Interesting. How did you trap them? They are about to strip my pecan tree.

This post was edited by marti8a on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 23:13

Thanks for the update. It's good to know that neighboring squirrels don't immediately move in to fill the gap giving you a little relief from veggie garden damage.

A squirrel, I never saw more than one, quietly stripped my loaded pecan tree of GREEN pecans over a period of about three weeks. I don't care about harvesting pecans, but the partially eaten green pecans and the husks made a big mess and stained anything they landed on. I've never had them do that before.

As I said, I trapped them with a Havahart medium trap. Worked very well, though there are some tricks. I used a slice of apple smeared with peanut butter as bait. In my experience, squirrels go absolutely nuts for peanut butter.

Thanks for the info. I'll bait my trap tonight.

roselee, that's what is happening in my tree too, except I WANT the nuts. This pecan has big, sweet meats.

Hi all,

Here's something I read in the Bryan Eagle. Might be of help to y'all trying to save your pecan crop. It's from Neil Sperry.

"Use sheet metal to keep squirrels off pecan trees

Posted 4 days ago

Dear Neil: We have a good crop of pecans this year. Is there anything we can do to deter the squirrels?

A. I face the same issues, as do commercial pecan producers. If a pecan tree is free-standing, that is, not touching other trees, power lines, etc., you can put a sheet metal collar in place around its trunk. Keep it loose so that it won't girdle the tree over time. Much better yet, affix it so that you can put it in place in early summer and remove it after all of the pecans are down in late fall. Other than that, there is nothing legal that you can do. I personally don't do anything to harm my squirrels. We always have enough pecans to share. Things like reflective strips, fake owls, etc. may work for a short time, but eventually the squirrels catch on."

Lucy

We relocated 7 or 8 last year and didn't seem to lose any tomatoes to squirrels this year, while they stole or damaged virtually all of them last year. Makes a difference that we only have 2 or 3 hanging out regularly in the garden instead of the prior 8 or 9. Fruit trees are another story; they seem to relax the territorial boundaries and still descend in vast numbers on the pears and peaches just as they are ripening.... they stripped 100% once again, though did get some nocturnal help with the peaches from the opossums and rats.

In a few years when the tree is taller and I cut off some lower limbs, the sheet metal might work. I have a piece of vent pipe around it now but the squirrels just laugh and jump from the ground onto the limbs which are weighted down with nuts and within their reach.

Marti, could you duct tape some old loose window screen between your low hanging branches and higher places? Maybe attach it to the pipe on one side and higher branches on the other? I dunno how your young tree is configured, but... maybe?

Bad news wheh you lose pecans you want.

I know they do not like coffee grounds. You might see if a Starbucks has an abundance and lay a thick blanket of it around your tree where they leap. Might take less time than trapping since the squirrel munching has begun.

I've used the sheet metal around the trunk of my plum tree for the past few years. IT does seem to work. I get my plums.

It's awesome that you were actually able to get rid of them! The ones that tend to invade my yard are pretty stubborn. If they don't naturally relocate soon, like they did with you, I'm probably going to hire a pest control service. I love squirrels and think they're adorable, but they're more than my husband and I can handle. Hopefully things turn out as well for us as they did for you! http://animalcontrolspecialists.com/Squirrels.php

I hate them. You cant get rid of them. I big scary dog will greatly help but may not fit your lifestyle.

I live in a rural area, and the squirrels don't bother much, but my daughter lives in Austin, and they relocated about 20 of them as they were doing damage to their house.

Urban squirrels don't naturally relocate. If there is stuff to eat, there is no reason to move! Yes, you can't get rid of them *permanently*, but you CAN get rid of them for one season by trapping and relocating. That's because urban squirrels migrate from one locale to another seaonally. That is, if I rid my area (few houses around me) of squirrels, squirrels from neighboring areas won't move in until next season. I trap a bunch every spring, and my garden is largely untouched all summer.

It's interesting. This year, the batch of squirrels I'm after don't seem too interested in peanut butter. Nor do they seem that interested in my vegetables. There may be some evolutionary pressure here, in that the ones that were last year have been thrown out.