$quirrel Problem$ are co$ting me $$$$$$

[rmaynard 14,924]

If the author of that article lived with the squirrel problem that I have, I'm sure that he would have a completely different opinion.

[buckrancher 2,675]

you can catch them (squirrels) in a have a heart trap and take them them for a ride(maybe on a fishing trip?)

Brian

[posifour11 723]

Then you have to protect the horses with everything you have! Go full rambo on them.

[puddlejumper 67]

Bob, I can only think of one thing other than a terrier type dog and a underground fence to keep him free roaming on your property. I think I would try a couple of salt/Mineral blocks for livestock around the property. I am not saying it will cure your problem completely because rodents have got to chew to keep there incisors from overgrowing,But they also chew on antlers and bone looking for salt and minerals,salt from your hands on steering wheel and knobs, Also you may ask your nieghbor to replace the peanuts with hard kernel corn, hickory nuts and walnuts. The Squirrells are getting to eat all the want on the peanut but they are not able to keep thier teeth in check on them so they are FORCED to chew on something to keep their teeth wore down. I am pretty sure this easy food source is the problem but I am not sure what the cure is. Bottom line is the neighbor may think he is being good to the squirrells when actually he is doing them a misfavor.

[Horse Fanatic 49]

My property was over run with chipmonks. I started getting rid of them with a bucket trap where you half fill a 5 gallon bucket with water, sprinkle sun flower seeds on the water and have a 1 x 3 as a ramp for them to climb up and they jump in because they are gluttons and drown. Then I got a "Rat Zapper" electronic trap. That was fantastic, put some seeds in the back, they go in and get instantly electrocuted. I got the larger one and got some squirrles too even though they weren't my target pest. I got so many in the last year the population has dropped off considerably.

[puddlejumper 67]

A plastic 55 gallon drum half full of water works well but it is a little cruel for my taste I would rather use a pellet rifle from my easy chair and save grocery money. I am kinda partial to them as table fare anyway. And besides as many peanuts as they get they may taste like a snickers bar or a payday!!!!

[varosd 1,185]

don't have much to add to the rodent problem except a funny commercial looks more like chipmunk but about the same

[rmaynard 14,924]

My property was over run with chipmonks. I started getting rid of them with a bucket trap where you half fill a 5 gallon bucket with water, sprinkle sun flower seeds on the water and have a 1 x 3 as a ramp for them to climb up and they jump in because they are gluttons and drown. Then I got a "Rat Zapper" electronic trap. That was fantastic, put some seeds in the back, they go in and get instantly electrocuted. I got the larger one and got some squirrles too even though they weren't my target pest. I got so many in the last year the population has dropped off considerably.

Will the Rat Zapper work outside? Are they weather-proof?

[6wheeler 586]

I really like squirrels. They taste good fried in butter. Here is a good NON-humane trap. Plastic 55 gallon barrel. Drill 2 holes opposite of each other near the top. Take a piece of wire (fairly heavy) and run it through the holes in the barrel and pull it tight. Before you put it through one side Slide something that rolls easily on the wire ( I used an old rolling pin with the handles removed) and put a zip tie on either side of the rolley thing to keep it centered. It shouldn't be any more than a third of the width of the barrel nor should the zip ties restrict the rolling action. Fill the barrel a little less than half full, so it is too deep for the little uh,creatures to be able to keep their breathing parts out. coat the pin with a generous amount of peanut butter and press some peanuts and sunflower seeds into it. Temptation always gets the best of those cute little tasty pains in the A--. They hop out for a snack.......And, don't come back. And, if they get smart or it doesn't "dump em'", then attach 2 spoons handles together with the scoop ends out across the rolley thing and place the tempting treat on each scoop. Then when they have to go out on a limb for it? SPLASH. The neat part about this fully functional squirrel swimming pool is the birds can land enjoy a snack and fly away.. No collateral damage... DISCLAIMER... Not responsible for stray cats or occasional opossums or raccoons that may inadvertently use pool. Good Luck

[Horse Fanatic 49]

I use the Rat Zapper outside, but it's not suppossed to be out in the rain. So I move it somewhere more protected like under the porch or make a crude awning when it's wet.

[CRE1992 135]

Maybe install some cats in the area?

I would have to agree with this. We (my family) have lived on the same street for 60+ years, around 10 years ago people moved in when they built a development on my street, they had out door cats which eventually reproduced, and now we have ferral cats that hang around, and when you used to see 10-15 squirrels at the bird feeder, now you only see 2. We have no mice in our pole barn. The only problem with the cats I have is that there is no longer any rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and small birds in the area. Not to mention the loft/rafters of my pole barn gets covered in cat poo.

