I live on the edge of a forest that’s alive with critters of all kinds, everything from ants to owls to fox to turkeys. Of course there are also deer, mice, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, gophers, ‘possums, coyotes, spiders, and raccoons. All of them were here before I was, so I try to give grace. But when they leave the forest and enter my house, all bets are off.

Though I would never harm even an ant when it’s outside, killing that same ant on my kitchen counter feels right. The same goes for any other critters who take up residence with me.

Last summer the situation reached a new low when I found chipmunk droppings scattered over my silverware and in my measuring cups.

Then winter came, with the pitter-patter of little feet in my attic, and this spring I noticed yellow urine stains on the white bedroom ceilings. Logic told me a crowd of critters was cohabitating with me, breaking house rules.

That’s when I called “Awesome Critter Gitters,” a local pest control service with a reputation for gentle but insistent removal. Eric arrived with a truck full of live-trap cages, all sizes, and the determination of man over beast.

“First off,” he said, “we’ll do a thorough inspection of your home’s exterior, inch-by-inch. That’ll tell us where they’re getting in. After that, we’ll set live traps at the exits to make sure everybody’s out. Then we’ll seal up the house.”

For the next few days, Eric was a steady presence on my property, crawling all over the roof, using a mirror on a stick to look up, under, and behind every inch, just as he’d promised.

He was up and down his ladder dozens of times, inspecting every crevice, anything wider than a pinky finger. “They don’t need much space to get in,” he said. I watched as he pulled acorn caps and shredded nesting material out of some very strange places.

He put pieces of tissue in tubes connected to several of the holes. “If the tissue falls out, we know an animal exited. If it falls in, they entered.” He showed me evidence of active use next to loose siding pieces. “See that grey smudge? Oil from a squirrel’s fur as he pushed his way in.” Other gaps were clean at the edges, indicating they’d abandoned those.

After Eric left that first day, the very next morning the traps were full, so I called him.

(To be continued)

Even a…”spider skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in kings’ palaces.” (Proverbs 30:28 NKJV)