Squirrels will eat anything, apparently

[kevin c]

I cast and coat on my deck. Last night I left some freshly cast 9mm out there preparatory to coating and this morning found one on the steps below, 50 odd feet away. I was wondering how it got there when I saw the tooth marks:

264473

Most squirrels who get lead poisoning have a high speed, low caliber injection. This one is gonna get a belly ache from eating 95-3-2 alloy.

Impressive teeth and jaw strength...

ETA: fixed the photo. Blasted iPhone...

[rking22]

They will also eat a truck, well enough of the wiring harness to run about 3000$!
That one must have a mineral deficiency, I would recommend 40 gr one time followed by a good salt bath and hot oil soak :)

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I remember sitting in our town park with my kids when they were about 7 / 9 years old and a Squirrel was running with a baby duck in it's mouth it ran right up a big oak tree with it just told my kids that it was just putting it back in its nest

[elmacgyver0]

A squirrel ate a hole in the bottom of my Coleman canoe 2 days ago.
I have declared war upon them.
I found out a .25 caliber pellet will hit them like a ton of bricks from my new Hatsan air rifle.

[salty dog]

That's not a bullet, that's a lead nut. That's why the squirrel went for it. If you plant it and water it for a few years, a bullet tree will grow. The first year it makes 22 cal nuts, then 25s, then 30s, etc. So it'll be a while before you see a return on that 9mm.

[Neverhome]

When I lived in Mass every one of the giant heavy plastic trash cans had at least one squirrel sized hole in it. They chewed through and ate garbage.
They don’t do that here in Virginia for whatever reason. Although they chewed through the eaves of my neighbor’s house.
Speaking of mineral deficiencies, a couple years ago I found a really nice 7 point shed antler. Brought it home and had it out back on the picnic table. The dang squirrels chewed off the tip of every point!

[gwpercle]

I hand fed peanuts to a grey squirrel every morning on my walk to Elementary school .
After several weeks the squirrel would take the peanuts from my hand .
One day the Bad Idea Fairy told me to grab the squirrel ... I did ... bad Idea to say the least.
That little rascal bit me through the flesh between my thumb and first finger and wouldn't let go of me .
Never listen to the Bad Idea Fairy...
Gary

[kevin c]

I suppose it could've been a rat or opossum, but I doubt it. The deck is fifteen feet plus above ground level (hillside house) accessed (for humans) only by climbing 33 free standing steps in three open air flights, or from inside the house. Rats, I've seen and trapped in the basement only. Opossums, I've seen on the deck but the teeth are wrong. Ditto for raccoons. Squirrels, we hear them all the time scrambling around on the shingled siding of the house thirty feet up, and they sun on the deck rails.

But what does a city boy like me know about animal bite marks? I just know the squirrels love the deck and have been eying my wife's potted tomatoes, beans and squash growing there. I guess one got impatient.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Dang tree rats munched two of my good classic non-EPA, lawyer overly safe cans. I hate the new ones...

264477

[kevin c]

I wonder if they'll keep trying to eat my boolits AFTER they're coated: I'm using Black Cherry...;^]

[Scrounge]

I hand fed peanuts to a grey squirrel every morning on my walk to Elementary school .
After several weeks the squirrel would take the peanuts from my hand .
One day the Bad Idea Fairy told me to grab the squirrel ... I did ... bad Idea to say the least.
That little rascal bit me through the flesh between my thumb and first finger and wouldn't let go of me .
Never listen to the Bad Idea Fairy...
Gary

I make it a habit to not grab critters that have teeth larger or sharper than mine. Those furry little frauds got teeth like 1/4" wood chisels! Know what the difference between squirrels and rats is? Squirrels got furry tails and better PR.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Ate the lead flashing off the house I grew up in. Ate my gas cans, too. My oldest son keeps the local population whittled down pretty well. Helps with the mulberry harvest...

[Tripplebeards]

I threw moth balls under my hostas thinking the smell would keep out the rabbits and mice. The squirrels removed all of then and scattered the balls all in my yard after taking a bite of each. They like to chew on my aluminum tree stands and seats as well.

[Winger Ed.]

