Years ago, I worked part time for an exterminator. For squirls, we would find where they entered, and smear around the opening, a gel substance, that irritated their skin, and they wouldn't go by it to go in. They would go out when they got hungry. He would leave the house for a few days, and return to patch the hole. No, I don' have a clue what it was? It was 30 years ago!
:) Years ago, I worked part time for an exterminator. For squirls, we would find :) where they entered, and smear around the opening, a gel substance, that :) irritated their skin, and they wouldn't go by it to go in. They would go out :) when they got hungry. He would leave the house for a few days, and return to :) patch the hole. :) No, I don' have a clue what it was? It was 30 years ago!
There are/were similar products Squirrel away and bird away...I think they took one off of the market, but they are basically the same and could be used on either animal. Used to see them at Home depot type stores...not sure if they can still be found there.
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
Dancing dog is back!
I have used both moth balls and a pan of ammonia to drive our critters. Moth balls last very long but take a while to fill the area with the pungent smell. Ammonia works very quickly but will all evaporate within a few days.
There are a few caveats: Depending upon the time of year, you can wind up with baby squirrels who can't escape, so they die due to the fumes and then they rot in their attic nest. Also, if moth balls are used, then for months the attic will be just as repugnant for humans . If you use the attic for storage, this can be a very big problem. You also have a problem if you need to get into the attic to insure that all of the squirrels have been driven off or to seal the rodents' points of entry to the attic. The naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene which evaporates (sublimates) from the moth balls is toxic.
Depending upon where you live, your local animal control can be of assistance:
- Our animal control officers provides on-site free advice on just about any issue involving wild animals.
- We can borrow cage-style traps from them and animal control will stop by periodically to bait the traps and to empty them. Depending upon the critter type, animal control will either put the animal down or release it in the woods. In the neighborhood where I grew up, pigeons were a big problem and animal control would provide poison corn to any homeowner who appeared to be intelligent enough to use it wisely.
- Obviously, they provide advice about local and state legal issues regarding traps, bait, poisons, etc. The also offer strong caveats regarding civil liability issues which can occur if the neighbor's pet, a child, or a protected species of wild animal is harmed.
Once again, phoning a professional may be your best option. Those that I've observed around here put cages (inside or out) near the entrance being used by the rodents to get into the attic. The cages are baited with poison bait because it is difficult to remove a live animal from a trap up in an attic on up on a roof.
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I tried one of those traps in the attic, but didn't catch anything...
Good luck.
Mark
:) Also, if moth balls are used, then :) for months the attic will be just as repugnant for humans . If you use the :) attic for storage, this can be a very big problem. You also have a problem :) if you need to get into the attic to insure that all of the squirrels have been :) driven off or to seal the rodents' points of entry to the attic. The :) naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene which evaporates (sublimates) :) from the moth balls is toxic.
You can place moth balls in old stockings so at least they can be easily retreived when the time comes.
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
Dancing dog is back!
month and I
started hearing
difficult to
and try to
When I had the problem, I just pruned back the trees that allowed them to jump to the house roof and gutters. They left, couldn't get back, problem solved.
Bob
Actually, I've always placed the mothballs in open-mouthed containers. The problem is the fact that even after the containers with the moth balls are removed, it takes a long time before the fumes dissipate enough to safely enter the attic.
:) Also, if moth balls are used, then :) for months the attic will be just as repugnant for humans . If you use the :) attic for storage, this can be a very big problem. You also have a problem :) if you need to get into the attic to insure that all of the squirrels have been :) driven off or to seal the rodents' points of entry to the attic. The :) naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene which evaporates (sublimates) :) from the moth balls is toxic.
You can place moth balls in old stockings so at least they can be easily retreived when the time comes.
Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!
Dancing dog is back!
****************************** Cut ovehanging branches, rat poison well ground to powder and mixed with smuchers real peanut butter they will eat both in attic and in tree above children,dog, cat etc. I also borrowed a pump up pellet gun with 22 sight on it. (live in town so even 22 shorts not possible) i FOUND the pellet gun most effective and satisfiying. In winter you can shoot the buggers in the attic if you know how to sit without moving for hour or so.
Chlorine gas is effective but probably illegal so I would not use it even if it is easy to make.
My experience is with red squirrels - incredibly sneaky, wiley, destructive creatures. I've tried a lot of things re: squirrels, but most successful has been to kill every squirrel I see on my property, just eradicate them. Substitutes will move in the next year or later, but I just hunt them when I hear them in the woods. I'm not trying to be bloodthirsty, but that's the only way I've been able to take care of the problem. Tried several types of traps - dead types and live types. Tried baits and poisons. I really prefer just to plink them with the pellet gun, .22 or shot gun, depending on safety factors, and be done with it. But then again, I don't mind killing rodent pests, so I had no qualms. Frankly, I think it's silly to live trap them and set them free somewhere else- it's a false sense of humanity imho. I'm often amused and surprised at folks who have no problem killing rats or mice, but want to live trap and relocate squirrels. On the other hand, if you don't want to kill any living creature, fine - it's just not my thing.
