max223•13d agoProlific Poster

Got tricked by a squirrel while doing a crown reduction in Cincinnati

Last Thursday I was up in a big silver maple near Over-the-Rhine, about 25 feet up, starting a reduction cut. I set my handsaw down on a branch for a second to adjust my harness. Next thing I know, a grey squirrel runs straight down the limb, grabs the saw by the handle, and hauls it off into the canopy. I just sat there in my saddle watching it go. The little thief dragged it about 15 feet away to a fork, dropped it, and just chattered at me. Took me ten minutes of careful climbing to get it back. Anyone else had a tool stolen by local wildlife?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarat3813d ago

Took me ten minutes of careful climbing to get it back." Come on, ten minutes? That's nothing. Try having a raccoon family move into a crawl space and chew through your brand new hose. Took half a day and a new hose to fix that. A squirrel running off with a saw is just Tuesday. You got it back, no harm done.

drewr1513d ago

That's a safety hazard, not a joke.

diana_carr6613d ago

Half a day and a new hose" sounds rough, but that's a known pest job. A squirrel stealing a tool mid-climb is a different kind of problem. What if it had been your handsaw or something you couldn't do without right then? You're 25 feet up, your gear is gone, and now you have to stop everything. It's not about the time to get it back, it's about the safety risk of having your stuff moved while you're working.