Squirrels

[Brian Gleason]

I live in the woods and converted an old barn into my workshop. The squirrels just love it! I don't want to kill them, i just don't want them getting into everything in my shop. Anyone have a clever ideas for keeping them out without harming them?

Thanks

[Matt Marsh]

A skinny, not too over-fed shop cat should keep them out.

[Dan Hintz]

Or thick chicken wire... don't have to feed that.

[John Coloccia]

Well, I'm not one that likes killing things for no reason. I pretty much let animals have free run of my property and try to live harmoniously with them. I'll even keep the dog in when the turkeys are out so I don't scare them off. Pretty much I try to kill all of the mice, squirrels and chipmunks, though. I can't keep up with them, and they're destructive as all get out. Poison, pellet gun...whatever it takes. I haven't found a way to keep them away, and they've caused LOTS of damage. ATV damage...shoot, I had to pay hundreds of $$$ because a little family got stuck in my car's heating system and died in there. THAT was pleasant. Yeah, rodents are not welcome in my little wildlife preserve.

[Ole Anderson]

I trap chipmunks, they can do severe foundation damage, I get about a dozen a year. So far the squirrels are just entertaining. No big mouse problem. Did have a raccoon get down the chimney and have babies, that was no fun. Got expanded metal grates on all of my flues now.

[Steve Milito]

Well, I'm not one that likes killing things for no reason. I pretty much let animals have free run of my property and try to live harmoniously with them. I'll even keep the dog in when the turkeys are out so I don't scare them off. Pretty much I try to kill all of the mice, squirrels and chipmunks, though. I can't keep up with them, and they're destructive as all get out. Poison, pellet gun...whatever it takes. I haven't found a way to keep them away, and they've caused LOTS of damage. ATV damage...shoot, I had to pay hundreds of $$$ because a little family got stuck in my car's heating system and died in there. THAT was pleasant. Yeah, rodents are not welcome in my little wildlife preserve.

+1
You can add coyote to the list of vermin, and I like canines.

Rodentia are plentiful, destructive, and attract Vipers.
Coyote have greatly extended their range because humans have interfered with the natural order of things and we are essentially their only real predator. They thrive in suburban environments. They will definitely kill small dogs, cats, and are getting increasingly aggressive toward humans.

The turkey, bobcat, bears and the like are all welcome.

[david brum]

No love for squirrels or chipmunks here either. A few years ago, I opened one of my shop cabinets and had a chipmunk jump onto my face. Good thing I don't have heart problems. No idea how he got there or how long he's been closed up in the cabinet. I have chased a few out of the garage.

I also had a family of squirrels make a home in the air cleaner in my pickup. I eventually had to block all of the air intakes with balls of chicken wire. This was several years ago and my truck still smells like squirrel pee, despite cleaning all of the duct work with bleach. BTW, an air cleaner blocked with moss and dog food does not help a truck's highway performance.

They mostly leave me alone now, but I would have no problem eliminating them if necessary. Plenty more where they came from.

[Joe Cowan]

I have come to the conclusion that squirrels are nothing more than rats that play around in the trees. I have finally convinced my wife that this is the case, and purchased a pellet gun.

[David G Baker]

I live trap all my nuisance critters. The first year I lived on my property I trapped 70 live critters and transported them. I have kept this up for the past 11 years to the point that I have a few squirrels, one or two raccoons, a few chipmunks ( that when I see the first one in the Spring I set the live traps), some skunks (that I trap or shoot if they become a problem) and some possum. I have a couple of fox and several coyotes that I have never seen that I don't trap or shoot. An Eagle that shows up once in a while and some hawks that keep the bird population down. I have very few issues that I know of or detected since I started trapping.

[Sam Murdoch]

I live trap all my nuisance critters. The first year I lived on my property I trapped 70 live critters and transported them. I have kept this up for the past 11 years to the point that I have a few squirrels, one or two raccoons, a few chipmunks ( that when I see the first one in the Spring I set the live traps), some skunks (that I trap or shoot if they become a problem) and some possum. I have a couple of fox and several coyotes that I have never seen that I don't trap or shoot. An Eagle that shows up once in a while and some hawks that keep the bird population down. I have very few issues that I know of or detected since I started trapping.

