Squirel Farm West

[beowulf]

We have had squirrel problems before - they take all the almonds from one tree every year, and treated the orchard like an all you can eat cafeteria. We have used traps, and a 4-10 shotgun, but with only limited success. I can manage to shoot a couple from time to time, but once they hear the boom, they hide for an hour or more, and I don't like sitting around waiting for them to reappear. Anyway, with the super amounts of rain this past year (40 inches instead of the 14 inches the year before) and with water shooting out of gopher and squirrel holes I was hoping many would be drowned. No such luck - we have more than ever - several times more than ever, scampering everywhere, on the deck, the porch, the orchard, the garden. . . everywhere. Our old dogs and old cats don't really deter the squirrels. We also have rabbits and quail every day in the yard, but it is the squirrel population that strips our trees and garden

So, we will again try the traps and so on, and may try to coat the tree trunks with sticky stuff. We are looking into poison but are reluctant to use poison unless there is a safe way to do so. I have started to use gopher gassers in any holes I can find and that may help a bit. Anyway, I thought I would ask if anyone has any creative and hopefully successful ways to help with our squirrel problem.

 

[polo1665]

This is the first thought that occurred to me. We are having a rabbit problem ourselves this year.

https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/ec1641.pdf

 

[RSKY]

Not going to help your problem but we had something similar a few years ago except the squirrels were doing damage to cars and houses.

Neighbor to the south, with a one acre lot, killed 153 off his property year before last. I got about a dozen or two, neighbor to the north got about ten. So slightly less than 200 off three acres.

Then some hawks moved in and built a nest.

No squirrels. Well maybe one or two every week or so.

Lure you some hawks into your area and you will never have squirrel problems again.

RSKY

 

[beowulf]

Thanks guys. We do have red tail hawks circling and crying out from time to time, and I have seen them fly off with a snake or two, and a rabbit once, and a squirrel or two a few years ago. So I will try to figure out how to encourage them to hang around.

In the mean time, I will try out some of those black sticky pads with some fresh fruit bait placed at the bottom of trees.

BTW, this is the squirrel trap we have been using - it does catch squirrels just not enough for our squirrel population. It is at Tractor S Co - a bit expensive and a bit flimsy but works to some extent. I will avoid using poison.

CatchMor Squirrelinator Trap - For Life Out Here

 

[rswyan]

The squirrels here love sunflower seeds ... I'd try laying a trail (of sunflower seeds) from the trees out to lure the squirrels into a more open area and placing bait there if possible.

That way you give the hawks a better shot at diving on them.

 

[oosik]

Good Lord - if you were able to trap 200 squirrels off three acres - - that wasn't just a problem - that's a plague. I have pine squirrels but never even see one a year.

Now those tiny stripped tree squirrels( chipmunks ), that's a whole nother situation. I'm constantly "working" on them and my community of pocket gophers.

 

[TnAndy]

I've had good luck with a 3x9 scope on a Ruger 10-22 up to 150yds, and a couple of live, double end door, cage type traps, with the .22 applied to inmates.

 

[RSKY]

Seems like when we shot ten, ten more would show up the next day. The only deterrent we found was to leave the carcasses in the yard and that only worked for a day or two until the smell hit us. Then they went into the trash can.

RSKY

 

[oosik]

RSKY - exactly the results I get here. I just started up my pocket gopher trap line again and have caught six. I'll swear the six plus have come in from out in the dark to take their place.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I know your problem, but unfortunately I have no solution. We were taken into the city limits a few years back, so shooting, at least with a .22 is out of the question. Keep in mind that these things vary from year to year, and time and predators will eventually take their toll. One year, they were so bad that they were cutting my tomatoes, and green ones at that. I counted 17 one morning around the bird feeder. We came home one evening, and our plum trees were stripped...including the ones fallen on the ground. We thought we had been raided by hungry kids, but figured out pretty quickly it was the squirrels.

I have never seen a hawk get a squirrel, although they do watch them playing in the yard but never bother them. The feral cats do have an occasional success though. Back when I was growing up, us poor country boys keep their population down by harvesting them for the table. Grew up on fried squirrel, rabbit, quail, duck and an occasional catfish.