The squirrel in my garage

A squirrel has been living in my garage . . . apparently, for a long time.

I first noticed when I was cleaning out the garage. I had placed a large sheet of cardboard over a back window, hoping to keep the sun from fading some books I have stored in the garage. That’s when I noticed that the cardboard had been chewed away . . . and there were little bits of cardboard scattered all over the shelves beneath the window.

My first thought was roaches–we have roaches down here large enough to make NOISE when they walk, but we have an exterminator and I really don’t see roaches unless they’re belly up and already departed from this life. So what?

I knew I’ve had birds in my garage. There’s one spot–a little hollow in the right wall in which a bird’s nest routinely appears. Barn swallows, I think. But ever since I first found that nest, I’ve taken pains to keep the garage doors closed unless I’m actively working in there. Doesn’t help, apparently.

And that’s when I realized I have a squirrel–at least one. We keep our garbage cans not far from the garage, and the squirrels have chews huge holes into our vinyl garbage bins–at the top and at the bottom. Since it’s only a short distance from the garbage to the garage, I figured it was logical for a squirrel to realize that the garage was close, cozy, and had lots of little hiding places.

And then I saw her. I say HER because I’ve had experience with nesting squirrels before–a mama squirrel with a hidden nest isn’t going to leave it no matter how hard to try to entice her away. We had a squirrel make a nest in an outdoor ceiling, and we tried everything, but she persisted. I even caught her one day trying to teach her baby how to leap from a post into the ceiling–here’s a link to the video.

(I never did see if the baby made it back into the nest–but I checked on them later, and they were no longer trying, so I assumed all was well. Maybe the baby just decided to go live in a tree. Or in my garage.)

One day not long ago, one of my airbnb guests was using the laundry room, which is accessible only through the garage. She stopped and caught me. “What’s that noise?” she asked, crinking her nose. I had to think a minute. “You mean that loud cricket sound?”

She nodded. “I thought it was a weird car alarm.”

“It’s not,” I told her. “It’s supposed to repel rodents.”

“Does it work?” she asked.

Just then the squirrel who resides in my garage ran along a post and dove outside, heading to the garbage can.

“Clearly not,” I answered. “But I keep it turned on just in case they decide to listen.”

So far, they haven’t.

~Angie

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Angela Hunt

Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who expect the unexpected in novels. With over five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 165 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to non-fiction books, to novels.

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