baffles, slinkies, plants they hate, and so on.

The slinkies rusted away and after one day when the squirrel went for a little ride up and down, they figured it out and just climbed the slinkies to reach the feeders.

They knew me. I used to yell at them, oh yes I did, silly I know, but it felt good. When I drove onto the driveway they looked at me and took off.

I chased a couple of squirrels with a bottle of water, spraying it, not even getting close enough to them, but they got the drift. It was funny seeing one of the squirrels trying to wait me out- he lost- and perched on the very tip top of a utility pole his tail twitching wildly.

Currently I put those circular baffles on the poles. I spray the underside of the baffle and the pole with peppermint essential oil mixed with water. That's the next remedy, will see if it works.

Supposedly squirrels won't touch anything with pepper, chili flakes, or similar. That didn't work for me when I put that on the flower pot soils. The squirrels probably get used to it.

Bird seed is sold with pepper and pepper type ingredients to stop the squirrels from eating it. I haven't tried that, but may if I see the squirrels at the feeders.

I feel sorry for the loss of your house @squatting dog , it's stunning the damage, it's horrible. What an ordeal.
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This would be a very funny anecdote if it wasn't so sad. Life and nature are supposed to be enjoyed, not wasted away in warfare. 😢🐿️

I know about peppermint, red pepper flakes and cinnamon being good, supposedly, for repelling rodents and insects. Also lavender is supposed to work for some. I like geraniums and didn't know they are supposed to repel squirrels.

Living in an apartment, I don't have to fight squirrels. I do try to use homemade mixtures to repel spiders, bugs and mosquitoes.
 
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And God 'planted' us all on the planet - humans; all species of animals and maybe a few plants and trees and then said "there guys that's how ya do it ; no lets watch them all grow up happily together!!
 
Owlivia said:
Before I bought plants for the front porch area I researched which plants/flowers squirrels don't like. I didn't take one website as gospel, I got a bunch of sites and they said squirrels hate Geraniums.

Well, that suited me as I enjoy geraniums. So there they are all my pots of geraniums and half of them had the plant pulled out. Some eaten a bit. I found golf balls buried in two pots and the closest golf course is at least 5 miles from here.

My cherry tomatoes were pulled off the plant, munched a bit and then left, over and over. What a waste, stinking squirrels.

Squirrels gorged themselves on the bird seed I put out. Looked online for remedies: baffles, slinkies, plants they hate, and so on.

The slinkies rusted away and after one day when the squirrel went for a little ride up and down, they figured it out and just climbed the slinkies to reach the feeders.

They knew me. I used to yell at them, oh yes I did, silly I know, but it felt good. When I drove onto the driveway they looked at me and took off.

I chased a couple of squirrels with a bottle of water, spraying it, not even getting close enough to them, but they got the drift. It was funny seeing one of the squirrels trying to wait me out- he lost- and perched on the very tip top of a utility pole his tail twitching wildly.

Currently I put those circular baffles on the poles. I spray the underside of the baffle and the pole with peppermint essential oil mixed with water. That's the next remedy, will see if it works.

Supposedly squirrels won't touch anything with pepper, chili flakes, or similar. That didn't work for me when I put that on the flower pot soils. The squirrels probably get used to it.

Bird seed is sold with pepper and pepper type ingredients to stop the squirrels from eating it. I haven't tried that, but may if I see the squirrels at the feeders.

I feel sorry for the loss of your house @squatting dog , it's stunning the damage, it's horrible. What an ordeal.
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This is the best baffle I have bought, I attach mine about half way up the pole. The dome shaped ones they learned how to jump on the top
and use it for a foot stool to reach the feeder. Walmart is getting them in right now, I saw quite a few on shelves the other day. Torpedo Baffle is it's name.
torpedoBaffle.JPG
 
DailyArtsyCrafter said:
I was wondering the same thing after @Brookswood's post. Sad how something in nature that is so sweet to watch and feed can quickly become a bane and a hazard. 🙁
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Actually, the real villain in my scenario is the person who feeds the squirrels in my neighborhood. That has taught them to expect food from humans, and reduced their fear. The things will come right up to my rear door and look at me expecting food! Instead they get my pots being banged near their head. Soon, they may get a small stone in the backside, if I get my slingshot.
 
@IrishEyes Thanks for the baffle info.

How tall is the pole your baffle is on? I bought one of these baffles last year, but the pole is 7 ft high and the directions said to put the baffle up 4-5 ft. Looking at that, it was close to the bottom of the feeders, so I returned it and bought the dome.

I may get single feeder poles, mine have the decorative arms at the top so two feeders hang off one pole. I just don't want to get on a ladder to refill the feeders if the pole is much higher.

The squirrels are just now coming out of hibernation, with all this snow, the feeders were safe. Will start to check the feeders for squirrels. Hopefully the snow will all be melted in a few days and will make it easier to go out to the feeders.
 
smiley said:
And God 'planted' us all on the planet - humans; all species of animals and maybe a few plants and trees and then said "there guys that's how ya do it ; no lets watch them all grow up happily together!!
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If only that was true. History.
 
DailyArtsyCrafter said:
This would be a very funny anecdote if it wasn't so sad. Life and nature are supposed to be enjoyed, not wasted away in warfare. 😢🐿️
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DailyArtsyCrafter said:
Living in an apartment, I don't have to fight squirrels.
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It wasn't a very funny anecdote. Just saying something that happened once. No squirrel was abused. Warfare? Ridiculous. The spray from the water bottle didn't reach it, said that in my post.

Squirrels stripped the Indian Corn decoration off the door. Squirrels kill and eat birds. Bird seed is for birds. Squirrels damage homes and cars. This thread gives evidence of that.

I planted holly berry bearing shrubs to help the birds.

Squirrels will eat almost anything without discretion. They haven't stripped my shrubs yet, maybe the holly thorns have stopped them.

I plan on getting some other types of berry bearing shrubs, the flowers will aid the bees and butterflies and then the berries will aid the birds.
 

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