I had heard about this on radio. I think they've got too much money to burn over there. Guess it's tax money. Isn't shooting the rats and then feed them to the hawks cheaper alternative?

I would think that injecting them with lead would be cheaper and much easier.

I was considering buying one of those machine that make the ultrasonic noises, that supposedly scare the squirells away. has anyone tried them? do they work. alternatively, i was thinking about buying a squirrel trap with the idea that i could trap the 5 or 6 squirrels that have a nest near my backyard, and move them a couple of miles away.

if anyone has tried either of these 2 squirrel control methods, can you please let me know if they worked for you

Bass:

Interesting article. I wonder how they will get the squirrels to line up for their shots? Maybe squirrels in California are different, but here they are very undisciplined and do not follow orders.

Think I will stick to high-speed lead pellets. A proven winner.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I must admit I'm embarrassed by my state many times. Occasionally at a mountain campground they'll find a squirrel infested with bubonic plague and will start a program that sets a trap, and when the squirrel springs it the squirrel gets dusted with flea powder to kill the plague-carrying fleas.

We've become a state of wimps and wussies. But on the other hand, it was 100 degrees here Monday and evening lows are in the 60's. I was looking at the forecast for upstate New York at freezing rain and snow, and can see how So. Calif. makes you soft...

They'll probably end up making a reality show or a movie about this.
I was checking out the local nursery yesterday, they had couple products to repell squerrels. One was vinegar and egg and some other ingredients that can be sprayed on the fruit trees. Another odd one was Fox Urine, supposably will scare them away. Anyone heard or tried these products?

Bass

i tried the fox urine- was useless

Well let's not stereotype all Californians.

This is the best.

It works wonders in an orchard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Effective

I agree with Villandry. California has the best and the worst, and the rest of the country has just as many fuzzy-brained ideas. Well, maybe not quite as many.

Here in the East we are rapidly becoming overrun by deer, and amid all the tut-tutting and hand-wringing, all they can come up with is shooting the does with birth control darts at $1,000 a pop, all expenses included. When a managed hunt is attempted, it is picketed by hordes of persons who live in high-rise apartments.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Some billionaires are shamelessly fleecing America. They get paid by the millions each year for not farming their vast tracts of lands. It is acceptable for this policy or small farmers, but for billionaires? The squirrels are more noble creatures than these parasitic billionaires, at least the squirrels learn and earn their way to get their food.

How long before the Vatican condemns the use of birth control on Catholic squirrels? Perhaps we should teach the squirrels abstinence. That worked on me... oh wait, I guess it didn't. Squirrels will be squirrels.

~james

licheeluva, I started using my Havaheart trap for squirrels last summer when I discovered they were the ones eating all my garden plants. I caught 9, one at a time, in two flushes, before they stopped coming. I moved them to a better address, Malibu, and let them all out at the same spot. This year they started appearing two weeks ago...I've caught two so far (and also 1 rat), so I'm not sure how many more there are but right now no squirrel sign, no plant leaves disappearing.

Before I knew it was squirrels, I was using 1/2" mesh (24" high) stiff plastic netting cylinders around all my containerized plants. That seemed to work as long as it was loose and floppy, no supports other than the cylinder effect. I think the squirrels would try to climb up the mesh but would stop when it started to collapse under their weight. When I used supports(tomato towers or sticks) they seems to get inside the cylinders without any problem.

jc

The CNN article said there were 1,000 squirrels in the park. Just send a bus with ten Cajuns and a bag limit of 100 squirrels and the problem is over. There is not a Cajun alive who would stop before getting his limit.

Squirrel is good eating.

lycheeluva,

Repellents may work for a time, but they will eventually begin to ignore them, whether you are talking deer, rabbits, squirrels or whatever.

As far as trapping goes, it will work to remove them from your yard, as they trap easily. You can prebait a few days ahead of trapping with whole corn or nuts to get them used to coming into a particular spot. This works well for live traps.

Keep in mind, however, you might not get the desired result at the release site. Humans are often accused of being cruel, but Mother Nature can sometimes be quite cruel herself. Squirrels have a naturally high mortality rate because everything likes to eat them. Top that off with the fact that squirrel reproductive rates are naturally high, which compensates for the high mortality rate. And that means the release site probably already has "standing room only". Your transplant won't know the area or where the best places to hide or eat are and they have to compete with the local squirrels that already know the area... so you are not necessarily putting them into a situation where many of them will survive. More likely they will "become dinner" for a hawk, owl, or housecat while exploring their new home. That's ok, though, because these animals have to eat too.

I have a friend who trapped over 40 squirrels from his yard last year. (They had been in his garden, his orchard and even his muscadines.) He gave them to the local raptor (hawks and owls) rehabilitation center where they were used to feed the raptors. I thought this was the perfect solution. He didn't add extra squirrels where they were not needed (or appreciated by the local squirrels, for that matter) and they were utilized as a food source for predators that would normally consume them in the wild. I thought it was the perfect solution.

Jeff