The battle begins

We think that we have a squirrel visiting our attic. It seems to prefer to enter throught a gable vent and chews a hole through the screen. I just replaced the screen and unfortunately, it rapidly chewed another. According to the Internet, the best way to resolve the situation is to catch him and I bought a trap which is pictured here.

As part of the research I called the state department of conservation about the situation. The relevant section of the conversation went like this:

Me: "How do you recommend dealing with the issue?"

A: "A trap is generally the best option and we have a list of places that sell them on our website."

Me: "What do we do we do once we catch it?"

A: "We recommend shooting or drowning."

My jaw almost hit the floor. Is the department of conversation actually suggesting that I euthenize the squirrel and to shoot it? That is just about the craziest thing I can imagine and I cannot believe that they are advising this. I tried to find another solution.

Me: "Can I just take it somewhere and release it?"

A: "No, it is illegal to release it anywhere other then on your own property which kind of defeats the purpose."

Well, any pretense that I had that I might have misunderstood disappeared. It appears that the department of conservation is uninterested in conserving the life of this creature. This just seems so wrong on so many levels. Now, I have to figure out what to do if I catch this guy. Anyone have any ideas?


A year ago: Concentric rings


Post processing:
Tweaked brightness and contrast in DPP

Constructive criticism always welcome