Squirrels!

[928ram]

Greyhound; it's like watching Animal Planet in the backyard. We do still get the occasional looks-death-in-the-eye thrill seeker, but pretty much squirrel free since the dog came to live here.

[legion]

Originally posted by dhoward
Is that what you're calling it now?

I'd rather have grackles in my soffit than spiders in my attic....or crabs downstairs.

[notfarnow]

i yi yi


Things have taken a turn for the worse... good thing Mrs Notfarnow is out tonight.

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U want Squirrels, we got squirrels just take a look around this Board and U will find a ***** load of them...

[notfarnow]

I've got bigger problems than effen squirrels

[notfarnow]

fok!

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THATS A RAT!!!

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Well just take a look around this Board and U will see that we have a ***** load of Rats...

[WaA420]

Originally posted by Bill Verburg
Problem w/ guns, even air rifles, is the neighbors, they do get upset.

I like Have-A-Heart traps baited w/ bird seed. Squirrels can't resist. Once trapped the Have-A-Heart merely needs to be dunked in a convient pool of water, no more squirrel problem and it's all quiet and private.

After reading and being troubled with your not so nice method of squirrel control I made a couple phone calls and found out it isn't legal to drown wild animals.

I don't know if you use this method or were just throwing this out for an idea, but could you please keep your ignorant and cruel thoughts to yourself?

[notfarnow]

So...

Moral quandry. Do I tell Mrs Notfarnow I caught a $^#ING RAT in our basement, or do I let her believe we have a (much cuter) squirrel.

She will flip the %$%# out about A RAT

Originally posted by WaA420
After reading and being troubled with your not so nice method of squirrel control I made a couple phone calls and found out it isn't legal to drown wild animals.

What about F^*$^ING RATS?!?!

RATS!!!

[legion]

You're supposed to politely ask the squirrels not to come back.

You could try directing them to some social services that provide free shelter.

[Dixie]

She will flip the %$%# out about A RAT

Squirrels are simply rats with climbing gear....

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by legion
You're supposed to politely ask the squirrels not to come back.

How do you get 50 drunk Canadians out of a pool?
Say please

Originally posted by legion
You could try directing them to some social services that provide free shelter.

Tried that. I have offered them any of my 28 maple trees, or even the doghouse my 2 beagles have abandoned.

FWIW, Mrs Notfarnow has insisted on amnesty for the squirrels. And now that I've sealed off their entryway, I am fine to do catch & release with any squirrel stragglers.

Rats have to die though. Hmm... does that make me racist?

[jyl]

Ooo, rats are bad. We had a rat problem at the last house, fortunately halted their advance at the garage, before they breached the living quarters.

Traps didn't really work. Killed a few but they got wise. The solution was finding and sealing their entry holes - ended up having to use aluminium sheet as they chewed through wallboard. Place some of the ultra sticky traps where they will walk when trying to get to the old hole. Also a bunch of poison inside the hole. The smell of a dead rat will eventually go away, better dead and smelly than live and infesting. Find out why they are coming into your house. You may have food somewhere that they've gotten into. If they can, they've stolen and stashed it somewhere - clean that out too. Hit them hard, with every weapon you have. Gradually escalating doesn't work as well, they just learn to cope w/ each new threat. Rats are smart.

[tabs]

SO CAL is RAT HEAVEN, they literally INFEST SO CAL..they live in Palm Trees, Ivy, Trees, Attics, Drainage pipe, woodpiles and Garages. They will knaw your electric wiring, shred your insulation on the Heat Ducts etc. They are vegans and love Fruit, Avacados, Grapes etc.

They are known as Wire Rats, Roof Rats and Fruit Rats...If you poison beware a family pet may get hold of the dead Rat and the poison will kill the Pet as well. The standard poison causes the Rat to bleed to death internally, a friends cat ate a poisoned rat and it bled out dieing a horrible death.

One can usually find their entrace hole because you will see grease marks. Also they can get through a hole that is just one inch.

They really have to be gotten rid of because of the damage they can do to the house. Nail down the traps as one may still crawl off and die. Do block their entrance point. Maybe put a good cat in the attic for a while. Or get an Exterminator if the problem persists.

My Airdale used to catch about 2 to 3 Rats a month after the new owner in back cleaned up the former owners yard. That Dog would be out in the yard at 2 in the mornining barking and chasing up a storm, she loved it. The Cat on the other hand would eat them after she caught them. I've even seen the Dog and Cat working together to get one.

There doesn't seem to be much of a Rodent problem here in LV. One of the new housing developments brought in Palm Trees from SO Cal and had a problem until the exterminator did his job.

[notfarnow]

Great advice, thanks.

I seem to have put a stop to the squirrels in the attic, but the rat thing has me freaked. Squirrels are nasty, but cute. I view them as troublemaking rascals. Rats, on the other hand, are nasty.

Finding where he (they?) got in is going to be tough. The house has had several additions with intersecting foundations and a fair bit of wonkiness. Plus, the back 1/3 of the basement is just a crawl space with 10" of clearance. That's where I caught the rat. I'll have to find his entryway from the outside, methinks.

I think I'll put the beagles to work. They have incredible noses, and will likely be able to sniff out the rat hole. The beagles are also the reason I want to avoid poison... they occasionally sneak into the basement when wifey or I are getting firewood.

I know they aren't getting food, there's nothing in the basement other than shelter. It's getting cold, and they are looking for warmth. That crawl space in the back 1/3 of the basement is an area they could hang out without being noticed.

[craigster59]

pellets just seem to bounce off of this guy....

[jluetjen]

Originally posted by oldE
Jake,

Good work tracking down the little buggers' access. A few minutes on the ladder and your troubles should be over. (Watch our if there is frost in the ground. A guy I know broke his back when his ladder slipped on frozen ground. Have somebody hold the ladder. Or better yet, You hold the ladder while somebody else goes up!) Hey, I'd go up if I was closer.

Les

A trick we learned from our exterminators -- make up a cover out of 1/2 inch wire screen. Cut a slit in it, and then bend the sharp points of the wire out. You want a funnel type effect, so that any squirrels left in the attic have a way out, but the sharp points will prevent them from going in. Put that over the opening for a couple of weeks. While having a squirrel in the attic is bad, it's even worse if one is trapped up there -- because then they get anxious and try to chew themselves out.

After a week or so, go back and permanantly close the opening.

[azasadny]

We use Hav-A-Hart traps to capture possum and such, then take the cage to the city animal control facility. My son went squirrel hunting with my brother-in-law today and they got 2 big squirrels with my Remington 12ga and steel shot. My wife is looking for a good recipe right now and the squirrel meat is soaking in water, vinegar and a little salt. We have a rule in our house, if you shoot it, you're going to clean (dress it) and eat it.

[equality72521]

Squirrel launcher - Watch more free videos