Two weeks ago I had some "guests" show up in the attic...squirrels. Since we cut down all but one tree that had given them access to the roof, it has been quite a long time since their last visit. At 4:30 am that morning however, it sounded like they were moving furniture in the eve just above the master bedroom. I hoped they would just be passing through, but it turned out they appeared to be moving in for the winter.
Over the weekend, I ordered a small animal trap from Amazon.
I also sent a note to my neighbor (Morgan) thinking he might have a trap. He did and handed it to me on Sunday, January 13. I originally put his trap in the attic. I also installed one of my Cloud Cams so I could see what was going on and be notified when it sensed movement. To get a WiFi signal, I moved the Net Gear booster from the garage (where it never worked too well) into the attic. Works great with the signal strength going from one bar to four bars. For bait, I put some raisins in a Styrofoam bowl. During the first night, I was notified of movement and watched as a squirrel run past the trap without paying much notice of it.
On Monday, my new trap arrived. I baited it with raisins and put it in the attic, moving Morgan's trap to the cedar closet on the third floor behind T's desk. Why there? Because I was hearing so much noise, there was enough "stuff" in that closet I thought that's where they might be. Most of the stuff in the closet is Christmas stuff.
It did not take long before I got notified of movement. What I saw as not a squirrel, but a bat. I quickly concluded that, while interesting, this was not the source of the noise I was hearing, and this trap was not going to trap a bat, the gaps in the wire are too large to keep them in...or out. I left the trap in that closet for a couple of days just in case someone else showed up.
I got a few more notifications and clips of squirrels running by the attic trap, but they didn't seem to be very interested. After a couple of days, I decided to move Morgan's trap to the eave above the Master Bedroom.I supplemented the raisins with some dried tomatoes and some cheese. I got a lot of movement notifications and clips of squirrels running around and over the trap.
Since they did not seem to be attracted to the bait in the trap, I added some slivered blanched almonds to both the eave trap and the attic trap. I got no more notifications from the attic, but continued to get some from the eave. Finally, I got one in which a squirrel had actually entered the trap to eat the bait. The squirrel stood on top of the plate which is supposed to trip the trap door, but the trap did not trip.
I tried to adjust the trap so that it was more sensitive to a squirrel sitting on the plate and reinstalled the trap.
Early this morning, after being woken around 4:00 am by the noises in the eave, I remembered that many many years ago, we bought a ultrasonic pest repulser.
Today, I went hunting for it in the basement and, after giving up, found it. I took it up to the third floor eave along with a brown rice snap with a dollop of Jiff creamy peanut butter on it.
I put one cracker in the eave trap and the other in the attic trap. I installed the ultrasonic thing on top of the eave trap. We will see if the peanut butter is a more powerful lure for the squirrels to visit the trap or if the ultrasonic thing drives them away.
Now, for the pond deicer.
In late September 2016, I purchased (through Amazon) a K&H Thermo-Pond Perfect Climate Deluxe Pond Deicer 250W. It cost about $40 and had an average 3.2 Star rating (61% were 4/5 Star and 34% were 1/2 Star with 719 reviews). Most of the complaints were that the device did not work at all or did not work for long.
The one we bought worked well the first season but failed sometime during the 2017 season. I am not convinced we need a deicer since the pump and water fall seem to keep the pond from freezing over completely. But, as a safety matter, I have decided I want to have a backup to the waterfall. The purpose of the deicer is to keep the pond from freezing over completely.
Today, I received the next attempt to find a good deicer. I purchased (through Amazon) a Farm Innovators Model C-500 Submergible Cast Aluminum "Around The Farm" Utility De-Icer, 500-Watt. It has an average rating of 4.0 Stars (82% with 4/5 Stars and 16% with 1/2 Stars with 141 reviews).
Unlike the previous deicer, it is not a floater. It is cast aluminum and will sink. I did an "air" test, as prescribed by the instructions. It suggested, if the ambient temperature was less than 32F, to leave the unit outside for at least an hour and then plug it in. It should start to heat immediately. The temperature this morning was less than 30F so I sat the unit outside for about two hours and then plugged it into the receptacle by the pond. It did not heat up. The instructions said an alternative was to put the unit into the freezer for a hour and then plug it in. I next tried this and when plugged it, it started heating immediately. It only has a six foot cord, which is not sufficient.
The biggest issue is that it is not a floater and, while the whole pond will probably never completely freeze solid, I need something to ensure the surface does not freeze over. This is important for the health of the fish in the pond. The description claims this device will work for containers up to 50 gallons. Our pond is closer to 300 gallons. Being able to float is also important since the water level is variable. If the level gets too low and exposes the heating element, it could damage it. The reviews on Amazon says that short term exposure to air has not demonstrated any damage, but the manufacturer does not recommend operating it "dry".
I thought I might be able to remove the heating element from the old floating deicer and insert the new element. I in fact did that successfully. Unfortunately, the new element is so much heavier that the original one, the floater sank in the pond.
Therefore, before I make any significant alterations to the new deicer, like lengthening the cord, I need to ensure I am satisfied I can use it properly.
When I pulled the old deicer out of the pond this morning, I checked to see if the GFCI had been tripped. I had not, i.e., the indicator light was still on. I unplugged the old deicer and brought it inside to thaw and for me to disassemble. This afternoon, I started thinking about harvesting the cord off the old deicer. First however, I decided to do an "air" check on the old deicer, as I had done with the new one. I stuck the old heating element in the freezer for over a hour and then plugged it in to the kitchen wall plug. It immediately shorted the kitchen GFCI. Hence, the old unit was defective somewhere. I could not find any obvious breaks or faults in the cord, so I cut the cord off for future use.
I needed a female plug for the cord if I was going to use it as an extension to the cord on the new deicer. In searching through my electrical stuff, I found a five foot appliance extension cord, so I used this to reach the pond receptacle. the extension cord is a 3-wire and, while not marked, appears to be an 18 gauge. The deicer cord is also 18 gauge. Extended, I had enough length of cord to be able to sit the new deicer element on a stone ledge just a few inches below the pond water surface. I use electrical tape to insulate the deicer to extension cord connection. It is now in service...we'll see what happens.
