Squirrels are a huge problem.

[HappyDuckie]

Daisy 880 pellet gun. These multi pumpers sell for about 40 dollars. Use pellets not BB's. BB's ricochet off hard surfaces. Pellets are more lethal and collapse when hitting hard surfaces. Safer and more effective. Multi pumps take ten strokes for full power, 5 or 6 pumps is enough for close range squirrel dispatch. Over 30 feet away go all ten pumps for less drop of pellet at that range. At 10 pumps will send a pellet over 700 feet per second.

I'll spend a morning when nobody is home and kill six chipmunk or squirrel at a time. They breed like rats because they are rats with hairy tails. They'll get into your house and in general are a terrible nuisance above a threshold of two. If you see two there are more than five and soon population growth.

Yup. I use the same gun, pellets work much better like you said.

 

[MykaMom]

I’d look into a pellet rifle. Very quiet and with practice can be lethally accurate. I’m confident I could remove squirrels if I wanted. I’m not sure about the legality of discharging in town, but don’t think it would be very noticeable. That or try a live trap.

I'd check your local ordinances. My step mom has a pellet rifle she uses on marauding cats and squirrels. She lives in a large metro area. No one has said anything. As quiet as it is, I don't think the neighbors can hear it and they're close by. Good luck!

 

[MarkJr]

I have a springer pellet gun. 1100 FPS +/-

It’ll kill a raccoon inside 20 yards. Squirrels to about 35-40 yards.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Yeah, I got a Hatsan 125 .22 springer. I pull that out when the mink show up. The 880 is my first gun from the late seventies I gave to the boy. Air guns are fun and very handy for pest and predator control.

 

[ChichiMama]

Can they fit through the chicken wire? I would think yes except you said yours were huge so I'm not sure

They bite and bite and chew even when they get stuck in between TWO layers of chicken wire! On the outside and inside lol I just can’t believe how fat they are this year- but then again- I never had chickens, to feed the squirrels like this. I’m not kidding- ground hog size. Looking down from an upstairs window, I thought I was looking at a ground hog til he moved and changed positions.

 

[ChichiMama]

Yeah, I got a Hatsan 125 .22 springer. I pull that out when the mink show up. The 880 is my first gun from the late seventies I gave to the boy. Air guns are fun and very handy for pest and predator control.

My husband uses his bow and BB gun for the raccoons and squirrels. The squirrels are just relentless. The raccoons- they usually won’t come back twice a night after scared away once- but these freakn squirrels think they are so entitled lol and we have had raccoons actually open a window with their little thumbs to the one coop- and take all our beautiful white Silkie babies one time. All feathers no chickens. So that window was nailed shut, rather than just closed. But they kept coming back.. and we don’t have them as much now. We have a chicken camera now lol and an electric fence.. but there is a chipmunk that I love, that eats out of my hand... I was trying to trap the squirrels in a small old coop and lure them to the top with peanut butter and seeds.. and save the rest til my husband got home
And the raccoons- me scaring them away is pots and pans, with a metal spoon like a crazy lady. So I hiss and try to make scary animal noises during the day and bang pots at night lol gotta do what i gotta do, til I find something better

 

[ChichiMama]

My husband uses his bow and BB gun for the raccoons and squirrels. The squirrels are just relentless. The raccoons- they usually won’t come back twice a night after scared away once- but these freakn squirrels think they are so entitled lol and we have had raccoons actually open a window with their little thumbs to the one coop- and take all our beautiful white Silkie babies one time. All feathers no chickens. So that window was nailed shut, rather than just closed. But they kept coming back.. and we don’t have them as much now. We have a chicken camera now lol and an electric fence.. but there is a chipmunk that I love, that eats out of my hand... I was trying to trap the squirrels in a small old coop and lure them to the top with peanut butter and seeds.. and save the rest til my husband got home
And the raccoons- me scaring them away is pots and pans, with a metal spoon like a crazy lady. So I hiss and try to make scary animal noises during the day and bang pots at night lol gotta do what i gotta do, til I find something better

Yes, he uses an air gun too. And the 12 yo tries to use a sling shot, which I keep hiding bc I really don’t think they are a good idea lol

 

[ChichiMama]

I have a springer pellet gun. 1100 FPS +/-

It’ll kill a raccoon inside 20 yards. Squirrels to about 35-40 yards.

Yes,,. Like I wrote below...
yuck then there was a squirrel tail I tried to throw over the fence with a stick that was blowing back at me

 

[Chickassan]

Have you started barking and growling yet?
That is a real hit around here,im the best dog for miles.

My husband uses his bow and BB gun for the raccoons and squirrels. The squirrels are just relentless. The raccoons- they usually won’t come back twice a night after scared away once- but these freakn squirrels think they are so entitled lol and we have had raccoons actually open a window with their little thumbs to the one coop- and take all our beautiful white Silkie babies one time. All feathers no chickens. So that window was nailed shut, rather than just closed. But they kept coming back.. and we don’t have them as much now. We have a chicken camera now lol and an electric fence.. but there is a chipmunk that I love, that eats out of my hand... I was trying to trap the squirrels in a small old coop and lure them to the top with peanut butter and seeds.. and save the rest til my husband got home
And the raccoons- me scaring them away is pots and pans, with a metal spoon like a crazy lady. So I hiss and try to make scary animal noises during the day and bang pots at night lol gotta do what i gotta do, til I find something better

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They bite and bite and chew even when they get stuck in between TWO layers of chicken wire!

Right.. that's why chicken wire is NOT effective but hardware cloth is.. nowhere to get leverage to chew on the wires because the holes are too small for the teeth to fit in.

me scaring them away is pots and pans, with a metal spoon like a crazy lady. So I hiss and try to make scary animal noises during the day and bang pots at night lol gotta do what i gotta do, til I find something better

Hello Hon.

Let hubby, help you hone YOUR air rifle skills and become a force to be reckoned with! Show hubby and son that Ladies got game too. That's my version of a better option.

At my house.. we don't let roles dictate our actions but do what we need to according to unique talents... Guess who does ALL the dispatching here.. I do, the happy wife. (My teen daughter was the one who had enough guts to harvest our first cockerel dinner). and uhm my husband does dishes and laundry, now that we are "retired". But having the whole family versed in handling our firearms (even air rifles) so their adrenaline or fear doesn't get in the way of hitting their intended target if or when the need comes. One thing I've learned is that waiting for someone else doesn't always work out well. My point here is just to empower you hopefully!

Noting that taking a life is for me at least a VERY hardcore choice and while I understand that something dies for me to live and accept that. I personally choose containment and dissuasion/exclusion tactics over eradication/extinction which I personally find to be not doable and also not wise regarding predator/pest visits... despite understanding the desire for it at times.. Yellowstone shows us why balance is key.

E wire is good when it's working, placed right, etc.. and I can see you have done a lot of things to help control the issue. There are still many more that can be done and effectively.. it depends on what you're willing to invest and what your goal is. For me hardware cloth to cover ANYTHING needed is more affordable than losing birds or replacing them and also than feeding relentless numerous free loaders. The squirrels gripe from the trees! And from wherever I see them I respond something like this..

If you want more TRUE suggestions.. post photos of your set up and order some hardware cloth.. Since you hand feed a chipmunk, poison is probably also not a good choice for you.. which is one of most effective means of eradication. There are many rat threads on here with LOTS of valid information.. which to me.. despite being rat focused is still squirrel relevant! In fact I've taken the liberty to post the following link to the most pertinent information you will find on the subject of rodent control in the following thread, seriously..
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-the-video-series.1337456/#post-21874248

Best wishes, hope this helps!