Critter in our ducts

[Mik]

Not sure how it got in there, but its trying to get out. Its moving from grate to grate and can’t climb them. Driving the cats nuts.

I suppose it will take care of itself if it cant get out.

[LuFins Dad]

@Mik Open a vent? Or are they large enough that one of the cats might go in after it?

[Mik]

I’d prefer to keep them on. If it’s a mouse - which I’m pretty sure of, a chipmunk would be louder - it could get through the vents. But it doesn’t seem to be able to traverse the verticals.

If it does get out the cats will handle that.

[George K]

Glue trap below one of the vents? It'll be noisy...for a while.

[blondie]

There’s never just 1 mouse. Just saying …

[Catseye3]

I once had two critters that somebody called 'field rats'. They chewed a hole in the ceiling of my pantry (where food was kept). They were bigger than mice, and certainly noisier.

They were incredibly destructive. Forget the cats; they drove ME crazy for weeks -- made a horrible mess in the pantry. I tried everything to get rid of them without resorting to cruel or painful methods, and nothing worked. Till finally with great reluctance I applied the poison pellets from D-Con. Those worked. I have no pets, so I could use them; obviously you can't.

Point being, if they get in the house, boy howdy. The cats will definitely earn their 9Lives then.

[Mik]

Mr. Critter decided he likes the dining room vent and was apparently able to reach either his paws or his snout up through the louvers. Saw it several times.

Hated to do it, but we chased him away from there, and I set a glue trap with a string attached down into the duct. That should get him and I’ll whack his head with a hammer to put him out of his misery.

[LuFins Dad]

@Mik said in Critter in our ducts:

Mr. Critter decided he likes the dining room vent and was apparently able to reach either his paws or his snout up through the louvers. Saw it several times.

Hated to do it, but we chased him away from there, and I set a glue trap with a string attached down into the duct. That should get him and I’ll whack his head with a hammer to put him out of his misery.

More humane than dehydration in the ductwork.

[George K]

Could have been worse, could have been in your toilet.

[Mik]

THE PLOT THICKENS!

We heard it rumbling around and were sure he was caught in the trap. So we pulled up the vent cover and viola!

It was a Grackle!!!

How the heck a Grackle got into our heating ducts I will have to investigate.

Well, I wasn’t going to whack an innocent bird’s head with a hammer, so I took him outside and poured vegetable oil on the trap, which dissolves the glue. After a few minutes he was mostly loose and flapping, I used the string to pull the trap off his last talon and away he went…on foot. He’s got some oil on him and I hope he can shake it off eventually, but he managed to get himself over the fence to some shelter so he may be ok.

[George K]

Wow. Did he come down a chimney or something?

[blondie]

Great work! Bye bye!

[Horace]

Glad you freed him. Reminds me of the time a bird got into the covered fireplace.

[Mik]

@George-K said in Critter in our ducts:

Wow. Did he come down a chimney or something?

I have to think he got into the attic somehow and pecked a hole in the flexible heating ducts, then fell through. My HVAC guys are going to have a look.

[Catseye3]

Good for you. You gave the best assistance you could.

[mark]

Nice rescue!

[89th]

Well done @Mik … The only person more friendly to the environment than @Horace and @89th!

[Horace]

@89th said in Critter in our ducts:

Well done @Mik … The only person more friendly to the environment than @Horace and @89th!

It's really gratifying to see our leadership bearing fruit.

[Copper]

If a bird pulls a stunt like that in my house he probably won't survive.

I like birds and everything, but he probably just wouldn't make it.

[Catseye3]

@Copper said in Critter in our ducts:

If a bird pulls a stunt like that in my house he probably won't survive.

I remember the snake.