I would make sure that poisoning wildlife that has seasons controlled by your DNR, G&F, or whatever you call them in your state, is legal. I would think that you would find that it is not. Buy a large plastic owl or hawk, and post it by your garden.

I also would be hesitant to use that method of eliminating squirrels. It seems cruel.

I will use the method you suggest for heating up the compost pile though. I would like to have quicker results than I normally get. Thanks for that tip.

Jim

I cannot, here, off the top of my head, think of any explanation of how the peanut butter and plaster of paris was supposed to have worked - apparently it didn't. But what was the reasoning that led to the suggestion in the first place?

IÂm not sure what peanut butter and plaster is supposed to do, and I donÂt think I want to.

Lots of folks seem to have trouble with squirrels, but I donÂt. That doesnÂt mean I donÂt have any (theyÂre all over the place), just not in the garden for some reason. IÂm not complaining mind you, but if I did have a problem with them IÂd either:

1. In the Spring / Summer, IÂd trap them and release elsewhere OR

2. Feed them raw peanuts, cracked corn, etc at a location away from the garden. Do it regularly and theyÂll hang around that area instead of the garden

3. In the Fall/Winter (during hunting season) shoot them and donate to a squirrel eating friend. IÂm not against dispatching them, but prefer to do so quickly and humanely rather than slowly via the poison route.

A friend of mine told me a story last year about his neighbor who was having trouble with a groundhog. She mixed up a jar of peanut butter with a box of rat poison and put it near the groundhog hole. Three dead squirrels and the other neighborÂs cat later, she decided groundhogs donÂt care for peanut butter.

I too like the idea about heating up your compost pile. I think IÂll give it a try as well. IÂve read that urine will also do wonders to your compost pile, if youÂre the outdoorsy type lol.

Rick

I really do not want to start a discussion about ethics of fighting with pests/rodents. If you think commercial poisons are less cruel by making rodents to bleed to death for many days, you are wrong. Supposedly the calcium in plaster of paris gives a squirrel a heart attack I dont know if this is true or not but I know it does not work, at least in my case.

RELOCATING PESTS AND ANY ANIMALS IS NOT LEGAL - IF YOU TRAP THEM AND RELOCATE YOU BREAK A LAW

I got that idea from this very forum and there was already huge discussion about the ethics, go there and join if you wish. I regret now I even mentioned this here, I did not anticipate this reaction again, not at all.

I hope at least my ammonia tip will not make anyone loose sleep.

Don't sweat the small stuff, leckig, nobody is jumping on you, it's just a discussion.

Personally I use homemade snares to trap rabbits trying to squeeze in through my fence. It's not legal, but when you live in the burbs pretty much nothing is. I do this during the winter and come gardening time there aren't any in the immediate area that know about my garden.

I have young kids, dogs and live in suburbia so any kind of poison is out of the question. I can't even use it for the field mice that seek shelter in the winter any longer.

"RELOCATING PESTS AND ANY ANIMALS IS NOT LEGAL - IF YOU TRAP THEM AND RELOCATE YOU BREAK A LAW"

Hmmm, that's not my interpretation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Virginia Law re: Trapping Squirrels

The first ten threads I found on "plaster of paris" and "peanut butter" said something the to affect "I read somewhere..." Not one explained how it was supposed to work.

Long discussions on the Fruit & Orchard forum about PB & Plaster bon-bons, probably because squirrels are more of a problem for those of us trying to grow nuts and some tree fruits.

Chuck

Squirrels, get a dog that likes to chase them. "Fun" for both dog and squirrel.

IÂm not sure what peanut butter and plaster is supposed to do

Its an old time way to kill rats. For rats you mix plaster of paris with flour and put in a bowl. Set a bowl of water next to it. The rats eat the plaster mix and get thirsty and drink. The plaster sets up in their stomach and causes a fatal blockage.

I imagine that the plaster and peanut butter was supposed to act the same way.

Cruel as all get out.

I have problems with gophers and ground squirrels. I purchased a solar powered gopher repellent unit that emits an alarm call chirp (like rodents do) every thrity seconds. I did not believe it would work.

Within 3 weeks of setting it up the gophers have moved out of the area where the unit is and I purchased another to put near our bird feeders where the squirrels hang out. I dont know if its going to work on them yet or if the gophers will stay away all summer but my hopes are up at this point.

