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View Full Version : My latest trick on the squirrels



Joe Pelonio
05-25-2007, 5:40 PM
10 years ago I planted a gravenstein apple tree in the back yard. They are notorious for taking a long time to bear fruit.

After 6 years when it was 10' tall with never a blossom I moved it to a sunnier location. The next year I got one apple. Every day I checked it, to pick it as soon as it was ripe. One day it was gone, no sign of it. I blamed it on the squirrels. :mad:

The next year it had about a dozen apples. Again, as soon as they were close to being ripe all of them dissapeared. This is in the fenced back yard and we have another apple tree, so it was not likely to be kids or deer.

Then another year with nothing, two more years with just a few that got stolen. Still haven't been able to eat one!

This year I think I have outsmarted the little bushy-tailed devils. :) I took a two-liter soda bottle and used a zip tie to cover up the apple. I'll do the same on the others later, have to get out the ladder for them. I've saved up lots of the bottles just for this project.

Nancy Laird
05-25-2007, 6:11 PM
Joe, did you know that's how winemakers get the pears in the wine bottles. It will work--outsmart the little buggers!!!

Good job!!!!

Nancy

mark page
05-25-2007, 10:58 PM
Hey Joe,

I can feel your pain. Want to see some photos of the tree with all the bottles on it though once apple production increases. Never seen this trick before. Great ingenuity.

Jim O'Dell
05-25-2007, 11:11 PM
Ours is a pear tree. Squirrels sit in the tree, take a bite out of them, toss them to the ground, then try the next one. Either that or they're trying to hit the dogs with them!!:eek: 3 summers and not a single bite for the humans. Pears never get much over the size of a golf ball. I'll be interested to hear how this turns out. Might be worth drinking DP from plastic bottles to try a home grown pear. Jim.

David G Baker
05-26-2007, 12:03 AM
I live trap squirrels and release them in the forest. Some years I have trapped as many as 70. If I see a red squirrel I always set a trap. If I see a chipmunk I always set a trap. I like to keep a couple greys, blacks or browns around because they clean up my acorns and small pine cones. If I have more than 4 or 5 of the larger squirrels around I will start trapping and moving them.
The squirrels will eat my apples but that is in the late Winter when the apples are in bad shape. I have more problems with the birds pecking at them.

Kyle Kraft
05-26-2007, 7:06 AM
Victor rat traps work well. I use them on the chipmunks...you know the kind with the twin racing stripes down their backs. I built plywood boxes to slide the traps in, and just place them near the hole. The curious critters step into the box for a peek and WHAM!!!!!!

My apologies to the bunny huggers.

David Epperson
05-26-2007, 7:24 AM
No worries Kyle. I tend to try and relocate the squirrels in my yard from the pear and pecan trees to the freezer. :D

David G Baker
05-26-2007, 7:56 AM
It would be much cheaper popping the critters but the LOML insists that I dig a hole for each demised critter and I don't like blisters on my hands.
Growing up we had many of the larger squirrels for dinner. I spent too much time in suburban California and lost the hunting drive that I was raised with. I am real good with the live traps though.

Kyle Kraft
05-26-2007, 8:22 AM
David,

Sorry to hear about your Californiazation. I bury my chipmunks near each tomato plant in the garden. How's that for the circle of life...turning destructive rodents into nutritious vegetarian food!! Of course the tomatoes go best when slapped on top of a patty made of ground up dead cow!

Art Mulder
05-26-2007, 2:49 PM
Ours is a pear tree. Squirrels sit in the tree, take a bite out of them, toss them to the ground, then try the next one. Either that or they're trying to hit the dogs with them!

Huh. I was going to suggest a dog, but evidently, Jim's dogs aren't enough to keep out the squirrels! Funny, our neighbour has two dogs, and the squirrels stay well out of their yard. We get tons of squirrels, as we have a birdfeeder and they come scavenge all the sunflower seeds that the birds drop.

