# Squirrel (not a have a heart thread)



## RWolff (Jan 27, 2013)

Aww, have a hart, they are cute!

You can't get rid of squirrels by trapping or killing them, nature abhors a vacuum, something we foolish humans don't learn when we try to "control" wildlife- they simply reproduce FASTER and have larger litters and more offspring, and neighboring animals move into areas vacated by rivals.

I don't have squirrels in my attic, never have, you just need to plug up all holes, and put in heavy duty screening over vents etc

Squirrels can walk wires, jump amazing distances and climb straight up with ease, they are smart and will figure out even a maze of pathways to get at food.


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## tjfslaughter (Oct 2, 2012)

RWolff said:


> Aww, have a hart, they are cute!
> 
> You can't get rid of squirrels by trapping or killing them, nature abhors a vacuum, something we foolish humans don't learn when we try to "control" wildlife- they simply reproduce FASTER and have larger litters and more offspring, and neighboring animals move into areas vacated by rivals.
> 
> ...


I do have a heart. That is why I tried to relocate them. I paid for two different exterminators and the patched the same hole twice, used the one way doors. They patched the hole with metal screen. They keep chewing in. It was recommended that I relocate the problem squirrels. Once I saw them defeat a trap multiple times (with my own eyes) I knew I had to do something different. 

Having to rewire my second floor or having a house fire is not worth it.


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## NitrNate (May 27, 2010)

first, trim all your trees so they cannot leap from tree to tree freely. then, get some dogs, seriously. i have two and i have watched them work. they are a team when it comes to taking down squirrels. they will wait and wait and wait till the squirrel eventually gets tired and comes down the tree. then they pounce. it's awesome and i don't feel bad because it is nature taking it's course.

over the years i have less and less squirrels in my yard. they may reproduce like crazy but i generally get the young dumb ones in my yard that don't know any better (and are so much easier for my dogs to catch). the ones that live stay away, they know better. they stick to the neighbors' yards without any dangers.


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## tjfslaughter (Oct 2, 2012)

NitroNate said:


> first, trim all your trees so they cannot leap from tree to tree freely. then, get some dogs, seriously. i have two and i have watched them work. they are a team when it comes to taking down squirrels. they will wait and wait and wait till the squirrel eventually gets tired and comes down the tree. then they pounce. it's awesome and i don't feel bad because it is nature taking it's course.
> 
> over the years i have less and less squirrels in my yard. they may reproduce like crazy but i generally get the young dumb ones in my yard that don't know any better (and are so much easier for my dogs to catch). the ones that live stay away, they know better. they stick to the neighbors' yards without any dangers.


I wish dogs could happen, this issue is at a rental we have. The trees are trimmed, they actually climb the gutter down spouts.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Hawks and falcons are a good way to control them.....we have some in the park across the street.


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## tjfslaughter (Oct 2, 2012)

ddawg16 said:


> Hawks and falcons are a good way to control them.....we have some in the park across the street.


Our hawks are about 1/4 mile away.....


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## RWolff (Jan 27, 2013)

Letting dogs kills squirrels in not "natural", dogs are domestic animals not wolves hunting for survival.
Besides, squirrels, mice rats etc can carry a number of parasites and diseases your dogs can get from them, and transmit to YOU.

Squirrels can carry infected fleas and plague, a bacterial disease people can contract


> through close contact with the furry animals, health officials warned.





> Last September, public health authorities had traced multiple cases of hantavirus, a rodent-borne disease, to Yosemite. Of the confirmed cases, two were fatalities and five had been connected to the 91 "signature tent cabins" in Curry Village, one of the park's most popular campgrounds.



A dog that kills squirrels is at risk of getting a disease from the squirrels caused by swallowing a tick on a squirrel or possibly swallowing rodent poison from inside the squirrel)


mange mites are another thing dogs can get from them.

If the squirrel had intestinal parasites (tapeworms, roundworms, etc) those could be transmitted to your dog.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

So, you know where they are getting into the attic? if they are chewing
through the wood patch where you re-patched it,
then you can to patch it better.

Squirrels are extremely resourceful and clever, like a dog on a bone they
don't give up. Getting back to the patch...screw barbed wire back and forth 
over the patch so that it is impossible for them to chew through the wood,
or screw a sheet metal plate over the wood.

