Man vs Nature - again

[Tobra]

Hollow points, yes, very effective. I like the hanging the corpse on the fence, but that might get a bit smelly

Trap one or two a day you will make a difference.

I could bring my dogs over and you would not see any more squirrels, brindle one does not abide critters at all.

[Scott Douglas]

My brother's new place was over run with the critters when he first bought it. They were everywhere you looked.
With the tractor work he had done to put in a wall and the mowing of the grasslands, it seems to have cut down their numbers. I was surprised with their numbers knowing the dry creek is prime rattlesnake territory. So far the neighbors have helped cut down their numbers too. So far there's been 3 snakes killed too. He's in the process of making it safe to walk around again.

[A930Rocket]

I used to trap them and shoot them with a pellet gun. Dropped them in the woods. The body would be gone the next day. After about 25 squirrels in a few weeks, they were gone .... for awhile.

Trapped a raccoon one time but let him go.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Here in SoCal, rent a Cooper Hawk.
It's fun to watch

[aigel]

Nothing better than an adolescent grey squirrel, quartered, breaded and pan fried like chicken. Give it a try. I still hold my opinion that you shoot that thing through he middle, it is dead. The middle is a good spot, the quarters stay intact. Also a head shot of course, as Jeff mentions.

If you watch that video from the guy in LA it is clear that a greased tall pole can't be breached if the feeder is away from things they can jump from. Maybe just give that a try. I don't feed birds, so the squirrels stay away. The rest my dogs take care of.

G

[Evans, Marv]

Sorry but I don't mind kiling the grey ground squirrels we have around here. When I first got here, another guy & I shot over a dozen in one day. Since then I shoot them on sight when they stand still for a second. My AWS mod. 48 .177 blows them down when I hit them. I just leave them, & they're gone inside of two minutes. I just shot three young ones in the back yard last week - haven't seen any in that area since. They're the only thing I shoot.

[mattdavis11]

Get an owl, that will learn them bastards. Seriously, maybe even a fake owl that emits noises. Or get a noise machine that will attract an owl to the area a bit quicker.

The owls will eventually swoop in and scare off the squirrel population, but then move on and the squirrels will be back.

I never had a problem with shooting them as they are tasty, make cool hats, and the dogs enjoyed it. I used a Benjamin .22 pellet gun with a 4x6 Ziess scope.

One year I killed so many that we actually were able to harvest some of the pears and peaches. Then we had to fire the lawn crew because they were stealing the fruit! ****ty deal was I then had to mow.

[Chocaholic]

Now....I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But if squirrels are taking over your deck, it’s because there is food there. Wouldn’t it be logical to move your bird feeders off the deck and somewhere away from the house?

Perhaps there’s more to this, but I don’t think so. Squirrels have been raiding bird feeders for centuries. Seems obvious, no?

[Seahawk]

When we first bought the farm it was overrun with varmints of all types: Bunnies, squirrels, snakes, ground hogs, skunks, raccoons, deer, fox, the works. The people that owned the farm before us had gone through a protracted divorce and the lady did nearly zero for a few years.

The house foundation was straight out of 'Watership Down', and all the barns were Ground Hog condos, HOA and all.

The worst were the ground bees and Hornets - they were everywhere.

I took zero pleasure in getting things under control, except the ground hogs...that was a mess...they breed at a rate that makes rabbits appear celibate.

All these years later is is basically limited critter maintenance. We have enough birds of prey around us with clear lines of sight that a good balance has been established.

For the first time since I moved here 25 years ago, I let a ground hog go last week. Little guy, had him at no more than 25 yards. Easy shot and I just didn't feel like pulling the trigger.

Odd but there it is. I have no idea why.

[cabmandone]

I like Matt's owl idea only I think WD should get into falconry. Way cooler.

[svandamme]

Get a clay pigeon thrower.
mod it for squirrel flight verification testing

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Now....I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But if squirrels are taking over your deck, it’s because there is food there. Wouldn’t it be logical to move your bird feeders off the deck and somewhere away from the house?

Perhaps there’s more to this, but I don’t think so. Squirrels have been raiding bird feeders for centuries. Seems obvious, no?

We have the feeders hanging in front of our picture windows so we can watch the birds. We have a tremendous variety of birds come to our window, and it's a source of entertainment for us. A few squirrels now and then can be entertaining too, but these little bastages are destroying the feeders, getting into the BBQ grill, etc.

If I just wanted to feed birds it wouldn't be that hard to move the feeders away, but we wouldn't be able to watch them. I had a feeders on a poles where we used to live. I put Slinky toys around the poles. The squirrels couldn't figure out how to get up the poles.

