Lawn and Garden forum - Not sure if this is the right forum, but some critter is in my house

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Not sure if this is the right forum, but some critter is in my house

I Love Lucy

2006-07-19, 5:25 pm

It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a
bit then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive
vocally when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a
cat so it is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure
because the sound seems to alternate between the dining room and spare
bedroom, kitchen or back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has
been going on for about a week now. I thought I might be hearing
things, but my daughter was here and heard it and asked what it was.

I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.

Srgnt Billko

2006-07-19, 5:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a bit
> then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
> periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive vocally
> when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a cat so it
> is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure because the sound
> seems to alternate between the dining room and spare bedroom, kitchen or
> back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has been going on for
> about a week now. I thought I might be hearing things, but my daughter
> was here and heard it and asked what it was.
>
> I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
> time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
> with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.
>

I'll try to be more quiet. But could you leave out some peanut butter and
jelly and a couple slices of bread so I can make myself a PB & jelly
sandwich ?

newsguy

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a
> bit then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
> periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive
> vocally when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a
> cat so it is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure
> because the sound seems to alternate between the dining room and spare
> bedroom, kitchen or back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has
> been going on for about a week now. I thought I might be hearing
> things, but my daughter was here and heard it and asked what it was.
>
> I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
> time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
> with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.
>

Since there are many various methods of 'trapping' critters, you need to
identify what it is first. Ask a friend and have one (who seems
knowledgeable in these matters) come over to help identify it. Then you can
ask for the trap (or other method of removal) at the local hardware store.

Steveo

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a
> bit then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
> periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive
> vocally when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a
> cat so it is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure
> because the sound seems to alternate between the dining room and spare
> bedroom, kitchen or back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has
> been going on for about a week now. I thought I might be hearing
> things, but my daughter was here and heard it and asked what it was.
>
> I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
> time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
> with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.
>
A bat.

I Love Lucy

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"Srgnt Billko" <frrt@blipl.net> wrote in message
news:Q_xvg.424243$Fs1.50630@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
> news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> I'll try to be more quiet. But could you leave out some peanut butter
> and jelly and a couple slices of bread so I can make myself a PB &
> jelly sandwich ?

No, your grubby paw will break my new trap :-).
>
>

I Love Lucy

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"newsguy" <newsguy@website.com> wrote in message
news:Ckyvg.4729$RV.908@trnddc08...
>
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
> news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> Since there are many various methods of 'trapping' critters, you need
> to
> identify what it is first. Ask a friend and have one (who seems
> knowledgeable in these matters) come over to help identify it. Then
> you can
> ask for the trap (or other method of removal) at the local hardware
> store.

I don't have many friends, and the ones I have I doubt would know. That
means animal control. Don't want to call them - yet. They get here and
the thing shuts up for hours with my luck.

I already bought a trap, hope it is not the wrong one. I may have put
the wrong kind of bait in it or it is just going to hide and cheep.
Hope it isn't a bat.
>
>

I Love Lucy

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719184903.540$Eg@newsreader.com...
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> A bat.

Yeah, see my last message. The last two a couple years ago came out and
flew around at night, and I was able to throw a bucket over them when
they landed in the open, take them out and release them in the morning
away from my home.

Srgnt Billko

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719184903.540$Eg@newsreader.com...
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> A bat.

Shouldn't be a bat in the daytime.
I use hav-a-harts myself. Be patient and experiment with the bait.

Steveo

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> "Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:20060719184903.540$Eg@newsreader.com...
>
> Yeah, see my last message. The last two a couple years ago came out and
> flew around at night, and I was able to throw a bucket over them when
> they landed in the open, take them out and release them in the morning
> away from my home.
>
Cool that you didn't freak out about a bat like some people seem to do.
Bats are my friends out here where I live, they munch the mosquitoes and
never bother me. (don't want them in the house tho)

Reckon there is a bat trap?

Steveo

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"Srgnt Billko" <frrt@blipl.net> wrote:
> "Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:20060719184903.540$Eg@newsreader.com...
>
> Shouldn't be a bat in the daytime.
>
It's inside the house no?

