Gray Squirrels

[FreeBirdTim]

Have you hit any defenseless animals or birds while driving? Any bugs die on your radiator or windshield?

I've been driving for over 40 years and only hit one critter and that was a possum. Luck has a lot to do with that, since squirrels feel the need to test me almost every day! I've also come very close to hitting a few deer, but managed to avoid them as well.

Can't do much about the bugs, though. You can't save everything in this world...

 

[Kray Gelder]

I watched a couple of documentaries about trees, and their relationships with fungi. It seems as though trees communicate with, protect and nourish each other. They will even exclude "outsiders". Older trees, called Mother Trees, are so valued by the others, that sometimes when cut down, the surrounding "family" will start feeding the stump, the stump will grow over with bark, and remain alive, without photosynthesis. I have killed a LOT of trees, in my youth, working in the woods. I wonder if...

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

You'd enjoy the book: "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben

Something you'd recognize as a plant has been on earth for 470 million years. Something you'd recognize as a hominid (human like) has been around maybe 5.8 million years.

We're just a branch that made a lot of trouble for the rest of life on earth and are showing that we are pretty invasive and harmful. Looks like we were too "expensive" in terms of resources and habitat to sustain the Homo sapiens sapiens lifestyle.

Plants will smooth it out in a few million years and the last 10,000 years might not even show up in the fossil record. Just the scars we left.

 

[Ed_DE]

I have a gray squirrel that loves my grape tomatoes. Luckily for me I aways have more than enough tomatoes to go around.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I used to eat ‘em but now I just feed ‘em. Up to a dozen fox, Grey and Blackies at a time, all through the winter. No reds allowed.

 

[Duckshot]

I used to eat ?em but now I just feed ?em. Up to a dozen fox, Grey and Blackies at a time, all through the winter. No reds allowed.

That's...



...racist?

 

[fyrffytr1]

I know this topic has gone off on a wild ride but, getting back to the OP's original post you could try a motion activated water sprinkler.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I know this topic has gone off on a wild ride but, getting back to the OP's original post you could try a motion activated water sprinkler.

move it to the political forum and let er,rip!

 

[newnan man]

I just don't get people going all "Rambo" on a poor animal eating something to survive. It has no idea you didn't put it there for his supper. Hunting, no problem as most hunters are responsible folks and eat what they harvest. Killing because you may have to throw out a few less spoiled "maters" sitting on the counter is BS.
My opinion only.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I don,t shoot the squirrels in my yard,as long as they stay out of my attic we co exist pretty well,and I,ve plugged up all the places they can get in.I hunt and eat the wild ones out in the woods,make clean kills and don,t waste any,even use the tails and hides for tying flies and jigs.just my way of doing it.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Well,old Tim,let me take a shot.First off I do not harbor any hate toward man or beast and at 70 I,m not frustrated about any thing.Since you seem to think you must "put people in their place"Just who is full of hate and frustrated?Never kicked a dog,don,t know where you get that,I,ve had many fine hunting dogs and considered them valued companions and friends.Right now there are at least 9,count em,9 feral cats on my block and breeding more.How about I catch some and send them to you?If you are true to your tenets you have to take them,right?Nobody wants them and I,ve refrained from killing them just because I don,t want to,if we had a animal control officer they might catch them,what do you think happens to them?They kill them by suffocation,yeah,put them in a box and hook up an exhaust pipe from a truck.If I did kill them it would be quicker and more humane than that.You know nothing about hunters or the life that animals actually lead instead of the Disneyed version you believe in.I,m not going to come up to you on the street and"put you in your place"but old buddy if you walk up to me and proceed to "put me in my place"I,ll show you the reality of the old saying"beware the old man in a world where men die young"I,m old but I still got a punch or two left.let it go man,you lost this one.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Well,old Tim,let me take a shot.First off I do not harbor any hate toward man or beast and at 70 I,m not frustrated about any thing.Since you seem to think you must "put people in their place"Just who is full of hate and frustrated?Never kicked a dog,don,t know where you get that,I,ve had many fine hunting dogs and considered them valued companions and friends.Right now there are at least 9,count em,9 feral cats on my block and breeding more.How about I catch some and send them to you?If you are true to your tenets you have to take them,right?Nobody wants them and I,ve refrained from killing them just because I don,t want to,if we had a animal control officer they might catch them,what do you think happens to them?They kill them by suffocation,yeah,put them in a box and hook up an exhaust pipe from a truck.If I did kill them it would be quicker and more humane than that.You know nothing about hunters or the life that animals actually lead instead of the Disneyed version you believe in.I,m not going to come up to you on the street and"put you in your place"but old buddy if you walk up to me and proceed to "put me in my place"I,ll show you the reality of the old saying"beware the old man in a world where men die young"I,m old but I still got a punch or two left.let it go man,you lost this one.