It's pretty easy to "hunt" them, although you might have to get up pretty early. They tend to move in and out at dusk / dawn. If you have help, you can spot at various places of the house (assuming you don't know where they're getting in and out). Once you see them go out, they're pretty easy to hunt in the trees, and a fairly safe shot (straight up into a tree).
Now, that said, best bet in the long run is to just trim back the trees and plug all holes, but even so, I've always had very aggrivating problems with them if I don't get rid of them. They can climb up siding after all. After they've chewed wires, put holes in dry wall from inside out, wakened you at dawn scurrying about over your head, you have trouble with a live and let live attitude.
HTH, Cam
I've always been amazed by the folks who consider it inhumane to put a bullet through a squirrels head, dropping it and killing it instantly. On the other hand, they are extremely proud of themselves for "humanely" trapping the rodents in live traps and then dropping the trap and squirrel in a barrel of water to allow the critter to relatively slowly suffer through drowning.
My experience is with red squirrels - incredibly sneaky, wiley, destructive creatures. I've tried a lot of things re: squirrels, but most successful has been to kill every squirrel I see on my property, just eradicate them. Substitutes will move in the next year or later, but I just hunt them when I hear them in the woods. I'm not trying to be bloodthirsty, but that's the only way I've been able to take care of the problem. Tried several types of traps - dead types and live types. Tried baits and poisons. I really prefer just to plink them with the pellet gun, .22 or shot gun, depending on safety factors, and be done with it. But then again, I don't mind killing rodent pests, so I had no qualms. Frankly, I think it's silly to live trap them and set them free somewhere else- it's a false sense of humanity imho. I'm often amused and surprised at folks who have no problem killing rats or mice, but want to live trap and relocate squirrels. On the other hand, if you don't want to kill any living creature, fine - it's just not my thing.
It's pretty easy to "hunt" them, although you might have to get up pretty early. They tend to move in and out at dusk / dawn. If you have help, you can spot at various places of the house (assuming you don't know where they're getting in and out). Once you see them go out, they're pretty easy to hunt in the trees, and a fairly safe shot (straight up into a tree).
Now, that said, best bet in the long run is to just trim back the trees and plug all holes, but even so, I've always had very aggrivating problems with them if I don't get rid of them. They can climb up siding after all. After they've chewed wires, put holes in dry wall from inside out, wakened you at dawn scurrying about over your head, you have trouble with a live and let live attitude.
HTH, Cam
A pellet/BB gun is best for tree rats. My Crossman 760 (760 fps muzzle velocity) with a cheap 4x Tasco scope will shoot either BB's or pellets, however I found BB's to be more accurate. Pointy pellets are next best for accuracy and more mass makes them more effective. Plain pellets bob around like throwing a knuckleball and are hard to get a headshot with. Squirrels are opportunists and are only mildly territorial, so they just keep on coming in here. They cannot resist sunflower seeds and can smell them from far away. Legalese says I'm not "hunting" and don't need a small game license if I'm shooting from within the house out the sliding glass door....
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to put
instantly.
"humanely"
and squirrel in
suffer through
Actually, I've read that drowning is supposed to be a relatively painless way to die. This according to people who have done it.
Bob
"Bob" wrote
I've read and heard the same and for all I know it's true. But having tried the technique to end the life of small critters, I'd say they struggle a lot more when drowning than when dispatched by a properly placed bullet. I have also assisted in euthanizing animals by lethal injection. In both cases, the animal struggled mightily, not because of the needle, but because of being restrained to inject properly. The animals I've dispatched with a gun -either long distance or up close and personal - do not fear the gun and are dead before they know anything is happening. Does the struggle represent pain or some other unpleasant thing for the animal? Maybe not, but I prefer the bullet. Again, I probably sound like a bloodthirsty indiscriminate killer, but given the need to eradicate a pest, quick is better and more humane, imho. If there is no need to eradicate them, or if they aren't tasty eating, don't kill them!
Cam
So, after these people have drowned, they've written about what a painless experience it was?
eq
That's right. They say once you fill your lungs with water, you just breath water till you pass out.
Then if you get resusitated, you can write about it.
Bob
Lungs don't fill with water. Parts of the tubes (trachea, bronchii, etc.) get some water in them, but not the lungs.
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