The line between dedication and obsession is thin. Sometimes, we’re quite far over on the obsession scale; and looking back, we’re not quite sure how we became obsessed with something like, say squirrels. This week, we wanted to take a moment and talk to two folks obsessed with the same subject – yes, it’s squirrels.
Chuck Smith has been waging an epic battle to become “squirrel-free.” Any southerner knows that squirrels and similar rodents can be a plague upon an idyllic yard as they jostle from limb to limb in trees. We recently visited Chuck for a cup of joe at Rhino Coffee and to hear a little bit about the history of the 100-some-odd squirrels he’s captured and relocated “far away enough that a squirrel would really need to be determined to come back.”
We also visited All Y’all Live favorite Randall Ross after learning he was an preeminent scholar on squirrel history. We fully trust his expertise and we think you’ll gain a fuller understanding of why battling squirrels can easily become an obsession.
If you have hundreds of roving rodents eating your home, Chuck also shared a few key tips for dealing with squirrels:
- “You can find traps at hardware stores. You wanna get one that’s of a reasonable size, don’t get one too small. You don’t need one too large, either.”
- “When you bait the traps, keep in mind food sources for squirrels. They like whole pecans when pecans are not around. So, you can stick those in there. But you’ve gotta put the pecans far from the perimeter of the trap, otherwise the raccoons will reach in and steal them.”
- “Keep in mind the weather. You don’t want to trap them during the winter, because that’s when they’re taking care of their young. You don’t want to upset the ecological balance.”
- “Don’t forget when the traps are set. You don’t wanna go away for the weekend and come home to a bunch of dead squirrels in your backyard.”
More All Y’all episodes are coming soon, with news about our next live storytelling event, slated for February/March.
If you’ve had an odd run-in with wildlife, we want to hear your story. Ring up the All Y’all story hotline and leave us a message with your story: (318) 582-0665
