All tree rats must die!

[Winger Ed.]

I've been sort of secretly sneaking around and getting rid of the squirrels in our yard.
They are incredibly destructive, and rob the bird feeders that aren't rodent proofed.

I've had to be real quiet and careful because I have one neighbor that thinks they're cute,
and him & the Mrs. like watching them play in their yard.

Well, after he had to have some of the wiring replaced on his older car for $400.00,
and another $800.00 on their newer car---

He asked me, "I don't have a gun, but can you do something to get rid of these darn squirrels"?
Always wanting to help out a buddy, I told him, "Sure, no problem".

I've gotten rid of almost all of them in our yard, but now I have the go ahead to bait in the ones from theirs.

[Texas by God]

So many fancy rats- so few recipes!

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[abunaitoo]

Why doesn't he have a gun????
Is he a real Texan?????

[gc45]

kill ever one I see. Pesky things are a nuisance!

[Hannibal]

There's a squirrel that's been a nuisance one too many times around here as well. Going to bait the live trap with peanuts and drown his troublesome hide.

Years ago I had a rural property and planted seeding oaks in the yard. As my luck would have it there was drought for three years in a row. The 4th winter we got about 10" of snow and a 1/2 inch of ice on top of that. Temps were in the teens for highs for 2 months. Wouldn't you know the rabbits went around gnawing the bark on those seedlings. I proceeded to declare war on rabbits. I shot every flippin' rabbit I saw for a couple of years. Started out 3-4 a night. Ended up 1 or 2 every 6 months. Coyotes and Red Tailed Hawks moved out when the food source dried up.

[Winger Ed.]

Why doesn't he have a gun????
Is he a real Texan?????

I'm not sure. His parents might have been refugees from up North or California.

[gwpercle]

Treat them just like Chicken !
Take your oldest and favorite chicken recipes and substitute "Bushy-Tail" for the chicken .
I swear the dish will come out just fine .
If you need a recipe ...

Cajuns Eat Anything

Have Recipes Will Post
Wire Gary - Cast Boolits

Remember if something Taste Good ... it's seldom a problem for long !

[ascast]

This might work well, don't ask me how I know, walnuts trees all over. 55 gal drum, top cut off, half full of water. board ( food barge) loaded with fresh walnuts, peanut butter gobs, etc. board leaning up the out side. barrel should be plastic or not rusty up old steel-very smooth inside. Check every couple days.

[Hannibal]

Stupid things used to fall into the livestock tank and drown so I'm sure it'll work. Might wind up with all sorts of unexpected things in there also. Racoons, opossums, skunks, neighbors cat, etc, etc.

[MUSTANG]

The Jeep sit unmoved for two weeks. This week rook to to town and then the car wash. Got to thinking that I should lift the hood and wash off all the dust from the back roads in the engine area. Found a basketball size bunch of twigs and Pine Cones packed into the engine area. Guess I'll have to check the Vehicle Engine compartments each week until winter sets in.

About 10 years ago had the same thing happen at the Moapa House to the F350 - but that was a Pack Rat and not squirrels like the current dilemma.

Pellet Rifle time? The bushy tails here might make for some "Seasoning"; but not much meat.

[contender1]

While I agree that squirrel can be pesky, and destructive,, they often get blamed for wiring damage in vehicles,, when the actual culprit is rats or even mice.
Squirrels like to build their nests in very elevated places. Vehicles are low to the ground. Mice & rats prefer those places. Plus,, many foreign designed & built cars, (even if made here, their parent company provides the specs,) have wiring,, where the insulation is a soy based material. Smells like food to the vermin.
I make my living in Animal Damage Control.
The feeding of the squirrels ALSO attracts mice, rats, & pretty much every critter. Even if the critter doesn't eat the feed, they will try & catch the other critters that do eat the free food. (Think of snakes feeding on mice, rats, chipmunks etc as an example.)
Just because you do not see the rats,, does not mean they aren't there.
In the case of the vehicle wiring issue,, the squirrels get the blame because they are seen.

[dale2242]

There is a season and limit on gray squirrels here in Oregon.
None on ground squirrels.

[myg30]

We had our vinyl siding replaced with Hardie board which is a cement fiber mix I believe. Who would have thought those little critters would Chew on the edge of boards to grind their teeth down.
I think I posted on this last year here and we found that a hot pepper mix sprayed on boards did stop them. A few trees had to go cause they moved up to the second story and chewed up there.
So far so good this season.

A neighbor had a GM suv wiring harness chewed up and also needed a computer so at $9 K the home owners insurance covered the expense.

Good luck with your squirrels, Mike

[dverna]

Chipmunks and squirrels can become trouble. I don't like problems.

[Handloader109]

It is chipmunks or rats and mice in the cars. Not squirrels. I've got a few chipmunks around and they have put nuts in my old mower. Chewed the wiring (where a squirrel couldn't fit) and are general pests.) Squirrels just dig around in the yard planting trees.

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[DDriller]

I had some eat the wiring inside a fence for landscape lights. Seems like the more I take out the more they come. Been practicing my trapping skills along with shooting practice.

[Ed_Shot]

I agree, "DEATH TO TREE RATS". We've had $1000 + vehicle damage over the years. OBTW, when you raise the hood and there's a squirrel under there I don't blame rats and mice for the problem.

[hoodat]

Clean and cut squirrel into portions, (mainly front legs and back). Flour and brown portions in butter, seasoning with garlic salt and black pepper. When lightly browned, add a can of mushroom soup, and cover pan. Cook in oven for about an hour at 325 degrees. Add water, or wine to keep gravey at right consistency. Serve with rice or your favorite tater. jd

[Murphy]

While I enjoy watching tree rat's with all their antics in my back yard, the day they start costing me money to have around, is the day I start making plans to rid the property of them. The tough part is going to be how?

I live in town in an older area settled rich with older tree's, pecan, oak, etc. There have been times I've sat on the back deck and could see 6-7 of them playing. There are more than enough to go around. So far, they've been zero problem, unless you're my cat. At times, it's like watching Road Runner cartoons. He has scored on a couple of the 'less than brighter' ones.

After retiring, I was thinking of putting up a few targets in the back yard and doing a little plinking with a BB/Pellet gun. And, given the right opportunity, taking a few of the little rascals out to keep the population down. Don't worry, ground shot's only and privacy fencing. Just to be on the safe side, I called the local police department to check on the legality of discharging a pellet/BB gun inside city limits. Nope! Seems we have a city ordinance that does not allow ANY trigger fired device to be discharged inside city limits. Oh well, if they should become a problem, where there is a will, there is a way.

Murphy

[Winger Ed.]

Around here we have plenty of predators-- with feathers, hair, and scales.
In the 5 years we've lived here, I haven't seen one single rat 'dropping'.
A couple years ago, I had a little 2" mouse set up house keeping inside our Explorer.
I caught it, but never saw any of its kin before or since.

I've recently added another predator into the mix outside-- it has a 1/2 box of CCI CB shorts.

When we moved here, I checked the city website with all the ordinances.
It had the usual no fire works and no shooting of anything, not even a bow & arrow.
But it isn't enforced. Before we moved here, we lived closer in town.
I'd been shooting turtles for a long time due to their infestation, but doing it quietly with a pellet rifle,
or fishing for them.

A new neighbor liked watching them and thought they were so cute..
She called the Police when she saw another neighbor shooting them.

Here's how you know you're in a small Texas town:
The Police dispatcher told her she'd have to look it up and make sure if it was illegal or not, and call back.