We had a black plum tree for almost 5 years and never tasted one, as either the weather or the squirrels got them all. I gave up on it and gave the tree to my friend who has 4 acres outside of town.

I wonder how the bottles will affect the apples, as it will be like small individual greenhouses.

David Epperson
05-26-2007, 3:06 PM
I wonder how the bottles will affect the apples, as it will be like small individual greenhouses.
LOL. You could ventilate them a bit...provided that he squirrels don't chew holes in them for you. The bottlers of pear and apple wines/brandies use glass bottles and the fruits at least look like they ripened OK.

Joe Pelonio
05-26-2007, 4:04 PM
This is an experiment, I'd rather have the apple cook inthe bottle than let those little buggers get them again. Actually it's only sunny July and August here and at most 85 normally.

We have two dogs that love to chase the squirrels but they rarely catch them, and they stay inside most of the time.

Doyle Alley
05-27-2007, 7:44 PM
I don't see any reason it won't work. If you have ever seen the peach brandy that is produced in France, you'll see that each bottle has a whole peach in it. They get them in there by putting the empty bottle over the baby peach.

Pete Lamberty
05-28-2007, 12:30 PM
Well you might get some apples to eat this year but the squirels around here would just chew through the plastic to get to the apple. We have a big plastic recycling garbage can on wheels, you've probably seen them. They are made from some kind of thick plastic. Well the squirels must have smelled something in there because they chewed one heck of a big hole in the garbage can. I was amazed that they would do that. Maybe you could try spraying the apples with a real soapy solution or hot pepper spray. Nobody likes the taste of either. Then all you have to do is wash them off before you eat them.

James Carmichael
05-29-2007, 5:42 PM
No worries Kyle. I tend to try and relocate the squirrels in my yard from the pear and pecan trees to the freezer. :D

That's how we did it where I come from, but my yuppie neighbors wouldn't approve (unless, of course, it was their fruit being eaten).

I'm gonna have to do something, my nectarines are finally producing and it's all been food for the tree-rats thus far.

Jim O'Dell
05-29-2007, 10:03 PM
Art, the squirrels here just taunt the dogs. They literally grab a pear, eat a bite or two and throw the rest at the dogs!! We have so many trees, that the squirrels can go tree to tree anywhere on the acre property. Probably the only tree they can't get in that way is the peach tree LOMY planted that was from a seed from the peach tree from our previous house. It's only about 5' tall.:D I have seen one squirrel fall from a tree right between 3 of the setters...couldn't have been more than 4' from any one dog. The dogs were so shocked and startled, the squirrel was able to get away. But it sure was fun to see the looks on all 4 of the faces! Jim.

David Epperson
05-30-2007, 9:56 AM
That's how we did it where I come from, but my yuppie neighbors wouldn't approve (unless, of course, it was their fruit being eaten).

Pellet rifle, close range. :D

Burt Alcantara
05-31-2007, 12:16 AM
Let'em duke it out.

Al Willits
05-31-2007, 12:28 PM
""""""
No worries Kyle. I tend to try and relocate the squirrels in my yard from the pear and pecan trees to the freezer. :D
""""""

Don't they do damage to what's in the freezer????




Sorry...:D



We have the little buggers and kept the count down with a pellet rife too, rifle broke and now there's a herd of them taunting the dog, and going after the wife's flowers.

Beasty says if I don't get a new pellet rife she'll use the shotgun on them...
Might be interesting to watch, but I'll probably have to bail her out of jail, so I'll go find a pellet rifle...:)

Al

Jeffrey Makiel
05-31-2007, 1:03 PM
What's going on with the squirrels lately?

In the past month, they have dug hundreds of holes in the lawn, stashed about 5 coffee cans worth of debris in my dryer duct, one drowned in a garbage can with water in it, about 1/3 of the flowers I planted were dug up the next day, and Verizon had to rehang copper wire in front of my house because the squirrels chewed thru it.

