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PostPosted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 4:59 pm 
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Location: Dallas,TX
Jim,
When we bought our trap several years ago, we were told that squirrels are territorial and would come back to "their" area if you don't take them at least 7 miles away to release them. That was a big pain in the neck, so we started going much shorter distances, but before we released the little beasts, we sprayed their tails with landscaping spray paint. We never saw a decorated squirrel in our area, and eventually stopped the spraying. We always cross a body of water or a busy highway, as you do, just to be sure.
K


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2004 2:28 pm 
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Kay Young wrote:
Jim,
When we bought our trap several years ago, we were told that squirrels are territorial and would come back to "their" area if you don't take them at least 7 miles away to release them. That was a big pain in the neck, so we started going much shorter distances,... We always cross a body of water or a busy highway, as you do, just to be sure.
K


That explains all the roadkill! Just kidding. Kinda. Unlike "instant lead poisoning", this is still legal.

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:43 pm 
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An elderly neighbor several doors up from me in a Fort Worth suburb has been trapping and killing squirrels all summer, to the dismay and growing anger of his neighbors. For a while he had some of those cruel snapping traps (the jagged teeth ones that have probably been illegal for years) and then went to "have-a-heart" traps. But he didn't have a heart--he took an airgun and shot the squirrels in the trap. Neighbors "relocated" his traps several times and he bought more. 37 dead so far (he keeps count!), buried in his back yard (probably acting as a health hazard right there!)

It would be one story alone if he just had a problem that caused him real hardship, but he planted a backyard full of pecan trees and of course squirrels are attracted by the busload. In some inane reasoning, he feels he's "protecting his investment" by killing squirrels. But he's 80 years old, retired, not running a pecan business, and those squirrels are burying his nuts in his neighbors' yards. If we can tolerate pulling out the half-million or so pecan shoots out of our yards every growing season :wink: , he should be able to tolerate the squirrels toting them off.

Anyone else have a simliar story to tell, and more importantly, how did you solve the problem?


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:59 pm 
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Northwestern
I have found killing the only way to deter squirrels (tree rats). If you have ever had them living in your attic you might be able to understand your neighbors problem/feelings. Many people think they are cute and need to feed them, but in my book they are a pest.
Sorry if anyone is offended, but that's the way it is!

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 7:56 pm 
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gbc,

Squirrels living in your attic is no excuse for killing them. I had them in my attic also, when I moved into this house, which meant that I had to physically block their access to the attic. So it did it--I climbed up and spent an entire day blocking weak screens and small holes with hardware cloth. What's your excuse? :!: If you can't block them out yourself, hire someone to do it !:!:

When one builds a house in the middle of the habitat of critters that make an effort every year to have a nice warm winter, then one must to expect to evict them on occasion. Killing them is not a good answer, it is just expedient. You can call them names all you want, but they're smart and beautiful and funny.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:10 am 
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I don't think they're very cute when they chew through electrical wiring and burn your house down. Sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do.

annnnnd... it tastes like chicken!

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:00 pm 
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Same answer applies--if you do nothing about them, they'll do damage. If you chase them out and seal off the openings, they won't get back in. There is no need to kill them.

Think about it--you can deal with the shortcomings in the structure of your home, or you can just keep killing the animals that decide to take advantage of the situation. I'm not an animal rights person at all, I find the whole movement rather short-sighted and shallow. But I also find it repellant that people will kill squirrels rather than climb up in the attic and fix the problem. Denegrating them as some sort of "rat" is just to make those killing squirrels feel better about taking the easy way out. Aside from the quip at the end of the last post, I see no idication of anyone actually eating these squirrels.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:05 am 
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Northwesterner,
Perhaps I should have clarified my thoughts. I haven't resorted to killing any squirrels myself (although I've felt like it a few times after they ate every last pecan in my tree). BUT, here in Ellis County we have many older homes, some dating back to the 1880s and I have friends that have tried without sucess to keep them out. They gnaw new openings in hundred-year-old siding within hours of plugging the previous hole. Trust me, they tried your suggestion. In essence, they are destroying many historical properties. Some of these houses have areas in the attic that are inaccessable and would be dangerous to even attempt to access. Squirrels win, you lose. Last resort? They must die. And it has nothing to do with taking the "easy way out".

I do understand your point and agree with it but as I said, sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do.

And BTW, people have eaten squirrels for centuries. I don't eat squirrel myself, but it's really not any different than killing a chicken is it? Chickens just aren't as cute.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:20 am 
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I kill squirrels the natural way. I learned it form my neighbor. He would put a bag over his wife's head and take her out into a natural setting. When squirrels would gather around he would remove the bag and ugly them to death. I do this with my wife but we are unable to eat them afterwards . It tears up the meat too much. :)


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:34 am 
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If people would at least eat them once they kill them I would find that a better solution. If they would trap them and move them, I would find that an acceptable solution. You do have to move them quite a distance, or they'll come back. I'm not saying there is no occasion when trapping and killing them out of the question. But for some it seems the easy way out, and that is repulsive.

I'm sure there are situations in which it is difficult or impossible to get into all spaces of the attic. There are probably other settings as well in which the squirrels pose a significant hazard and must be removed for the safety of all and sundry. I find my hackles rising at those who justify knocking off squirrels by making them into an undesirable "Other" (it begs the question: how big does an animal have to be, how charismatic, before these individuals will consider something other than killing it if it is a nuisance?) But this strays from the realm of gardening and into the field of ethics.

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 Post subject: Killing squirrels
PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:53 am 
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Northwestern,
You should have the pleasure of living in an A-Frame home with wood shingles. You would change your tune. Blocking the holes doesn't keep them out, they just dig new ones.. If they have been living there for several years it will take several generations for them to remember not to want to live there as well... Not everyone has the luxury of doing the "right" thing every time and I can assure you that you will not kill offf the species either.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:21 pm 
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If you read my last post you'll see that I conceded there are probably occasions when killing is necessary. I can only suppose that you responded now in order to get the last word--because your remark that I would change my mind were I in your shoes is just hyperbole.

You have justified your killing the squirrels. I will note that just as killing them will not cause them to go extinct, it will also not solve your problem. But it is disengenuous to suggest that those who disagree with you would change their minds "if only."

Northwesterner


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:05 am 
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We seem to have strayed off the original topic, so I must lock this post.

One tip about the bird feeder:
It may not keep squirrels from eating the feeder, but to keep them from eating the bird feed, I have had success with feeding the birds safflower seed. Apparently, squirrels do not like safflower seed, and they leave it alone. It has worked for me for 4 months so far! :D

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