Time to Thin the Herd

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Scott Hammer TOXIC

Scott Hammer TOXIC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2002
Messages
12,301
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Location
Warrenton, VA
This is waaaaaay off topic but I have a problem, well actually lots of them but this is the most recent....I have squirrels, not just a few....lots!! I have Hickory and Beech trees around my house, These tree rats are eating my asphalt roof, chewing my new decks to pieces, getting in my garage and destroying lots of stuff (the hose on my pressure washer, ANYTHING plastic, etc,) I have tried everything and no one has a solution. Now, I used to own a pest control company and usually they are just a casual intruder but these rodents are terrible. I could poison them but I think it is time for the birdshot in the 22 long rifle and some "unnatural" selection. Call PETA cause I'm gonna make the front page of their news letter (no I'm not gonna trap them and relocate them!!). Anybody need any hindquarters for stew!!LOL



TOXIC
 
Tox-

Squirrels are very smart(as far as amimals go).The .22 might be your only solution.

As we would say up here in the mountains "Thems' not pests,thems' dinner". YEEEEHAW



If you live in town,you can always get a nice pellet gun.I would hate to have one eat poison and crawl under the house and die.



Steve



I was showing the boss pictures of your boat last night.She said "don't even think about it". Looks like I will have to do some heavy duty butt kissin'.

Or do like I did with my current boat,just left work at lunch time and bought it.She was pretty p.o.'d when I came home with a boat,but she got over it.
 
I helped my father-in-law thin his herd with a .177 Crossman pellet gun equipped with a simple 4x scope. He's since upgraded to a nice Beeman(?) .22 pellet gun with a better scope.



The nice thing about an airgun is that you get a soft PFFTttt!!! versus the snap of a .22 (even a .22 short). The neighbors don't notice the air gun, while they might complain a bit about a .22!



 
I picked up a couple of break barrel pellet guns for traing the boys and found they work great on squirrels. Quiet, powerfull - one shot (head shot) kills all the time. I don't eat them but they make excellent crow bait :).



Just a suggestion if worried about the sound of a .22



Rich
 
Tox,

I will assist in the herd thinning :) Let me know. I am always in for some movign target practice :)



Carlos
 
Evenig ToX-

A guy I use to work with -- Would trap them -- then put them in a trash can full of water -- He would get rid of 15-20 each year -- Not sure what he used for bait - I'm thinking "peanut butter".



I have gotten rid of a few with my pellet gun.



My son and I use to hunt them with bows while walking out from deer hunting. Shocked the boy when I got one @ 38yrds that was on the run. (shocked me 2),



Another idea -- get a large cat--I've seen cats hunt and rid a guys place of those tree rats.



Or you could invite about 15 - 20 of us over for BBQ and beer -- bring our guns and bows -- Be a heck of a party-LOL

HaleDamage
 
I most certainly have enough for everyone!! I've been doing the pellet gun thing but need a stronger one. I just have had enough....My decks really po'd me. I spent major deniro on 3 new decks (1,100 square feet worh) and they are chewing them like toothpics. All of the flowerbeds look like a bombing practice field. The roof is really getting hit hard...why they want to chew on asphalt shingles I'll never know. I had some birdseed in the garage that I put in a metal trash can and weighted the top with a spare tire from the trailer and the lid is bloody from them chewing on the lid and tire trying to get in it. They have actually chewed through my gutter guards to get at the standing water. Neighbors or not it's open season. CIII, you are more than welcome to come over and make it rain carcasses. My neighbor and I used to do that but there are more kids (we'll wait till school starts) now and new neighbors. I had one buddy that rigged a bird feeder up to 110 and had a cord in his garage. When they would get on it, he would just plug it in and voila...fried squirrel. I want to be humane but I want them gone!! Call Granney, Jethro and Jed, vittles is just about ready!!



TOXIC
 
Just put a bowl of anti-freeze out--next to the bird seed--Some where the dogs will not get into it--

It works.