If Alfred Hitchcock was still around, he'd make a movie called "The Squirrels"

-Jeff :)

David Epperson
05-31-2007, 3:31 PM
""""""
No worries Kyle. I tend to try and relocate the squirrels in my yard from the pear and pecan trees to the freezer. :D
""""""

Don't they do damage to what's in the freezer????




Sorry...:D Al
No but they seem to be curious about what the chicken did to get there.:D




We have the little buggers and kept the count down with a pellet rife too, rifle broke and now there's a herd of them taunting the dog, and going after the wife's flowers.

Beasty says if I don't get a new pellet rife she'll use the shotgun on them...
Might be interesting to watch, but I'll probably have to bail her out of jail, so I'll go find a pellet rifle...:)

Al
Don't look now but there is a "pellet" cartridge for a standard 22 - The Aguila Super Colibri. No powder, only primer, and "only" a 20 grain pellet. Less than 600fps and you pellet rifle was probably louder. Range needs to be about the same though.

Al Willits
05-31-2007, 3:50 PM
""""""""
Don't look now but there is a "pellet" cartridge for a standard 22 - The Aguila Super Colibri. No powder, only primer, and "only" a 20 grain pellet. Less than 600fps and you pellet rifle was probably louder. Range needs to be about the same though.
""""

Good to know, I use the Aguila brand in my steel shoot .22 and they function very nicely....
But.....

Not buying another gun would be like going though a Rockler store and not buying anything....it can be done, but it does cause permanent brain damage. :D

Al....good line on the chickens btw...:)

Joe Pelonio
05-31-2007, 4:12 PM
Unfortunately, while we are in a woodsy area, there is a city ordinance banning any firing of a gun within the city limits. I'd have to get better at firing a slingshot to use that method of eliminating squirrels.

The native western gray squirrel was listed as a threatened species in Washington in 1993 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Turns out that these are eastern grey squirrels introduced here from NY in the late '20s. They are not only fair game but law prohibits releasing live ones outside the area they are already in, so I can't capture them live and move them, which would be the more humane approach.

Frank Kobilsek
06-01-2007, 5:17 PM
While a good pellet gun is much more fun, personally gratifying and very effective I have a solution that will satisfy even the most radical enviro nieghbors.

Sprinkle cayenne pepper on the apples. The squirels hate it. They won't bother your fruit. You can make pepper tea and spray them too, just spray downwind so you don't mace yourself. Wash the fruit well before you eat it.

This works great in bird feeders too. Birds don't have taste buds like raccoons, squirels, rabbits etc so they won't be bothered.

Frank

Joe Pelonio
06-01-2007, 5:47 PM
Ah, worth trying Frank, Thanks!

Al Willits
06-01-2007, 6:26 PM
Maybe not a good move if you have dogs Frank...:D :D
Leastwises a sporting dog that sniffs everything it sees...:)

Al...who tried the pepper thing once..:)

Joe Pelonio
06-04-2007, 10:16 AM
I guess now I'll have to fence all the vegetables too. Two mornings in a row, right at 7am we've had this guy munching clover on the front lawn. Haven't seen bunnies around here before. Maybe the coyotes will get him.

David G Baker
06-04-2007, 10:40 AM
I guess now I'll have to fence all the vegetables too. Two mornings in a row, right at 7am we've had this guy munching clover on the front lawn. Haven't seen bunnies around here before. Maybe the coyotes will get him.
Joe,
I have seen 3 adult rabbits so far this year. I was watering my fenced in potato patch the other day, after about 5 minutes of watering there was a movement in one of my trenches. A very young rabbit popped up and ran. Thirty seconds later up pops another one. They just barely fit through the fence. The adults will not fit through the fence wires. No damage was done to the plants. My next challenge is to hunt down and kill the potato bugs that have invaded.

Rob Russell
06-04-2007, 12:22 PM
We have a bunny family that's living in our back yard and a chipmunk that lives under the concrete steps to our addition. If I ever attempt to "relocate" these critters, it'll need to be in a very discrete way.

Brent Dowell
06-04-2007, 12:48 PM
So,

I'm having some trouble getting the grass in my front yard to grow.

