squirrels

I have dozens of ground squirrels that are eating my plants, taking plums. How do I get rid of them?

I use a haveaheart trap and I trap them. I then let them go somewhere else. The only problem is the more they move the more replace them. I did recently leave a whole loaf of bread outside a hole. I haven't seen a squirrel in that barrow since. >^,,^<

Hi mrsch.  Welcome to our party from Atlanta, GA!

Please introduce yourself (maybe in a new topic so we don't hijack this one, lol) & tell us about you, your garden, what you like to grow, why you like sfg, etc.

mrschc wrote:I use a haveaheart trap and I trap them. I then let them go somewhere else. The only problem is the more they move the more replace them. I did recently leave a whole loaf of bread outside a hole. I haven't seen a squirrel in that barrow since. >^,,^<

I have four of the Haveaheart traps. I can trap 4 or 5 squirrels a week and relocate them but it makes no difference. My neighborhood is infested with them.

I even let 3 volunteer tomatoes grow out by the alley to give them easy access and leave my garden alone but OHhhhh  Noooo.... Not good enough. They like my garden tomatoes better.

Now, the rabbits decided they like to eat my small zucchini, but you know what..???  I've decided I like to eat rabbits. We'll see who can out eat whoooo....

 I wouldn't mind the critters eating some veggies, if they would eat the whole thing, but again...............    OHhhhh.....NOoooo.  They like to take a few bites off a big red, ripe Tomato then go try another one.

  Oh well....  It's either the rain flooding, the sun baking, the frost frosting, the hail damage, the high winds, the droughts or the critters.

 BUT.....   WWMD.  "What Would Mel Do"  

Well I thought I had a well laid out plan. This winter, the wife decided to feed all the wild birds and the squirrels came to feast. At first I was irate but she said let the squirrels eat, it is winter. Then it crossed my mind that the squirrels would get fat and slow, making it easier to catch them. Sadly the flaw in the plan is that I am slower than a fat squirrel. Not deterred, another plan, another hobby, taking up falconry. Will report back at a later date. Oh a herd of squirrels are called a dray or scurry. I have a scurry of fat squirrels that I have in training to run a marathon. Plan B in case plan A with the hawk fails.

MrBooker wrote:

mrschc wrote:I use a haveaheart trap and I trap them. I then let them go somewhere else. The only problem is the more they move the more replace them. I did recently leave a whole loaf of bread outside a hole. I haven't seen a squirrel in that barrow since. >^,,^<

I have four of the Haveaheart traps. I can trap 4 or 5 squirrels a week and relocate them but it makes no difference. My neighborhood is infested with them.

I even let 3 volunteer tomatoes grow out by the alley to give them easy access and leave my garden alone but OHhhhh  Noooo.... Not good enough. They like my garden tomatoes better.

Now, the rabbits decided they like to eat my small zucchini, but you know what..???  I've decided I like to eat rabbits. We'll see who can out eat whoooo....

 I wouldn't mind the critters eating some veggies, if they would eat the whole thing, but again...............    OHhhhh.....NOoooo.  They like to take a few bites off a big red, ripe Tomato then go try another one.

  Oh well....  It's either the rain flooding, the sun baking, the frost frosting, the hail damage, the high winds, the droughts or the critters.

 BUT.....   WWMD.  "What Would Mel Do"  

The squirrel problem (American  grey tree squirrels ) is much the same here in Great Britain especially in my neck of the woods in South Wales  SA18 .

Fresh caught, skinned & pan fired squirrel meat or as a stew once browned in a hot pan with onions is  even better than a 12 week old rabbit for eating .

 I have a humane break neck every time squirrel trap ( " Fenn Trap " " ,  why pay to grow meat & add to global warming when it walks into your garden for free ?.

For almost mature fruits, I use net baggies that avocado, lemons, etc., come in.  I bought off eBay.  

glfitzsimmons wrote:I have dozens of ground squirrels that are eating my plants, taking plums. How do I get rid of them?

There's no easy solution to deal with squirrels.

I'm in the San Gabriel Valley, CA.  I have to deal with outsmarting the tree squirrels; they go after my peaches.  So I created a tree cage.  It's made with 8 foot PVC frame, which is covered with bird netting all around. The netting is clamped on with PVC clamps and I use garden staples to hold it down on the ground.  BUT, the tree needs to be kept shorter than the frame.


This is a picture from last year.  The pillowcase was to block the sun on a 104 degree day.


I hope your trees aren't too tall or too many.  I purposely keep my peach tree short for this reason.

