Squirrels & Traps

When I first started my garden two years ago in 2010, I wasn't sure what to expect from varmits. We have some rabbits, lots of quail, occasional deer, lots of birds and squirrels. Well as it turned out, the squirrels were the only threat. I tried several things but eventually only the traps worked.

In 2010, I deployed two traps and caught 55 squirrels during the gardening season. On most days from one to four. I discovered that there doesn't seem to be anything they like better than peanut butter on bread. So I buy cheapest PB and spread a little on the bread, set the trap and sometimes I can see them waiting for me and can watch them actually doing the deed and getting caught. After traps are full, I take them on a little ride outta town and deposit in areas where there are trees.

In 2011, I caught maybe 1/2 as many. I've never had a problem in the garden. The traps are an effective buffer. Here's some photos: (in the second photo, the varmit ate the PB but not the strawberry):

Havahart 1078 Live Animal Professional Style One-Door Rabbit, Skunk, Mink, and Squirrel Cage Trap

I used to trap rabbits in our garden with one of these when I was a kid. Our cat got trapped in it once. Not sure why he decided to go in there after the carrots and lettuce we used as bait.

What do you do with them once you catch them? I gave a neighbor permission to hunt squirrel with his grandson on some land I own. They would eat them.

My mom finds the squirrel population at her place vacates when she pet sits my dog for me. Apparently they don't get along.

Once the traps are full, I take the varmits outside of town and let them go. Even though I don't especially care for them, I try to be humane and usu let them go where trees are plentiful. The first one that I encountered, I threw a rock at it and killed it. I felt bad about that and since have gone the route of trapping & re-locating them.

I relocated 24 chipmonks one year. The next year they were mostly all gone. The neighbors moved in with cats. I saw them catch birds near my feeders and one day we witnessed a red tailed hawk taking a little gray bird off of our bird feeders. The hawk never touched the ground and landed 15 feet away on the fence.

We have one small pine squirrel who rules our garden and keeps the larger grey squirrels and jays away from her feeders.

So paclite don't they eat squirrel pie up there in Washington?
Jim

If I were living out of town, I'd probably have a little 410 shotgun and be barbequing some of that squirrel. I don't think they are gray squirrel, though. I'm pretty sure that they are the larger Eastern Fox Squirrel Those things weigh-in at 2+ lbs.

Actually, a .22 short shot through the head is a better way to kill a squirrel. Picking shotgun pellets out of a squirrel is not fun, nor is chomping down on the pellet(s) you've inevitably missed while eating squirrel stew. That means not only several unpleasant trips to the dentist but a lot of money out of pocket!

LOL I live in town. I have a Beeman Gold pellet gun. cock it once Thousand feet per second. They dont know what hit them!
I have ate squirrl but its not my favorite. Typically we use them for Coyote Bait! I wouldnt mind them if they didnt tear up my bird feeders!
"Licensed to kill Varmits bye the United nations"

People do eat them here. Some of the old timers do it just because they want to, and there are those who do it because they need to, but there is no shortage of squirrels, that's for sure.

One year there were so many that there were thousands of them lining the roadsides. Luckily, we have darn near as many vultures here and they are one swift clean up crew.

I've only ate one squirrel. That was shot by a guy who was camping in the hollow below our house. He invited me to share it with him, and I'd wanted to taste it for a long time, so he cleaned it while I got a fire going and we slowly smoked it with oak and hickory and then ate it. It reminded me a bit of rabbit in texture, but the meat took the smoke very well and it tasted great.

I've never had it yet, but old timers and those that have tell me that squirrel gravy is the best ever. I didn't see enough fat on the squirrel we ate to make any gravy

Bill People est them here too. Not like years ago though. I have had it fried and with gravy as well. Its ok just wouldnt go out of my way for it. Unfortunatly, not many places to hunt them here. Most woods in my area are now subdavisions.

A pellet pistol...pump or co2, will dispatch a squirrel, as will .22 CB caps, which might be to much at close range. If you have them as a 'captive audience' in your traps, they should be an easy target, and a pellet won't damage the trap.

Dreyer I have used cb longs on coons in the garbage cans. I have found my pellet gun a bit more effective .Not only that cb longs have gotten a bit pricey for 22 amo. I can bye 500 RWS hollow point pellets for what 50 cbs cost these days.

I usually take them with a slingshot! When they get to close to the garden!



Then I field dress check liver for sign of disease and feed to my dogs!

nuts for slingshot ammo? hmmm. never thought of that.

3/8" hex nuts 100 for less than $10 and they shoot true enough and hit hard enough

When we first move to this Hesperia desert, our girls were little and we would feed the poor hungry little GROUND squirrels for entertainment. Things got out of hand really quick so I ended up live trapping them but its against the law to relocate so I had to drown them. I really hated to do it, but it got a little easier every time I did it. I ended up getting 27 the first summer, 10 the next, and now maybe 2-3 a year. Common sense should tell us not to feed the wildlife...

I so need those! The squirrels in my area are horrible and destroy virtually everything I try to grow. I've attempted to start a garden on three separate occasions and failed because of the squirrels. However, last year the squirrels managed to plant a corn stalk in my flower garden and they didn't touch that