The squatters are back

About a week or so ago, I realized that my rodent tenants were back in the basement. In the spring, I had found their presents all over the ledge in the basement. I promptly had my father patch the holes in the drywall and seal any potential entry walls. Most of the holes were sealed except the ones immediately above the furnace, which were close to impossible to patch. I'm talking about less than 3 inches of clearance between the air duct and ceiling with numerous pipes going into the ceiling.

The presents were vacuumed up and have-a-heart traps (mice sized) were set. I never caught anything in the spring so I assumed they had been sucessfully evicted. As soon as it turned cold out, they were back. Presents were left along the ledge again. I also found an acorn sitting in the middle of basement when just the day before there was none. A bit alarming since it indicates that these tenants are stepping up their threats. I still haven't caught anything in the traps.

Last year, I had asked my father whether he saw any presents up there and he said no. Well I should have checked myself because there they were. I think the tenants find their way into the walls via the common hallway and then they just make their way through everyone's basements in the ceilings and walls. So this afternoon, I attempted to patch these last holes. It was hellish. I had thought to use the mesh that you have in window screens with duct tape and staples. I had planned to cut holes in the mesh to fit around the pipes. Yeah. That's easier said then done. I did my best and there's still some holes but I hope it's enough of a deterrent that they will just move on to one of my neighbors. If this doesn't work, then I'll need to borrow someone's cat to stand guard down there.