Ground squirrels

MossRoad · May 9, 2022

deserteagle71 said:
Ground squirrels are a HUGE problem around here. Their mounds, hidden in tall alfalfa for instance, tear up a lot of equipment. Some of the big farms around here offer a bounty of $1 a tail and invite shooters to come out and shoot all they want. They even put ads in the paper, asking people to come out and shoot the darn things. I also see workers out using the propane injectors in the fields.

Every year, early spring, I mount my box scraper on my tractor and go out and level out those mounds as best I can to make mowing easier come June. (The squirrels come out right around Christmas, and then disappear - hibernate - around the 1st of July. It's not unusual for me to sit in my Jeep with my .22 and shoot 100 at a sitting, yet it doesn't seem to hurt the population at all.

Early spring photos of the mounds. I bet there's 100 holes per acre if not more.
View attachment 745241

Some of the mounds can be huge - who'd think a tiny squirrel could move that much dirt?
View attachment 745242

Yikes! Them ain't no chipmunks!

ponytug · May 9, 2022

No, @MossRoad they aren't chipmunks or 13 stripes. Mine run 1-3lbs a piece. The California ground squirrel does a lot of damage. @deserteagle71's photo shows the scale of the damage. I have seen them excavate a mound 3'x3'x1.5' in a matter of a few days. On a steep slope, the mounds are my nightmare due to rollover risk. All of the ones that I kill in traps are eaten by the coyotes, ravens, turkey vultures, or owls in a matter of a few hours. The fact that here the ground squirrels are food for other creatures makes me reluctant to use poison or metal projectiles.

I use tube traps from wildlife control; in a decade or so of use, I have only caught three off target animals, two possums from under one of the outbuildings, and a skunk. Neither was a welcome or known guest.

All the best,

Peter

jaxs · May 9, 2022

No sooner than I hatched an environmentally friendly way to control California Ground Squirrels, the Wiki link posted earlier shot my idea full of holes. My idea was to boost rattle snake population, you have to read about it to believe it.

MossRoad · May 9, 2022

ponytug said:
No, @MossRoad they aren't chipmunks or 13 stripes. Mine run 1-3lbs a piece. The California ground squirrel does a lot of damage. @deserteagle71's photo shows the scale of the damage. I have seen them excavate a mound 3'x3'x1.5' in a matter of a few days. On a steep slope, the mounds are my nightmare due to rollover risk. All of the ones that I kill in traps are eaten by the coyotes, ravens, turkey vultures, or owls in a matter of a few hours. The fact that here the ground squirrels are food for other creatures makes me reluctant to use poison or metal projectiles.

I use tube traps from wildlife control; in a decade or so of use, I have only caught three off target animals, two possums from under one of the outbuildings, and a skunk. Neither was a welcome or known guest.

All the best,

Peter

Yeah, I watched a couple videos of them tonight. They appear to be similar in size to our Fox squirrels. Kinda like smallish prairie dogs.

jyoutz · May 9, 2022

Last year I live trapped over twenty ground squirrels from my barn, garden and chicken pen. I relocated them a mile away. They are suckers for peanut butter on a cracker. These are the critters we have where I live.

RalphVa · May 10, 2022

Nikkorott said:
I tried something today that I have a feeling could be a cross between an Elmer Fudd and Wiley Coyote plot. I have had an issue with ground squirrels for awhile now. Our muni folks put poison out once in awhile. I've never to thrilled about that. Some neighbors will use those poison gas/flare things. I've used dry ice but that gets expensive. My newest idea is using a leaf blower and cayenne powder.

Has anybody on this board tried this before? I put the end of the leaf blower in the hole. If it's not blowing gobs of dust & dirt back out at me, I pour a little bit of the cayenne powder into the suction. When I'm doing this I'm wearing safety glasses and a mask. If you try this make sure that you know your pepper tolerance! You WILL get some blow back.

Good luck!

Ammonia worked on groundhogs in NJ but only kept them out of their holes a couple days here in Va.

Nikkorott · May 10, 2022

jaxs said:
No sooner than I hatched an environmentally friendly way to control California Ground Squirrels, the Wiki link posted earlier shot my idea full of holes. My idea was to boost rattle snake population, you have to read about it to believe it.

Rattlesnakes for ground squirrel control? No offense but I'm putting that in the same column as tapeworms for weight loss.

I had a couple red foxes out here that did a fantastic job keeping them in check. Unfortunately, the dog convinced them to leave.

beowulf · May 10, 2022

We have major ground squirrel problems. Last year we shot or trapped 133, the year before 132. I have also used the gopher gassers in their holes - in the evening when hopefully they are inside - but don't know how effective that is. A feral cat dropped off three kittens a few months ago and we kept one and gave two away. The one we kept has been catching squirrels and gophers - but of course, can't keep up. It is a battle with the stakes being the garden and the orchard fruit. When we do shoot them, we toss them far outside the yard fence, and they are alwyays gone the next day. We assume coyotes or skunks take them but not sure.

bigtiller · May 10, 2022

jaxs said:
Ok I've heard others complain about ground squirrels so I must ask if we are talking about the same thing.
View attachment 745221 We call these ground squirrels and they don't cause noticeable damage to anything. Ground dwellers that cause damage are called gophers and prairie dogs.

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

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

Moss....squinny (ground squirrel) jugging looks like fun. Thanks for the videos.

Torvy · May 10, 2022

Growing up we called them striped gophers, but they are technically the 13 striped ground squirrel...we also had flicker tails and pocket gophers. All commonly called gophers and all problematic on the farm. Prairie dogs were strictly a west-river critter and much larger. 22lr will take care of them.