At 6:45 AM a scream ripped through the upstairs. The dog had discovered a something and chased it into Carol's room. We brushed by each other in the doorway as she exited the area. I shut the door and saw our Lhasa/mix drive a fat chipmunk from under the bed across the room to beneath a stuffed chair. I thanked Chloe for her efforts and ushered her out of the room. Now - what kind of trap would I need to remove this animal.
My experience with the "have/a/heart" trap has been excellent. Carol's flower gardens were besieged by numerous woodchucks a few years back and I borrowed a trap from a friend. To be successful one must carefully prepare a delicious bait salad. My salad consisted of apple and pear slices, lettuce, carrot sticks and celery, slathered with a peanut butter dressing. I easily trapped five woodchucks that summer (one of which before release had finished every scrap of his salad). The first two animals I hand carried in the trap over a quarter of a mile. I took them around a pond and out into a meadow (absolutely no cows or horses in the area) to a corps of trees. There they were released.
A sunny morning five days later I looked out a window and saw two woodchucks running side by side across the field toward the back of the house. With sixty paces to go they stopped, appeared to rub noses and split up. One ran to the burrow under the back deck and the other to a burrow in the field bordering the lawn. The next three chucks I trapped were driven miles to a state highway Rest Area (again no cows or horses in the area) bordering vast meadows and with a panoramic view of the Mohawk Valley - they were released. Today happily, we only have one, perhaps two, but certainly not more than three woodchucks residing by the gardens.
A scream at midnight from Carol's room alerted me to another intruder. I rushed into her room - the light was on and she was under the blankets. "There is something in here and its flying!" At first glimpse it was a dark bird - but no it was a bat. It flew from one side of the room to the other - grabbed on to a curtain, rested for a few seconds and then flew off. For the purpose of capture I chose a pillow case. My plan was simple - keep the bat flying, get it tired and after it lands bag it. It took approximately fifteen minutes of harassment before the bat was exhausted - it landed behind a curtain. Using both hands I covered it with the pillow case, gently squeezed and picked up the almost weightless body. Down the stairs I rushed and out into a starry night - two gentle flaps of wings and the bat was gone - no problem. Before discovering how that bat gained access to the room and fixing it, there was another scream three weeks later. A pillow case was secured and harassment began. The bat finally collapsed onto the rug and I covered it with the pillow case. But now the wrinkles in the pillow cloth prevented me from determining precisely where the bat was. So I gently began to press down on each of the lumps until - one lump emitted a cry - like a baby. I scooped it up and outside my friend flew off into the night. That same summer our neighbor Harriet, sought assistance - a bat was flying around her second floor. Armed with my pillow case I slowly ascended the stairs and saw a very active bat. Upon reaching the top step I held the bag open and the bat flew directly into it. I took this as a personal vote of confidence in me by the Order Chiroptera - bats. It was clearly my finest capture - and release.
To capture the chipmunk now confined to the bedroom I selected a 2x3 foot plastic clothes basket placing it on the floor and covering it with a dark blanket. One corner of the basket was then jacked up with an aspirin bottle making an inviting place for a chipmunk to hide. Now the chipmunk had to be kept moving until it scrambled under the trap and I kicked away the aspirin bottle. My plan worked perfectly and I trapped the chipmunk twice. Unfortunately the little rodent also escaped twice. It proved difficult to slide a cover, sheet or any damn thing between the basket and the floor without offering the diabolical creature enough space to escape. Now it was personal. I selected a smaller basket. Chloe was unleashed and deployed to assist. A rapid chase ensued. Once the chipmunk stopped - the two animals were nose to nose twelve inches apart. Chipmunk, "You want a piece of me"? Chloe, "No, I just enjoy the chase." Again they were off. The chipmunk was finally herded into a restricted space in a closet, the basket was placed over the animal and then slid carefully into- you guessed it - a pillow case. Released after a two hour encounter a happy chipmunk (Chloe and I also hope our new friend) alternately ran and bounced off into the deep grass and trees.
Brody - photo by Beth Macaulay
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