Hundreds of Midwestern Power customers and two squirrels were very unlucky one day last fall.

Apparently a squirrel came into contact with an overhead transformer and knocked out service to 177 customers. Power was restored in just under an hour, but naturally the squirrel lost it’s life. The remains were found by repair crews.

Just 40 miles away in Ironwood, Mich, another squirrel got into a substation and caused a temporary power outage that affected 1400 customers.

The power company is now thinking about what kind of steps it can take to keep curious animals away from the lines as they, along with weather, are one of the leading causes of power outages.

“We kind of liken it to anyone who’s had a bird feeder and tried to keep the squirrels out,” said the power company spokesperson. “They find a way.”

Good luck!

Did you hear about the novel way that Hollywood has come up with to deal with their excessive pigeon problem? They’re giving pigeons the contraceptive pill.

At this time there are over 5000 pigeons in the Hollywood area. Campaigners against the pigeons want to give them birth control pills in the form of a drug called OvoControl P in an attempt to cut their numbers in half over the next five years.

The contraceptives are being fed to the pigeons via bird food pellets. In a news story that I saw regarding Hollywood’s pigeon problem it was noted that the birds don’t seem to like to eat these special pellets. Perhaps it has something to do with a local woman who’s known as the Bird Lady who’s been encouraging the birds by leaving large bags of bird feed in different areas.