I'll get those pesky squirrels .............

[SteveB]

You have no earthly comprehension of how your approval has made me feel.

Steve

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Steve, you must be new to gardening if you think you'll beat the squirrels using traps. You may get a one week respite from the attacks, but more will come next week.

Read what brooklyn suggested a few minutes ago.

[SteveB]

I MUST get these glasses checked the next time I get to the big city. I'm sure I know the difference between a crow and a squirrel. Lemmesee, the crow is the black one that flies, right? But I'm positive it was the brown ones, the ones with the big furry tails, that's a squirrel, right, up in the tree eating fruit.

Although, IIRC, crows are smart, and for them to don a rented squirrel outfit would not be outside the realm of possibility.

Now I'm confused. But I guess I'll just keep a barrel of water in the garden for those squirrels ...... crows ........... new squirrels ............ old squirrels ......... crows in rented squirrel suits .......... whatever. I need a nap.

Steve ;-)

[kate]

HavaHarts probably require that you have a heart, at least one that finds room for other species. Squirrels are fun loving creatures - a bit opportunistic but then who isn't?

I believe that humans are probably smarter than squirrels and that humans can deal with problems with squirrels without killing them. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Kate

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[kate]

I have a neighbor who cut down his fruit trees because the birds were getting the fruit before he did. Seemed like cutting off his nose to spite his face. I have no advice as the trees I plant are meant for wildlife, though I'd love to plant a couple of sour cherry trees. Does netting not work?

How big a problem is plague where you are? I've never heard of cases of plague in TN, but maybe there are.

Kate

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Netting works. But, it requires more than a minute to apply and more than a minute to remove for harvesting fruit. Therefore, it is not useful to many people.

[John McGaw]

An "inside cat" is not what you want for this job. That's why I specified a "barn cat". The typical cat which hangs around the barn on a working farm can be a pretty fearsome animal and is more wild than domesticated. Not the sort which will come when you call "kitty, kitty" unless you or something you are holding seems edible.

[Billy]

How do the squirrel get access to your trees? Are they close to forest trees and can jump from tree to tree or do they have to get down and walk to your trees. I have two dogs and the squirrels NEVER bother my peach trees. On the other hand, I used to have a black walnut that mingled branches with oaks, and I never saw a walnut.

[Phisherman]

Your best bet is the Hav-A-hart trap and peanut butter. I can catch

4 or 5 per day, and after two weeks, the population is greatly reduced for 6-8 months. After that I start catching them again. I have seen jays divebomb squirrels to drive them off, but there are few predators here. Feeding squirrels will only encourage them to raise families.

[SteveB]

Joe, you really need to bone up on your reading comprehension. What these are is barrels of water. They work 24/7. They don't need resetting. They don't need maintenance. They don't need monitoring.

I put one out last evening at dusk. I just checked them at 5PM, and I had four.

I am going to buy two new barrels and put the in the other problem areas.

Steve

[SteveB]

I wonder if the fleas on them that carry plague have the capacity to intellectually comprehend this discussion.

Steve

[SteveB]

a farming operation, and a couple of dairy cows along with that. After being familiar with "city" cats, meeting a "barn" cat was scary. They hissed and spit, and didn't want to have anything to do with you. My uncle cautioned not to try to pick one up. Well, this little city kid figgered a cat was a cat. I never got close enough to pick one up, and shortly saw that picking up one would be akin to picking up a full throttle chain saw. I have seen feral cats that are meaner than the dickens, and tapes of animal control officers getting hold of them. Or vice versa.

I live in an AG1 zone, on a ranch, and a perfect place for a "barn cat." Yet, I guess I'm too citified not to want to let it in when it's blowing a gale and zero outside, thus training it to meow at the door whenever it wants to come in and lay by the fire or cozy up on the bed. Maybe in the future, but right now, my own version of "mousers" is working great.

Steve

[SteveB]

Plague, hantavirus, and ebola are very rare. But it's one of those things that can change your life if you're the one in a million that's under a doctor's care for it. And IF you happen to live in an area where it is present, no matter how minimal, you must be aware of it, and at least use common sense minimal precautions.

Do you live where there is lightning? Pretty low odds for getting hit by lightning. But, in my own life, I have had three VERY close encounters with lightning. Within 15' each time. So, although one can't live in a closet and just come out for food, bathroom breaks, and the Larry King show, one does need to take reasonable precautions.

Or not.

Steve

[SteveB]

Oddly enough, these squirrels live in a lava rock canyon next to my property. One day, I saw movement, and declared, "There's a squirrel." "Pshaw (not the word she used), squirrels don't live in rocks." So we watched for a while. Yes, it was a squirrel. We have killed some very large squirrels.

My neighbor has an orchard. They give him so much grief he carries a semi-automatic shotgun on his ranch ATV. One day, he sat all day long, and fired at squirrels in the canyon. He got 17.

They run across open ground to get to the trees and gardens.

My two dogs don't pay them any attention at all, and the cat seems not to notice them, but does go after the mice.

Squirrels live in all sorts of habitat.

Steve

[Billy]

Maybe you need to stop feeding your dogs, or get a couple of border collies, and let the squirrels know there's a new sheriff in town.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

You need to bone up on the reality of squirrels. You can drown them all day long, but there will be more next week or the week after.

[David E. Ross]

I'm a docent at a showcase garden. I'm there every Tuesday morning and Saturday afternoon. After I wrote the above, I went to the garden for my Saturday shift.

Near the garden's resource center are two large white mulberry trees (Morus alba), that seem to be late leafing out this spring. During my shift today, I watched a squirrel running up and down the bare branches of one of these trees, devouring all the little green shoots. No wonder the branches are bare!

[kate]

We get lightning and tornados here. I've had a tree drop on the house but besides eventually needing a new roof, no real damage. . Honestly Steve, if I'd had 3 close encounters with mother nature, I wouldn't be killing squirrels, but that's just me.

Kate - and I do have a dog who adores chasing squirrels

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[David E. Ross]

On 4/25/2009 11:08 AM, [e-mail] wrote [in part]:

Plague among humans is rare but not unknown in southern California.

It seems that the newspapers carry an article at least once each year, warning people to avoid contact with squirrels and other small mammals. This warning is especially strong when the animal appears ill. However, such a warning could also apply to avoiding rabies as much as avoiding plague. When the warning mentions dead animals, then plague is usually the concern.

[SteveB]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

Still, it makes me feel better than just watching them raid my garden and trees.