OR



I know, in Olathe, if we call animal control-- they will bring out traps and pick them up with the citters inside,,



HaleDamage

 
Tox, get with JR, he's got a good recipe for beaver, should work on squirrel too.

I used to think of myself as the "Great White Squirrel Hunter" when I was about 14. I liked to use a trick I read in Sports Afield magazine. Tie a string about 25 or 30 feet long to a bush near a tree where Rocky and his friends are hanging out then position yourself on the opposite side and settle in. When the varmits get used to you being there, pull the string and rattle the bush. They will run around to your side of the tree and the rest is up the you or Carlos if you think he can hit a squirrel. ;>)

Happy hunting!



Harpo
 
I just knew there was no other way than to pop some caps in to them. I wouldn't mind them being around...live and let live I always have said... but they are causing $$ damage now. It is time to open a Texas sized can of whoop on them. Had one chew a Japanese Maple that I raised from seed in half. It was in a planter on my deck. I waited for the next one to step on the deck and capped him with a hollow point. End of story!!



TOXIC



 
Benjamin makes a fine .22cal pellet rifle. Depending on what the rules are where you live (city or boonies), you might call Hunters for the Hungry and ask them to take a special interest one weekend. No problems, no "what do I do with the meat", etc.



I've seen a man clean a rabbit without even opening him up. Grabbed the ears with one hand and just below the neck with the other and pulled. That rabbit had the world's worst 'roid. I'm guessing it MIGHT work with a squirrel, though a squirrel is much more about muscle than a rabbit.
 
Maybe you could find some killer cats...

Keep 'em outta your shrubbery thought...phewww eeee.

Seriously, they are a real pest. We had some build a nest in the chimney, I sealed the cap, they could not get in or out, they must have had babies or pups or whatever they are called. We had the biggest fly infestation for about a week. What a mess.

Squirells are cute but a bigger pain.

Good Luck
 
I agree Tox...Go to your local Animal Shelter and find you the "biggest and meanest Tom Cat" you can find(maybe two) and keep em' outdoors and feed them just enough to keep em' around and they'll take care of it. My buddy had the same problem but, it slowly went away between "target practice" and watchin' the daily cat chasen and eatin' those critters right in front of us. His Tom would always bing em' up on the porch(which he had a hole already dug and throw em' in) after his cat would eat em'. That Tom just loved cruchin' on the heads...pretty gross but, very effective!

TEE

BTW..I can't let my Tom out for that reason...he'll chase a squirrel a mile...he hates em'.
 
Tox - Maybe what you should do is build some real nice fancy squirrel feeders and put premium sunflower seeds in them and then put the feeders in your neighbors yard. Then you can let them worry about it. LOL
 
I have this old friend, Jane - see her picture with me from 1970 in my library - who was having the same problem..... She lives in the quiet little suburb of Webster Groves here in St. Louis so she went out and bought herself a $300 RWS pellet gun. Her brother sent her a "red dot" scope and she had me mount it on the gun for her. I test fired that thing..... WOW!! UNBELIEVABLE power and flat trajectory over the about 100' to Jane's back fence! She sits in her bedroom window now and does them in - then sends her border collie/border terrier dog out to retreive the carcasses!
 
Tox,....MAKE SURE you don't have any "witnesses" (aka neighbors) who could report you,.....as much as a PIA squirrels are,...ya still gotta have a license and be within the "season" to dispatch them ......any covert ops should be done swiftly, and quietly (a .177 cal pellet is perfect)....good huntin' Rambo!!! (and don't forget to bury the evidence!!)