Any tips on getting rid of these pests? :eek:


http://www.loneunknown.com/images/yardpests.jpg


This is one small group of at least 50-60 wild horses roaming the neighborhood...

Usually, I shout something like 'This aggression will not stand!' and run out into the front yard with the dogs and walk them down and out of the driveway. Pretty amusing, having just moved out to the country from a typical suburban lifestyle...

Joe Pelonio
06-04-2007, 1:02 PM
They sound pretty tame for wild horses. Maybe call the local cowboys and offer to sell them.

At least it saves you from mowing!

Roger Fitzsimonds
06-04-2007, 1:37 PM
I had a problem with squirrels in my garden we had a poor crop of sweet corn last year. At least I though I did. when the leaves fell from the trees last year There were probably 2 dozen whole corn plants up inthe trees. The squirrels pulled them up and drugthem up in the trees to eat.

Roger

Brent Dowell
06-04-2007, 1:38 PM
As far as lawn maintenance goes, between the cottontails, jack rabits, and horses, I haven't had to mow the lawn once. The rabbits do an ok job of fertilizing, but the horses, they really tend to over fertilize if I give them a chance!

Was out of town for a week and came back to a HUGE surprise in the front yard. Took quite a bit of work with a shovel and wheel barrow to clean it all up...

Brent Dowell
06-04-2007, 1:44 PM
There were probably 2 dozen whole corn plants up inthe trees. The squirrels pulled them up and drugthem up in the trees to eat.
Roger

Wow, those are some big strong squirrels!

Joe Pelonio
06-19-2007, 3:26 PM
:mad: Unfortunately when I checked this morning my one apple had fallen off.

I don't know if it was being in the bottle or what, it got to about the size of a penny so must have been pollinated. Oh well, at least the #!@$@#!
squirrel didn't get it.

Matt Moore
06-21-2007, 10:40 PM
Well down here in Tampa, my back porch is in the nightly walk of at least 2 racoons. Most nights they topple our potted plants, root around the flowers and kill them or get into our vegtables.

I got a trap but have never used one before. A long story short... I trapped one of them 3 times but it got out each time. Turns out I had to add a bunch of wire to keep the door closed that is used to let them out. The setup as it came was no match for these smart and strong racoons.

Now it is getting personal.

Anyway, they were not smart enough to turn down the tuna fish in the trap for the 4th time as i actually caught on last night and he did not get out. I would just eliminate them but waiting till 2am and I live in a very populated area so traditional elimination methods are not an option. I took the coon about 4 miles away to the woods and let him go.

Trying to catch the 2nd one tonight.

Doyle Alley
06-22-2007, 12:53 PM
Matt, you might want to check with Hillsborough Animal Control. Sarasota county has a program where you give them a deposit (I think it is $30.00) and they loan you a live trap. You catch the coon and take the whole package back to them. They take the coon (for "disposal") and if you want they give you a new trap. You keep doing the dropoff/replacement thing until all the coons are gone.

Joe Pelonio
06-22-2007, 1:18 PM
I checked into that after hearing Doyle's post. Here, because they are non-native Eastern Ground Squirrels, we are allowed to capture them in live traps but are not allowed to release them into any other area!

And, of course, traps that kill them are illegal here. They passed the law to prevent trapping of bears and wrote it in such a manner that it's technically illegal even to catch moles with traps.

Greg Crawford
06-22-2007, 10:08 PM
I feel your pain from the squirrels. I've actually had them start eating my house! They would get on my fence and reach up and eat away at the facia boards. They also ripped all the bark off the crotches in my oak trees, making the branches rot. I had to remove some of the larger branches overhanging the house. The county animal control guy said trapping would just make room for different squirrels to move in. Does anyone know if the dummy owls work to scare them away?

As for all you guys with rabbits, don't complain too much. The fire ants have reduced rabbits and quail almost to the point of extinction in the South. I'd gladly give up some food items to have a bouncing cottontail in the neighborhood.