They don't bother my veggies.  My sister protects her beds from rabbits by covering her beds, like this:

Dan in Ct wrote:This winter, the wife decided to feed all the wild birds and the squirrels came to feast. At first I was irate but she said let the squirrels eat, it is winter.

  The more squirrels you feed; the more squirrels will breed.  I don't know if I need to control squirrels; or my neighbors!

plantoid wrote:

MrBooker wrote:

mrschc wrote:I use a haveaheart trap and I trap them. I then let them go somewhere else. The only problem is the more they move the more replace them. I did recently leave a whole loaf of bread outside a hole. I haven't seen a squirrel in that barrow since. >^,,^<

I have four of the Haveaheart traps. I can trap 4 or 5 squirrels a week and relocate them but it makes no difference. My neighborhood is infested with them.

I even let 3 volunteer tomatoes grow out by the alley to give them easy access and leave my garden alone but OHhhhh  Noooo.... Not good enough. They like my garden tomatoes better.

Now, the rabbits decided they like to eat my small zucchini, but you know what..???  I've decided I like to eat rabbits. We'll see who can out eat whoooo....

 I wouldn't mind the critters eating some veggies, if they would eat the whole thing, but again...............    OHhhhh.....NOoooo.  They like to take a few bites off a big red, ripe Tomato then go try another one.

  Oh well....  It's either the rain flooding, the sun baking, the frost frosting, the hail damage, the high winds, the droughts or the critters.

 BUT.....   WWMD.  "What Would Mel Do"  

The squirrel problem (American  grey tree squirrels ) is much the same here in Great Britain especially in my neck of the woods in South Wales  SA18 .

Fresh caught, skinned & pan fired squirrel meat or as a stew once browned in a hot pan with onions is  even better than a 12 week old rabbit for eating .

 I have a humane break neck every time squirrel trap ( " Fenn Trap " " ,  why pay to grow meat & add to global warming when it walks into your garden for free ?.

I have been battling Squirrels for half a century and the Squirrels win every time. A few years ago, I bought a pellet rifle and turned the tables on them PLUS...  I get fresh meat in the freezer.

I have the pellet gun, and can't say I haven't used it; but the outcome of having to compost squirrels or feed their bodies to the gators is just more work than I want.  Probably the same reason I haven't started eating them either; too lazy to clean them, and the fur tickles my throat.

Frost? wrote:I have the pellet gun, and can't say I haven't used it; but the outcome of having to compost squirrels or feed their bodies to the gators is just more work than I want.  Probably the same reason I haven't started eating them either; too lazy to clean them, and the fur tickles my throat.

You're not supposed to eat the fur. I use the fur for ass wipes. I got the idea from an old joke.
A bear and a Squirrel was taking a poop in the woods. The Bear asked the Squirrel, "Does poop stick to your fur"? The Squirrel said "Nope".  The bear grabbed the Squirrel and wiped his ass with him....    You're welcome.

MrBooker wrote:

Frost? wrote:I have the pellet gun, and can't say I haven't used it; but the outcome of having to compost squirrels or feed their bodies to the gators is just more work than I want.  Probably the same reason I haven't started eating them either; too lazy to clean them, and the fur tickles my throat.

You're not supposed to eat the fur. I use the fur for ass wipes. I got the idea from an old joke.
A bear and a Squirrel was taking a poop in the woods. The Bear asked the Squirrel, "Does poop stick to your fur"? The Squirrel said "Nope".  The bear grabbed the Squirrel and wiped his ass with him....    You're welcome.

  And they say squirrels are smart; sheesh!

My electronics-savvy husband wired a fence charger to a bird feeder at out previous house decades ago.  Positive to the top metal rail. Negative to the bottom perch. FAr enough distance that no bird is tall enough to cross the two. But squirrels who would climb up the pole and hang down, feet around the top and emptying the whole feeder in a few seconds with their front paws...  squirrels got taught a lesson.  They would sit stunned a few seconds in the yard, then scamper off.  It was the only way we were able to feed birds.

This came to mind recently when a squirrel started chewing our electric wiring in the cars.  Three cars and four repairs and a garage cleanout to park 2 of the cars inside later...  we hooked up the charger with a makeshift jig.   (Insulating pad of pink styrofoam, some foil and aluminum tape, ground walnut paste, and some hardware cloth in a couple of areas to encourage them to get up to the jig.)
This we put up under the hood of the last car remaining outside.  And put a trail camera on it. 

Only took one shock.  Then the squirrel, who had a taste for soy-insulated wiring went off to the neighbor's van.

