I HATE SQUIRRELS! AND THEY ARE NOT CUTE!

[DiVon80]

Quote:
Yes. they will destroy all your peaches or other fruit, they damage oak trees, tease the dogs, chase away wild birds from birds feeders,

just plain nuisance vermin.

I .22 them.

I agree! bad lil animals!

 

[sparkles2307]

We dont like the red ones, they are nasty lil things that dig up our bulbs and garden as well as purposefully destroying things that we have built. BUT the grey ones are very peacable and never cause trouble, I think its that whole red-headed temper thing

haha

 

[RavenStorm]

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Who says? Most of us have good reasons for killing these animals, and not for some mild irritation. All squirrels can be carriers of disease. You can't tell which one it might be that one of those nasty zoonotic illnesses or carry the parasites that do. I have an old hunter friend who is to the core a proud red-neck. He will eat or make use of nearly every part of any wild animal that he shoots, and he has hunted some pretty "wild" animals that ended up as dinner. The ONE thing he won't touch is squirrels, and like him I see all of them as a potential disease carrier.

I originally had no problem with them. When I moved into an area bordering the Los Padres National Forest wilderness I knew and accepted that all wild animals in the area were here first. I made it a point to try to not bother them and be accepting of they nature even if I found it destructive. It wasn't until the squirrels started picking fruit and veggies from my garden that they didn't even eat before picking another one that I started to get mad. I took other steps to try to repel them before resorting to killing them. Netting, pheromones, physical barriers, repellents, etc. just drove them to be more destructive in their quest.

 

[Davaroo]

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Agreed, and why I was very careful to say "simply irritates or mildly inconveniences", because unfortunately there are many whose response is to kill even though they have no "dead livestock or pets, costly property damage or loss and disease".

JJ

Sadly, left unchecked these are the likliest of outcomes. It's just another application of the old adage:
" An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure."

 

[Imp]

Quote:
You don't have to buy mosquito food. I keep a few liters on hand all the time. The hard part is getting the blood into the itty bitty mosquito feeder.

Imp- Isn't layer pellets just a nice way of saying rat food?

 

[highcountrychickens]

I have a couple of Jack Russels for rent... They don't always kill them, but they would bug them incessantly enough to drive them out!

 

[sparkles2307]

Ah yes the dachshund does a good job of that as well!

 

[NoelTate]

I love squirrels. They have never caused damage to my house. I actually have a baby I am raising for release in my back yard right now because it was found in someone's driveway too young to survive on its own....something I've done many times. None of my other pets have ever been harmed by them, and I have never been bitten or attacked by one. The only problem I see with squirrels is that they will eat fruit and such. So I lost half my pears to them? It was a small price to pay for the pleasure of watching the antics of those beautiful creatures out in the yard. So they eat a lot of my bird seed? When I fill the feeders, I put them dogs out back so they can keep the squirrels away while the birds eat. Bird seed doesn't cost that much. I don't mind. As for them taking over and people feeling the need to kill them off-research proves that approximately 25% of the squirrel population dies each year. Keep a dog around to keep them ran away from your house and you should not have any major problems with them. There should be room in the world for us to share it with all creatures.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

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Indeed they do! We actually feed the squirrels...but we have 7 acres and no close neighbors. They don't bother our house, but occasionally they'll steal a tomato from the garden.

The dachshunds do occasionally snack on them though.

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
Who says? Most of us have good reasons for killing these animals, and not for some mild irritation. All squirrels can be carriers of disease. You can't tell which one it might be that one of those nasty zoonotic illnesses or carry the parasites that do. I have an old hunter friend who is to the core a proud red-neck. He will eat or make use of nearly every part of any wild animal that he shoots, and he has hunted some pretty "wild" animals that ended up as dinner. The ONE thing he won't touch is squirrels, and like him I see all of them as a potential disease carrier.

I originally had no problem with them. When I moved into an area bordering the Los Padres National Forest wilderness I knew and accepted that all wild animals in the area were here first. I made it a point to try to not bother them and be accepting of they nature even if I found it destructive. It wasn't until the squirrels started picking fruit and veggies from my garden that they didn't even eat before picking another one that I started to get mad. I took other steps to try to repel them before resorting to killing them. Netting, pheromones, physical barriers, repellents, etc. just drove them to be more destructive in their quest.

I chose my words very carefully. Please see the word "some" above. That said, I would not be moved to kill them for the reasons you find sufficient. Yeah, they'll eat some stuff I didn't intend for them but it would never ever ever make me mad enough to kill. So I stand by my original statement that I just don't understand getting angry enough to kill over things like that. I never will. I enjoy squirrels, I've touched them many a time, I've fed them little treats of peanuts and sunflower seeds, and I've helped ones in trouble. My pets and I have yet to get some dreaded disease. We've coexisted for half a century so far without any health calamity (nor do I consider the wires they chewed through in my outbuilding this winter a calamity even though it took some work to replace them and I could have done without that problem), I'm willing to bet there won't be a calamity anytime soon, and I am not overrun with squirrels as a result of not killing them. They stay in reasonable balance without my "help".

Sadly, left unchecked these are the likliest of outcomes. It's just another application of the old adage: " An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure."

It doesn't always have to be "let's get them before they get us" - they are countless numbers of us not killing anything and we are not being overrun with squirrels or anything else. Or we've found a less terminal way to resolve.

To anyone jumping in without reading all prior posts, this is not not NOT a predator/prey discussion. No chickens were harmed by squirrels in the making of this thread!

If everyone reading this thread could have seen what a mommy squirrel went through to save her babies in my yard you would be in awe of her truly extraordinary sacrifice. Will tell the story sometime.....

Be well - I better go get some work done here!

JJ

p.s. I'm with you Noel!​