Flippin' Grey Squirrel

[ShinyF1]

We have a problem with a young grey squirrel which seems intent on destroying a pretty crab apple tree in our garden. It has scratched away at the bark and is pulling off little branches and feeding on the budding fruit.

Any suggestions [short of euthanasia but will consider it] for putting a stop to it. Poor picture of tree attached,

Thanks

Sean

 

[flango]

Free on loan for situations just like this

 

[Howard]

Gotta go ...... reckon its curtains for the squirrel.

We have a pest squirrel , he gets on our birdfeeder and eats all the sunflower hearts ( for some reason the birds in our garden only eat sunflower hearts ) , we are getting through a 25kg sack every 3 months , and hardly any of that is birds ...

He's going to get plugged soon. I only have an air handgun though , so it'll be a real 'South Central' send off for him .... a hail of bullets ....

 

[Stratman]

An air pistol isn't really powerful enough to despatch a bushy-tailed tree rat.
Mind you, it was only an old Webley Tempest chucking out about 2ft-lbs.

 

[Alfie]

We have a problem with a young grey squirrel which seems intent on destroying a pretty crab apple tree in our garden. It has scratched away at the bark and is pulling off little branches and feeding on the budding fruit.

Any suggestions [short of euthanasia but will consider it] for putting a stop to it. Poor picture of tree attached,

Thanks

Sean

I used to have a squirrel issue too.

The Air arms S410 sorted it.

Get a decent air rifle and the squirrel will be history.

 

[Druk]

I would worry about loosing off airgun slugs anywhere near houses. Squirrel trap works for me. Peanut butter is deadly bait. Once caught they usually fail a buoyancy test

http://www.trapman.co.uk/squirrel-traps.htm



.

 

[Oily Rag]

The place where I live, used to have a pair of red squirrels, they got chased off by a grey squirrel, who proceeded to raid all the bird feeders in the neighbourhood. I saw this little swine one day, burying its cache under a shrub in the garden, coming and going every few minutes. I got my sons catapult and filled it with shingle from the drive, and pebble-dashed the little sh!t.:bannana: Has'nt been seen since, and the pair of reds are now safely tucked up in a nieghbours roof-space,(much to his annoyment) and can be seen generally cavorting about, up and down the Eucalypti in the back garden. Great stuff.

 

[Spinal]

Or something less... terminal...

Like tree-spikes (essentially a ring of nails or other spiky objects pointing down at a 45-degree angle near the top of the trunk). If placed properly, they'll stop most mammals climbing up...

Have a look here:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/tree_squirrels.htm

Also, apparently Naphthalene (moth balls), Ropel, capsaicin, and polybutenes are registered for controlling tree squirrels... not to kill them, but to repell them...

 

[Godot]

Grey Squirrel Control: Actively promoting the humane culling of grey squirrels

When I used to ride in Windsor Great Park, there was a "bounty on Grey Squirrels " I think we got about 50p a squirrel. I think that in some parts there might still be a bounty paid. A quick search mentions bounties up to £3.00 for each tree rat.

A Butcher in Somerset is doing quite good business selling them it seems :
Squirrel meat proves popular in Walton, Somerset says butcher Henry Atwell

If you search around a bit, I'm sure you can come up with a recipe or two.

Bear in mind that it is a criminal offence to re-release a captured grey squirrel back into the wild!

Tally Ho !

 

[Godot]

Double post, sorry

 

[x332race]

I would worry about loosing off airgun slugs anywhere near houses. Squirrel trap works for me. Peanut butter is deadly bait. Once caught they usually fail a buoyancy test

Squirrel Trap, from 13.99 Trap Man Squirrel trap, humane squirrel trap, approved live catch squirrel trap, large squirrel trap to catch all the grey squirrel without harming the squirrel, No trapped squirrel tail's with Trap Man squirrel trap, Order



.

That's how my father deals with the problem, much to my surprise!....then the foxes get a meal as he chucks them over the fence into the field at the bottom of his garden!

 

[Druk]

It is actually illegal to drown them, (as is release: see Godots post) which is why I favour the bouyancy test method. Not my fault if they can't float.

The law says you're supposed to take them to the vet for humane destruction. At your expense.

Aye right !!!

 

[Satch]

Air rifle is your best best frankly. You can bugger about with "tree protection" methods but PITA, looks terrible and they just go cause problems elsewhere.

You only need to slot one or two and all the others seem to get the message. In fact that applies to sundry lowlife as well but rather unsportingly the powers that be take a very dim view of that.

Do not get too carried away though. You may alarm the natives

 

[D-18]

My preference is to just shoot the little beggars too, but I don't want to become the centre of an Armed Response Unit alert. My elderly mother is virtually housebound and she used get a lot of pleasure watching the birds in her garden. We stopped filling up the bird feeders a little while ago as a couple of Grey's used to empty them in no time.

I've just sent off off for one of the traps mentioned in Druk's post, so I'll see how that goes. An injection of a small piece of lead at high speed may be the end result though

 

[manalishi]

That's how my father deals with the problem, much to my surprise!....then the foxes get a meal as he chucks them over the fence into the field at the bottom of his garden!

I used to do that to them at my last house in Stanmore. One day the fox only ate the top half of the varmint, leaving a tiny pair of furry jodhpurs in the middle of the lawn.

 

[Druk]

I used to do that to them at my last house in Stanmore. One day the fox only ate the top half of the varmint, leaving a tiny pair of furry jodhpurs in the middle of the lawn.

:bannana:

 

[Godot]

They can make good slippers, depending on how they are tanned. If you have a lot to dispatch, try hanging up the dead ones in vision of any other vermin "pour encourager les autres" as they say.

Some tiny little bell jogging my memory re stringing up vermin on fences to discourage others ??????

 

[Druk]

They can make good slippers, depending on how they are tanned. If you have a lot to dispatch, try hanging up the dead ones in vision of any other vermin "pour encourager les autres" as they say.

Some tiny little bell jogging my memory re stringing up vermin on fences to discourage others ??????

Does that include hoodies?....don't tempt me.

 

[crockers]

Are Pigeons vermin too ??

 

[Charles Morgan]

Yes. Feral and Wood Pigeons (plus collared Doves) are pest species for which Defra has issued a general licence to shoot at any time.