Gray Squirrels

bowwinkles

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Nov 3, 2012
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All of those transferable items can also be carried by household pets and humans, livestock, and ford falcons :) Those little critters that mother nature placed in our enviroment are a joy to many of us. Just digging a find in some areas can also have a negative effect also. Washing your hands when the adventure is over works best. Still venture out and take your exposure to the surroundings like the rest of us. good luck on your next hunt
 

Kype

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pellet rifle. or buy the big victor rat traps and bait in peanut butter. im surrouned by black walnut trees so i have major problem with squirrels. i even found walnuts under the hood of my truck. i also had to remove a tall ash tree that overhung my roof. during the day i could hear them jumping onto my roof. i didnt want them in my attic so i had the tree cut down. each year i take out about 30 squirrels between the pellet rifle and traps. and every year they are still around. i cant keep them away buy i can keep them honest.
i do the same with mice. i keep them honest with water bucket traps. one night i caught 22 mice in one bucket.
 

crashbandicoot

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Sep 27, 2020
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Squirrels rarely transmit any disease to humans.Millions are killed and eaten every year by hunters with no ill effects.I,ve found the squirrels I kill to be extremely clean,no fleas and rarely a tick as compared to deer which often have quite a few ticks depending on where they live.I,ve skinned and dressed hundreds of fur bearers in my time and with the exception of mangy coyotes, none had any transferable parasites.I place this risk in the same category as being struck by lightening on a clear day.
 

Tnmountains

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This guy makes his living on You tube eliminating squirrels. He uses a high end pellet rifle with slo mo cameras.
Any rainy day and a pellet gun will work.....as long as you have a lisc and it is the season.

 

CreakyDigger

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Jul 23, 2019
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Squirrels are rodents, like mice and rats. Do you eat mice and rats as well? They are all carriers of diseases because they have fleas and ticks on them. Not worth the risk to eat them. Got this from the Critter Control website:
Woodchucks are also rodents; I have eaten woodchucks. Rodents are classified as mammals with a specific dental structure. The dental structure has nothing to do with whether or not they can be eaten. Capybara, guinea pigs, and nutria are all rodents, and are all raised for meat, particularly in South America. Porcupines are considered a survival food by woodsmen; they are rodents. Taxonimic relations are irrelevant to what foods we do or do not eat. Squirrels properly prepared are very tasty and nutritious. If one never ate an animal that could carry fleas or ticks or other nasty parasites, one would not eat any meat or fish.
 

faribo

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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.
 

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faribo

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Yeah, there were dozens of them in the neighborhood and they were getting in the house. Once they get in the house, there is only one option, kill them. They will keep chewing holes in the house until they are dead if you try to fix the holes before removing them.
 

bartholomewroberts

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I call them tree rats.. all they are is rats with furry tails and good PR agents.

I have a Benjamin Marauder .22 pellet gun I use on my farm to eliminate them..Of late, the Jack Russells have taken up that chore for me.

I do have the a18 in the barn for rats and mice however.. and it does work like a dream

Micheal
 

ivan salis

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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.
SADLY THE SAME STUFF YOU USE FOR RATS TO KILL THEM COULD BE USED ON SQUIRRLES IF IT WAS LEGAL ( BOTH ARE RODENTS) ...22 CAL PELLET GUNS ARE A GREAT FIX AS ARE CROSSBOWS BOTH ARE QUIET AND EFFECXTIVE ... ONCE THEY SQUIRRELS LEAVE THE OWL AND SNAKE DECOYS DO NOT MOVE AND AREN'T A THREAT THEY WILL SIMPLY ISNORE THEM --- OLD FASHOINED LARGE SIZED RAT SNAPTRAPS AND PEANUT BUTTER IS A OPTION -- ME MY WIFE HAS A BIRD / SQUITTRL FEEDER AND PUTS OUT PEANUTS FOR THEM THEY LOVE P NUTS AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS
 

ivan salis

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They definitely do not scare away any squirrels, rabbits, or birds here. My neighbors have owl decoys as well and I have seen a squirrel on top of their decoy munching on a sunflower seed from their bird feeder.

Oh, according to the Dept of Conservation, nuisance animals and garden pests may be shot out of season. Our squirrel season does happen to be most of the year though.
ONCE THEY LEARN THE DECOYS DO NOT MIVE THEIR NOT A THREAT ==THEY SIMPLY IGNORE THEM
 

pulltabfelix

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ONCE THEY LEARN THE DECOYS DO NOT MIVE THEIR NOT A THREAT ==THEY SIMPLY IGNORE THEM
I have pesky squirrels and chipmunks. Squirrels dig holes in my law and plant acorns. Cannot shoot them with pellet gun, too many neighbors. Got a cat. Problem solved. Cat is also a good mole catcher.
 

releventchair

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May 9, 2012
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Despite being a long time passionate squirrel hunter and training a squirrel dog , I leave them alone in the yard. Lots of adjacent hardwoods and neighboring bird feeders.
I do chase them off if they start a nest in the fenced area of the yard. Shoot close with a pellet gun repeatedly.

Summer squirrels host fleas here. Suspect ticks as well. And ten dogs with fleas is no fun. Been there.... Flea bit squirrel in early hunting season are not uncommon.

An old timer (well more than one) used to live trap them.
One brought them to a farm I used to rent. Another dropped them of on land I could hunt.
Others took them elsewhere.
It's not exactly legal in some areas , but like other wildlife , there is territory and amount of food to consider. Plus introduction of change.
As if we had a half dozen people added to our homes and no additional groceries. Let alone expecting us to get along.
But , I took advantage of the bonus numbers , being squirrel are tasty.

Here around the house numbers stay low.
Poor mast crop years factor winter fat amounts , or lack thereof.
Hawks work squirrels. One even crashed feet first into a nest , my guess it was trying to flush a squirrel out of it.
Cats here do kill them.
I see bobcat sign and expect they'd have a go at a squirrel. Fox. Coyote.
It takes a cautious squirrel and eating buds off trees and probably inner bark during lean times.

I don't object to control of squirrels if numbers are high. Have seen ill ones years ago elsewhere (hair missing halfway down bodies ect) as nature only tolerates so much sometimes.
But I do prefer they be eaten if killed. That's my preference though. I'm not defending crops from them.

Come spring they'll be eating tender sweet maple buds here. And later the winged seeds.
Fine with me.
Just don't nest above where my dogs are fenced in.
 

Gare

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What about electric fence wires on insulators around your trees and such ?
 

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