Good advice - live trap! If you can screen off their entry that is all well and good, and that should be part of the long term plan, but in the short of it - you need to get them out. Live trapping should be done deliberately - in other words pay attention. Put some time aside each day or on some schedule that works for you trap and take them elsewhere as soon as possible. I say this because if you just leave food out you are likely to attract other creatures too which defeats your purpose. Also there is no sense in live trapping if you leave a critter caged up overnight or for long hours. You may as well just shoot them. You might need to wash out the trap between uses as the remaining squirrels will become wary of a soiled cage. Provide some sunflower seeds and/or peanuts but do this inside your building - again if you leave food out you will likely attract other creatures.

I think a shop cat or dog would be a great option too.

[Joe Angrisani]

I have come to the conclusion that squirrels are nothing more than rats that play around in the trees. I have finally convinced my wife that this is the case, and purchased a pellet gun.

That's not fair to rats. :p

Squirrels can decimate my gardening efforts. They eat my tender lettuce and other veggies 1/2" after they sprout. No eye for the future. Or somehow know which tomato I'm picking tomorrow, so they gnaw a big bite out of it today. Or the same thing with an apple, peach or cherry.

I dispatch them with a varmint pellet, then offer them to the foxes. They're always gone by the next morning. Usually much sooner. Frontier Justice.

[ray hampton]

squirrels and rats are members of the rodent family, squirrel got a good taste after they are cook

[Rick Potter]

Taste like chicken.

RP

[Phil Thien]

Maine coon cat.

[David G Baker]

Joe A,
When I shoot the smaller critters and if they don't stink I put the bodies on the bank and they are always gone by the next morning. Not sure of the animal that takes them but it is either a fox or coyote. I use black sunflower seeds and this works for all critters raccoons included. If I go after raccoons I use dry cat food, it works well but I do catch a cat once in a while. The live traps do get dirty but I clean them with a garden hose and high pressure water, it doesn't discourage other critters from entering the trap. I have 4 traps all are different sizes made for the different size critters. I do catch a bird once in a while. I am retired so I can watch the traps to see if I catch anything. I have had to transport a raccoon in the middle of the night because it was a very pregnant sow and I didn't want to raise a family of them. If I catch a sick critter I fill a garbage can with water and drown it then bury it. If I shoot a skunk I use a post hole digger and dig a hole about 3 feet deep add the body and refill the hole. I can smell the skunk odor for more than a month after burying it. Squirrels are very easy to trap as are chipmunks. I have caught over 5 in one day. It gets expensive when the gas prices are as high as they are. I don't trap in the cold months. In some areas it is illegal to transport most critters. It is not illegal in my area according to my Sheriff's department but it is illegal according to our Department of Natural Resources.

[ray hampton]

Maine coon cat.

did you mean Maim coon cat ?
we got coons in KY and we got cats in KY BUT NO COON CAT

[Jim Andrew]

If you get the right kind of a dog, he will catch and eat those problem critters. You would only need dogfood for times he couldn't find any squirrels. I had a shepherd cross that loved squirrels when I was a kid. I found that I could throw a rock close to them in the tree and they would come down close enough to the ground the dog got them. Only thing was, he liked his meat ripe. He would bury the things and dig them up in a few days.

[Steve Milito]

Joe A,
When I shoot the smaller critters and if they don't stink I put the bodies on the bank and they are always gone by the next morning. Not sure of the animal that takes them but it is either a fox or coyote.

I would advice against any activity that brings scavengers or predators close to where humans habituate. It's best if those critters don't associate humans or human dwellings as a food source. Any animal carcase should should be disposed of in another manner.

[Phil Thien]

did you mean Maim coon cat ?
we got coons in KY and we got cats in KY BUT NO COON CAT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon

Maine Coon Cat.

They hunt for sport.

And they can get quite large.

Friend bought a house. House had rats. Friend got Maine Coon, made sure shots were current, and left basement door open.

