Darned Squirrels @#$%

[WayneB]

I am not against "Have-a-heart traps, but question the people that use them and release their catch on other peoples property!

We all have problems, but I am not for catching something and making problems for other people.

Squires are a problem to most people that feed birds. Put out birdseed and you will certainly have other animals coming to feed. Best solution is not to feed the wild life.

My wife likes to feed the birds so we end up getting squires, bears and what have you attacking the feeders. Can't say they are eating my boats though! Maybe a little red pepper soaked seeds might turn them away from the boat area. Just mix the seeds with a little vegetable oil and red pepper (pepper will stick to the oil). They will eat it once and then stay away. If not then shot them!

 

[Westonium]

I don't know if this option has been mentioned, but I inherited a single-shot smooth-bore .22 that shoots .22 bird shot. It will kill your squirrel, but unlikely anything bigger so pretty safe. If that is still too loud, I think any pellet gun will do the job, but if they can see or hear you coming they will be gonesville.

When we lived in Southern California, we planted several hundred strawberry plants over a concrete+dirt retaining wall. We got, at most, a handful of strawberries. The ground squirrels would eat every single one long before they were ripe. There were hawks and other raptors aplenty, but we just had so many of them. They could tell when I walked out of any door in the house most times and I rarely even had a chance at a shot with the pellet gun I bought for shooting them.

Now I live out in the country in Oregon where even machine-gun fire wouldn't do more than raise an eyebrow. I've decided to take a break from collecting the walnuts this year and they are cleaning out my 2 trees that would yield a couple hundred pounds of fresh-hulled (still shelled and wet) nuts. We used to have barn cats that kept them far away from our backyard, but the cougar ate them and now we have at least a dozen tree rats out there.

Next year though? I think either I will have more barn cats, or I will sit on my deck in late summer and shoot them out of the trees with my .22 .

Best of luck. I think traps would probably be the best, and least frustrating solution for in the city.

 

[jinman]

I'm gonna have some fun with my squirrel pests. Mine are so smart they have figured out how to climb on the critter cage on our deer feeder and reach through to spin the wheel to get corn (see attachment).

Today, I'm going to rig up a fence charger and see just how much they like getting a little shock. This should be fun. hehehe

 

[Ronbo]

Jinman you ar too funny. Maybe the squirrels and deer have an arrangement worked out.

Ron

 

[jinman]

I'm gonna have some fun with my squirrel pests. Mine are so smart they have figured out how to climb on the critter cage on our deer feeder and reach through to spin the wheel to get corn (see attachment).

Today, I'm going to rig up a fence charger and see just how much they like getting a little shock. This should be fun. hehehe

It worked! You should have seen that squirrel when he got shocked!

Like this

 

[dbdartman]

I'm going to rig up a fence charger and see just how much they like getting a little shock.

 

[GaryCrowell]

A couple of cats in the backyard will get rid of the squirrels pretty quickly, or you could get a dog and put his food and water bowls under the kayaks with him chained nearby. The pellet gun might work but it's going to be a lot of work. When I was a kid I pretty much considered myself a master squirrel hunter, I lived to squirrel hunt during the fall and school was just something I had to endure till I could get home, grab my 20 gauge single shot and head to the woods. A shotgun is orders of magnitude more efficient for bagging squirrels, but that might not be an option where you live. The live trap will be frustrating and most likely unproductive. You'll catch one or two squirrels until they figure out what's going on and new ones will move in quicker than you can catch and tote off the old ones. If you do get one then pay particular care when you release them, a ticked off squirrel is nothing to play with. I've known a couple of guys who inadvertantly tangled with squirrels and the squirrel always wins. The story afterwards is always comical but I've never heard of the human coming out on top.

Best thing to do would probably be move the kayaks.

 

[wushaw]

A good dog will keep the squirrels at bay or treed for hours on end knowing getting on the ground is not in their best interest.

 

[tallyho8]

It worked! You should have seen that squirrel when he got shocked!

But what did the deer do?

 

[jinman]

It worked! You should have seen that squirrel when he got shocked!

But what did the deer do?

The "hot" portion is just wound aroun the top of the basket over insulators to keep it from touching the basket. Then the basket is connected to ground on the fence charger. The squirrels hang on the basket and reach in to get corn. ZAP! They go flyin' and I fall on the floor laughin'. The deer just eat the corn on the ground as do the turkeys and even raccoons. The pesky squirrels are the only ones that get zapped.