I Love Lucy

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719202403.904$TZ@newsreader.com...
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> Cool that you didn't freak out about a bat like some people seem to
> do.
> Bats are my friends out here where I live, they munch the mosquitoes
> and
> never bother me. (don't want them in the house tho)
>
> Reckon there is a bat trap?

I'll have to find out. And what and how to bait it. It unnerves me
when people post scary messages about rabies, but ever since I killed
one years ago with a broom handle because my husband freaked out, the
little thing cried so pitifully, I could never do that again unless it
tried to harm me.

I'm worried about how it got in, if it is indeed a bat which it probably
is. There are several possible spots. Didn't have any for a couple of
years and thought I was past that.

Bill

2006-07-19, 8:25 pm

What about a bird's nest?
Chicks?? (Winged type)..

--
remove one of the @'s unless you are a spammer.
"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a bit
> then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
> periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive vocally
> when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a cat so it
> is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure because the sound
> seems to alternate between the dining room and spare bedroom, kitchen or
> back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has been going on for
> about a week now. I thought I might be hearing things, but my daughter
> was here and heard it and asked what it was.
>
> I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
> time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
> with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.
>

Srgnt Billko

2006-07-19, 9:25 pm

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719203000.463$9U@newsreader.com...
> "Srgnt Billko" <frrt@blipl.net> wrote:
> It's inside the house no?

I always figure if they got in they can get out - but even in a house they
would find a hiding place and just "hang" during the day wouldn't they ?

Steveo

2006-07-19, 9:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> "Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:20060719202403.904$TZ@newsreader.com...
>
> I'll have to find out. And what and how to bait it. It unnerves me
> when people post scary messages about rabies, but ever since I killed
> one years ago with a broom handle because my husband freaked out, the
> little thing cried so pitifully, I could never do that again unless it
> tried to harm me.
>
Yeah people imagine dracula due to too many midnight movies. I had to kill
one once and it was on my boat about 14 miles off shore of avon ohio in
lake erie. This bat was all over us for some strange reason... there was a
big coast gaurd research boat watching us kill the bat too. (they were
throwing test bats at us i think)

> I'm worried about how it got in, if it is indeed a bat which it probably
> is. There are several possible spots. Didn't have any for a couple of
> years and thought I was past that.

Steveo

2006-07-19, 9:25 pm

"Srgnt Billko" <frrt@blipl.net> wrote:
> "Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:20060719203000.463$9U@newsreader.com...
>
> I always figure if they got in they can get out - but even in a house
> they would find a hiding place and just "hang" during the day wouldn't
> they ?
>
They can get their shift mixed up in the rafters. "hang" is what they do
when they sleep?

I Love Lucy

2006-07-20, 3:25 am

"Bill" <bargerw@@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:0RAvg.8452$IB.5322@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> What about a bird's nest?
> Chicks?? (Winged type).

That's a long shot, although . . .maybe a baby. I swear it is following
me through the house except to the back room where I have my computer.
I don't know what could last this long without getting fed unless there
are more than one . . ..

Birds have gotten in from time to time. A medium-sized brown woodpecker
somehow got in my computer room a few years ago. I have no idea how a
bird that large got in. We had a broken window in the attic and a hole
in the ceiling where my son's friend stepped through . . .who knows.
The window is now replaced, but there is a piece of wainscoating loose
in the eaves that needs to be repaired. A bat could easily get in
through there. I wouldn't think a bird would want to nest in the attic
as it is way too hot. A bat could quickly find its way to a cooler part
of the house by the air currents.

I'll try to figure it out tomorrow. I'm out of ideas. When it was in
the lr, I thought of just opening the front door and it might leave, but
I don't want bugs in here.
>
> --

I Love Lucy

2006-07-20, 3:25 am

"Stubby" <William.Plummer-NOSPAM-@alum.mit.edu> wrote in message
news:zrOdnVVdSJrORyPZnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com...
>A cricket, maybe?

I'm familiar with their sound. It isn't the same, but that doesn't mean
they don't make different sounds. I'll let you know if I figure it out.
Maybe I will just have a houseguest for awhile . . .I'm growing
accustomed to its sound. I just wanted whatever it is out for obvious
reasons and that it not starve before it can be caught and set free. If
it's a bat, it seems it's in more than it is out. I don't know what
happens while I'm sleeping.