They are incredibly destructive.
If they get in your attic, they'll chew up the wiring, and maybe burn the place down.

Here, I've seen them rob the duck boxes of eggs, and get into bird nests and eat the little chicks.
I've shot them off our bird feeders too. I plant sunflowers every year for the birds, and they will destroy them too.

We've had them dig out flower pots to plant a pecan or acorn.
The little monsters also get into a tree and tease the dogs until they about drop from jumping and barking at them.
There's no limit to their mischief.

[frkelly74]

Then there is that Car insurance commercial where the squirrels dodge out into the road on purpose to make the driver run off the road, and then have a squirrely little chuckle about it. Actually ,I did see that happen once to a young girl driving her dads car, she spun it right around and off the road. I always told my kids " Hit the squirrel, don't wreck my car."

[kevin c]

This has been floating around the net for years, but it still is good for grins:


EVIL SQUIRREL


I never dreamed slowly cruising through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Studies have shown that motorcycling requires more decisions per second, and more sheer data processing than nearly any other common activity or sport. The reactions and accurate decision making abilities needed have been likened to the reactions of fighter pilots! The consequences of bad decisions or poor situational awareness are pretty much the same for both groups too.
Occasionally, as a rider I have caught myself starting to make bad or late decisions while riding. In flight training, my instructors called this being "behind the power curve". It is a mark of experience that when this begins to happen, the rider recognizes the situation, and more importantly, does something about it. A short break, a meal, or even a gas stop can set things right again as it gives the brain a chance to catch up.
Good, accurate, and timely decisions are essential when riding a motorcycle, at least if you want to remain among the living. In short, the brain needs to keep up with the machine.
I had been banging around the roads of east Texas and as I headed back into Dallas, found myself in very heavy, high-speed traffic on the freeways. Normally, this is not a problem, I commute in these conditions daily, but suddenly I was nearly run down by a cage that decided it needed my lane more than I did. This is not normally a big deal either, as it happens around here often, but usually I can accurately predict which drivers are not paying attention and avoid them before we are even close. This one I missed seeing until it was nearly too late, and as I took evasive action I nearly broadsided another car that I was not even aware was there!
Two bad decisions and insufficient situational awareness, all within seconds. I was behind the power curve. Time to get off the freeway.
I hit the next exit, and as I was in an area I knew pretty well, headed through a few big residential neighborhoods as a new route home. As I turned onto the nearly empty streets I opened the visor on my full-face helmet to help get some air. I figured some slow riding through the quiet surface streets would give me time to relax, think, and regain that "edge" so frequently required when riding.
Little did I suspect.
As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me. It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it-it was that close.
I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me. I barely had time to brace for the impact.
Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing the oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Banzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" as the leap was spectacular and he flew over the windshield and impacted me squarely in the chest.
Instantly he set upon me. If I did not know better I would have sworn he brought twenty of his little buddies along for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light t-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and leather gloves puttering maybe 25mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing.
I grabbed for him with my left hand and managed to snag his tail. With all my strength I flung the evil rodent off the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw.
That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there. It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser.
But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary mad squirrel. This was an evil attack squirrel of death!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands, and with the force of the throw swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact he landed square on my back and resumed his rather anti-social and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him!
The situation was not improved. Not improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque. This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very, very good at it. The engine roared as the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in, well, I just plain screamed.
Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel torn t-shirt, and only one leather glove roaring at maybe 70mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel and with a demonic squirrel on his back. The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.
With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike. This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle, my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little affect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he is a Scottish attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got IN my full-face helmet with me. As the faceplate closed partway and he began hissing in my face I am quite sure my screaming changed tone and intensity. It seemed to have little affect on the squirrel however.
The rpm's on The Dragon maxed out (I was not concerned about shifting at the moment) and her front end started to drop.
Now picture the large man on the huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very ragged torn t-shirt, and wearing one leather glove, roaring at probably 80mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out his mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.
Finally I got the upper hand. I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked. Sort-of. Spectacularly sort-of, so to speak.
Picture the scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork.
Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn t-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing one leather glove, moving at probably 80mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.
I heard screams. They weren't mine...
I managed to get the big motorcycle under directional control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign at a busy cross street.
I would have returned to fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have. Really. But for two things. First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. One of them was on his back in the front yard of the house they had been parked in front of and was rapidly crabbing backwards away from the patrol car. The other was standing in the street and was training a riot shotgun on the police cruiser.
So the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway. That was one thing. The other? Well, I swear I could see the squirrel, standing in the back window of the patrol car among shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery, and shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel.
And now he has a patrol car.
I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made an easy right turn, and sedately left the neighborhood.
As for my easy and slow drive home? Faced with a choice of 80mph cars and inattentive drivers, or the evil, demonic, attack squirrel of death...I'll take my chances with the freeway. Every time. And I'll buy myself a new pair of gloves...