So then the same squirrel started on my planters on my porch.  Those we had to use chicken wire cages. I can't figure out how to hook up the fence charger around those planters.

Soose wrote:My electronics-savvy husband wired a fence charger to a bird feeder at out previous house decades ago.  Positive to the top metal rail. Negative to the bottom perch. FAr enough distance that no bird is tall enough to cross the two. But squirrels who would climb up the pole and hang down, feet around the top and emptying the whole feeder in a few seconds with their front paws...  squirrels got taught a lesson.  They would sit stunned a few seconds in the yard, then scamper off.  It was the only way we were able to feed birds.

This came to mind recently when a squirrel started chewing our electric wiring in the cars.  Three cars and four repairs and a garage cleanout to park 2 of the cars inside later...  we hooked up the charger with a makeshift jig.   (Insulating pad of pink styrofoam, some foil and aluminum tape, ground walnut paste, and some hardware cloth in a couple of areas to encourage them to get up to the jig.)
This we put up under the hood of the last car remaining outside.  And put a trail camera on it. 

Only took one shock.  Then the squirrel, who had a taste for soy-insulated wiring went off to the neighbor's van.

So then the same squirrel started on my planters on my porch.  Those we had to use chicken wire cages. I can't figure out how to hook up the fence charger around those planters.

 
Definitely a viable option.  I have certainly considered it, but far too lazy.  I like the ingenuity of re-purposing a prior invention.

I just bought 4 bolts (54" x 40yds) tulle.  Will that keep out squirrels? It will keep out rats and birds, according to a video I watched.  Said they get their little claws caught in the fabric, don't like the feel of it, it's not natural to them, and they don't bother her stuff anymore at all.   Hoping it'll work on my new raised beds?

Soose wrote:I just bought 4 bolts (54" x 40yds) tulle.  Will that keep out squirrels? It will keep out rats and birds, according to a video I watched.  Said they get their little claws caught in the fabric, don't like the feel of it, it's not natural to them, and they don't bother her stuff anymore at all.   Hoping it'll work on my new raised beds?

It will be an interesting experiment, I'd imagine it might be a "negative" encounter for most squirrels, but heaven forbid you get a ballet squirrel - might use your tulle for a tutu.

There is a company whose products I use called Spray N Grow. Really love their micro nutrients I spray on my veggies. Works great.

They also have a product called "Repels All" that repels a host of little creatures, including squirrels.

We had a tom cat that would leave his scent on a storage building out from our house. Used the product and he hasn't been back that we can tell. At least the area doesn't stink anymore.

Think the product imitates some predictor and they leave the area.

Scottie

Scottie, I just tried to look at Spray and Grow ...   I just used a search engine.  The first link gave a warning from my browser as a dangerous site.  So I looked at the search again and there's a diff link for the company?  Which do you use?  That first link is the one it rejected, without gardening at the end of the name.  (See below.)
Thanks, Soose

From DuckDuckGo... wrote:

Spray-n-Grow Safe Gardening Products | Home Gardening ...

[url=https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Spray N grow+site:spray-n-grow.com&t=ffab&atb=v256-1][/url]https://spray-n-grow.com
Welcome to Spray-N-Grow! Home to our exclusive products Spray-N-Grow, Coco-Wet and Bill's Perfect Fertilizer. We have 3 division: Home Gardening, Agriculture & Hydroponics.

www.spray-n-growgardening.com

[url=https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Spray N grow+site:www.spray-n-growgardening.com&t=ffab&atb=v256-1][/url]https://www.spray-n-growgardening.com
Just like you, we love to garden! Our family started Spray-N-Grow 39 years ago so you can grow your dream garden and yard with products that are all natural, nontoxic or organic. PRIVACY POLICY.

Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients-www.spray-n-growgardening.com

[url=https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Spray N grow+site:www.spray-n-growgardening.com&t=ffab&atb=v256-1][/url]https://www.spray-n-growgardening.com › Spray-N-Grow-Micronutrients › products › 17
Home/ Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients 8 oz. $11.95. Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients 16 oz. $19.95. Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients 32 oz. $33.95. Spray-N-Grow Micronutrients gallon. $99.95. Who We Are. Just like you, we love to garden! Our family started Spray-N-Grow 40 years ago so you can grow your dream garden and yard with

Neither of those link for for the spray n grow website. Website should start with spray-n-growgardening dot com  shouldn't start with that duckduckgo prefix.

Amazon carries the products also. Just search spray n grow repels all. I just prefer going through the website as they will be shipping from there anyway.

Been using their products for close to 20 years. Very satisfied with the results.

Scottie