"RELOCATING PESTS AND ANY ANIMALS IS NOT LEGAL - IF YOU TRAP THEM AND RELOCATE YOU BREAK A LAW"

This is certainly not illegal in Maine, in fact our local game warden will provide a free Live Trap to use. Laws do differ state to state though.

jmsimpson9 is right about the intestinal blockage from Plaster and I agree with him that it is really cruel. If you need to kill to control a pellet gun is a good option. You can purchase a pellet gun for less than $100 and as a bonus you will have meat to eat.

The ammonia sounds good. I bet your pile was cooking. Another high nitrogen source that really heats up is spent coffee grounds.

Jon

jmsimpson9, could you tell us the brand name of the device you are using? And do you have pets? Is it a chirp that humans can hear or on a different wave length?

I saw an ad for some kind of machine, sonar I guess, that emitted a sound that rodents find intolerable. I have not bought it because I have pets and have wondered if it's a scam, lol.

Thoughts, anyone?

It's not the trapping of squirrels that's illegal in VA, it's the transporting of them alive after trapping. Read item #10 of the code section below.

Here is a link that might be useful: VA law re: transporting wild animals

rdback,

I agree with gardener_sandy and it is the same in my state. It is not the trapping that is illegal. It is the relocating that is illegal. Once trapped, the nuisance critter is "disposed of" as the law you reference states. That means killed not moved to be someone else's nuisance.

Steve

I live in a national forest and have every kind of critter you can think of and i feed them elsewheres and they so far have left my garden alone. Of course there is everything they can think of to eat in the wild also. Tho i did have a deer step on a tomato plant yesterday.
Snakes is another matter. They don't care for my garden but i'm not sure they don't want me.

JAT ( Just a thought ) When you have a problem with critters has any one even considered that someone else may have taken there problem over to you??? not fair in my book! when you relocate a problem you give it to someone else and they back to you; just get rid of them in a humane way and be done with it and yes I know many of you will hate me for that thought! but I just don't care any more as I have had many other peoples problems dumped ON ME!!!!!

I have not had any problem with the sqruells. They don't bother with vegetables. But if you have fruit trees, that is another thing. Instead I have problem with rats. They chew up the plants stems, dig out the seeds, eat melons.

I have several methods to deal with them, because just one single way is not enough. I almost wiped them out last year.

1- live trap
2- rat trap
3-water bucket trap
3-Baits: commecially sold,OR: plaster of Paris+flour+sugar; substitute baking soda and or add some; Add ground aspirin to any combination.

KEEP EDIBLE ITEMS AWAY FROM GARDEN AREA. OTHERWISE THEY WILL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MOR AND WHEN THEY DO NOT FIND FOOD, WILL CHEW ON YOUR PLANTS.

To kepp rabitts away:
1- when you see them, chase them, throw things at them, yell at them. SCARETHEM OFF

2- sprinkle hot ground chili peppers around things they eat. They seem to have a very sensative nose and do not like smell of hot peppers. I follow these tactics and have no problems with rabitts and there are plenty of them around. but they just try to stay away, for their own safty(hehe), as they are very shy and get scared.

"not moved to be someone else's nuisance."
"not fair in my book! when you relocate a problem you give it to someone else"

Sorry I didn't make myself clear on the live trap issue. Animals are relocated to wilderness areas where they won't come into conflict with people. They may come into conflict with other animals though.
When I was very young I went along with my father and grandfather and some other people who moved a huge snapping turtle from a small heavily developed pond into a totally uninhabited one.

Last summer I finally bought a solar powered electric fence for my garden. I should have done it years ago. I have $130 invested in it. Very simple to set up and very effective. Its a night and day difference.

By the house, I use a live trap to catch chipmonks. I relocate them a 1/2 mile down the road right in front of my neighbors house - the one with all the big wheels and other large Playschool items strewn about in the front lawn and those annoying dogs that bark at all hours... Besides, I find that chipmonk isn't very tasty on the grill anyways.

When you added the diluted ammonia to your pile, you added a green -- nitrogen, in the form of ammonia. That's why it worked.

jmsimpson9, could you tell us the brand name of the device you are using? And do you have pets? Is it a chirp that humans can hear or on a different wave length?

I got it at Home Depot and found it online as well, its called the Exhart Solar Gopher-MoleMover Electronic Stake.

Yes we have pets and lots of the neighbors pets come to visit and get a handout. We also have lots of birds and wildlife. Most of them are not too much of a problem but the gophers have got to go.

Once you push the unit in the ground, unless you are standing right next to it, you cant hear it. It sounds like the alarm call of a rodent. It goes off about ever 30 seconds. Sometimes I think its not working and I go stand right over it and wait to see if its still chirping.

Here is a link that might be useful: Exhart Solar Gopher-MoleMover Electronic Stake