How do you guys handle these squirrels?…

[Gonzoe]

I always have issues with squirrels digging up the soil and lifting up rocks and moss mats and tossing them aside (as if they hate me) but I refuse to kill them. Before I spend money on something I’d like some suggestions.

Thanks

 

[Gabler]

I use a .22 lever action. They're good with barbecue sauce. They tend to be a little dry without it.

 

[PaulH]

I use a .22 lever action.

A .177 pellet is quieter and works just as well.

 

[Gabler]

A .177 pellet is quieter and works just as well.

That's a good point, but I don't have one.

 

[Gabler]

I also put chicken wire cages over pots susceptible to rabbit and squirrel intrusion in my growing area, but trees on display would look ugly in a cage. Between the dogs and the rifle, it hasn't been an issue for the trees I display on the back porch.

 

[hampton]

I’ve had success wiring a piece of white plastic mesh over the pot. Has the added benefit of helping keep top dressing moist in the height of summer

 

[The Barber]

You have maybe 4 options if you dont want to kill them:

1. Give them food they will prefer more than your trees, and don't let it run out. Afterwards they will still dig out the soil, plant acorns etc in your pots and may still remove the bark from your trees because squirrels are dicks.

2. Live traps, release them far away. A few miles is probably not enough. But I still think you are better off killing all of them...they are rodents and reproduce quite fast. They have two litters per year, 1 to 8 babies per litter, and wean in about 10 weeks. You won't put much of a dent in the population, if any. Gabler is correct, they are tasty. As far as the meat being dry, the key is to pressure cook it before frying it. If you don't own an instant pot, you are missing out. I'm sure there are some great recipes out there that explain it better.

3. As stated above, wrap your trees up in their own personal jail cell to protect them from the squirrels.

4. Predator decoys. Whatever the major squirrel predators are in your area, get a couple of decoys and hope they scare them off. Also can get a house cat for outside around your house, they'll kill them for you. My ex wife had an outside cat that purged my entire property of squirrels.

 

[Gabler]

As far as the meat being dry, the key is to pressure cook it before frying it.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Carol 83]

the key is to pressure cook it before frying it

My Grandma always fried it first, then pressure cooked it, way before Insta-Pots.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

I always have issues with squirrels digging up the soil and lifting up rocks and moss mats and tossing them aside (as if they hate me) but I refuse to kill them. Before I spend money on something I’d like some suggestions.

Thanks

Squirrel-a-pult I'm working on a trebuchet. There's also scent deterrents ,but you need to reapply after rain.

 

[yashu]

 

[vp999]

In my experience...Squirrels has been digging in some pots to hide their nuts.....Not to eat the roots.

 

[The Barber]

In my experience...Squirrels has been digging in some pots to hide their nuts.....Not to eat the roots.

Someone posted trees on the forum pretty recently showing where squirrels had girdled the bark/cambium on their trees

 

[Wulfskaar]

Besides digging small holes in my soil, they tend to go after the Shishigashiras.

In past years, I've made some nice "tanglefoot" using wire mesh of varying sizes, especially the ones with larger holes. You can bend the sharp ends of those wires outwards to make it a very unpleasant experience to mess with.

I put a bit of tanglefoot around my shishigashira that took over a year to air layer.

 

[Michael P]

Dogs, traps, air rifle.

 

[DeepSouth]

Someone posted trees on the forum pretty recently showing where squirrels had girdled the bark/cambium on their trees

My jade was completely girdled by squirrels. They also ripped off a large branch.

They are constantly digging up my soil, eating my organic fertilizers, knocking my smaller tress down, etc.. It is ridiculous. There are so many of them, that I struggle to keep them under control.

 

[Zac]

I have problems with chipmunks they dig to get the roots. They're alot smaller and faster then squirrels harder to shoot them. Have dogs but they're not always outside. There's tons of stray cats around but they cause their own damage knocking stuff over and spraying plants and killing them.

 

[just.wing.it]

Unleash a load of large Black Snakes!

 

[jonfromchicago]

Unleash a load of large Black Snakes!

I unleash a large load of Black Snakes every spring. Works very well.

 

[just.wing.it]

I unleash a large load of Black Snakes every spring. Works very well.

A load of "large Black Snakes" or a large load of average sized Black Snakes.... size matters, ya know!