I've had to remove critters (bats, squirrels, mice and a skunk) from three houses, so far. One point I'd like to make is to look both up AND DOWN for the entry points. At my last house I had squirrels in the attic, but had a standing seam metal roof with no traction points for critters. The house was a raised ranch with a finished basement/first floor and a wrap-around deck on the second floor. The entry point for the squirrels turned out to be under the deck, where the second floor overhung the first floor. The builders left a small opening in a corner. The squirrels used it to get in and went up the walls to the attic. So, don't assume any section of the house is really secure. My skunk was under the barn this past spring, next to the house. The skunk smell became unbelievably strong in March, probably a result of mating and territory marking. I wasn't sure what to do, since my dog, a Chow, kept sniffing around the old barn, and it was only a matter of time before something bad and smelly happened. Since he had just been skunked the month before in a fenced-in suburban yard in New Jersey, while staying with my parents as I traveled, the experience was still very fresh in my memory, so to speak. Also, I figured this was a female with a den under the barn, and I was only a few weeks away from MANY skunklets running around and a very defensive mom. So, I bought a very large Havahart trap and caught her a couple of days later. I thought about shooting her in the trap, but she was very calm and very beautiful, and I donÂt like killing things when there are other options. Mind you, I have no problem with killing critters, when it is appropriate, just not when there are other, viable alternatives. For example, I was initially going to shoot the coyotes on my property (year-round open season up here), but an electric fence around the chicken pen has kept them out for almost two years, so I have a live-and-let-live philosophy with them, even if they do drop spore right in the middle of the farm road, which drives my dog crazy. So, the problem was transportation and release. I didnÂt want to get sprayed, and I didnÂt want to make her someone elseÂs problem. Fortunately, thereÂs a large state park just across the Connecticut River that seemed the perfect solution. Ms. Skunk cooperated very nicely, while I covered her and moved her to my truck. I drove her to the park and released her there. Was it legal? I never thought it wasnÂt, but at the time didnÂt check the regulations. So, maybe itÂs not legal to trap and release a wild animal, even if it is a pest. The NH Fish and Game website states that you do NOT need a license, if you are a landowner and trap fur-bearing animals (includes skunks) on your land. But, I couldnÂt find anything about nuisance trapping and releasing. Being naturalists by virtue of what they do, I donÂt think a park ranger would have had a problem with releasing the skunk as I did. Someday, I might pose them a hypothetical question on the subject. IÂm sure Ms. Skunk had to carve out her own space in a new environment, but, given the choice between finding a new home or taking a .22 bullet in the head, I think she would have chosen the former (forgive the anthropomorphism). The reason I bring up the story is that, if you do live trap the animal and find that it is a squirrel, which is harder to kill physically and emotionally than a mouse, and if you live in an urban or a suburban area, you might consider bringing it to a local park and releasing it, as opposed to drowning it in a bucket of water. IÂve seem people do that, when I lived in New Jersey, and no one ever complained. I think that folks, who live around a public park, have probably long-since Âcritter-proofed their homes. If you do Âcatch and release be sure you take the animal at least a mile away, or else it is likely to make it back Âhome before you do. Here are some pics of Ms. Skunk: Caught! Free! Runaway! narcnh

That is cute.. I can't get over how many NEW things they come out with each year that you feel you 'must have'! I swear, nowadays, you need a storage shed to fit it all. jane

Thanks everyone for all the fun ideas. For a while there I was considering having DH be a king and I'd be a court jester. But, the party is on a Fri. night, which makes prep a little more tricky, decided to keep things simple also since we're hosts... so we are going to be the Skipper (DH) and Gilligan (me) from Gilligan's Island.

Last few year we have had only 1-5 kids and we lived in a small town, but at the edge. This year in the assisted living home, they open the doors for about 2 hours and they say the get 100-200 kids. BUT it is he clients choice. If they want to give, they put a picture of a pumpkin on their door, or just sit in the hallway. If you don't want to do anything, just keep the door closed. Today, all the staff dressed up in costumes and the resident s really enjoyed it. It was fun