 
Actually, Mac..... A few years ago, I had a real problem with rabbits eating the tops off my day lillies before they bloomed and with them skinning the bark from my flowering pear trees..... I asked a Conservation Agent what to do and HE told me to shoot them with a pellet gun! He said that agents had no problem with home owners doing that sort of thing when animals ceased being "wildlife" and became "pests".
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I can't do the cat thing, my Weimaraner got a nose shred job by a Tom one day and he has learned to "dispose" of cats with one bite (they are notorius cat killers anyway). No foolin around there. I had an old tom that could kill anything and there isn't a dog alive that would mess with him. He used to kill muskrats, coons, possum, and would always bring 2 home. Eat one and leave the other at the door. Vet said he was trying to feed us. That cat would actually go hunting with me. I had to shoot sparrows out of the barn and his record of eating them was 7.



I had the best laugh this morning. I was standing on my deck and I hear branches cracking and nuts are falling everywhere, then.....WHAM a squirrel lands head first on the deck. Probably fell 50 feet +. I spit coffee through my nose!!



I'm gonna think on it...pellet or birdshot???? I am off today. Time to go crappie fishing.....Later



TOXIC
 
Good point Rich..money for the hides and tails...can't go wrong Tox!

TEE
 
Hey Toxic,

Maybe you could donate the victims...er volunteers to this webpage.



On the other hand, you may meet up with Gray Rambo.



david......
http://www.physics.uc.edu/~matt/photos/200304squirrels/
squirrel.jpg
 
Tox-

What kind are they?

You mentioned holes in the flower bed...are they they little ones (we call them ground squirrels)? kind of like chipmunks with longer tails???

Or do you have the fox squirrels like in the picture above?



az
 
TOX, Problem with poison is (as Steve R. noted) they crawl under your house and die. I'd have to say "right tool for the right job". If the birdshot doesn't work, lemme know. I'll bring the "right tool" below... (Carlos might be a little more handy with this one than the pellet gun as well...). ;^)
NiteShoot.jpg
 
TOX!! 110v birdfeeder... I love it!! I had a video someone sent me. Wish I had saved it. A couple of college kids rigged up a trap thrower on the rail of their parents deck. You know -- the kind that you stake down to the ground. Then they ran a string inside the house, baited the thrower with peanut butter, and waited. I guess that squirrel in that video must have went at least 50 yards before he touched down. I bet he never came back to that house. Now if you wanted to make it really sporting you could have us all over and see who could drop the most squirrels "on the wing" with your pellet gun....

JJ...
 
I think you should make your yard more squirrel friendly. Try given them designated chewing areas.
 
Terry:



ROTFHALMPCJNO!!!!



<b><i><u>THAT</b></i></u> one is being forwarded to Boeing, St. Louis!
 
Nominal, I tried that. Put corn at the end of the property to keep them away from the house...It didn't work. They ate the feeder. They have chewed holes in my waste oil container, plastic gas cans...I can go on and on. I have a lot of patience. I almost put in one of those sonic deterrants but after a lot of reading, I think they are a scam. These are gray tree squirrels. Smaller than the reds. I have some ground squirrels also and they do not bother anything. The flowerbed mess is from them burying their nuts (I'd like to bury their nuts...in their throat!!) I also have flying squirrels but they are nocternal and do not bother anything. Almost had them tame enough to eat out of your hand. The Gray's are pests plain and simple. Also have a lot of snakes but they just scare the beejezus out of you if you are not looking. Have 6 foot blacksnakes.....have no mice!!LOL Went to take the trash out one night and when I came back into the garage and went to step into the kitchen, there was one of the 6 footers coiled up on the step. I screamed like a little girl and ran out in the driveway. Then I laughed, got a broomstick and put him out. Was having coffee on the deck, looked over and there was a 6 foot + blacksnake stretching from my roof to a huge ficus tree on the deck. He came down the tree, between my legs and over the otherside. I think my wife got in the car and drove to the next county in her nightgown, LOL. Did find a copperhead the other day and relocated him out into the forest. He was curled up on my drainpipe. Didn't want to kill him. They don't bother you if you leave them alone. So you see, I really do like most all of God's creatures, even the dangerous ones. But the tree rats have pushed me over the line. I'd do that launch thing if it had spikes in the paddle....I also don't want to drop $300 on a pellet gun...I have the .22. Took some out with hollow point long rifles a few years ago but man was it loud.



