Good Rain, Bad Squirrels

This has been a perfect rain today! Mostly lite and soaking. Wish I had everything out in it already.
One bad thing, the darn squirrels are at it again. With a vengeance! In the last hour, a squirrel has ruined my bird feeder. It's been there for 10 years and each year they chew on it a bit, but look! Someone went crazy? Are they just not use to it raining again or what?!? The top is on the ground, they've chewed up the wood and even broken a side off that is hanging precariously.
The worst is that they have their own feeding platform. It's never enough with them. They take and take. They are so greedy.
It's a tired subject without an exact remedy. But I wanted to complain to someone that might empathize. I wish I could wire it to shock them if they touched my feeders, but somehow not bother the birds.

This message was edited May 15, 2008 11:33 PM

So sorry for what they did to your feeder, that can be frustrating I know......but on a lighter note, whatever kinda squirrels you folks over there in Georgia got......You keep'em......don't let them come over the state line.....They look they are plum dangerous.........:)

by the way, love the nick, 3 gardeners.....I know there is a story to that, maybe you will share it with me

Paul from Alabama

Hey. It stands for me, my daughter and my son...although my daughter is starting adolesence and really just admires and plays in the gardens now. She doesn't really care about planting any more, but I know she will come back to it in about 10 or 12 years. ^_^

"It's a tired subject with exact remedy."...

3gardners, didn't you mean it's a tired subject with an exact RECIPE? Dmail if needed. I have the cook book ..."Unmentionable Cousine"

Laurel

Paul, the squirrels up in NE are worse. Really the problem is they have no treeing hounds. Here's mine, a Plott hound. She'll take a tree down to get at anything from a bear to a mountain lion.

Squirrels, tree rats, I hate them. We had 2 nice stray cats that came to live with us for a few months, then, our neighbor started feeding them "real food" so I hardly see them anymore. They tell me that one of the cats killed their Chickadees and some Bluebirds, so might have to take a ride!

Every morning when I go out, I find pots knocked over and things I have just potted up with holes dug in the dirt and the roots exposed, If I didn't cover them back up constantly, I wouldn't have anything. I sprinkled red pepper on several things but it didn't slow them down a bit. they just thanked me for the seasoning and yelled Ole'. I have several pots of caladium bulbs just coming up, I keep finding them dug up - very frustrating. We have a "Have A Heart" trap which I remembered to put out today with cat food in it for bait. Last year we carried off over 40 squirrels a couple of raccons and 4-5 possums. It's been raining (thank goodness) today, but I'll bet we have a squirrel in the trap by morning. In the past we have caught 3-4 a day!

I meant "without an exact remedy". I read many threads here with all kinds of suggestions, but nothing seems to work. I can't shoot them, I live in a subdivision. Plus, I'm not a good aim and I couldn't do it unless it was a clean kill!!LOL

I tried the cayenne pepper route and finally just dumped the whole 16 oz container in with the seed. They never missed a beat.

I can handle the seed loss, maybe even the destroyed property, but when they start digging my bulbs, I'll try just about anything. I just don't know what the magic bullet is.

MaypopLaurel - for a minute I thought you had some deadly recipe I could mix up for them, but I now realize it must be how to cook the squirrels themselves. Drat.

It's a shame they are such a nusence. If they didn't cause so much damage, I would enjoy them. But we've run off their natural enemies. Add to that our bird food and they are multiplying fast than we can keep up.

Well, as in other threads, this can go on and on, esp. if some over-the-top PETA person puts in their 2 cents like I have. They are entitled to their opinions too. You know what they say about opinions....

Laurel, Plott hounds?.....You mean them famous Plott hounds from up in North Carolina?.....I remember reading about them in 'Our Southern Highlanders', that book by Horace Kephart, at least I think that was it....Plott ain't a sceered of mountain lions or bears but maybe they ought to be of 3gardners squirrels!!!.....:)

Paul from Alabama

Paul, that would be one and the same. Calm as can be 'til she smells a critter. They jump very high (as you can see from the other photo) and, if there's some way for them to get into a tree crotch or on a limb, they'll do it. If it's a small tree, like a dogwood or redbud, she stands on her rear legs and shakes the tree with her front legs. Here's a photo of her out of the tree with Goober, the canine auger.

3gardeners, I wish I did have a deadly recipe. Many bulb growers place a layer of wire fencing over their bulbs and right under the soil line. It works until the voles/moles come along :). I had the same feeder you had and it met a similar fate. Once last year I left a few farm packs of bean seed out overnight in my gardening bag. They were gone in the morning. We searched around the hillside and came across random seeds. Ultimately we located what was left of the chewed up packs in the woods.

Tree rats, I hate them too. I can't bring myself to go over to that Wildlife Forum for all that squirrel (and other pesky critter) love that goes on over there. Do those people really garden?

