Author Topic: Vanquishing squirrel foes  (Read 8740 times)

hops

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Vanquishing squirrel foes
« on: April 12, 2013, 10:03:47 AM »
A loud and energetic squirrel has set up camp between the roof of our covered carport and the roof of our aluminum patio covering. This nefarious squirrel, who also likes to taunt our cats by dancing across the patio, has, from the sound of things, been inviting a friend or two over to party recently. Now the dancing, we'll put up with that -- far be it from us to act like John Lithgow in Footloose. But the partying near the roof and gutter has the potential to turn destructive and we aren't too thrilled about that, so we'd like to serve an eviction notice. 

What makes this squirrel such a formidable nemesis is that he or she favors a spot that is quite small and difficult to reach. We could try to fashion something extremely long and narrow and jangle it around in there to break up whatever nest it might be building.  It has also been suggested that we could use wolf or coyote urine to try to repel squirrels from the area.  And then there's the obligatory neighbor who gleefully suggests trying to shoot it. (We only possess a water gun and aren't interested in adding to our arsenal.) Have any of you fine Mustachians had success in running off squirrels?  If so, how did you do it?

tuyop

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2013, 12:57:52 PM »
Step 1: Get a cooler.
Step 2: Get some peanuts.
Step 3: Put peanuts in the cooler.
Step 4: Rig up the lid of the cooler so that it will collapse if you pull a stick via string.
Step 5: Wait in ambush, perhaps on the other side of a window or patio door so you can watch the cooler.
Step 6: Squirrel enters the cooler in search of the delicious peanuts.
Step 7: Pull string, causing the lid to shut and TRAPPING THE BEASTIE.
Step 8: Murder the squirrel if you want some food, or just release it somewhere far away.

Repeat until there are no more squirrels. In your area.

Edit: You can work this so that it's victim-operated by just tying the bait to the stick, but if the squirrel manages to steal the bait without triggering the trap, it will just learn to be frightened of your trap. Besides, there's nothing quite as sweet as witnessing the capture of a wild animal due to its own avarice.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2013, 12:59:32 PM by tuyop »

Spork

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2013, 01:05:07 PM »
We've had (a little) luck with a live trap. 

We had a squirrel (nicknamed Evilsquirrel) that -- I kid you not one bit -- probably ate over 50 pounds of tomatoes one summer.  Add a few quarts of strawberries in there for good measure.  He (most definitely a he) would tease our dogs and loved to drop hickory nuts from 200 feet up onto our metal roof.  This was an approximation of a gun shot and occurred about once a minute.

Now, we have LOTS of squirrels.  But trapping/relocating the one solved the problem.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2013, 07:03:50 PM »
Personally I like the pellet gun approach because even though they look rather stupid they are quite intelligent.  You do not want them in your house....and they will keep trying.

NWstubble

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2013, 01:39:01 AM »
Two things to note, first you may want to ensure it is not a female with young still in a nest before removing it (lethally or otherwise). Starvation is a shitty way to go. Second, transporting problem wildlife and releasing them in a different location should not be considered a viable solution. I could rant about the potential issues associated with that practice, but let's just agree to find an actual solution, not just move the problem.

Non-lethal options that work are limited, but the most likely to succeed is exclusion. Ensure the squirrel isn't in the space where you don't want it and put up material to keep it out. Take away as many of the reasons it wants to be there (shelter, food, water, etc.) as possible.

You can trap squirrels quite easily with home made or store bought traps. Pre-baiting will improve success. For example, with tuyops trap leave the cooler in place with peanuts inside but "unarmed", and allow the squirrel to find the nuts. It will get comfortable going into the cooler, figure out the peanuts are a tasty free meal and readily enter next time. Sometimes this can happen in a day, other times it may take a week or longer for them to figure it out. Once there is evidence of the squirrel taking the bait, arm the trap and catch yourself a squirrel. Alternatively, you can snare squirrels in their runs (e.g. along the top of fences). No bait required.

If you do end up going lethal, eat 'em! Squirrel is tasty. :)

Cinder

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tuyop

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2013, 02:35:55 PM »

Sparky

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2013, 08:48:23 PM »
I am more of a fan of using an air rifle myself to get rid of squirrels and magpies myself..... Quiet and rather entertaining.

brewer12345

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2013, 09:29:29 PM »
Squirrel hunting is about my favorite thing to do, so I would probably lay in wait for my adversary and pop him.

I had the buggers in the attic of a previous house and it was a hassle.  If you want to go non-lethal, trap and get rid of them and once you are positive they are all out, seal up all the ways they are getting in.  If you are willing to exterminate, either pop them with your choice of projectile weapon or use a trap.  I hear good things about the Rat Zapper.  They are smart and pretty wiley, so having dealt with a squirrel incursion in the past I would not try live trapping and relocating.

If you exterminate, I second the suggestion to eat them.  Squirrel pot pie is a favorite in my house.  I can explain how to clean em, or there are some very entertaining youtube videos...

Sparky

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2013, 07:43:25 AM »
Would also like to mention that .22 air gun is plenty, even if your living under the Canadian air gun restrictions.....

Squirrels can be pests, destroy insulation, wiring, plumbing lines, cause a few nasty diseases and are best described as rats that climb trees.

hops

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2013, 09:18:15 AM »
tuyop, the peanuts-in-the-cooler method isn't so dissimilar from how my partner trapped me!

