Squirrel damage...advice please

[Cadillactaste]

Moved my trees off the deck. I had four on my pub style picnic table...must have given the squirrels to much room to get at them. ? With no feeders out front... Relocated them for now. I never had an issue with squirrels in the two years I've done bonsai. Unbelievable...moved to the back yard...where the bird feeding station is and food for the squirrels. So far...they are happy to visit the feeding stations out back. My creeper is still on the lower front deck. Hopeful they won't mess with it.

 

[Adair M]

It's probably only one squirrel. Get a have-a-hart trap. Bait it with peanut butter. Place it next to your bonsai. That way, you'll catch the right squirrel.

Haul the squirrel at least 10 to 15 miles away, preferably on the other side of a river if possible. Otherwise, he'll come back.

 

[rockm]

You have chipmunks? I have a lot of squirrels around my trees, but there are also a few chipmunks (ground squirrels) too. The 'munks cause a lot more problems than the squirrels...The most effective solution is to kill them.

FWIW, moving them is nice for your conscience, but it's the pretty much the same as killing them outright. These critters are territorial as hell. Moving one into an unfamiliar place is essentially a death sentence at the paws of the locals.

The second best solution is to try and deter them from messing with your trees. Get rid of the feeder, put up owl/raptor decoys and move them around the yard repeatedly. Water sprinklers set to motion detectors, shiny moving objects etc. can be used, but they can get used to those things over time, so you have to switch it up. Get a squirrel-happy dog, turn him loose on the little bastards...;-)

 

[Cadillactaste]

Ravine to the left of us...Wooded area to the right and back. There is no way to remove all the critters. And yes we have tons of chipmunks. Thinking we used to have them destroying the flower beds out back until we put out food. But no feeders out front. I am more apt to put out a feeder and distract them from my trees. It worked for out back.