Dang squirrels

[shooterdon]

If mice were smart, coyotes, foxes, hawks etc would have a rough time.

 

[Bad Boy Biker]

The pail works well. Enough water that they can not jump out. Can not jump if they are swimming. When it is done I put them in the field and the hawks will eat them.
Also works, 50/50 mix of cornbread mix and baking soda.

 

[BoFuller]

I’ve been using the 5 gal buckets for years now. I catch a few mice and a few chipmunks almost daily but never caught a squirrel in one.

 

[Quaffer]

I’ve been using the 5 gal buckets for years now. I catch a few mice and a few chipmunks almost daily but never caught a squirrel in one.

I have brown and gray squirrels. Anything I put out to kill the brown squirrels will inevitably get the gray ones I don't want to kill.

So I guess the shotgun method is in my future.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Lately the ground squirrels have invaded my place. I have seen them occasionally, but now they are digging tunnels all around the house. I’ve tried the Havahart traps but no takers. I tried flooding out the tunnels, but that doesn’t seem to bother them either. I tried rat poison but they won’t touch it. I seldom see them, as they usually dig at night, so shooting them is not going to be very successful.
Any other ideas?

Been there, done that, got the shirt. I suggest letting them be. Drive over the tunnels with your mower or ATV so they don't open up. Eventually they will exhaust the food supply and abate. If you put out bird seed stop doing that. In the meanwhile think of it as free lawn aeration.

 

[jyoutz]

Been there, done that, got the shirt. I suggest letting them be. Drive over the tunnels with your mower or ATV so they don't open up. Eventually they will exhaust the food supply and abate. If you put out bird seed stop doing that. In the meanwhile think of it as free lawn aeration.

I’m not sure that I agree that they will exhaust the food supply and abate. I been dealing with them for 20 years and still trapping and removing them every spring.

 

[Bad Boy Biker]

Our neighbor spends a great deal of money to feed the cute furry rodents. So, the ones I trap are fat and happy.

 

[JeepHead]

I sit under the gazebo in my back yard with a 17HMR and pick them out of the tree tops regularly.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I don't remember how many I caught using peanut butter in a havahart trap. I eventually got tired of relocating & releasing them and just put the trap and contents in a tub of water. I then threw the carcasses out in the field for the buzzards.

Eventually, a family of Red Fox moved in and we haven't seen a squirrel since. They don't feel threatened, and come right up to the house. We get a kick out of watching the kits chase each other around while ma looks on.

 

[ponytug]

I think that there is a difference between ground squirrels in different areas. For instance our local California ground squirrel is 10oz to 2lbs, and forms large colonies, like it's more eastern relatives, prairie dogs.

California ground squirrel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Often chipmunks, are referred to as ground squirrels, and they are 2-6oz, solitary to small colonies.

https://animalia.bio/index.php/eastern-chipmunk

The whole family is extensive and includes animals like marmots as well.

Ground squirrel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My experience with the various species across the US is that they are all definitely rodents, with varying degrees of challenges in co-existence.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I’m not sure that I agree that they will exhaust the food supply and abate. I been dealing with them for 20 years and still trapping and removing them every spring.

They were here first. I try to find a way to co-exist if possible (except for carpenter bees, those I wish extinction on) Populations should balance out unless someone is eradicating predators like coyotes, owls, and snakes. Logging and land clearing can also drive large numbers of displaced squirrels and rodents to move into an area. I have found that the fewer things I trap and kill the fewer problems I have in the long run.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I sit under the gazebo in my back yard with a 17HMR and pick them out of the tree tops regularly.

Ground squirrels wouldn't be in the tree tops.

 

[jyoutz]

I sit under the gazebo in my back yard with a 17HMR and pick them out of the tree tops regularly.

Tree squirrels don’t bother me. It’s those damn ground squirrels that tear everything up.

 

[JeepHead]

I missed the part of ground squirrels, the header just said "dang squirrels".

I don't have any ground squirrels but have had a battle with moles in my yard ever since I purchased the home last August. But my 10 month old silver lab is a mole hunting SOB and has gotten them in check. He is confined to the back yard by an under ground fence so he can't get to the moles in the front yard. I was infested with moles and now it seems like I am down to maybe 1 or 2 in the front only.

 

[bigtiller]

If you know what a 'squinny' is, you're probably from Des Moines​

In Des Moines, a “squinny” is what the rest of the country calls a ground squirrel. The origins of the term have been lost to history, forgotten like an acorn buried under the back porch.

It's about 10" long including the tail and weighs about 7 oz.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

If you know what a 'squinny' is, you're probably from Des Moines​

In Des Moines, a “squinny” is what the rest of the country calls a ground squirrel. The origins of the term have been lost to history, forgotten like an acorn buried under the back porch.

It's about 10" long including the tail and weighs about 7 oz.

View attachment 937229

Looks like a chipmunk to me

 

[jyoutz]

Looks like a chipmunk to me

If you see the whole picture, it has a long bushy tail like a tree squirrel. They are destructive

 

[bigtiller]

Yep, long bushy tail, 13 strips on its back and destructive.

I seldom see them posing like this. I usually see them standing up like my first pic above.

 

[jyoutz]

Yep, long bushy tail, 13 strips on its back and destructive.

I seldom see them posing like this. I usually see them standing up like my first pic above.

Those are a different species than we have. Ours are grey with spots and a bushier tail.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

Yep, long bushy tail, 13 strips on its back and destructive.

I seldom see them posing like this. I usually see them standing up like my first pic above.

Those are a different species than we have. Ours are grey with spots and a bushier tail.


View attachment 940268

The bottom picture is also what we call a squirrel