Squirrels!! Anyone else have problems?

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They used to be cute, but when they started eating holes in the side of the house and living in the attic, it wasn't cute anymore. That and the fact they tear my flower beds up, bury pecans EVERYWHERE and have pecan trees sprouting all over creation. I have to keep the population down.
 
And what diseases would that be? According to my wildlife vet they are safe and not carriers of any diseases harmful to pets or humans

Out here in Colorado, squirrels and ground hogs are carriers of THE PLAGUE!!!​
 
Oooh, that's not good. Yeah, I have volunteer trees all on one side of my flower garden. Hmmm. Wasn't it in recent news where a squirrel had caused a complete blackout because it chewed through the wires from a transformer? Needless to say, he went out with a bang.

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Yes....the fleas on the squirrels carry the plague. Without the rodents, you don't have the fleas. Unless you plan on flea dipping each wild rodent, you will have to get rid of them to get rid of the plague threat.
 
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And what diseases would that be? According to my wildlife vet they are safe and not carriers of any diseases harmful to pets or humans

First of all, I just want to clarify that I am talking about ground squirrels. Check this websit out for info, http://cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/squirrel.htm but the main part you'd be interested in is...

"Ground squirrels can harbor diseases harmful to humans, particularly when squirrel populations are dense. A major concern is bubonic plague transmitted to humans by fleas carried on the squirrels. Ground squirrels are susceptible to plague, which has wiped out entire colonies."

It goes on to talk about baiting, fumigation and trapping... they have this to say about trapping:
"Trapping
Traps are practical devices for control when ground squirrel numbers are low to moderate. Live-catch traps are effective, but present the problem of how to dispose of the live animals. Because ground squirrels carry disease and are agricultural pests, the California Fish and Game Code specifies that it is illegal to release them elsewhere. "

And about bait...
"Anticoagulant baits can be used in bait stations or by repeated spot baiting. Bait stations contain sufficient bait for repeated feedings and are the preferred method around homes and other areas where children, pets, and poultry are present."
 
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I don't mind sharing a bit but when the density gets too great, they are a pain and a danger. When squirrels caused hundreds of dollars of damage to my house, I'd had enough.

You'd need to check out the laws in your area as they differ all over the country. In a previous location, it was illegal to kill squirrels but it was OK to live trap them and relocate. You do have to take them more than 7 miles before release or they can find their way back. I once took more than 50 out of my back yard in less than a month using two live traps. These were the guillotine type traps about 6" x 7" and maybe 14 to 16" long, not the big raccoon traps. I used black sunflower seeds as bait, sprinkling a few around the outside of the trap, a few just inside the trap and a few more back behind the pan. Catching two or sometimes four a day was not unusual. Placing the traps so the door faced a tree seemed to give them a little more confidence.

I had a friend who would trap squirrels in his back yard in suburbia and release them on a friends property in the country. Then, during hunting season, they'd get together.
 

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