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Post by Sigurdur on Jan 26, 2022 12:14:08 GMT
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 26, 2022 20:03:47 GMT
Varmint Control
Anybody with direct experience in excluding grey squirrels (or equivalent varmints) from garden? I'm working with olympic-class aerobats with very sharp teeth? Tight-weave chicken wire (reasonable price) versus harder-grade steel mesh (pricey). Not sure if they are mining engineers as well. So ... either hard-perimeter barrier to 1-ft (plus?) or chicken wire bottom to the growing-cage (?).
I actually like them, but they have some very bad foraging habits and they love vegetables (as well as nuts or other). So I would prefer to spare them and fence them out ... if possible. I have been feeding the birds in small piles on the deck. Worked good with only one squirrel pillaging. But word has spread ... there are now 4 and they are consuming a lot of seed. I expect more cousins shortly.
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Post by youngjasper on Jan 26, 2022 21:43:26 GMT
Varmint Control
Anybody with direct experience in excluding grey squirrels (or equivalent varmints) from garden? I'm working with olympic-class aerobats with very sharp teeth? Tight-weave chicken wire (reasonable price) versus harder-grade steel mesh (pricey). Not sure if they are mining engineers as well. So ... either hard-perimeter barrier to 1-ft (plus?) or chicken wire bottom to the growing-cage (?).
I actually like them, but they have some very bad foraging habits and they love vegetables (as well as nuts or other). So I would prefer to spare them and fence them out ... if possible. I have been feeding the birds in small piles on the deck. Worked good with only one squirrel pillaging. But word has spread ... there are now 4 and they are consuming a lot of seed. I expect more cousins shortly.
You need the squirrels to spread a different message. I found shooting them (it was a last resort, nothing else worked) and leaving the dead squirrel so others could find it sent a very strong message. I discovered this when the "friends" approached a dead squirrel very, very cautiously, sniffed it, and then ran off. I had to keep up the shooting as new ones would move in to claim the vacant territory. The new ones were obvious as they were very skittish. When I started the program, four a day was not unusual. It is now maybe one a month, depending on the season. October is very active.
One observation, taking down any kind of shelter belt so they are exposed to birds of prey also seemed to help. I did not want to do that, but the trees were diseased.
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 26, 2022 22:25:44 GMT
Varmint Control
Anybody with direct experience in excluding grey squirrels (or equivalent varmints) from garden? I'm working with olympic-class aerobats with very sharp teeth? Tight-weave chicken wire (reasonable price) versus harder-grade steel mesh (pricey). Not sure if they are mining engineers as well. So ... either hard-perimeter barrier to 1-ft (plus?) or chicken wire bottom to the growing-cage (?).
I actually like them, b ut they have some very bad foraging habits and they love vegetables (as well as nuts or other). So I would prefer to spare them and fence them out ... if possible. I have been feeding the birds in small piles on the deck. Worked good with only one squirrel pillaging. But word has spread ... there are now 4 and they are consuming a lot of seed. I expect more cousins shortly.
You need the squirrels to spread a different message. I found shooting them (it was a last resort, nothing else worked) and leaving the dead squirrel so others could find it sent a very strong message. I discovered this when the "friends" approached a dead squirrel very, very cautiously, sniffed it, and then ran off. I had to keep up the shooting as new ones would move in to claim the vacant territory. The new ones were obvious as they were very skittish. When I started the program, four a day was not unusual. It is now maybe one a month, depending on the season. October is very active.
One observation, taking down any kind of shelter belt so they are exposed to birds of prey also seemed to help. I did not want to do that, but the trees were diseased.
I've thought about putting out an advert for one nesting pair of red-tailed hawks. Other options are possible. |
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Post by phydeaux2363 on Jan 26, 2022 22:53:18 GMT
You need the squirrels to spread a different message. I found shooting them (it was a last resort, nothing else worked) and leaving the dead squirrel so others could find it sent a very strong message. I discovered this when the "friends" approached a dead squirrel very, very cautiously, sniffed it, and then ran off. I had to keep up the shooting as new ones would move in to claim the vacant territory. The new ones were obvious as they were very skittish. When I started the program, four a day was not unusual. It is now maybe one a month, depending on the season. October is very active.
One observation, taking down any kind of shelter belt so they are exposed to birds of prey also seemed to help. I did not want to do that, but the trees were diseased.
I've thought about putting out an advert for one nesting pair of red-tailed hawks. Other options are possible. Norwich or West Highland White terriers will take on the job with vigor, and be excellent companions in the bargain. |
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Post by ratty on Jan 27, 2022 0:25:24 GMT
Varmint Control Anybody with direct experience in excluding grey squirrels (or equivalent varmints) from garden? I'm working with olympic-class aerobats with very sharp teeth? Tight-weave chicken wire (reasonable price) versus harder-grade steel mesh (pricey). Not sure if they are mining engineers as well. So ... either hard-perimeter barrier to 1-ft (plus?) or chicken wire bottom to the growing-cage (?). I actually like them, but they have some very bad foraging habits and they love vegetables (as well as nuts or other). So I would prefer to spare them and fence them out ... if possible. I have been feeding the birds in small piles on the deck. Worked good with only one squirrel pillaging. But word has spread ... there are now 4 and they are consuming a lot of seed. I expect more cousins shortly.
