This past year has been a disaster in terms of getting fruit from my trees. The gray squirrels get them first. Among the trees with decent numbers of fruits were apples, peaches, fuyus, satsuma mandarins. The squirrels got them all or almost all. We actually got to eat some figs and pineapple guavas only because the produced so prodigiously. They left navel oranges alone.
So how can these critters be controlled? Is there a poison bait particularly effective against them?
Bill
-- Ferme le Bush
Pellet gun and spagetti sauce works for me... ;-) Seriously, it's much more humane for the animal and no chance of poisoning anything else. If you can't stomach that (no pun intended) then go with Have-a-heart traps and relocate them, although that may be illegal in your area.
Honest. It's illegal where I live in NY to trap, transport and release animals. But they're ok with me taking them out with a trap or gun (depending on location).
It's best to shoot them with a BB gun and eat them. They are delicious if you have the time... Otherwise, rat poison works just fine.
I've used the block-type baits and put them into a suet cage type bird feeder. This forces the squirrels to eat the bait thru the wire.
I have not hurt any birds using this method and there is not a single squirrel in my yard now. I have found them dead so I know it worked.
I'm sick to death of the damage they cause also! They are as bad as rats.
Hope this helps?
The bait I used was "Tomcat" brand from Lowe's. It's a rat poison and works fine on squirrels.
We've had squirrel problems for years. One year, I 'relocated' 15 of them. AFAICT, it made no difference: new ones come. IMO, it's a matter of having a very hospitable environment for them: lots of trees (including walnuts), no predators.
Lately, I've just been cursing them, which seems to work as well as anything else we've done.
George
'relocated' vertically.
G
I've eaten them in the summer. Just be sure to cook them thru.
Wet the fur prior to skinning to keep them from shedding all over the meat.
Cheers!
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