[xs11jack]

Basically it is their teeth. The teeth never stop growing and they have to chew on anything that will cut back on the teeth or the teeth will grow around the face and eventually right back into he's skull and kill he in a painful death.
Ole Jack

[10x]

Lead stearate is sometimes a colorant used in plastic. It can give the plastic a "sweet" taste
White plastic insulation on electrical wiring is the most common plastic chewed by rodents. Apparently it has the highest percentage of lead stearate...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/sugar-of-lead-a-deadly-sweetener-89984487/

[Bulldogger]

I cast and coat on my deck. Last night I left some freshly cast 9mm out there preparatory to coating and this morning found one on the steps below, 50 odd feet away. I was wondering how it got there when I saw the tooth marks:

264473

Most squirrels who get lead poisoning have a high speed, low caliber injection. This one is gonna get a belly ache from eating 95-3-2 alloy.

Impressive teeth and jaw strength...

ETA: fixed the photo. Blasted iPhone...

Need to stop pan lubing with bacon grease...

[Digger]

This has been floating around the net for years, but it still is good for grins:


EVIL SQUIRREL


I never dreamed slowly cruising through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Studies have shown that motorcycling requires more decisions per second, and more sheer data processing than nearly any other common activity or sport. The reactions and accurate decision making abilities needed have been likened to the reactions of fighter pilots! The consequences of bad decisions or poor situational awareness are pretty much the same for both groups too.
Occasionally, as a rider I have caught myself starting to make bad or late decisions while riding. In flight training, my instructors called this being "behind the power curve". It is a mark of experience that when this begins to happen, the rider recognizes the situation, and more importantly, does something about it. A short break, a meal, or even a gas stop can set things right again as it gives the brain a chance to catch up.
Good, accurate, and timely decisions are essential when riding a motorcycle, at least if you want to remain among the living. In short, the brain needs to keep up with the machine.
I had been banging around the roads of east Texas and as I headed back into Dallas, found myself in very heavy, high-speed traffic on the freeways. Normally, this is not a problem, I commute in these conditions daily, but suddenly I was nearly run down by a cage that decided it needed my lane more than I did. This is not normally a big deal either, as it happens around here often, but usually I can accurately predict which drivers are not paying attention and avoid them before we are even close. This one I missed seeing until it was nearly too late, and as I took evasive action I nearly broadsided another car that I was not even aware was there!
Two bad decisions and insufficient situational awareness, all within seconds. I was behind the power curve. Time to get off the freeway.
I hit the next exit, and as I was in an area I knew pretty well, headed through a few big residential neighborhoods as a new route home. As I turned onto the nearly empty streets I opened the visor on my full-face helmet to help get some air. I figured some slow riding through the quiet surface streets would give me time to relax, think, and regain that "edge" so frequently required when riding.
Little did I suspect.
As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me. It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it-it was that close.
I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me. I barely had time to brace for the impact.
Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing the oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Banzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" as the leap was spectacular and he flew over the windshield and impacted me squarely in the chest.
Instantly he set upon me. If I did not know better I would have sworn he brought twenty of his little buddies along for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light t-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and leather gloves puttering maybe 25mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing.
I grabbed for him with my left hand and managed to snag his tail. With all my strength I flung the evil rodent off the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw.
That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there. It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser.
But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary mad squirrel. This was an evil attack squirrel of death!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands, and with the force of the throw swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact he landed square on my back and resumed his rather anti-social and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him!
The situation was not improved. Not improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque. This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very, very good at it. The engine roared as the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in, well, I just plain screamed.
Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel torn t-shirt, and only one leather glove roaring at maybe 70mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel and with a demonic squirrel on his back. The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder.
With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike. This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle, my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little affect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he is a Scottish attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got IN my full-face helmet with me. As the faceplate closed partway and he began hissing in my face I am quite sure my screaming changed tone and intensity. It seemed to have little affect on the squirrel however.
The rpm's on The Dragon maxed out (I was not concerned about shifting at the moment) and her front end started to drop.
Now picture the large man on the huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very ragged torn t-shirt, and wearing one leather glove, roaring at probably 80mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel's tail sticking out his mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.
Finally I got the upper hand. I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked. Sort-of. Spectacularly sort-of, so to speak.
Picture the scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork.
Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn t-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing one leather glove, moving at probably 80mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.
I heard screams. They weren't mine...
I managed to get the big motorcycle under directional control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign at a busy cross street.
I would have returned to fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have. Really. But for two things. First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. One of them was on his back in the front yard of the house they had been parked in front of and was rapidly crabbing backwards away from the patrol car. The other was standing in the street and was training a riot shotgun on the police cruiser.
So the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway. That was one thing. The other? Well, I swear I could see the squirrel, standing in the back window of the patrol car among shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery, and shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel.
And now he has a patrol car.
I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made an easy right turn, and sedately left the neighborhood.
As for my easy and slow drive home? Faced with a choice of 80mph cars and inattentive drivers, or the evil, demonic, attack squirrel of death...I'll take my chances with the freeway. Every time. And I'll buy myself a new pair of gloves...

