Hi Gang,
Here's a third short note from Rollins Pond CG - NYS DEC - July 2007.
How many mice or chipmunks will find their way into an Airstream in a
week? Simple answer: It all depends.
The occasional rodent visitor who figures out how to gain entry into
our Airstream doesn't realize it but he has just bought one way
ticket to the morgue.
HOW COME?
For years, our two cats have guarded the fortress with uncanny skill,
cunning and deadly swift reaction times. One morning we awoke to see
them sitting at attention on the rug looking at us expectantly. This
was unusual for them as most mornings they hop up on our bed a hour
or so after daylight and begin purring loudly to the tune of "time
for our breakfast, time for you to get up".
That particular morning when I swung my feet out of bed, there in
front of the cats was a headless mouse. "Well done, Guys!" were my
first words. Both cats were praised and stroked with their favorite
brush (more loud purrs). Later, after proper burial of the mouse,
both cats enjoyed a breakfast treat plus their usual fare of dry food
and water. Guard duty has its benefits but was over until the next
night.
All well and good, BUT - this particular week in July 2007, our cats
are staying at the Veterinarian's Condo Resort (with picture windows
overlooking the waiting room area). Our trailer is totally unguarded.
What do we do about that?
Last month before we left for Rollins Pond, I used rope caulk to fill
all holes the size of a pencil eraser (if a mouse's nose can fit
through a hole, so can his entire body). Chipmunks have larger noses
than mice. Squirrels have larger noses than chipmunks.
Yesterday afternoon when we returned from a trip into Tupper Lake, I
opened the trailer door and saw a squirrel looking at me quizzically
as if saying: "Why are you back so soon? I thought I had the whole
day to search for food and poop in your parlor."
The squirrel bounded toward the rear vanity of our trailer and
disappeared behind it. Minutes later, I heard scratching and clawing
along the underbelly aluminum and then silence. Obviously, this
squirrel remembered his escape route because we neither heard nor saw
him again.
If our cats had been with us, it might have been a different story -
with blood and guts everywhere (Yuk). But, our cats are vacationing
while we're camping with our son, our DIL and two pre-school grand
daughters (one is allergic to cats).
This squirrel taught me my supposedly meticulous plugging of tiny
holes was sorely miscalculated. After all, if a squirrel could get
inside the underbelly, there has to be a big hole. I'm now in my
aggressive "search" mode.
One possibility is where the dump valves are located. There is a
small piece of rubber over the opening. That may have been the secret
entry way. When I find the hole (or holes), I'll settle that hash
once and for all. I haven't figured out what I'll do under the
various circumstances I might find, but I'm sure there are ideas in
our archives.
More later,
Terry