This is a topic that DGers never seem to tire of, so good thread.

L

No critter in my trap today, they are really wise. I went away for a few hours and had tucked many babies back in their pots this morning before I left. When I got back I found at least a dozen pots with holes in them and 2 pots dumped over and the plants completely gone. I did find some half eaten caladium bulbs.
I would poison them but I don't wish anything a cruel death and don't want the birds and cats to get it.

I'm the same. I'd poison them too, IF it would kill them instantly. Plus, like you said, other animals might get hurt in the process.

Maybe they should come up with a squirrel food that just makes them sterile! That sounds like a great idea! If by some crazy chance the populations were actually declining too fast, they could just stop selling it for a year or so. Who has a contact at Fish and Game ? We need to propose this!!!

I wish.

Someone would say it was cruel or something. And I am not cruel to animals. I have a 14 year old HORRIBLE cat to prove it. She bites, claws, tinkles all over whatever she wants, esp. if we like it. And on top of that, she will trick you into thinking she's in a loving mood by snuggling up to you...and then BAM, she bites you, claws you, and hisses at you. If that isn't tolerance, I don't know what is.

Anyway, let me know if you think of a way for us to get this neutering food invented!

Dear 3gardners...we are on the same page. I have four sorry currs that arrived on our doorstep over the past thirteen years and two cat's rescued from equally sad circumstance. I don't even like cats and they've taken over our household and lives. Pathetic.

When our oldest got a pro slingshot and, on a wild hair got lucky, I pulled out the old adage, "You killed it, you eat it." I made him skin and gut it. I cooked it. He never killed another thing and I have not eaten squirrel since. It does taste like chicken (lol), but there's not much meat there. Not bad for a girl who grow on Miami Beach, huh?

L

3Gardeners - I didn't know cats could be bi-polar. Maybe you should try some lithium...

DH does squirrel patrol with a BB gun 3 or 4 times daily. He's been doing it for 3 years now and has actually hurt or killed maybe 3 of the critters. And that's a big maybe. But they sure run when he comes out the door. He just gets one batch trained when the young ones start coming and the training has to start over. Its good exercise though. He was thinking of getting a paint ball gun so he could tell which ones come back. But that's a little expensive just to pling squirrels.

Becky

I would so LOVE to try the paint gun tactic. It would be SO fun. And the sqirrels would actually be kind fun to watch if you switched up paint ball colors. It would be worth the $.

3 gardeners, I understand! The squirrels were costing be a fortune in seed and ruining the feeders also.
This thing my not look the prettiest but it has been squirrel PROOF going on over 2 years. They cant climb it, they cant jump onto it. And there is nothing high enough around it for them to jump down to it.
When I finally had it perfected, it was so funny to watch them try to get on it, and do nothing but bounce off it.
It was only about $30 and a trip to home depot to make it.
Paint gun sounds like a really great day of fun to me! Then again, so does the BB gun.
Sorry animal lovers, but my love stops right before squirrels and moles. ^_^
chris

Chris,
I love your feeder setup. I'll have to show it to DH so he can make me one for the front yard. What type of pole is that? All metal? How tall is it? He set me up a pulley system in the back from the deck to a tree. The rope is too thin for them to get out on. In front, it is too low for that kind of system, so I only have one squirrel buster feeder. Of course I need more! Anything to spoil the birds and frustrate squirrels.
Becky

I love it! We have had seveal feeders destroyed too.
The worst thing is when they invade the attiic - we have had many nights sleep interupted listening to them scampering across the ceiling. We even heard them in the walls. It scared me because I was afraid they would chew on the wiring and burn us out.
Last summer we did a big reconstruction all around the eaves where they were getting in.

The main inside pole is 1 1/2 or 2" conduit from the electrical aisle. Less than $10.
Drilled holes straight through pipe with regular drill bit. Make sure you are holding it level so that the holes line up.
I dug a hole and sunk it about 12-18". It is solid as a rock with this red georgia cement clay.
Threaded or non-threaded about 8' rod ($4) also in electrical aisle (only cause it is cheaper than the rods in the rod aisle) cut in half to slide into the holes. If you use the threaded you can put nuts on so the feeders wont slide if there is a strong wind. Or in my case, when the hawk comes to snatch a bird off the feeder.
Now here is the fun part... basic 5" aluminum AC pipe, slides down over the conduit (before you put the rods in) all the way to the ground. When the squirrels go to jump on it, it moves, so they cant get a grip.
It is so funny to watch them jump from my 5' tall fence, that is about 8' away, and bounce off the pipe.
PJ, I had to do the flashing on the eaves also. Havent had them back since. Whew.
Becky, frustrating the squirrels is the best part.

This message was edited May 18, 2008 6:41 PM

That's awesome!!!

