Ground Squirrels....errr

[SizzlininIN]

Well my little friend the ground squirrel has reappeared....errr! Oh and I should mention the neighbors big galute for a dog decided he wanted to eat it so he dug a huge hole in my back yard trying to get to it....still ticked about that.

Has anyone dealt with these lil buggers before? How do I get rid of it? Its seriously digging too many holes in my yard.

I need a TNT remedy please.

 

[shannon in KS]

I can't help but giggle at this visual. I am sorry you are dealing with this! Squirrels freak me out! So high-strung and opportunistic. I have been caught a few times by worried passers by while cursing because I am sure the little psychos will rise-up at any given moment. What does a ground squirrel do to be such a nuisance? We have tree squirrels here. The hyperactive chitter chattering is enough to drive me batty.

 

[middie]

Squirrels don't bother me. I like 'em. I'm sorry I don't have any advice for ya Sizz. I'm sure someone will though.

 

[SizzlininIN]

I can't help but giggle at this visual. I am sorry you are dealing with this! Squirrels freak me out! So high-strung and opportunistic. I have been caught a few times by worried passers by while cursing because I am sure the little psychos will rise-up at any given moment. What does a ground squirrel do to be such a nuisance? We have tree squirrels here. The hyperactive chitter chattering is enough to drive me batty.

Then you'd of gotten a big kick of lil ole me out there trying to shoo away this dog that has nothing but space between it ears. Oh it drives me crazy when it gets loose. You try to shoo it away and it tilts its head and gives you this stupid look.... I could go on and on about this dog. I'm an animal lover but this one with it constant barking and desire to relieve himself in my yard and now digging holes....causes me to have bad thoughts about it....I'm ashamed to say.....will be so glad to get the fence up.
Yes the owner has been addressed and the police called but its like talking to thin air.

Ok..... back to the topic.........ground squirrels..........errrr!

 

[Alix]

Put a stick of Juicy Fruit gum by the holes. I have a farmer friend who swears by this method.

 

[Barb L.]

Not quite clear - which one is digging the holes - squirrel or dog ?

 

[pacanis]

My parents had chipmunks at their old house. The little buggers would undermine their driveway and sidewalks. It was nothing to see half a dozen of them anytime I would visit. Scurrying up downspouts, hanging out on the patio.... everywhere. They tried every poison, trick and concoction known to man and Heloise. Nothing worked.
I don't recall them having this problem when I was a kid and our neighbors had a cat they would let roam.

 

[auntdot]

Could use a Have-A-Heart trap, they have them in many different sizes. We have one we have used for recoons in the attic. But they have them squirrel size.

After you trap them (as bait can use peanuts, or peanut butter or all kinds of stuff) take them a good number of miles away and let them go. The suckers can find their way back if you drop them a block or two away, and I have been told even a mile or more.

For other ideas go to a farmers' coop. Those folks generally know a whole lot about a bunch of things dealing with critters.

Good luck.

 

[pacanis]

After you trap them (as bait can use peanuts, or peanut butter or all kinds of stuff) take them a good number of miles away and let them go.

Ackk
Is that where all these raccoons have been coming from? Someone has been making them my problem.

Seriously, sometimes it's just better to follow "The Three S Rule", shoot, shovel and shutup. I read an article on rabies not too long ago concerning either Virginia or West VA... (I always get the two mixed up) and how a localized rabies problem became a statewide one. They were blaming relocated wildlife. Sometimes it's not in everyone's best interest to relocate a problem.

 

[shpj4]

Those little ground squirrels don't bother me - I see them in the trees but I have no idea how to get rid of them.

Good luck.

 

[Snoop Puss]

On a light-hearted note:

A police chief here in Spain was having trouble with moles digging tunnels in his lawn and leaving mounds of earth everywhere. His wife kept telling him to do something about it and in the end he decided he better had to keep the domestic peace.

So he goes into the station and calls his best two officers and tells them to go round to his house and deal with the moles. Top instructions were that he really wanted the moles to suffer like he had from his wife.

