Squirrels Are Not A Problem in Los Gatos

Let's be clear on something: squirrels, possums, skunks, racoons and other wildlife are not generally a problem in Los Gatos. Recently a mountain lion was seen on Cypress Way - and sometimes the big cats wander into suburbia. Those events constitute a problem. But by and large, the small furry animals that share our turf are not an issue.

I bring this up because I like to track who's finding "Live In Los Gatos", how they get here, what are the popular search terms, etc. It's all visible to you, too, if you are in the slightest bit interested. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and find the Site Meter button. Click on it. A whole world of info - probably much more than could possibly interest you - about how people find this spot lies in the pages beyond that portal.

What upset me today was seeing that one Google surfer found this site by asking about killing squirrels in Los Gatos. If you go through the Site Meter link and then look at the left sidebar where it says "Referrals" you will find one that reads as follows:

When I clicked on the Google search page, I saw that there seem to be aggressive squirrels in Palo Alto and people are thinking of extermination. Maybe it's beyond that and it's part of a plan. But as far as I know, there's NOTHING like that in Los Gatos.

That said, I just asked my husband, Jim Handy (who is a volunteer parks commissioner in Los Gatos) if there's anything about a plan to kill squirrels in Los Gatos. "No, but there's a problem with gophers at Oak Meadow Park", he informed me. What kind of problems? "Ankle turners..." Jim explained that people have been getting hurt tripping on gopher holes at the Town's Oak Meadow Park. Apparently there is a plan to poison gophers - at that one park.

It used to be against the law to use poison in parks in all cases. Apparently now, under heavy regulation, some use of poison is allowed. I can't say this makes me feel any better that it's a very guarded situation.

What about the historic but still timely Macabee Gopher Trap? It has been in production right here in Los Gatos for about a hundred years. Or perhaps it would be better if they would use a product like my old Saratoga High School friend Bob Bruno's "Gophernator" (or "Rodenator" since apparently it handles more than just gophers). Who ya gonna call?