The Winter Squirrel War of 2019-2020...

rdinatal

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Yes folks, it's a new season. The owls and hawks have been busy this summer. I've not dispatched any since April. The count last year, just for me, was 53 (confirmed). The hawks accounted for a few more.

Today starts a new year as one walked right past my office and stated to chew on the house trying to get in. My strategy this year is to snipe when I can and to place traps at two locations on the house. To do this I need to ask the locals what is a good trap/bait?

I hear that the Conibear 110 set with a marshmallow is the best.
 
I haven’t had any squirrel issues in about 10 years. I shot all of the ones that were getting in my barn. Snares may work for you as well as the 110 size conibear trap.
 
They remember where they live.....................o_O
 
During one of my squirrel wars, I was just leaving them where they lay and my lab at the time would crunch them down. Dog kept coming down with tapeworms. After the second time I called the vet for medicine, I asked where the damned dog was getting the worms, as she was the only dog I had at the time and not coming into contact with other dogs. Vet said usually get them from eating rodents! Oops, I just looked at the floor, paid my bill and started pitching the squirrels where to dog could not get to them.:confused:
 
They seem to be very plentiful around my house and very active. I see them out in the rain and at 0Dark30 pm. Just bought some CCI Velocitors. My gun smith said they kill them DRT. We'l find out.
 
.177 is more than enough with good placement.
I had too many trees around my old house, and I got really good at shooting up at the squirrels peeking out at me, using tree trunk as backstop, and then jumping out of the way as the twitching little monsters rained down.
most of the neighbors were glad to have me because everywhere else in the neighborhood was overrun with the little buggers, tearing off siding, getting into attics, chewing auto wires, etc.

True recent story - me ducking behind the garage and waiting for a squirrel to look out over a branch, wife walking up from the other side of the garage asking where i was.
Me: "i'm back here, turn around and run away" (shoot).
Her: - still walking towards me - "what do you mean turn around and run? (thud) OH MY GOD!!! EW IT'S TWITCHING! YOU ALMOST MADE IT FALL ON ME!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT??!?!?!"
Me: "I told you to turn around and run, I thought you were going to listen... don't worry though, it's very dead already..."

almost enough to make me miss having trees near the house. wait, no. I'm glad they're afraid to cross open land.
 
The hawks around NCSU's campus have been having their Thanksgiving (feasting on squirrels) for several weeks now. Some videos have been popular (viral?) on the student reddit site recently.
 
We have a BUNCH of pecan trees out back and I swear I have never seen so many squirrels! I am thinking of writing some kind of horror novel about squirrels who develop a neural net for intelligence and decide to murder the inhabitants of a home.
 
I'm a little late to this thread, but I have the same war being waged.

I'll offer this song (again, a little late for the season) as consolation:


The damn things like chewing into then running/playing in my gutters. Usually right around 7am on the weekends. Bastards.

I've got a few trees to drop this winter that have grown to overhang and/or too close to the house that they use for access. Hopefully that curbs the activity. I've only been able to bag one. Another one I hit with the pellet rifle but didn't kill. He ran off leaving blood on the roof. I couldn't give less of a crap about its misery.

I saw our hawk this past weekend and I yelled at him for not keeping up his end of the bargain for using my trees.
 
A buddy told me they can and will chew thru a gutter. THey chewed up my grill cover. Chewed up his deck furniture. I've killed about 6 in the last 2 weeks and the squirrel activity has significantly decreased.. Good hunting.
 
They taste really good too.....these were back yard tree rats.


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Ive taken about 15 since Christmas. Now they don't need to hear a door/window open, they scat if they even see me lookin out the window lol.
I flip em in a pile on the other side of the fence where my mutt cant get them, and since my dog stays inside at night, the unforseen feature of this is I've gotten three feral cats, too.
 
Late to this one as well and as a result, I'm sure many of you will consider me an old curmudgeon, which I probably am. Looking at locations that are listed, most of which aren't specific enough to know too much, my guess is that many having problems with squirrels live in the more urban areas. What you gotta do I guess you gotta do but we all know now that wildlife will flock to an area where they can find food and feel safe.

That said, a couple of notes, which some may or may not want to check out with the NCWRC. There is no trapping season for squirrels and they are classified as a game animal. It is also sad to see such waste as folks killing squirrels and throwing them away. Since it is a game animal, that is what is referred to in other states as wanton waste and is a punishable offense but not here yet. If you have never had fried squirrel or squirrel and dumplings or cooked in the oven with a vinegar sauce you don't know what you are missing.

And just to show that I am friendly, for those who don't know me, and wanting to include everyone, I will invite you to attend the Wild Foods Dinner that is put on by the NCSU Leupold Club on Feb 22. It will be held at the VFW hut on Reedy Creek Road in Cary at around 5:30 I believe. It's an all you care to eat of about anything you can imagine and it is all good. I'm not a student, alumni or associated in any way except once being exposed to the group and event I have been a fan and supporter of these kids ever since. There will also be a blind auction, usually a live auction for a Lifetime Hunting/Fishing License and a live bluegrass band performing. Hope to see you there.
 
It is also sad to see such waste as folks killing squirrels and throwing them away. Since it is a game animal, that is what is referred to in other states as wanton waste and is a punishable offense but not here yet.
I'll pile them by the road if you'd like to come get them.

In all seriousness, I'm not a wasteful person. I keep watch over our water usage, regulate what we throw away, deny drink carriers and bags when not needed, and turn light switches off as a side hobby. I'm not eating a damn tree rat. Fantastic for those that do. I've had it and it wasn't anything to write home about. My rules are if something is hurting my house/property, it gets gone. Tree rat, feral domesticated pet, human, whatever.
 
