A couple of days ago Chelsea and I were sitting in the living room. We were both stopped by an odd noise that sounded like it could be outside the window. I looked but couldn’t see anything.
We heard it again and this time is sounded like it might be coming from the floor air vent. Fortunately, the holes are too small for anything to come out and bite my face off, so I decided to go to the basement.
Of course, it was dark and now extremely creepy. I used the flashlight on my phone to make my way to the ancient naked lightbulb near that section of the underworld. Adrenaline was pumping as I fully expected to be attacked, but nothing was visible.
I returned upstairs and shrugged. Maybe it was mass hallucination and wouldn’t every be heard again. I hoped.
The next evening the noise returned and it was now obvious it was in the wall. We determined it was either haints (quite possible since our porch ceiling isn’t yet painted blue), mice, or squirrels. Based on the lack of whoooooo sounds, we ruled out ghosts. That left us with small rodents or large rodents. Based on the volume, we are left to believe it is a nest of squirrels.
I contacted a local Squirrel Hunter to get an estimated price to trap them, move them to someone else’s home, and fix the entry point(s). He came out today, regaled me with horrific stories of squirrels’ vicious behavior, and quoted $2000.
Hmmm…that is more than I want to pay, so I used the ol’ “I need to talk to my wife and then I’ll make a decision” brush-off. I figured that we were done at that point. I certainly was. He came back with, “Okay. I can do it for $1500 but no less.”
I am not happy about the unbudgeted expense, but he did mention it is breeding season, and our house isn’t zoned for a squirrel brothel.