Not every oak tree is having a banner year for acorns

You know that expression “Your mileage may vary?” It came to mind after my column last week on the acorn explosion in my neighborhood.

While others in the Mid-Atlantic region have also reported an abundance of tree seeds, not everyone is experiencing a so-called “mast year.” Several readers said their oaks weren’t producing an excess of acorns.

The effect can be local and, when it comes to oaks, species-dependent. Broadly speaking, red oaks seem to be pumping out the acorns more than white oaks and chestnut oaks this year.

Still, some readers bear the scars of the acorn explosion. Mike Sneed was walking on a nature trail near his Reston, Va., home recently when he was beaned by a falling acorn.

“It hit him really hard, so must have come from quite high,” wrote Mike’s wife, Leigh. “The skin was broken, the site swelled up, and was bruised and sore to the touch for days! So yes, a helmet would have been nice.”

At least Mike wasn’t hit by a walnut. Janet Millenson of Potomac, Md., said they are downright dangerous.

“You say the acorns have ‘been like an artillery barrage,’” Janet wrote. “Imagine, instead of an oak, an overhanging walnut tree letting loose a batch of its enormous fruits. Now imagine a barrage of those landing on a metal roof. One of the first times it happened, I truly thought our house was being shot at, and was halfway to the phone to call 911 before I realized the culprit wasn’t human.”

Janet said the experience reminded her of the angry, fruit-flinging apple trees in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Wrote Janet: “A ripe walnut is the pale green color and approximate size of a tennis ball, and often bursts open with a sickening (and pavement-staining) splat when it lands. Humans only eat the inner seed, but squirrels and crows adore the messy pulp.”

Something similar is going on in Mike and Judy Egan’s backyard in Madison, Wis.

“There is a really huge crop of walnuts this year, many more than we have seen before,” wrote Mike. “The tree branches are so heavy that large, six-inch diameter branches are falling, some on our garage. (No worries, the car was not hit.) Squirrels are feasting on them, probably storing some for winter, too.”

Ah, but where are they storing them? Bethesda’s Susan Dunham has some advice for vehicle owners: Check under the hood.

Wrote Susan: “In a mast year, there will be abundant squirrel activity to stash acorns, and the squirrels will be looking under your hood. You should too. Not to put a fine point on it, but recently I followed a ‘dead-animal’ smell to the hood of my car and upon opening found a dead squirrel resting on the engine. Other evidence showed ripped fabric directly beneath the hood itself. Perhaps another reader can offer advice on how to deter squirrel attraction to under the hoods!”

Any ideas? If you have to park outside, you might try putting something strong smelling in your engine compartment. I found various recommendations online that mentioned soaking cotton balls in peppermint or dusting them with curry powder and putting them inside nylon stockings and resting them in the engine compartment.

Or you might try a plastic bag full of used cat litter, holes strategically placed to allow the odor to escape.

But forgetting the bags are there and starting the engine could be as bad as having a squirrel under the hood.

Sprays — such as bitter apple spray designed to deter dogs from chewing on furniture — have also worked for some people, especially when squirrels have started chewing on wires. But some sprays may affect the wires and that’s not good. So, again: Your mileage may vary.

The best prevention is to park in a garage and make sure the garage is squirrel-tight. If you can’t do that and a squirrel moves in under the hood, the Toronto Wildlife Centre recommends popping the hood and leaving it open. The sunlight will bother the squirrel mother, convincing her to move her family elsewhere.

Noise is also bothersome to squirrels and the Toronto Wildlife Centre recommends placing a radio under the hood. I figured the Canadian organization would suggest blasting some Rush but they say it should be tuned to talk radio. According to the center’s website, “Music doesn’t mean anything to squirrels, but the sound of human voices is threatening to them.”

Where is Rush Limbaugh when we need him?

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