That time a squirrel stole my bull float in Cincinnati

Last fall, I was finishing a patio slab in a backyard near the river... left my magnesium bull float on the grass for maybe two minutes to grab a drink. Turn around and a big grey squirrel is dragging it, handle and all, toward a tree. The thing must have weighed five pounds. The homeowner's kid started yelling 'he's taking your stuff!' and we all just froze watching. The squirrel gave up halfway up the trunk and it clattered down. Anyone else have wildlife messing with their tools on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo5052mo ago

Chased a raccoon off with my loud radio once.

lily57410d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of something a buddy of mine tried once, @leo505. He had this big fat raccoon that kept getting into his garbage cans every single night, no matter what he did. So he got this old boombox and set it on his porch playing some angry heavy metal, thinking it would scare the thing off for good. Well, the raccoon just sat there staring at the speakers for a few minutes, then casually walked over and knocked the whole thing off the table. Broke the radio and the raccoon came back the next day with what looked like its whole family. My buddy gave up and just started putting bricks on the can lids after that. I guess some critters are just too smart for their own good, or maybe they've got a sense of humor we don't know about. Your mileage may vary on the loud radio trick though.

anderson.spencer2mo ago

That's a wild story, but I have to disagree with the idea that wildlife is just messing with us. That squirrel probably thought your float was some weird, shiny food or nesting material. They're just doing their thing, not trying to ruin our day. It's more like we're in their space, not the other way around. I get what leo505 is saying about chasing a raccoon off, but loud noises seem kinder than some other ways to deal with them. We're the ones with the big brains, so we should figure out how to work around them without causing a fuss.