[Jeff Higgins]

Yup, the same reason we have bird feeders - we love watching them. We get an amazing variety as well, and keep a couple of "field identification guides" next to each window. Our sons tell us this makes us "officially" old, but what the hell - it keeps us entertained.

It doesn't really matter if the squirrels can get to the feeders. The birds drop enough on the ground below that the squirrels have no real need to climb. We have a couple of feeders on poles in the back yard and, yes, I've greased the poles with Vaseline to keep the squirrels from climbing. Pretty darn entertaining, really. But, honestly, it makes no difference - unable to climb, they just graze down below the feeders.

And, you know, I wouldn't care in the least if that was where they stopped. The greedy little buggars raid the garden, though. We have even gone to raised beds, which at least keep the rabbits out. The squirrels are much more difficult, though. This year has not been too bad for squirrels, but the rabbits have taken over the place. There are enough of them to support a resident pair of bald eagles, so that isn't so bad - we love watching the eagles circling the house. Too bad they won't come to the bird feeders... maybe if I hang a squirrel on them...

[Cajundaddy]

I have shot those furry tree squirrels but would really rather not. Labrador Retrievers are nice. They will gladly accept the challenge and patrol the property keeping the squirrel population down to a bare minimum. Add a Coopers Hawk or two and problem solved.

My wife also loves bird feeders but the grim reality is that they attract destructive rodents like hookers to cocaine. One year after moving here and stocking the bird feeders we had so much rat and squirrel activity they were destroying everything and moving into our attic. A combination of removing the feeders, night sight on my RWS .177 and some commercial style bait boxes quickly solved the rat problem but squirrels had established a beach head and were still doing damage during the day while I was at work. We used to keep the dogs in during the day but giving them responsibility of patrolling the grounds solved the tree squirrel problem.

Now my wife will spread bird seed on the concrete in the morning and enjoy the birds for an hour or two as they clean it up. There is not enough left to attract rodents and the dogs effectively deter any new furry raiders. A workable solution.

[vash]

i love the "get a bird of prey" suggestions.

have a rodent problem:

start your falconry internship, get a sponsor, join a club, trap a bird, train that bird to not go for your eyes, build a $25,000 bird house, get the bird house inspected by a inspector that may or may not like you taste in birdhouse.

something like that. one of our PPOT members did it and while it is totally fascinating, it wasnt for me. it is a lifetime commitment.


spend $3000 on a FX impact airgun system, go to town on the rodents. google squirrel recipes. they are stupid delicious. people dedicate a large portion of their disposable time trying to put them into a vat of hot oil.

[cabmandone]

Shoot two or three, put them on a spit over a flame and start yelling "this is what's in store for the rest of you!" Just make sure the neighbors aren't out or they might have you put in a padded room.

[GH85Carrera]

We put up a bird feeder. It attracted a lot of birds, and mice and squirrels. The mice were thick. I was trapping three or four per day.



Reuben did his part. We took down the bird feeder and the mice went away for the most part.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by vash

i love the "get a bird of prey" suggestions.

You have to be careful, depending on other birds of prey in the area. They are very, very territorial.

The Ospreys rule the water side of the farm. They rise up to go fight any threat and it is amazing to watch. They do not fiddle around. I have seen the entire nest launch the Alert 5.

The Bald Eagles, we have multiple nests, take the back half. The squabble with the Ospreys a lot but the pecking order is firm. The Eagles fly the same route to the water, away from the Ospreys ever time.

At night the owls take over...if you have ever been buzzed by an owl it is something, zero noise.

Off the farm are Red Tailed Hawks and others but the Ospreys and Eagles run the show during the day.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

You have to be careful, depending on other birds of prey in the area. They are very, very territorial.

The Ospreys rule the water side of the farm. They rise up to go fight any threat and it is amazing to watch. They do not fiddle around. I have seen the entire nest launch the Alert 5.

The Bald Eagles, we have multiple nests, take the back half. The squabble with the Ospreys a lot but the pecking order is firm. The Eagles fly the same route to the water, away from the Ospreys ever time.

At night the owls take over...if you have ever been buzzed by an owl it is something, zero noise.

Off the farm are Red Tailed Hawks and others but the Ospreys and Eagles run the show during the day.

i went and checked out Lowryder993 bird and that thing wanted to kill me. he fed it and it sounded like prehistoric raptor was eating. it was an awesome show of power.

[vash]

i once set a rat trap to kill this rat that was raiding my chicken coop.

i caught a squirrel instead. i saw it get caught, and i was trying to shoo it away from the yummy peanut butter bait. but no... SNAP. a simple snap trap.

i was home alone, my wife was still working. i skinned that thing, marinated it in chinese cooking wine and soy sauce and then breaded and fried it. it was the oddest thing i have ever done. in a city. it was delicious.

came home fed my wife her dinner and she asked, youre not hungry. nah..i ate.