Very well written !

[redhawk0]

I live in town where I can't just shoot them when I want...however, that does not keep me from getting rid of them.

I have a small Hav-A-Hart trap. I catch critters then it does directly into a rubbermaid container full of water....critter in a zip-lok baggy and out in the trash they go.

I don't use an open trap setup...I keep one side closed, then set the trap with a PB cracker in the back under the closed door. They don't exit the trap alive.

I have a heart alright...hahaha

redhawk

[redhawk0]

BTW...I get rid of ground moles the same way...the small H-A-H trap mesh is too large and a mole can go in through the sides...so...with a CLOSED trap...I put a mouse trap inside with PB on the trigger.

redhawk

[JerryCan]

Grabbing a squirrel and getting bit was mentioned...
When I was single digits age, I somehow managed to corner and catch a chipmunk. That striped sob bit about 15 times before I let go. The last bite he latched onto my thumb and I ended up having to smack him on a tree to get him off.
Getting mauled by a chipmunk is a humbling experience.

[alamogunr]

Our neighborhood is overrun with squirrels. They have chewed the plastic tops on my stepladders hanging on the back of the shop. They chewed the back corners of the shop(rough sawn cedar). I had about a half dozen 1.5# lead ingots holding a piece of sheet metal on top of my lead cleaning pot in the back yard. They have chewed the corners off of every one. I replaced them with a brick and left them on the step into the shop and they continued to chew. You can see lead crumbs, tiny but still visible.

My next step is to try to use a pellet gun to "lead poison" them. I've already established that a .22 pellet will penetrate 3/8th plywood. Despite being "domesticated", they still take off when I go out the back door to go to the shop.

[Moleman-]

They will also eat a truck, well enough of the wiring harness to run about 3000$!
That one must have a mineral deficiency, I would recommend 40 gr one time followed by a good salt bath and hot oil soak :)

Caught a red squirrel running out from the engine bay of my truck earlier. Time for them to take a short trip across the road.

[Idz]

An interesting thing about wiring is the enviro-nazis objected to petroleum based plastics so companies like Mercedes switched to a plastic derived from peanut oil and then found rodents liked it too.