-Charles

[Forest Road 594]

We have a place in NY's Adirondack Park and squirrels are my nemesis! I once bought a 1300fpm pellet gun to aid my frustrations. Let's just say Mrs Forest Rd wasn't happy. We both knew id end up replacing windows, canoes, kayaks, row boats well you get the idea.

My neighbor has gone to natures vampire repellent. Garlic!!! They swear by it. Apparently the make garlic water and spray the perimeter of the house and other areas with the bye bye juice. It's odorless and seems to work. Ill probably give it a shot this summer. For now I'll just enjoy the new bathroom I had to install thanks to the lil red bastards.

Best of luck to ya

[rwilson 128]

Id shoot the little buggers. A pellet gun wont be too loud if you are concerned about noise.

[c161rat 185]

This is my Squrill population controller.....complete with a silencer!!!!! 1400 fps if you use the gold coated pellets....

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/111646176/IMG_0521.JPG

[rydogg 186]

A plastic 55 gallon drum half full of water works well but it is a little cruel for my taste I would rather use a pellet rifle from my easy chair and save grocery money. I am kinda partial to them as table fare anyway. And besides as many peanuts as they get they may taste like a snickers bar or a payday!!!!

I have a friend that used a large garbage can close to their favorite tree 1/2 full of water and a bunch of bird seed sprinkled on top to make them jump in thinking it's a barrel full of bird seed.....he lives in town and had a huge squirrel population, he would dump the barrel about every two weeks or when it started smelling bad, he figures he was getting about 10-15 of them per dump at the beginning but near the end of the summer he had taken care of his squirrel problem since the barrel was coming up empty and he wasn't seeing hardly any. I live in rural Minnesota so I use a shotgun or a .22 I had them get into the crawl space of a rental home that I was living in and like clock work they would wake up every morning at 4am and start running around a digging in the insulation...we flushed them out with a bug fogger and shot them with bb rifle...I hate squirrels unless cooked to my liking :handgestures-thumbupright:

[JimD 3,345]

I bet if you asked nicely, Chuck would call them off.

:ROTF:

[rmaynard 14,924]

Jim, are you trying to stir up trouble? :angry-nono:

[JimD 3,345]

No. I just thought it was humorous. I could be wrong, but I'd bet you chuckled. :ychain:

[puddlejumper 67]

I bet if you asked nicely, Chuck would call them off.

Thats the comment I have been waiting on since this thread started,cant believe it took so long!

[JimD 3,345]

Bob, unless those furryfaced little nutmunchers are electricians, this might be an alternative for your problem, and give the little nuisances what they deserve...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b942KR1hrFc

 

This is a simple enough project that should be easy to finish.

[rmaynard 14,924]

That is great.   But I'd probably forget to unplug it when I filled the feeder.

[AMC RULES 36,954]

Definitely looks like it gets their attention.   

[buckrancher 2,675]

That is great.   But I'd probably forget to unplug it when I filled the feeder.

that's what I was thinking

[JBow 8]

I tried very hard to live in peace with those little terrorist but nothing worked out very well.  I too had the chewed up fuel lines, gnawed on plug wires etc.  Then the little SOB's chewed holes in the lids to my brand new 40 dollar each  garbage cans.  And at that point I declared war on them.  I will say this I don't think they all had these bad habits but a few did and there running mates did as well.  Once I reduced there numbers I do not see any real damage so far.  I tried shooting them, setting these huge mouse type traps etc but that didn't quite give me the results I was looking for.  What I did was get one of those traps that trap them live.  It works great and is easy to bait with old bread or just about anything you can find.  Seems they really like stale fortune cookies.  LOL  I normally catch 1 every day and maybe 2 a day on weekends when I am home and have the time to screw with them..  Now I simply relocate them.  Ok so maybe its not the most humane way to deal with them because I relocate them to my local landfill.  Hey they wanted in my garbage cans so who am I to deny them?  I just carry the trap in the garage and let them meet the business end of my Crossman 760 pump.  Of course you could really relocated them I it would help you feel better about it. But once you really reduce there numbers It will make a difference.  But there will always be more that move into there area but it will take a while.   Now I did catch the guy next doors cat one night and big ugly possom too but I just let them go which is something you cant do with poison.  Anyway, Good Luck

[rmaynard 14,924]

Since the van has been in the shop for a while, and the neighbor has stopped feeding them, the squirrels have moved most of their activities to the bird feeders in back of the house. So I think that I am going to try the relocation method. I am getting a half dozen have-a-heart traps and strategically locate them in the paths between the trees with their nest and the feeder. I have an old dog carrier that I am going to place the captives in prior to their travels. Maybe the others will see their friends in captivity and move on to a safer location.