Author Topic: Darn squirrels (Read 11998 times)

Les · « **on:** July 26, 2015, 12:08:10 pm »

Every doggone tomato that I have had on the verge of totally ripening has been gnawed on. I see perfect teeth marks! I don't think it is the rabbits but the doggone squirrels. If only I could !use my .22 there would be a few less squirrels in the neighborhood. So disheartening when you start them from seed and work so hard to get them to fruiting, lift up the tomato and find the bottom gone! Arrrgh!

lazy shooter · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2015, 01:36:16 pm »

Yep, squirrels love tomatoes, and mocking birds peck a lot of my tomatoes. My answer is to grow more tomatoes than they can destroy. It's a real pain when the first tomatoes are ripening.

Ray4852 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 27, 2015, 08:04:26 am »

It could be a woodchuck eating your tomatoes.

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #3 on:** July 27, 2015, 08:21:13 am »

Several years ago I was talking to a senior gentleman who had the best looking tomato plants just loaded with tomatoes. He said the secret to keeping the squirrels (and there were plenty of them) from biting the tomatoes was to provide plenty of water... for the squirrels. It worked for him. There were pie tins of water setting all over his garden area. He had more tomatoes than he knew what to do with.
I have given up on tomatoes in my yard. Too disheartening to go to all that work only to feed the danged squirrels. Funny, they don't try to mess with my bees!

Les · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2015, 12:21:32 pm »

Ray, I don't think it is a woodchuck because my neighbors have been dispatching them (illegally I might say) and I haven't seen a single one in my yard. Bunnies yes, chucks no.

Les · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2015, 12:22:51 pm »

Baker, now that is an interesting premise. Sigh.....just one more thing to take care of LOL.

iddee · « **Reply #6 on:** July 27, 2015, 01:11:02 pm »

The squirrels here don't bother any thing. I open my freezer door and they just lay there. They don't move at all until ready to go into the pan.

Garden Hive · « **Reply #7 on:** July 27, 2015, 08:11:02 pm »

That's a good one iddee !

I would suggest a pellet rifle. they work great in the neighborhoods, and very effective at a reasonable range. borrow one from a neighbor if you have to or ask a youngster to come over and pay them per squirrel. Tip them over ! Tim

Retroguy · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2015, 11:06:08 pm »

I'm not supposed to use a firearm in my neighborhood but I have my fathers 1925 Stevens Long/Short .22 for which I can get short range loads. Makes no more noise than most pellet guns and I only shoot where I can hit one of my buildings if I miss (and I usually don't). The pellet gun is a good option.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #9 on:** July 28, 2015, 12:49:36 am »

I cant buy .22 ammo anymore, so i have started using the Mini (.223) to fix everything... unfortunately, it makes quite a mess, but I can reload those cases. I have not yet figured out how to reload a .22 rimfire or I would.

Bakersdozen · « **Reply #10 on:** July 28, 2015, 09:04:56 am »

Quote from: Les on July 27, 2015, 12:22:51 pm

Baker, now that is an interesting premise. Sigh.....just one more thing to take care of LOL.

Yes, I can imagine this consumed much of the elderly gentleman's time.

Les · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2015, 10:00:29 am »

Lazy, my neighbor is an avid reloader. When I complained to him about how difficult it is to obtain .22 bullets and asked him if I could reload. He said nope, you can't reload .22 bullets. Sigh, oh well just have to wait every Thursday for my Gander Mt ammo delivery notices and hope it is on the list. 9 mm ammo seems to be much more available, time to purchase a new gun I think.

I am not willing to take the chance and shoot in my back yard. Even though it is wooded behind us, there is a main road on the other side of the woods. Not to mention NYS law says 500' from a residence for firing a gun. With my luck.........! I want to keep my permit, at least until the uninformed folks take away our right to carry.

Now the darn squirrels are testing my nectarines for ripeness. Found a couple with perfect teeth marks in them. Ken and I wrapped the tree in tulle yesterday, I hope they don't chew through that.

Ray4852 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2015, 11:06:29 am »

Don’t get discourage because you have somebody in your garden eating your vegetables. Get smart. Be patient. Get yourself a trap and remove them. The law says you can’t take them off your land to dump them somewhere else. Get a 50 gallon barrel of water and put the trap and animal in and drown it. I throw the trap and rodent in a pond with a long rope.

http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/squirrel-traps

Jen · « **Reply #13 on:** July 28, 2015, 06:52:52 pm »

I'm sorry Ray, I just can't drown any animal, that's an awful slow way to die. But I'm not against shooting them quickly and efficiently. Somebody told me that they trap feral cats, take them into their closed up garage, put a balloon on the end of their .22 and it muffles the sound of the shot.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #14 on:** July 28, 2015, 08:43:37 pm »

500' from a residence for firing a gun.

I think if you check it says 500' from a residence unless you have the permission of an adult ocupant/resident. You "should" be legally capable of shooting from the window of your OWN residence.. At least that is how it reads in most states... barring Mass of course... I once tried to do the right thing and ASK what I needed to do to transport my firearms through Mass when i was moving to Maine.. they got WILDLY angry with me.... SO I just packed them deep and drove through, and made sure I didnt do ANYTHING wrong...

Les · « **Reply #15 on:** July 28, 2015, 11:16:05 pm »

Oh no, I could not drown them either! Tomorrow the tomatoes get wrapped in bird fencing. I hate using it but I am not losing my tomatoes one by one to those stinkers.

Jen · « **Reply #16 on:** July 28, 2015, 11:48:07 pm »

My tomato plant got eaten by the deer

but my daughter said to just keep watering it and let it re-leaf, so I did and I just now have new blooms. So, if all goes well, I'll have maters in the Fall

Les · « **Reply #17 on:** July 29, 2015, 08:36:58 am »

Jen....your deer encounter reminds of the time I was living in another area and I could see my veggie garden from the kitchen window. I had my tomatoes in homemade cages made from the wiring you use when you pour concrete. I would cut out small sections to allow my hands to get in to pick suckers and tomatoes. I am looking out the window and thinking to myself, "something looks odd out there". Took a stroll out to the garden and saw that the deer had stuck their noses through the holes I cut in the fencing and stripped my tomato plants down to nubs. I swear they watch us from the woods to see what we are doing and plan their attack LOL!

So far the squirrels have not chewed through the tulle on the nectarine tree. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into a tree ripened nectarine. The ones you buy in the store are rock hard and by the time they ripen on your counter, they are rotting.

Jen · « **Reply #18 on:** July 29, 2015, 10:08:51 pm »

We've got the best nectarines from the farmers markets now, and giant tomato's. Sooo so Good

neillsayers · « **Reply #19 on:** July 29, 2015, 11:07:51 pm »

Les,

I have used blood meal sprinkled around the beds to repel rabbits, deer and woodchucks. It is readily available at garden supplies. Downside, it really stinks after a rain. Don't place too close to plants as it is a high nitrogen fertilizer and might burn the roots.

Neill