[OldBearHair]

I came out of the house to see what my dog Duchess was barking about . She was barking "tree-ed" at the top of the front wheel. Went around and opened the hood. lifting it up saw a tail hanging down from the center hole of the insulation fiberglass. Picked up a two foot long broom handle and whacked the lump under the insulation, then whacked another lump, and another. Duchess caught one, one got away under and between my legs, and one was DRT. Everything sort of settled down then. Couple days later we noticed an "off" odor in the laundry room. Next day it was a full blown bad odor. Started searching and finally pulled of the dryer hose at the back of the dryer and there was the dead squirrel, you know, the one that I whacked good with the stick? It had come in the dryer vent hole and made it all the way into the fryer and died. Got rid of that odor and the squirrel. Next day got in the truck and it would not start. Diagnosis: All day looking for the problem and found that the wire from the fuel pump located in the gas tank had been cut somewhere. Could not find where it was at all so, ran a wire from the fuel tank out from under the truck, wrapped it around the mirror tightly so it would not drag then under the hood and drove it to town to the auto repair shop. Then as the smart young whipper snapper of a mechanic started telling me that it was fixed, was laughing at me at the same time. I told him that at the very least, I knew what was wrong and knew how to get it to him so he could fix it and get paid doing it.

[Winger Ed.]

Caught a red squirrel running out from the engine bay of my truck earlier. Time for them to take a short trip across the road.

Had a buddy who kept a old IH Scout on his rural property so he didn't have to drive his new 'city' truck out into the wilderness.
Between chewing all the wires, hoses, and interior- the little devils totaled it.

[Moleman-]

Had a buddy who kept a old IH Scout on his rural property so he didn't have to drive his new 'city' truck out into the wilderness.
Between chewing all the wires, hoses, and interior- the little devils totaled it.

8 year old F150 with what looks like a mile of wires running everywhere. Only thing I can see it chewed on was a grounding strap for the engine has some of the open cell foam missing and you can see teeth marks in it. Lots of foot prints all over the dusty engine bay though. We have a 1966 IHC 1000A pickup and between the two I'd much rather have to replace the wiring harness on the IHC.

[daengmei]

There must be plenty of food for them here, right in the crowded outskirts of town. Haven't yet to see any damage. They are just a nuisance to my dogs. Opossums, raccoons, ground hogs, moles, field mice are everywhere. Close enough to the woods that deer, turkey, fox and an occasional coyote could be seen. I Havahart and relocate those that are garden killers.

What bothers me most is my dogs occasionally get hold of a turtle and I don't like them chewing on them.

[lightman]

We feed the birds and have to keep the seed in a metal garbage can because the squirrels can chew their way into plastic ones. I've work many a power outage where squirrels chewed the aluminum connector off of the wire. Pesky little varmints!

[PbHurler]

They will also eat a truck, well enough of the wiring harness to run about 3000$!
That one must have a mineral deficiency, I would recommend 40 gr one time followed by a good salt bath and hot oil soak :)


This times 1000!!
Ate my wiring as well

[Chihuahua Floyd]

We feed the birds and have to keep the seed in a metal garbage can because the squirrels can chew their way into plastic ones. I've work many a power outage where squirrels chewed the aluminum connector off of the wire. Pesky little varmints!

They will also cause power outages by walking on transformers. Step on the connections at the same time, both squirrel and transformer blow up.
CF

[Ole Joe Clarke]

I have been battling the ground squirrels. I hate them. I found out they like peanut butter so I have caught 12-15 of them. None of them survived. The neighborhood is infested, so it is an ongoing battle. They chewed wiring on the T100, boat and utility trailer.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[lightman]

They will also cause power outages by walking on transformers. Step on the connections at the same time, both squirrel and transformer blow up.
CF

Yeah, we had all kinds of stuff to put on either the transformer bushing or the switch. Most of it only worked marginally well. A Squirrel has lots of time to knaw or chew on stuff! I had a few that were so frequent that I wrapped a piece of flashing around the pole under the transformer but they would still walk the service wire.

[Scrounge]

They will also cause power outages by walking on transformers. Step on the connections at the same time, both squirrel and transformer blow up.
CF

Had someone fire off a 155 howitzer in back yard one day years ago, and all the lights went out. OK, maybe I exaggerate a bit. Probably only a 30-06. Had the power company out to address the outage, and the guy found bits of brown fur and a long fuzzy tail... Transformer survived, he just had to reset the breaker on it.

