Squirrel goes nuts, stores 175 pounds of walnuts in pickup while owner is away

A North Dakota man has found himself in a nutty pickle after discovering 175 pounds of walnuts in the hood of his pickup truck.

Bill Fischer made the find in the engine bay of his Chevrolet pickup after returning from a four-day trip.

New Record

According to Fischer, this is a normal occurrence, with the squirrel storing away extra nuts in his vehicle since 2013. But Fischer told the Washington Post, this year’s stash was a new record.

Most I've ever pulled out was four or five six-gallon buckets. This year was seven. I've got other vehicles that sit very close to that tree, and it's always my truck. I've even parked purposely out on the street — as far away as I can from the walnut tree — and they still go find the Avalanche and hide them in there.

Fischer, now very familiar with this dance, says he has come to expect to make the discovery anytime his neighbour’s black walnut tree reaches maturation every other year.

He offered to give away, for free, the seven-bucketfuls of walnuts to his friends and followers on Facebook.

7-Hour-Long Clean-up

Fischer has tried a number of techniques to keep his furry intruder off his car, including placing a mixture of Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper under the hood of the truck.

He also tried parking further away from the tree, but nothing seemed to be working. It takes him an average of seven hours to remove the nuts from the vehicle, but that hasn't stopped him from finding the humour in it.

He told the Post:

I thought I had them all and took it down the road, turned the corner and found one rolling down the windshield where the wipers go. With all the time taking the fenders off, what can you do but still laugh? Life is too short not to laugh about it.