Squirrel Destroyed My Insulation

davey4000 · Sep 3, 2012

At least I think it was a squirrel since I have so many around. I have about 15 places around the base of my steel building where the critter was trying to get out.

While I was using my tractor Saturday I left the door open. Afterwards I put the tractor up and closed the door. This morning I discovered the damage. I rolled up all three doors to let "whatever" out, but never saw anything leave. He may be dead, but I didn't find a body. I guess I'll find out in a day or two if it's dead.

I am sick about this. Oh well, things happen!

MitchellB · Sep 3, 2012

Those squirrels can make a mess. We used to have a canvas popup camper and one winter those pesky varmints got under the cover and chewed holes in the canvas. It took my wife a long time to sew patches on it that spring so we could camp in it again. Danged if they didn't get into it the following Fall and chew more holes in the canvas. I finally gave up and ripped the old canvas tent-top off and riveted hard aluminum panels to the trailer to replace the canvas. They never chewed threw that!

tony Cecil · Sep 3, 2012

Looks more like a `coon` to me....That is a mess Sorry Tony

davey4000 · Sep 3, 2012

tony Cecil said:
Looks more like a `coon` to me....That is a mess Sorry Tony

That's what my FIL said. You may be right. It is a mess indeed.

dave1949 · Sep 3, 2012

There must be patching kits for that type of insulation. Special tape and small rolls of insulation? It wouldn't be unusual for people to snag and tear it I guess.

Deere Dude · Sep 3, 2012

A few years ago through a serious of neglectful actions I closed in a raccoon under my trailer house. We came back from Florida about 4-5 months later and and saw the mess it made. It got on top of the insulation in the floor section and eventually got inside some duct-work and then into the house. Luckily we didn't have any furnishings in because we just moved everything into our new house, but it chewed through baseboard and wall and must have gotten out through the same duct-work, but I'm still not sure. I ended up putting nice wide 1x8 baseboard on the affected rooms. I sold the trailer to a trailer park and when they came to get it and they took the skirting off, I was floored. About 40' of the insulated board and insulation was laying on the ground. That was embarrassing.

This spring I found a little raccoon in the belly of our big fifth wheel camper, AGAIN BY MY NEGLECT, and trashed much of the insulation and some wiring. I was fortunate because I was able to lasso him with a long snare and it was a young one. I went down and got a Havi-Hart trap withing the hour and set it for the mother, which I eventually caught. Both times everything was fixable with a couple hundred dollars and a bunch of cuss words, but now everything gets buttoned up all the time. If I leave the pole shed by more then 50 feet, the overhead doors come down. I saw critters run right in when my wife scared them up in the garden.

dave1949 · Sep 3, 2012

I keep my overhead door down too. Mostly for mice and flies. Insects love to fly into my garage. Horse flies, butterflies, dragon flies, bees, and worst of all the dang cluster flies.

Before I put the ceiling in it, it swallowed 3 hummingbirds and a robin. They'd go in and couldn't figure out how to go out. The robin I saved, couldn't catch the hummingbirds or steer them out with a broom.