Squirrel

Gray and Red (statewide):
Oct. 14 – Feb. 29

Daily limit 8; No possession or season limits
 
Late to this one as well and as a result, I'm sure many of you will consider me an old curmudgeon, which I probably am. Looking at locations that are listed, most of which aren't specific enough to know too much, my guess is that many having problems with squirrels live in the more urban areas. What you gotta do I guess you gotta do but we all know now that wildlife will flock to an area where they can find food and feel safe.

That said, a couple of notes, which some may or may not want to check out with the NCWRC. There is no trapping season for squirrels and they are classified as a game animal. It is also sad to see such waste as folks killing squirrels and throwing them away. Since it is a game animal, that is what is referred to in other states as wanton waste and is a punishable offense but not here yet. If you have never had fried squirrel or squirrel and dumplings or cooked in the oven with a vinegar sauce you don't know what you are missing.

And just to show that I am friendly, for those who don't know me, and wanting to include everyone, I will invite you to attend the Wild Foods Dinner that is put on by the NCSU Leupold Club on Feb 22. It will be held at the VFW hut on Reedy Creek Road in Cary at around 5:30 I believe. It's an all you care to eat of about anything you can imagine and it is all good. I'm not a student, alumni or associated in any way except once being exposed to the group and event I have been a fan and supporter of these kids ever since. There will also be a blind auction, usually a live auction for a Lifetime Hunting/Fishing License and a live bluegrass band performing. Hope to see you there.

Noone around here wants them. Ive tried.
If you want them, I'll gladly toss them in the freezer for you to come pick up.

That said, they chew holes in the siding. Ive replaced wiring in the attic from them chewing it up. They chewed a hole in the corner of the shed and tore up stuff I had stored in order to nest. The whirlpool tub currently does not whirlpool because of one chewing on stuff while stuck in a wall. They have chewed and ripped up the sunshade on our porch swing.

In my case, they destroy property and cause extra expense concerning repair/replacement of said property. As such, they are a nuisance and I will continue to thin the herd and protect the investment I have made into my property.

Again, you are welcome to come get them, if you want them.
 
At my first house many years ago. Had flying squirrels getting in the attic. Bought a HavaHeart trap and took the little aerialists to my work location and let them loose on land next to a state park. Trapped 18 of them before they quit coming in. At my house now, some grays and flying squirrels were co-habitating in my range vent. I smoked them out with smoking pellets on stove top. If you let her, Nature will take over.
 
I knew that would start a crap storm but wasn't intended to degrade anyone, just stating facts. My house is in the middle of 184 ac. of hardwoods. Squirrels run around the yard all the time but in 20 years of living here I have yet to have a squirrel do anything other than build a nest in the corner of an outbuilding.

For the offers of free food, if anyone was close I certainly would take you up on it. Anyone who has had a bad experience with wild game is usually a result of improper butchering or not cooking properly. A squirrel, when cleaned properly, by removing the silver skin from the backstrap, parboiled for a bit, floured and slow fried is as tender and sweet a meat as you can get. It just takes a little work but is well worth the time. For comparison purposes, USDA whitetail deer meats are expensive. Whole venison tenderloin is $39/lb, burger is $9.75/lb. so there is great value in acquiring your own wild game. Squirrel is no different. Good meat making good food at much less than what you will spend at the grocery store.

I'm not casting aspersions at anyone who does not use wild game. Just saying that it is really any different from anything else we eat, just not what some are accustomed to. I had never had a number of things until a few years ago but now, if a beaver gets in my pond he goes in the pot. That is some really great meat, and free too. Never had bobcat till a few years ago....... another very good meat. The bottom line is, pretty all meat is the same, to a certain extent and when prepared properly, one would be hard pressed to distinguish one from another.
 
I knew that would start a crap storm but wasn't intended to degrade anyone, just stating facts. My house is in the middle of 184 ac. of hardwoods. Squirrels run around the yard all the time but in 20 years of living here I have yet to have a squirrel do anything other than build a nest in the corner of an outbuilding.

For the offers of free food, if anyone was close I certainly would take you up on it. Anyone who has had a bad experience with wild game is usually a result of improper butchering or not cooking properly. A squirrel, when cleaned properly, by removing the silver skin from the backstrap, parboiled for a bit, floured and slow fried is as tender and sweet a meat as you can get. It just takes a little work but is well worth the time. For comparison purposes, USDA whitetail deer meats are expensive. Whole venison tenderloin is $39/lb, burger is $9.75/lb. so there is great value in acquiring your own wild game. Squirrel is no different. Good meat making good food at much less than what you will spend at the grocery store.

I'm not casting aspersions at anyone who does not use wild game. Just saying that it is really any different from anything else we eat, just not what some are accustomed to. I had never had a number of things until a few years ago but now, if a beaver gets in my pond he goes in the pot. That is some really great meat, and free too. Never had bobcat till a few years ago....... another very good meat. The bottom line is, pretty all meat is the same, to a certain extent and when prepared properly, one would be hard pressed to distinguish one from another.
I know you weren't attacking on a personal level. It's a touchy subject for me because I don't want to kill the darn things. I'm not a hunter, but I'm not going to sit by and let them cause $100's of repairs and my time on the house. My rule is no shooting the ones in the trees and woods--on the house, fair game.
 
The squirrels haven't bothered me and I haven't bothered them...until now. Some have started chewing on the house so Mama said they need to go. I guess squirrel hunt starts tomorrow.
 
Our resident hawk population is apparently too well fed, so the squirrels are getting a bit too comfortable on and near the house. A few years back we had grey foxes and they really kept the population in check.
 
We get a couple that come around to taunt my Dachshunds, but are smart enough to keep their distance.
 
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