Seems odd the cat doesn't show more curiosity about it. She's a good
mouser and caught a chipmunk by the tail when one got in my computer
room. I made her drop it, it hid in a corner, I isolated it by closing
the door and getting the cat out and left some peanuts and water out.
In the morning there were peanut shells all over my keyboard. I opened
the screen a couple inches and left some peanuts on the windowsill and
the next day the peanuts hadn't been eaten and it was gone. I don't
think the cat got it.

The woodpecker eventually flew into the top of the closet and climbed
into a small computer peripheral box. I clamped the lid down tight when
I found it and took it outside and set it free.

This one has me stymied. For now. It's just chirping away as I write,
every few seconds.
[color=darkred]
>
>
> I Love Lucy wrote:

I Love Lucy

2006-07-20, 3:25 am

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719221833.429$99@newsreader.com...
> Yeah people imagine dracula due to too many midnight movies. I had to
> kill
> one once and it was on my boat about 14 miles off shore of avon ohio
> in
> lake erie. This bat was all over us for some strange reason... there
> was a
> big coast gaurd research boat watching us kill the bat too. (they were
> throwing test bats at us i think)

I wouldn't put it past them :-). That was funny about the coast guard
part. The rest was not. Seriously you had no choice in your situation
to kill it if you couldn't get it to leave you alone.

I Love Lucy

2006-07-20, 1:25 pm

"Steveo" <moparholic@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:20060719232349.322$m2@newsreader.com...
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote:
> Yeah I think it was keying on the boat electronics footprint or
> something,
> and in the mean time guys in uniforms are watching us thru binoculars
> from
> a cutter. It was freaky.

Maybe they thought you were Cuban refugees who had somehow gotten off
course and come down the St. Lawrence River. Heh, the t-word comes to
mind. They were just bored and had to scope you out and act officious
and obnoxious and sic the bat on you. Their radar may have affected the
bat because that behavior was unusual especially if in the daytime.
>
> At any rate, hope you come to an agreement with your intruder, what
> ever it
> turns out to be.

Yes, we may have to settle for a peaceful coexistence. It cheeped a
little bit ago. I called animal control, said I didn't want them to
come out, asked if they knew what it could be, they said I had to call a
professional trapper. Yeah, right, you know what they would charge. My
granddaughter's bf's father does pest control; he may have some ideas
about it and might help me catch it so I've got a call in to her so we
can get in touch with him. If he can do anything, he would at least
give me a price break. Whatever it is, I don't want to kill it. At
least it isn't a snake.

2006-07-20, 1:25 pm

"I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> It has a medium high-pitched, short chirp or cheep, one-time, stops a bit
> then repeats, all times of the day or night then stops for lengthy
> periods. I thought chipmunk, but they are usually more repetitive vocally
> when they get going. I can't pinpoint where this is, I have a cat so it
> is probably hiding, suspect the heat ducts but not sure because the sound
> seems to alternate between the dining room and spare bedroom, kitchen or
> back hall, it is hard to track the sound. This has been going on for
> about a week now. I thought I might be hearing things, but my daughter
> was here and heard it and asked what it was.
>
> I bought a havahart live trap for smallish creatures, had a dickens of a
> time getting it set, daughter figured out the final step, and loaded it
> with sunflower seeds and a peanut. Nothing has happened yet.
>

Have you checked the battery in the smoke alarm?? I know that sounds stupid,
but I once tracked a "cricket" for two weeks, only to discover that he was
really the smoke alarm chirping to let me know the battery was dead.

DP

I Love Lucy

2006-07-21, 1:25 pm

"DP" <DP@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bKPvg.2407$bP5.588@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> "I Love Lucy" <nomore@monkey.biz> wrote in message
> news:WOxvg.7041$vO.6849@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> Have you checked the battery in the smoke alarm?? I know that sounds
> stupid, but I once tracked a "cricket" for two weeks, only to discover
> that he was really the smoke alarm chirping to let me know the battery
> was dead.
>
> DP

Thank you DP! Just did. See my most recent reply above.
>
>

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