He goes home at lunchtime to find the officers hot and sweaty but looking pleased with themselves. He asks them did they find the moles.

"Yes sir, indeed we did sir."

"And did you make them suffer?"

"Yes sir, indeed we did sir."

"So what did you do with them, then?"

"We buried them alive, sir."

 

[buckytom]

Put a stick of Juicy Fruit gum by the holes. I have a farmer friend who swears by this method.

lol, alix. strangely enough that farmer friend of yours absolutley loves juicy fruit. did he happen to tell you to do it just before dark (and he had a flashlight?)...

ronjohn told his neighbors to do the same for groundhogs, but the rodents in michigan love a good heffeweizen.

 

[Alix]

LOL Buckytom! No, I'm serious here. The deal is that Juicy Fruit is sweet enough to attract the little critters, but when they chew and swallow the stuff it well...gums up the works. (Sorry about that) They love the stuff, but its deadly to them. And its a heck of a lot cheaper than buying commercial rodenticides. They use it on their ranch because the ground squirrel holes are absolutely deadly to the cows. Step in one of those and *snap* goes the leg and you just lost several thousand bucks worth of beef, or more if it was in calf.

OK, I realize its not a really humane sort of death, but it does work.

 

[Renee Attili]

I have 3 dogs that work as a team to fix my squirrel problem. One chases it up the tree then grabs a branch that hangs down and shakes the whole tree. The other two dogs circle the tree and whichever dog is closer when it falls out gets the prize. A little morbid, but, it's amazing watching those 3 working so well together. So I guess my suggestion is to get your neighbors dog along with 2 more.LOL

 

[Buck]

I need a TNT remedy please.

Sizz,
You had the answer all the time!!

Just make sure the fuze on the TNT is long enough so you have time to clear the area before it blows.

You might call the Roadrunner. He can get you a good deal on Acme TNT.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Sizz,
You had the answer all the time!!

Just make sure the fuze on the TNT is long enough so you have time to clear the area before it blows.

You might call the Roadrunner. He can get you a good deal on Acme TNT.

.......geesh I have enough holes the way it is I don't need a crater to boot .

Well I'm going to try the juicy fruit idea first.....at 30 cents a pack it sounds the most reasonable . I'm ready for a resolution cause i'm scared my pup is going to get his leg down in one of those holes and hurt himself.

Thanks everyone!

 

[sparrowgrass]

Aunt Dot and Pacanis--relocating an animal seems kinder than killing it, but in most cases (according to wildlife researchers) relocating an animal is a death sentence.

In an unfamiliar area, they don't know the safe places to hide, and they don't know where the food is. It is also often illegal to relocate wild animals.

Here in Missouri, I can kill a raccoon if it is bothering my chickens, but hauling it off the to the woods is a game violation.

 

[mudbug]

Aunt Dot and Pacanis--relocating an animal seems kinder than killing it, but in most cases (according to wildlife researchers) relocating an animal is a death sentence.

In an unfamiliar area, they don't know the safe places to hide, and they don't know where the food is. It is also often illegal to relocate wild animals.

Here in Missouri, I can kill a raccoon if it is bothering my chickens, but hauling it off the to the woods is a game violation.

Interesting, sparrowgrass. Here in my neighborhood in northern Virginia we had a beaver problem. The county says it's illegal to kill nuisance animals (beavers, racoons, etc.) and the only thing you can do is take them elsewhere. We also had feral cats. The county lent the neighbors traps to catch them, but I don't know what happened to them after that. We don't have any around here anymore.

 

[StirBlue]

Seasoned Flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 diced carrot
1 cup boiling water/stock
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 large squirrels
Serve with pan gravy & rice
6 servings
(Recipe title: Potted squirrels)

 

[Dove]

Good idea stirblue...be sure to skin the little critters first.

When we were at Camp Lejeune N.C. Paul hunted for food..really! we ate many a squirrel, venison and fish. ( all out of necessity )