You need the squirrels to spread a different message. I found shooting them (it was a last resort, nothing else worked) and leaving the dead squirrel so others could find it sent a very strong message. I discovered this when the "friends" approached a dead squirrel very, very cautiously, sniffed it, and then ran off. I had to keep up the shooting as new ones would move in to claim the vacant territory. The new ones were obvious as they were very skittish. When I started the program, four a day was not unusual. It is now maybe one a month, depending on the season. October is very active.
One observation, taking down any kind of shelter belt so they are exposed to birds of prey also seemed to help. I did not want to do that, but the trees were diseased.
I'll check to see if < insert_wildlife-activist_group_name_here> has a bot reading this forum.  |
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Post by youngjasper on Jan 28, 2022 2:57:11 GMT
You need the squirrels to spread a different message. I found shooting them (it was a last resort, nothing else worked) and leaving the dead squirrel so others could find it sent a very strong message. I discovered this when the "friends" approached a dead squirrel very, very cautiously, sniffed it, and then ran off. I had to keep up the shooting as new ones would move in to claim the vacant territory. The new ones were obvious as they were very skittish. When I started the program, four a day was not unusual. It is now maybe one a month, depending on the season. October is very active.
One observation, taking down any kind of shelter belt so they are exposed to birds of prey also seemed to help. I did not want to do that, but the trees were diseased.
I'll check to see if < insert_wildlife-activist_group_name_here> has a bot reading this forum. They must have a spy watching me. I’ve already caught a lot of flack for squirrel murder, but thankfully most around me applaud the success and results. |
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 28, 2022 14:59:07 GMT
I've thought about putting out an advert for one nesting pair of red-tailed hawks. Other options are possible. Norwich or West Highland White terriers will take on the job with vigor, and be excellent companions in the bargain. That is a thought ... but then I would probably have to fence the entire back yard. Another thought was to electrify the growing area perimeter fence/cage (with a cutoff switch) ... enough to shock, but not kill the offending varmints. The later option might be cheaper as the enclosed perimeter might only be about 100 linear feet or so. Insulators and other materials would no doubt be required. Lots of ideas on the web for such setups. Bird effects would need to be considered. |
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 28, 2022 15:26:06 GMT
I'll check to see if < insert_wildlife-activist_group_name_here> has a bot reading this forum. They must have a spy watching me. I’ve already caught a lot of flack for squirrel murder, but thankfully most around me applaud the success and results. I was informed that squirrels have extremely well-developed olfactory senses (one of nature's best). May conduct some research to see if particular scents repel them (and not me). Your thought on dead squirrel carcasses come to mind, but the health department might not like it and certainly my better half would complain. As previously mentioned, I actually like squirrels ... if I could only break them of their pillaging habits. |
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Post by pbfoot on Jan 28, 2022 17:06:14 GMT
They must have a spy watching me. I’ve already caught a lot of flack for squirrel murder, but thankfully most around me applaud the success and results. I was informed that squirrels have extremely well-developed olfactory senses (one of nature's best). May conduct some research to see if particular scents repel them (and not me). Your thought on dead squirrel carcasses come to mind, but the health department might not like it and certainly my better half would complain. As previously mentioned, I actually like squirrels ... if I could only break them of their pillaging habits. Many herbivores are repelled by the smell of carnivore urine. You could try eating a hearty squirrel stew and then urinating around your property lines. Marking your territory. |
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 28, 2022 18:24:18 GMT
I was informed that squirrels have extremely well-developed olfactory senses (one of nature's best). May conduct some research to see if particular scents repel them (and not me). Your thought on dead squirrel carcasses come to mind, but the health department might not like it and certainly my better half would complain. As previously mentioned, I actually like squirrels ... if I could only break them of their pillaging habits. Many herbivores are repelled by the smell of carnivore urine. You could try eating a hearty squirrel stew and then urinating around your property lines. Marking your territory. I like it. I'm told that vegetarians (particularly females) can also detect that scent.  |
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Post by pbfoot on Jan 28, 2022 20:47:25 GMT
Many herbivores are repelled by the smell of carnivore urine. You could try eating a hearty squirrel stew and then urinating around your property lines. Marking your territory. I like it. I'm told that vegetarians (particularly females) can also detect that scent. All kidding aside it is supposed to be a good way of keeping all kinds of critters out of your garden. |
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Post by missouriboy on Jan 28, 2022 21:44:19 GMT
I like it. I'm told that vegetarians (particularly females) can also detect that scent. All kidding aside it is supposed to be a good way of keeping all kinds of critters out of your garden. We have lots of Red foxes around here ... if I could figure out how to get them to give me a large sample. Perhaps I can find some on the web. Then I could try it out. Not sure if dog urine would work. Still trying to find web comments as to whether chicken wire will stand up to squirrel teeth. I suppose I could rig up a test for that as well.
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Post by Sigurdur on Jan 29, 2022 12:25:52 GMT
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Post by blustnmtn on Jan 29, 2022 12:33:31 GMT
Thinking “Outside off the Box” is where the non-conformists exist. Searching beyond orthodoxy can be dangerous but that’s where the great discoveries are. |
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