I didnt get a chance to paint the bottom AC pipe black yet.
The AC pipes are only about 5' tall, so I think this is 1 pipe plus half of a second.

The cinder block is at the base because I need it to reach the bottom of the feeders to take them down to fill them.
Not sure if I can type this so it is understandable but here a try... The AC pipe doesnt come closed, so you could actually just wrap it around the pipe after it is up, but I couldnt get it closed, so I had hubby close it for me. Thats why I slid it over the top of the conduit.

This message was edited May 18, 2008 6:53 PM

Chris, Thanks for the pole info and illustrations. I'll be scoping out the parts at HD, maybe just buy them and surprise DH... "Here's what you need to do with this!" Can't wait to see them try to climb it. That black paint makes it look classy, like wrought iron. Great idea. (Love the pool too) Becky

PS. Have you posted this in the bird watching forum. I bet a lot of those birders would love it.

Wow, you did a bunch of work for such a little gal!

Little gal on a mission. When DH decided to put in a pool, it gave me a whole new place to practise my gardening ideas. I have had so much fun. LOL

Good Work Chris! This is the first time in the 12 years since I've known my hubby that there hasn't been a cat here...(we have cat eating coyotes now) We also love to feed the birds.. and for the longest time I felt i was harboring natural born enemies. I would see our cat holding steady for a bird to land close to the feeder and I would just start banging on the window like a crazy woman.. Freaked out and ran outside when I saw one caught in their mouth.. As far a squirrels go.. I don't hate them, just don't want to feed them my top dollar sunflower seed for songbirds. We had an amazing beautiful truly squirrel proof feeder and it eventually broke. Couldn't find another one like it and made the mistake of getting two at Lowes that claimed to be squirrel proof.. they aren't and I'm going back with them too! :) Had to pay a crazy amount at a bird store to test one out that wasn't nearly as attractive, but it does work.. and i enjoy the birds by my kitchen window. PJ, I've had dahlia tubers ripped out of pots and completely taken by the squirrels... :(

Yall come see my garden pics

My Spring Flowers in Bloom
http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/soulgardenlove/?albumview=slideshow

New Bed Creation Mothers Day Weekend
http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/soulgardenlove/Secret%20Shade%20Garden/?albumview=slideshow

:)

Susan

Beautiful pics Susan, I couldn't see anything in the 2nd one tho, Mother's Day bed. Someday, I am going to surprise you with a visit, I'd love to see your beautiful gardens.

Back to squirrels, I gave up on trying to have a few tomato plants several years ago. Between the birds pecking at them and those squirrels, it was not worth the effort. They didn't even wait til they got ripe - I found green tomatos on the swing and half eaten ones in the driveway. Once I got so mad, I used a half eaten one in the trap for bait - yep- got him. Yesterday I hauled off a baby possom, hardly big as a squirrel and this morning there is a fat one in the trap. I will let DH haul him off. They have these little claws and really hang on to the sides of the trap, very difficult to get them out. They are the ones that knock over my pots and spill the soil. Something clipped off my little Lime Zinger E E, I have babied that thing for 2 years and it is only 4" tall, now with no leaves. Maybe a rabbit? Life can be a struggle.

Wow! great pics Susan!
Second link worked for me. Hmmm

I have alot of squirrels, but they dont seem to be as destructive as yours PJ. I would be justifying target shooting for 1 season at least. Havent seen any opposum here, hopefully never will. They need to stay in the woods, then we can all garden happily ever after!
Still trying to get rid of a couple of moles with poison peanuts. Last year, after a couple of doses they dissapeared, but I am seeing what looks like tunnels in the new mulch. The tunnels are much more distinct in the grass. After the mulch is packed down more evenly, then I will know for sure.

If the EE is only a few inches, maybe you can wire mesh cover it for a while? The only thing I have done this with is a Hosta, 'Guacamole'. I have a visiting deer that waits for it to get 4-5 leaves and then has guacamole for breakfast. There are 5 other small hosta within 20' and the deer doesnt eat them. YET

^_^

Well, I accidentally got rid of 3 of my squirrels. The stupid things fell in a rain barrel and drown. 3 of them! I guess they just went in one after the other, clueless. Yuck. Not the way I would recommend. I still have one that seems to be enjoying the bird seed with no competition.
Now I'm putting a cover on My rain barrels. I had the mosquito dunks in them, so I thought I had the "pest" problem under control. I never thought of them falling in and not getting out; esp. one after the other. I wish I knew what the 2nd and 3rd were thinking? I'm sorry they drown. How terrible. I can't stop thinking of them swimming and swimming. Terrible. As much as I want them gone, I'm really sorry this is the way they went.

Yeah- I really had thoughts of dropping the trap in the pool, but DG said that would not be nice! I've never had one fall in the pool, only rabbits.