[Iowa Fox]

Sounds like the animals are out of control everyplace. We are over run with coons, squirrels & chipmunks, and deer by the thousands. Yes by the thousands on the deer herd also which was published in a local newspaper article. Shooting and trapping isn't even making a dent in the population.

[Winger Ed.]

Sounds like the animals are out of control everyplace. We are over run with coons, squirrels & chipmunks, and deer by the thousands.

When I hear about how we are crowding out animals as we build houses and towns, I have to chuckle.
We didn't push out the animals so much as they came to us.
There is more varmints and game animals now than there ever was when the place was just a wilderness.

As a kid, we'd go squirrel hunting all day, and maybe get 4 or 5.
One morning, when we still lived in North Dallas, I was on the porch and counted 26.

It was common to see raccoons using the storm drains as their super hi-way.
You'd see a coyote in the street once in awhile, and 2-3 times a year, a deer would be in a neighbors yard.

As a kid, there was no way you'd see that.
Growing up, the only critter that didn't belong in the city I ever saw was one opossum.

[Walks]

BOY HOWDY !!!!

Crazed Demonic Attack squirrel.

LMAO !!!!!!!

The squirrels around here, in the big city like to crew through the wiring for my solar panels. Twice in the last 4yrs.

Don't know any other then that about squirrel dietary preferences. But had a horse when I was a kid that ate hot dogs. BEEF hot dogs.

[jreidthompson1]

They will also eat a truck, well enough of the wiring harness to run about 3000$!
That one must have a mineral deficiency, I would recommend 40 gr one time followed by a good salt bath and hot oil soak :)Some manufacturers have gone to using soy based insulation on the wiring. Google for wiring harness rodents soy based for reference

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[trebor44]

Lots of fun stuff regarding tree rats on the internet and you tube. I like to catch them in my 'Hav-a-hart', spend some 'quality time' with them and then turn them loose. Prefer 'open air' targets. There is one that 'bolts' down the fence and avoids our yard. Bit of an ingrate, sneaks into the trap to snack on the peanuts. I do have a solution but will wait until I need the exercise to open the trap.
264718264718

[Scrounge]

BOY HOWDY !!!!

Crazed Demonic Attack squirrel.

LMAO !!!!!!!

The squirrels around here, in the big city like to crew through the wiring for my solar panels. Twice in the last 4yrs.

Don't know any other then that about squirrel dietary preferences. But had a horse when I was a kid that ate hot dogs. BEEF hot dogs.

My dad and a bunch of his friends were partying in the back yard one day, found out Duchess (1/4 horse, iirc) liked beer. They gave her about half a keg before they realized she had a lot more capacity than they did.

[725]

Tree rats ate through the top of the gas tank on my generator. Almost caused a house fire when I stated the generator during a night storm. Smelled the gas fumes eventually, but not after running it for awhile. I was lucky.

[higgins]

My son used to work in the department at Nissan that handled damage claims submitted by dealers on cars that had not yet been sold. They were getting an undue amount of wiring claims from a particlar dealer in Florida. Thinking a scam was working someone was sent to investigate. They found that that dealer's storage lot backed up to the woods so squirrels and various other rodents were coming onto the lot and chewing the wiring; the dealer had kept a big box of chewed wiring so the claims were substantiated.

[starbits]

The only thing harder than catching a squirrel is letting go of him after you caught him.

[big bore 99]

My German sheperd gets one now and then off my bird feeders. Gives them a good shake and it's lights out. He would probably eat them if I let him.

[Neverhome]

My German sheperd gets one now and then off my bird feeders. Gives them a good shake and it's lights out. He would probably eat them if I let him.

We had an English mastiff that would eat all my killed squirrels. He must have eaten 100s in his 13 years. Btw 13 is incredibly old for a mastiff. Connection???

[kevin c]

Haha, we've gone from what squirrels will eat to what dogs will eat! No worries on the drift, it's just funny is all.