We've been researching Havahart live traps since my last post and are still waffling over whether to spend money on one.  We live in a neighborhood where squirrels abound and don't want to waste time trapping every squirrel except the wily one that's become our arch-nemesis. 

My dad has offered to lend us an airgun, so that has become an option. (However, there would be no feasting on squirrel carcass afterward.)  I'd rather avoid killing it, if only because it seems like it should be easy to isolate it and then do whatever we can to seal up the entry points where the patio roof meets the carport roof. At the same time I'm a bit paranoid that this squirrel's a devious motherfucker who will stop at nothing to return to the scene of the crime even if we try to secure it.

Spork

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2013, 09:37:36 AM »
At the same time I'm a bit paranoid that this squirrel's a devious motherfucker who will stop at nothing to return to the scene of the crime even if we try to secure it.

+1.

I've been through this with rats, not squirrels... but holy crap.  This was a huge exercise in whack-a-mole.  They'd find new holes and unplug the ones I'd plug.  It took ages with the wifey giggling and sending me pictures every day of how the bastard removed my last patch and got back in.

tuyop

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2013, 05:41:06 AM »
tuyop, the peanuts-in-the-cooler method isn't so dissimilar from how my partner trapped me!

We've been researching Havahart live traps since my last post and are still waffling over whether to spend money on one.  We live in a neighborhood where squirrels abound and don't want to waste time trapping every squirrel except the wily one that's become our arch-nemesis. 

My dad has offered to lend us an airgun, so that has become an option. (However, there would be no feasting on squirrel carcass afterward.)  I'd rather avoid killing it, if only because it seems like it should be easy to isolate it and then do whatever we can to seal up the entry points where the patio roof meets the carport roof. At the same time I'm a bit paranoid that this squirrel's a devious motherfucker who will stop at nothing to return to the scene of the crime even if we try to secure it.

I really think your best option is to either kill the squirrel or capture and transport it far away.

jdchmiel

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2013, 01:23:05 PM »
Oddly, live trapping and releasing far away made the problem at my das house much worse.  As he released at my house, it didnt improve things at my house too much either.  The issue was they seem to have territories, and when you remove the territory owners, others move in and start trying to claim.. tripled the number of squirrels in his yard until equilibrium was reached again.

tuyop

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2013, 01:30:28 PM »
Oddly, live trapping and releasing far away made the problem at my das house much worse.  As he released at my house, it didnt improve things at my house too much either.  The issue was they seem to have territories, and when you remove the territory owners, others move in and start trying to claim.. tripled the number of squirrels in his yard until equilibrium was reached again.

Man, I've got a lot of peanuts.

hops

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2013, 09:17:19 PM »
Our squirrel situation is now fraught with suspense. Two of them were hanging out in their illicit hideaway a week and a half ago when we surprised them by making noise under them and wriggling a broom handle in a tiny spot near them (in a more curious than aggressive fashion since it would be humiliating to get my ass kicked by an angry rodent). We also put out several live traps. Within a day of these events, no more squirrel noise. And no more squirrel noise in all the days since. The gutters, the attic are all unmolested. The traps remained empty the whole time. Perhaps the squirrel squatter is sick of our shit and left for greener pastures. Or perhaps we're being lulled into a false sense of security...
« Last Edit: April 30, 2013, 09:19:07 PM by hops »

frompa

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2013, 05:23:50 AM »
Disposing of these little bastards who dig up many things I plant in my garden and destroy/consume much of the other food produced on my tiny urban property has been my preoccupation this past month.  I've trapped and disposed of four, SO FAR.  Yes, I intend to keep going -- I, a non-violent pacifist who has never killed anything in my life, have become a squirrel-disposing fiend.  (Just this morning I found one of them eating the flowers of my paw paw tree... no flowers, no fruit.)  Bastards!  My method - trap them and then put the trap into a garbage can filled with enough water to drown them.  It seems as quick as can be, given that I cannot shoot them here in a city.  (I'm territorial but not heartless.)  I've thought of eating them. Though I have a pretty strong stomach, I have such disdain for their rat-like existence, I can't bring myself to do it.  The battle continues....

Matthew

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2013, 02:06:22 PM »
Snares are also a good option.  You probably already have what you need in your junk drawer - just a stretch of wire.  Set a few up on well-traveled narrow paths, like the top of your fence or deck railing.  Or lean a branch up from the ground to the nest, and when the squirrel realizes what a great shortcut this is and starts using it, set snares along it.  This is a passive, but lethal solution.  So it may not give you a warm and fuzzy, but it's effective, easy, and cheap.

Mountainman75

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #18 on: May 03, 2013, 08:44:17 AM »
If you can get at the space they are in, put a strobe light in there. It will disrupt their sleep patterns and they will leave quickly. After they leave, patch the wholes well so they can't come back.

tuyop

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Re: Vanquishing squirrel foes
« Reply #19 on: May 03, 2013, 11:43:40 AM »
Snares are also a good option.  You probably already have what you need in your junk drawer - just a stretch of wire.  Set a few up on well-traveled narrow paths, like the top of your fence or deck railing.  Or lean a branch up from the ground to the nest, and when the squirrel realizes what a great shortcut this is and starts using it, set snares along it.  This is a passive, but lethal solution.  So it may not give you a warm and fuzzy, but it's effective, easy, and cheap.



The first one climbs the tree and gets caught, then all of his squirrel buddies follow to see what's up, ensnaring themselves in the process! It's diabolical.