In the mean time put a speaker in the attic and blast hard rock music
into the attic, this scares the holy hell out of them. Do this now before
even addressing the opening where they're getting in.

btw...the speaker trick really works. :yes:


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## gobug (Jul 13, 2012)

There are 10X as many squirrels in cities than in the wild where they originated. That is because we provide habitat and food. The American squirrel is a major problem in England. 

Squirrels are a major risk for fires started in attics. A mother squirrel has 2 litters a year of 2. At 2 months, the new baby squirrels go through a teething frenzy and that is when an electrical wire can be gnawed and a fire started.

Squirrels are extremely territorial. Trap one and relocate it then the other squirrels in a densely populated squirrel area will not allow the relocated squirrel to move in. 

Once a squirrel learns how to get into an attic, it will repeat the behavior when relocated. It only takes a few minutes for a squirrel to chew and scrape through a soffet and return to it's home in an attic, especially if there are babies.

There are a few simple things about trapping a squirrel. First, the trap must be secured. Second, if it is in the attic, there needs to be something under the trap, like a piece of cardboard or wood, so the wire trap bottom does not have holes into the insulation. It helps if the bait (peanut butter usually works well) is on a slice of apple skewered on a little stick. A tiny smear of peanut butter at the trap entrance helps, too. Place the trap near the spot where the squirrel enters of exits the attic, even if that is on the roof.

I suggest a trap that fits into a trash can filled with water. This makes for a quick and easy end to the captured squirrel. It may seem that trapping creates a void that is quickly filled with other squirrels. That just means trapping a few more to get some balance.


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## Jacke (Jan 31, 2016)

The trap you showed - how do you dispose of the rodent after it's caught? Does it shake out? 
Gross but... desperate times call for desperate measures - even gross measures. I'm so with you.

Have had the Wildlife company out way too many times. Have had tree limbs cut, have had the little Bas$ar$s extracted and galvanized steel applied to 3 places on the house that holes were chewed - 3 separate times. 

Had a new roof installed in Oct. 2015 and because of a roof issue, had the siding on a dormer wall replaced which meant removing the galvanized steel from that area that had been previously "chewed". NOW... a squirrel is continuously on my porch railing jumping up on to the roof to the same place where the siding was chewed open and covered with new siding - UGH. I refuse to continue to pay for non-permanent removal of these things. Nothing short of extermination will get rid of them.

Thanks in advance


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## tjfslaughter (Oct 2, 2012)

Grocery store bag, tie it in a knot and put it out with the garbage. They do not get bloody in this trap so it is not as bad as it seems. I have not had an issue in a couple years once I got rid of the ones that knew about the attic.


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## Jacke (Jan 31, 2016)

The trap you showed - how do you dispose of the rodent after it's caught? Does it shake out? 
Gross but... desperate times call for desperate measures - even gross measures. I'm so with you.

Have had the Wildlife company out way too many times. Have had tree limbs cut, have had the little Bas$ar$s extracted and galvanized steel applied to 3 places on the house that holes were chewed - 3 separate times. 

Had a new roof installed in Oct. 2015 and because of a roof issue, had the siding on a dormer wall replaced which meant removing the galvanized steel from that area that had been previously "chewed". NOW... a squirrel is continuously on my porch railing jumping up on to the roof to the same place where the siding was chewed open and covered with new siding - UGH. I refuse to continue to pay for non-permanent removal of these things. Nothing short of extermination will get rid of them.

Thanks in advance


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Get an electric fence and wire it over the opening where they are coming in, they get hit they will leave that place alone. They also make battery powered electric fence boxes.


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

I feel sorry for rats, -no one feels sorry for them, no one hesitates to kill them, no one says "they were here first". If only rats had bushy tails they'd have it made. No difference otherwise.


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## Jacke (Jan 31, 2016)

tjfslaughter said:


> Grocery store bag, tie it in a knot and put it out with the garbage. They do not get bloody in this trap so it is not as bad as it seems. I have not had an issue in a couple years once I got rid of the ones that knew about the attic.




How do you get them out of the trap? Do you shake them out into a trash bag, etc.?


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## fireguy (May 3, 2007)

Jacke said:


> How do you get them out of the trap? Do you shake them out into a trash bag, etc.?


the whole trap goes into a trash bag. A shot of CO2 from an obsolete fire extinguisher kills the rodent. Put on exam gloves, open trap and shake the trap over the garbage can. Repeat as needed. (Do the above when the neighbors are not out. They love the rats, and feed them)


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