For a couple of days the cat would tear into the basement, and kill a rat or two, and created a pile of dead rats at the top of the steps.

After a couple of days, the rats vacated the house.

My friend cut a kitty door into the basement door, so the cat can go down there whenever it wants.

Rats never returned.

[David G Baker]

Steve M,
Never thought of predators getting close to the house. They did live reasonably close as it is. I have around 5 acres with a 1/2 acre swale where critters visit for water and the small critter population was so big until I thinned them out by trapping and transporting. I have found a few large burrows but I haven't been able to find out what was living in them. I would check for tracks in the snow but never found them. I did a lot of tree clearing and moved a lot of dirt around so many areas that could have housed them no longer is available to them. I still have a few large brush piles that acted as home for a family of ground hogs but I trapped them and transported them. I probably won't be shooting any more critters and leaving them for food. There are bears in my area of Michigan but I don't think that there are any in my immediate area. If I do end up shooting any more I will get the post hole digger out and bury them deep. I still have some wild rabbits around my place and they may be attracting the predators.

[Steve Milito]

Steve M,
Never thought of predators getting close to the house. They did live reasonably close as it is. I have around 5 acres with a 1/2 acre swale where critters visit for water and the small critter population was so big until I thinned them out by trapping and transporting. I have found a few large burrows but I haven't been able to find out what was living in them. I would check for tracks in the snow but never found them. I did a lot of tree clearing and moved a lot of dirt around so many areas that could have housed them no longer is available to them. I still have a few large brush piles that acted as home for a family of ground hogs but I trapped them and transported them. I probably won't be shooting any more critters and leaving them for food. There are bears in my area of Michigan but I don't think that there are any in my immediate area. If I do end up shooting any more I will get the post hole digger out and bury them deep. I still have some wild rabbits around my place and they may be attracting the predators.

I have a 32 acre property surrounded by park. We've had bear in our garden, and the previous owner had one on the porch. One of my dogs has been bitten by a pit viper twice. I came within striking distance of a timber rattler. We frequently find coyote scat on the driveway. The coyotes will definitely go after cats and small dogs.
Since we moved in we've gotten rid of all the bird feeders. Keeping the mice, squirrels, chipmunks, other rodents, and rabbits away from the house keeps the snakes and coyotes away.

I spent most of my life in suburbs and city but since moving to the country I've developed a different respect for wildlife. I like living in an environment that host the bear, turkey, hawks, and like. Yet, maintaining an area that safe for children and pets requires a certain diligence with regards to maintaining an area that is not attractive to predators.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

A kind of related squirrel story, that might make you snicker..

I needed to check an irrigation system several years ago, on a 4th of July. It was a nice day, so I just rode my four wheeler the 5 miles over to the other farm. Its a pretty fast machine, I was probably going 50 or so, minding my own business, when a squirrel comes blasting out of the road ditch 50 feet or so in front of me. He would have been fine, but he hesitated when he got to the center of the road. There was no way I could stop, and I wasn't going to take the ditch at that speed for a squirrel. That is not how it turned out though. In slow motion, this is what I saw. The squirrel got to the center of the road, and froze, I aimed to straddle him, and the split second before the four wheeler went over the top, he flips over and pisses straight up, with impressive gusto. I can then see a cloud of squirrel urine that I am rapidly approaching, with no time to react. By the time I got stopped to get it off my glasses and gag a bit, the squirrel had regained his composure, and got up a tree and was chattering at me. Don't underestimate a squirrel I guess...:eek:

[Dan Hintz]

he flips over and pisses straight up

LOL, take THAT!

[Mike Wilkins]

Thanks Steve, I needed that chuckle.

[Harry Hagan]

I have come to the conclusion that squirrels are nothing more than rats that play around in the trees. I have finally convinced my wife that this is the case, and purchased a pellet gun.


When I was a kid I had a pet squirrel. She’d come sit on my knee with her back to me while I fed her raw peanuts. She was ever on the alert for predators but trusted me implicitly. This went on for several years until one day I realized that she’d been using hair from her tail to help make her nest (I’d heard they do that and figured it was true).

