Written by a bird lover, “Squirrel Wars” is dedicated to “the gray squirrels, whose backyard antics made this book possible. Surely, life in the backyard without those damnable squirrels would be oh so dull.” In “Squirrel Wars”, George H. Harrison writes about people’s efforts to keep their gardens free of “bully birds”, raccoons, deer, and other “pests”. He balances the desire to have a backyard habitat for beautiful birds and butterflies with the reality that the environs belong to all wildlife. The author writes, “That’s what this book is all about: the pests that backyard wildlife habitats attract, the strange things people have done to control them, and how to bring some peace to the battlefield.”
In chapters on selected animals, the author details the problems these animals bring, stories people told about coping, and offered solutions. In addition, he describes the animal’s natural history and what makes this particular animal a pest. Some animals may be endearing to some people while dismaying other people. (Animals worthy of “pest” notice are raccoons, house cats, deer, bears, rabbits, skunks, chipmunks, hawks, rats, “bully birds”, woodchucks, opossums, woodpeckers, and insects.)
“Squirrel Wars” devotes the most pages to the ubiquitous gray squirrel. As George H. Harrison writes, “While killer bees and marauding bears occasionally capture headlines, the gray squirrel has been quietly destroying the infrastructure of the nation’s backyards, vandalizing homes, sabotaging American business, and assaulting innocent bystanders. It is the number one suspect in half of all unsolved fires, the acknowledged perpetrator in most nonweather-related power failures, and the wire chomper responsible for twice bringing stock trades on the NASDAQ to a halt.”
This entertaining but serious book stresses how to live with animals without disrupting their natural processes. The only problem with this book is that the author limits himself mainly to mammals and birds of the United States. Reptiles can be also a problem. In the southern United States, people find alligators in their swimming pools or garages. Meanwhile, people in the Southwest are afraid of Gila monsters, which are poisonous lizards, basking in their backyards. Social insects (ants, bees, and wasps) are covered but not mosquitoes, a major carrier of disease. However in spite of the book’s shortcomings, “Squirrel Wars” gives a solid grounding to living with animals that some may consider “pests”.
Excerpts from “Woodpeckers:”
“The Problem With Woodpeckers” (excerpt): Woodpeckers, almost always, are delightful birds to have in backyards and at feeding stations. At times, however, woodpeckers cause problems when they drill holes in siding or roofs while looking for insects, creating storage holes for nuts or even trying to excavate a nesting cavity. In other cases, the birds may choose sites such as drain pipes, siding or chimney flashing for their drumming, making enough noise to shatter the serenity of the neighborhood.”
“War Stories” (excerpt): An acorn woodpecker drilled a series of large holes in the side of Cher and Beverly Thiele’s home in San Diego, California and then filled each with an acorn, giving a pockmarked look to that side of their house.”
“Solutions” (excerpt): LURE THEM AWAY: If the woodpecker appears to be trying to create a nesting or roosting site, offer a large birdhouse nearby. Flickers or other woodpeckers will often move in, readily deserting their troublesome excavation projects.”
“The Nature of the Beast” (excerpts): Downy, hairy, red-headed, red-bellied, flicker and pileated are common woodpeckers that may damage the siding on buildings. The most common of these is the downy, which is also the smallest. Like other woodpeckers, downies begin their spring drumming as early as January. Their tap, tap, tap, tap, tap! is the little black-and-white woodpecker’s way of establishing a breeding territory and courting a mate. Males and females are marked the same, except for the red spot on the back of the male’s head. The pair court by dancing around tree branches while their wings are raised in tempo with their chattering.”
Purchase this book and other animal control books from Amazon.com
Va. Carper
August 25, 2005