TOXIC
 
Toxic --

Be sure and film everything you do to get rid of your little critters.



Then you could make a movie -- name it "Toxic's Shack and Rambo Rats". I'd pay $20 to watch it.



Just be carefull -- don't hurt yourself or put in jail.



If you lived closer- you could use my RWS pellet gun.



GOOD LUCK and "may the force be with you".

HaleDamage

 
$300 for a pellet gun?? Tox,...we're not talking about a Weatherby!!..LOL.....Just get a cheap "Crossman" pump at Wallyworld for @$40 and a box of pellets for $2.00...done deal!! (Load the pellet backwards, so the hollowed out rear of the pellet is pointing forward,....makes a GREAT hollow point!!..ahaha)



Mac the Knife
 
I spent $19.99 at a gun show for a "Chinese trainer gun", a powerful .177 cal single shot pellet gun. Fires pellets at similar velocities as a .22 without the noise. Pretty accurate out to about 100'. Used to thin the squirrel population myself back when I lived in the "ghetto". Used the pellet gun and my bow. Pretty effective.



Craig
 
Toxic, Didn't mean to make you type so much. I was only joking. lol Kill the darn critters before they kill you. lmao



Not sure if this is true or not, but I have heard that male squirrels are very aggressive towards other males. That the more dominant male will actually chase down other males and chew their nuts off to keep them from having offspring.(ouch) Maybe when you kill one you could cut them off and hang em up in the tree. This might run the others off. roflmjno Robert
 
Was wondering where that post was going Nominal! Was starting to picture Tox in a giant squirrel costume and,...well, the rest of the image just went downhill from there.
 
Tox - If your rifle will take a short, try a CB .22 short and I swear you'll love it. Plenty of knock down power up to 60-70yds and no louder than a pellet gun. Just a SNAP and a dead squirrel. I went through your frustration when I bought this house a few years ago. I use a Savage single shot with a Tasco 4X5 scope. I think I've got $75 in it for just one job, squirrelinating!
 
HAHAHA!! Thanks Dan....and Robert, I ain't eatin no squirrel rocky mountain oysters!!



TOXIC



Hey Rockey, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat....



Not again......
 
Tox -- here's one that actually works. Get some .22 shorts and a couple of baby bottle nipples. cut a small cross hatch in the end of the nipple and tape it on the barrel of your rifle just like it was a baby bottle. They make a pretty good silencer and will last for a few shots. Just makes a little soft pop not much louder than the pellet rifle....

JJ..
 
Toxic ---- You are in trouble -- "Rambo Stud Rat"

That's one proud rat--"I'd be proud if I were him".

HaleDamage
 
Toxic, I thought about you the other night while watching a tv show, "Yes, Dear". They were having squirrel trouble so the main idiot, his brother-in-law, and idiot friend get into all their camo gear and set up in the back yard. Finally the squirrel shows up and they fire about a 100 pellet gun rounds at it and miss. The squirrel runs away and out into the street where the wife hits it with the car and then has to explain death to the kids.



BTW, Those Copperheads are bad news. VERY poisonous and agressive. Let the black snakes and King snakes live but get those Copperheads out.



Harpo
 
You mean Labor Day weekend CIII? or this weekend (which is not long, LOL). Labor Day weekend is when KB is going to Buggs. I am getting a little static from the missus because if I go to Buggs that weekend, the next weekend is Woo Daves little shindig and our annual block party, the next weekend I am going back to Nebraska to do a graveside service and bury my mother's ashes. Whewwwww...I'm tired already. So, in short, if I do not get a kitchen pass for Buggs, Labor Day weekend I will be around!!



I still don't have my boat!!LOL



TOXIC
 
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