Anyway, I looked at that less than bushy tail and thought, RAT. She’s nothing but a Tree Rat. I’ve called squirrels Tree Rats ever since.

[David G Baker]

Steve M.
We have cut feeding the birds by 98% since the the price of seed has gone up so high. It is amazing the amount of money we have saved and the amount of deer that show up in the cold months. We were getting a herd of around 35 deer every night. We still get a few but most go some where else.

[Joe Angrisani]

I would advice against any activity that brings scavengers or predators close to where humans habituate. It's best if those critters don't associate humans or human dwellings as a food source. Any animal carcase should should be disposed of in another manner.

The foxes (and coyotes to a lesser degree) are already here. This was their neighborhood before the Arapahoe Indians and then the houses came. They have associated humans as a food source for over 45 years in ths neighborhood alone. I live in suburbia, with 1/3rd to 1/2 acre lots. The foxes have a den in my neighbor's big overgrown hedge, 50 feet straight-line from my pillow at night. The mom littered 3 kitts under my other neighbor's Tuff Shed. We see them playing with the dog toys in the backyard. They even get their own squirrels; maybe 3 a year that I've seen.

I see the fresh kill being consumed by the foxes as a better disposal than letting them rot in my trash or a landfill. They're my red-tailed remoras.

[Steve Milito]

The foxes (and coyotes to a lesser degree) are already here. This was their neighborhood before the Arapahoe Indians and then the houses came. They have associated humans as a food source for over 45 years in ths neighborhood alone. I live in suburbia, with 1/3rd to 1/2 acre lots. The foxes have a den in my neighbor's big overgrown hedge, 50 feet straight-line from my pillow at night. The mom littered 3 kitts under my other neighbor's Tuff Shed. We see them playing with the dog toys in the backyard. They even get their own squirrels; maybe 3 a year that I've seen.

I see the fresh kill being consumed by the foxes as a better disposal than letting them rot in my trash or a landfill. They're my red-tailed remoras.

I don't have a problem with foxes.
The coyotes don't belong on the east coast. They migrated east to fill the void left when we killed off the wolves. Wolves are much less likely to acclimate to humans. Interestingly, there have been reports in eastern Canada of wolf/coyote hybrids in areas where wolves have been re-introduced. The hybrids are larger, and more aggressive than coyote and like coyotes they acclimate to humans.

[Gary Breckenridge]

I use Remington Squirrel No More. Try some.

[ray hampton]

I don't have a problem with foxes.
The coyotes don't belong on the east coast. They migrated east to fill the void left when we killed off the wolves. Wolves are much less likely to acclimate to humans. Interestingly, there have been reports in eastern Canada of wolf/coyote hybrids in areas where wolves have been re-introduced. The hybrids are larger, and more aggressive than coyote and like coyotes they acclimate to humans.

the states with the Red Wolf are reporting that the red wolf and the coyote will mate , maybe this will result in a total new wolf if the gray meet the red

[michael osadchuk]

I don't have a problem with foxes.
The coyotes don't belong on the east coast. They migrated east to fill the void left when we killed off the wolves. Wolves are much less likely to acclimate to humans. Interestingly, there have been reports in eastern Canada of wolf/coyote hybrids in areas where wolves have been re-introduced. The hybrids are larger, and more aggressive than coyote and like coyotes they acclimate to humans.

Yup, the new hybrid species are called eastern coyotes or coywolf........ here is link to an interesting 45 minute documentary on this hybrid that is showing up in Eastern North America, including cities.....
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+Nature+of+Things/ID/2335216723/

michael

[bobby milam]

I worked animal control many years ago. They aren't too hard to control. Dogs and cats don't help that much. Ever look into a backyard in the city and see the squirrels in the tree with dogs or cats in the yard? Your best solution is to check your building for any holes and fill in the holes. If they begin to chew into it, wire works good. The more you use the shop the more the activity will keep them away. If you have too many, get a couple of live traps and just relocate them. Sometimes moth balls will work in certain areas. They will really only go in for shelter. If there are enough large trees they usually don't need inside your building. Hang a few boxes in some trees to give them somewhere else to hide out.