[Scrounge]

Haha, we've gone from what squirrels will eat to what dogs will eat! No worries on the drift, it's just funny is all.

there is one thing we can absolutely count on in life. Threads will drift. ;)

[blackthorn]

Sitting here looking at the scar on the web between my thumb and first finger. 65 years ago (at age 17) I hunted squirrels (amongst other wildlife) with a .22 for the hides. I shot a squirrel out of a willow clump (to preserve the hide, all shots were head shots) it dropped like a stone. I picked it up and, on inspection, could not see a bullet hole. Looking closer, I found a spot where the hair had been cut right down to skin but without drawing blood. Now, about that time the squirrel regained consciousness and promptly bit through my heavy leather mitten and the heavy home-knitted wool inner mitten. I broke the squirrel's neck and then had to literally pry its jaws apart to get it off my hand. Lots of blood inside my mittens. Mother was not impressed, but at the end of the day, wound healed up well with no residual except this 65 year old scar.

[Winger Ed.]

Lots of fun stuff regarding tree rats on the internet and you tube.

Go to youtube and search 'squirrel launchers'.
That's some funny stuff there!

[Scrounge]

Sitting here looking at the scar on the web between my thumb and first finger. 65 years ago (at age 17) I hunted squirrels (amongst other wildlife) with a .22 for the hides. I shot a squirrel out of a willow clump (to preserve the hide, all shots were head shots) it dropped like a stone. I picked it up and, on inspection, could not see a bullet hole. Looking closer, I found a spot where the hair had been cut right down to skin but without drawing blood. Now, about that time the squirrel regained consciousness and promptly bit through my heavy leather mitten and the heavy home-knitted wool inner mitten. I broke the squirrel's neck and then had to literally pry its jaws apart to get it off my hand. Lots of blood inside my mittens. Mother was not impressed, but at the end of the day, wound healed up well with no residual except this 65 year old scar.

I may have had an advantage (or perhaps a disadvantage) over some of you. For a time when I was growing up, my dad had a cage full of chipmunks. I remembered them as 9-line chipmunks, but didn't find any on a searh. They do have something called a 13-line chipmunk or ground squirrel that looks a lot like the ones we had. Not as big as the red squirrels I've seen back east, but big enough. Don't know what happened to them, some time later when I was there the same cage was full of parakeets. Anyway, we saw them gnawing on all the exposed wood in the cage. Some serious teeth there!

[SSGOldfart]

The only thing harder than catching a squirrel is letting go of him after you caught him.

Man that's the truth.

[mjwcaster]

Had squirrels in my folks attic this spring.
Got a call at work from my daughter, one had gotten in the house, so I headed home, cornered it in the office and finally finished off ‘fluffy’.
Cute little baby squirrel, not enough meat to bother cleaning.

Also found the quickest solution to get rid of squirrels-
Get a raccoon.
Yep, a raccoon moved into the attic that night and the squirrels left.

Not a recommended solution, but no more squirrels.

The raccoon is gone now too, but that’s another story.


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[Winger Ed.]

A buddy came home from a 2 week road trip once time.
Pulling into his driveway, he noticed a hole in the roof.
He asked the wife about it, and she didn't know how it got there, but said she didn't hear the raccoon in the attic any more.

[kevin c]

...I just know the squirrels love the deck and have been eying my wife's potted tomatoes, beans and squash growing there. I guess one got impatient.

Update: my wife looked at the gnawed on bullet with some amusement and bemusement. Today, though, she found half her beans gone and the biggest, ripest heirloom tomato gleefully sampled by the squirrels, and now she's on the warpath.

[kevin c]

...Speaking of mineral deficiencies, a couple years ago I found a really nice 7 point shed antler. Brought it home and had it out back on the picnic table. The dang squirrels chewed off the tip of every point!
They do seem to like bones. Dunno if it's for their teeth or for the minerals, but here's some scholarly types on the subject:

http://www.bu.edu/articles/2016/squirrel-bone-gnawing/

[1hole]

Kevin, that is the saddest story of a kindly man vs. a rampant animal I've ever read; it put tears in my eyes and made my ribs hurt. ;)