Sounds to me like someone’s definitely full of it but it’s not you.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Thanks,fistfulladirt!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

If thread bothers some members then please move on, thread violates no rules here nor does killing squirrels violate the law when hunted in most places. No different then killing mice when they become a nuisance, they are both rodents.

People hunt squirrels for food, they are good eating pan fried with pan gravy too. If they are destroying garden crops people will kill them as well. I had a huge garden in Missouri, seen many of them eating the fruit and veggies I grew, garden was fenced but that will not stop a squirrel.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I dislike gray squirrels with the flaming fire of a thousand burning suns. This is the time of year that they steal my apples and tomatoes. They do this during the day when I can't snipe them with a pellet gun. It is illegal to poison them (and frankly, I haven't heard of gray squirrel poison). There is a very effective device called the A18 Squirrel Destroyer but it only appears to be available in British Commonwealth countries.

What advice do you all have for the eradication of these furry little devils? The neighborhood stray cats are useless because the dementia-addled old ladies down the block feed them so much, they are not interested in channeling their inner savanna lion on the squirrel population. I use owl and snake decoys, but the squirrels in my neighborhood must have not covered common predators in squirrel school.

I had multiple squirrel feeders and would get bags of field corn for next to nothing from the local farmers in Columbia Mo, it helped a great deal as they loved the corn.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

No harm, no foul.

 

[newnan man]

Squirrels are very resourceful when you try to keep them out of a bird feeder. I've finally made a feeder that they cannot access but it took a long time and many failures. It was entertaining to watch them figure out how to get at the goodies! I still feed them peanuts & sunflower seeds. Some will take the peanut from my hand. I hunted squirrels and rabbits as a kid and still have fond memories of mom's delicious meals from them. I don't hunt now but as stated have no issues with it. I guess I just can't work up any animosity towards the little buggers. To me losing a few fruits or veggies to have wildlife nearby is an acceptable trade. If others feel differently that is their prerogative. I feel for the poor critters setting up shop in their baliwick.

 

[Tnmountains]

I dislike gray squirrels with the flaming fire of a thousand burning suns. This is the time of year that they steal my apples and tomatoes. They do this during the day when I can't snipe them with a pellet gun. It is illegal to poison them (and frankly, I haven't heard of gray squirrel poison). There is a very effective device called the A18 Squirrel Destroyer but it only appears to be available in British Commonwealth countries.

What advice do you all have for the eradication of these furry little devils? The neighborhood stray cats are useless because the dementia-addled old ladies down the block feed them so much, they are not interested in channeling their inner savanna lion on the squirrel population. I use owl and snake decoys, but the squirrels in my neighborhood must have not covered common predators in squirrel school.

The hill that I am on is covered with hickory tress thus I have a large squirrel population. On the days I am rained out I thin them out as my resident red tail who used to keep populations down lost her nest in the tornadoes last year. I use a German made RWS in .177. (Diana series) On a rain day I will take out many but of course they keep moving in from surrounding areas. I carry a state hunting license for this. I also compost them in my very large compost pile. I do not have a problem with this as they get under my roof destroy bird feeding stations. I do not eat them but believe in a balanced population. Can come home and count up to 20 and sometimes they are mating on the large witness oaks so I thin them out everyone I see. I enjoy watching all wildlife but they have lost the natural progression of predator Vs prey. I can take out a healthy number and in a week I have 20 more.
Proper management by man is part of the wildlife management programs I do write for consultation fes and implement for land owners.
BTW I use iron sites to keep my skill high do not bait and will verbally bark and get them to look and expose themselves
Adios,,ohhhhh
Be ethical and remember it is a remarkable renewable resource put on earth for man.
Right now I have a coyote eating one fawn a day. One a day! He will be on the Angus cattle this winter giving birth but my $ is he will not be around. I have just got out my conabear traps for the beavers who will be flooding crop fields before long. I wish it was winter the fur be nice on a hide hoop.Makes great capes and soft pillows and hats.
Good luck be safe follow the rules and know what is behind your quarry. Never use poison as it goes down the food chain and harms a lot. I think I posted the giant sick red tail we rescued with help of a bird sanctuary.
Happy Hunting
TnMtns

 

[ScoTTT2]

I wish I saw this post earlier .. I've been a professional trapper for over 50 years .. if you are serious about removing the squirrels shoot me a PM .. I can hook you up with some good advice .. also have a good recipe for squirrel salad sandwich .. the natural environment has been changed to the point that most species must be managed .. here in the US the forests that could hold a seeming endless population of any animal species was removed and replaced by an environment that is less so .. anytime you see concrete or blacktop or vote for more infrastructure you are lessening the carrying capacity of that piece of earth, thusly effectively killing more animals, either directly killing to protect you and your families' interests or making those animals suffer by allowing nature to kill them off to fit into the new smaller environment .. either way you are responsible for their death .. if your clothes are made of oil or cotton you are responsible for the needless deaths of many animals

 

[Worm-Slicer]

Just remember though that squirrels are high in cholestorol.