Lately the squirrels have been getting into my work area. Doing the usual damage. Digging holes and generally messing things up.
The wife won't let me shoot the little buggers and poison is out of the question because of my dogs.
In desperation I bought one of those fake owls that Wal-Mart sells.
The head is on a spring and it bobs up and down and spins around with the slightest breeze. Sort of like those dogs that just about everyone had in the back window of their car years ago.
It worked. Scared the heck out of the squirrels. They left the area pretty quick. Problem is that they are darn smart. Did not take them long to figure out it was a fake owl . Before the day was out they were back.
Another $20 wasted in the war against the tree rats.
I was just about to give up on the darn thing and chuck it in the trash when an old gentleman stopped by. He got a chuckle out of my plastic owl. I told him my tale of woe and he looked at me like I was crazy.
He spent some time explaining to me the nature of squirrels. The have a good sense of smell to go with that good eyesight of theirs. Plastic is not a scary smell.
He grabbed the owl and rubbed it all over one of my dogs. (the dog wasn't all that pleased) Now he said it looks like an owl and smells like a dog. It will scare the heck out of them.
I thought he was crazy but didn't want to hurt the old mans feelings so I just said thanks.
Funny thing is that was about a week ago and guess what I haven't seen in my yard lately. No holes dug into my bonsai soil either.
Maybe that old guy wasn't all that crazy.
Now every morning when I water my trees I grab that owl and rub it on the dog. She still doesn't like it all that much so most of the time I have to chase her into a corner to do the deed.
For the past couple of days I have been moving the owl to different spots on the tables after I water. Figured that might help the illusion a bit.
Not sure how long this will continue to work. Maybe it doesn't. Those squirrels could be messing with me. They could be hiding up there in those trees laughing their butts of at the joke they are pulling on me. They are sneaky little devils.