squirrels!

painter

Mame
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Im just a bit curioius if any of you deal with squirrels? Ive got so many squirrels in my yard digging thru my repotted plants, i often find them overturned, on the ground half chewed up, it infuriates me, any p.c. resolution? ive tried a hava heart trap all ready, they have outsmarted that device. Im willing to try just about anything.
 

JTGJr25

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Yes!!! I too have a very bad squirrel problem and it aggravates me to no end. I have lost a few trees to them as well. I'm going to have to put chicken wire around trees when I plant them in the ground. My Dad bought a hava heart trap and it works great, we use peanut butter for bait. After the trapping, well we'll just leave it at that;) .

Tom
 

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
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I was just at a sporting goods store where a guy was buying an airsoft (rubber) pellet gun for squirrels. It's probably the friendliest solution if you are going the projectile route - I doubt an airsoft pellet would kill a squirrel, though it would sure make it want to stay away.
 

JTGJr25

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I'd have to say a rubber pellet gun would not keep them away. My dad hit one in the head with a BB gun and it just bounced off. 5 minutes later we have a group of 5 squirrels in the back again.

Tom
 

painter

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thanks all.i feel i shouldnt get angry at the little buggers and yet i get enraged.
i think im gonna try a chicken wire cage, then go the pellet gun route.
thanks again
painter
 

bisjoe

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I was just at a sporting goods store where a guy was buying an airsoft (rubber) pellet gun for squirrels. It's probably the friendliest solution if you are going the projectile route - I doubt an airsoft pellet would kill a squirrel, though it would sure make it want to stay away.

I do that too, and while it's fun it won;t hurt them and they are not all that afraid of it. I even send the dogs out to chase them but they know they are safe when on the fence or a tree. I wire my trees to the bench to keep them from tipping over but they will still dig in the soil at times.
 

remraf

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I tried Fox urine last year,a small amount seemed to work so far
and did not notice any odor.purchased at local garden center.
 

Graydon

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I'm surrounded by old oaks (80 to 100 year old ones). There are more squirrels than I can count but rarely do they do any more damage than a blue jay. I feed them peanuts from a feeder on an oak tree and that seems to keep them occupied. Occasionally I find a stray peanut sprouting in a pot, other than that it seems peaceful.

I don't believe you can scare away or otherwise threaten a squirrel. I doubt they have that kind of memory or logic.
 

Zappa

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I had this problem last year....and a wise lady advised me to place mothballs around(not in) my potted plants....havent had an incident since ;)
 

tom tynan

Mame
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The ongoing battle with squirrels is an interesting one...when I lived in NJ we had (2) 50 year old plus Pin Oaks; they produced a tremendous crop of acorns every year. The half dozen squirrels that were always around constantly dug up my lawn, landscape beds and even into bonsai pots. The yard literally had hundreds of holes dug all over; almost like little miners were digging for gold....The only measure that worked long-term was hardware cloth, ie. 1/4" galv. steel mesh - cut to fit over the top of the pot. They seemed to figure out quickly that they were not going to get thru the mesh!!The mesh is unsightly - but nothing else seemed to work. You can secure it with one piece of copper wire.

I still find an acorn or two occassionally in a pot - even though we moved away from NJ almost a year ago. The NY squirrels still dig up the landscape beds - but seem uninterested in bonsai pots....Good Luck with the squirel battle...Tom
 

Rusty Harris

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I believe this is the PC solution you crave!



That was too funny Emk.

As far as squirrels and the damage the do, you will be able to stop them, even with the most extreme measures. The best you can do is try to deter or distract them from your bonsai. Mothballs are cheap, and so are peanuts. Maybe try a repellent near your trees, and a rewarding distraction on the opposite end of your yard.
 

Attila Soos

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I have two squirrels living on the oak tree on my lot, they planted a few hundred oak trees in my yard this year. There are oak seedlings growing everywhere.
But the big problem I had was that something was chewing off the branches of my bonsai. Both from the trees in pots and from some trees in the ground. I had a japanese beech that took three years to grow some nice balanced branching all around, and one morning it ended up looking like a literati, with no branches. First I blamed the squirrels, but then I noticed that the culprits were the roof rats (a smaller version of the large norway rat).
So right now I am waging a war against them and the squirrels look rather innocent, compared to these guys.
Just this morning, a few hours ago, I've caught two of them in my live-trap. I placed 5 of these traps, all over my yard. I started doing it a few days ago, and today I had the first two hits.

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/traptemp.JPG

Once I have them in the cage, I drive up to the trailhead a few miles away from my house and release them in the wild.

By the way, this trap is also designed for squirrels, but it looks like the rats are much faster to get in. I keep the traps constantly armed and loaded, so I expect that within a few months, the rodent population will drastically decrease in my backyard.

The problem of squirrels digging in bonsai pots can be solved easily by placing a collar, made of screen, around the base of the tree. The collar looks like a disk, with a hole in the middle (where the trunk is), and the edge of the disk should extend far beyond the edge of the bonsai pot. This way the squirrel will walk on the screen, and can't dig. Usually they give up after the first few tries and find an easier place to dig.
And, incidentally, this collar is also good to block out the sun hitting the bonsai pot (which is a big problem here in So. Cal.). I use them to also protect the moss on the soil from the strong sun, and to keep the pot cool. It's easy to take them off and put them on at any time.
 
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painter

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wow thanks for all the recommendations.
looks like im not the only one with this problem.
and ive got my work cut out for me.
 

robert1955

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Dude, Move here to Fallbrook, we have no squirrels here. Just earthquakes.

Peace
Bob-from the avocado capital of the world
 
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