Man returns from vacation to find squirrel stashed 182 pounds of nuts in his truck

By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

A man returned from a four-day vacation to discover a squirrel had stored over 180 pounds of nuts inside his parked truck.

Bill Fischer, 56, left his vehicle at home when he went on the trip. He opened the hood after he returned and noticed a red squirrel disappearing inside.

He discovered a staggering 182 pounds of walnuts stuffed into every nook and cranny.

Bill, from Fargo, North Dakota said: "There were four buckets from under the hood, and the fenders were so full that I had to remove them with two more buckets.

"I could only laugh at the situation as it has occurred in the past."

He emptied bucket after bucket from the fenders, engine compartment, windshield and frame rails, but said there were some he couldn't reach.

The traveling insurance salesman said he often finds a few stuffed in there from the trees near his home, but this is the biggest haul yet.

"This year was a record," he said.

The black walnut tree in Bill's yard has been producing a healthy crop of nuts every two years since 2013. He often sees a red squirrel dashing near the truck.

The father-of-three usually deters the creature from storing nuts there with a natural deterrent, but the animal wasn't put off this year.

"I have in the past used a mixture of cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce in a spray mixture under the hood," Bill said.

"Up until this year, it was very effective."

He noticed a few of the lemon-sized nuts before he left, but was flabbergasted by the amount he found when he returned on September 12.

He said: "I've learned over the years that when I witness the squirrel under the truck or sitting on a wheel to open the hood and do an inspection before driving away.

He spent seven hours removing the nuts and ended up with seven buckets, weighing an average of 26 pounds each.

A man discovered a squirrel had stored over 180 pounds of nuts inside his parked truck. (Bill Fischer via SWNS)

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"Some of the nuts I am unable to retrieve. They are hidden inside the frame," he said.

"Some insulation has been chewed for nesting, but so far nothing keeps it from being drivable.

"Life is too short not to laugh at it!"