ground squirrel is eating our eggs!

[silver1polish]

We have a ground squirrel in our backyard. He keep stealing our eggs!!!!! we have managed to get a few out before he comes but still.
we do only catch and release. Do you guys have any suggestions?

 

[rides2far]

We just baited our cat trap to catch the many squirrels on my neighbor's property. Last year they decimated our garden & fruit trees. I suggest catch & don't release! I'm not letting them eat my chicken's eggs or feed! Hopefully we can get rid of enough of them so we can enjoy our produce.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

We just baited our cat trap to catch the many squirrels on my neighbor's property. Last year they decimated our garden & fruit trees. I suggest catch & don't release! I'm not letting them eat my chicken's eggs or feed! Hopefully we can get rid of enough of them so we can enjoy our produce.

OK... I'll play the devils advocate and suggest that you extract the ultimate revenge by eating the squirrels that ate your garden.

"Culpa poena premit comes"
(Let the punishment fit the crime)

Judging from the current price of ground beef squirrels should fetch $60 a dozen. That's quite an advance from the cost of a dozen eggs.

 

[keesmom]

We have a ground squirrel in our backyard. He keep stealing our eggs!!!!! we have managed to get a few out before he comes but still.
we do only catch and release. Do you guys have any suggestions?  

Either reinforce your run completely with hardware cloth to keep egg stealers out, or don't release the *÷#@!!!!.

 

[Kev]

Yeah I agree, please do not release... that is probably throwing your problem on someone else literally or they may not do well in the new location and you never know, the very same ones might be coming back.

That said, if they;re california ground squirrels, they are truly nasty creatures. So cute..... until you see how much damage they are capable of...... Also they like to make *colonies* near good food sources... so if you are not dealing with them then the problem will become much worse.

There's a very good reason for there being poison, poison bait stations and traps marketed specifically for ground squirrels........

The Squirrelnator traps work very well on them.. havaharts also do well but be very careful handling as they become shockingly vicious and aggressive when cornered.

 

[DesertBrahma]

You could catch it and take it to the complete opposite side of town from you. Personally I would catch it and make it dinner for my cats }. I don't like ground squirrels around my house. Heck I'm even catching gophers and giving them to my cats. They love the little boogers. I like cats. They take care of a lot of my rodents, and pests. My 3 in/outdoor cats even cuddle my baby chicks and won't let my dog near them. They're protective of tiny babies. I was even thinking of raising a kitten in the coop so it would look out for my chickens. So either relocate it completely away from your home, exact ultimate revenge, or get an indoor outdoor cat.

 

[Kev]

You could catch it and take it to the complete opposite side of town from you.

The problem with this- there are people on the other side of town also. IMO this is throwing the problem on THEM. Not nice.

Yay to you for killing and feeding them to cats though.

 

[DesertBrahma]

That's true Kev. There are parks, or outside of town also. Personal experience says get a cat or 2 that are either young barn cats, or an older known mouser. I've been lucky to have a good mouser just show up and never leave lol, and to rescue 2 young mousers. They almost got hit on the road in town. I'm a soft touch. So go get a good mouser and have done. Then you wouldn't have any rodent problems. Just make sure to feed the cat no matter what. You want it to stick around and not go after your chickens. I also don't have a rodent problem except gophers which between the cats and I are finding life very hard around here.

 

[ladyearth]

yeah, I vote shoot the buggers or take them on a permanent swimming vacation... LOL


One season I caught and retired about 2 dozen. the good for nuttins..... that was at our old place in town....
Oh HEARTILY agree about the cats. I dont even like cats. But when one showed up over a year ago.. we let him stay.. CAUSE we had MICE so bad inside.....
HI IS an OUtside only CAT he is..... He is spoiled, has his own insulated house on the covered front deck and a special heating mat plugged in from late fall till late spring...plus lots of woodsheds etc to explore
I told Kitty he is a" GUARD CAT".. got to earn his keep... besides killing birds and voles etc....seems to keep the mice away..... when, he no longer does, so he better find other employment... LOL
I have never seen Kitty with a chipmunk( that is what I call a ground squirrel....

 

[rides2far]

I hate ground squirrels! They eat our veggies & fruit from our trees. When we first moved to our acreage, they were everywhere. One hot summer day I noticed my horses standing away from the round horse trough. When I looked in, there was a squirrel swimming around & around! I used a shovel to get him out & promptly dispatched him. We right now have a trap set for the one that is driving our dogs nuts under the deck. Road flares in their burrows also works. Our next door neighbor harbors the ground squirrels by not trying to get rid of them. I've seen them on his roof. He just planted a garden. Good luck.