War of the Rodents

[Birdy]

Seriously, im living with squirrels. they come in our apartment three times a day (im convinced) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. they help themselves to our cupboards and anything that may be out on the counters. they knocked over coffee onto my keyboard and now my apostrophe key doesnt work. see! read the word doesnt! there should be an apostrophe in there!!

i dont know what to do. they are chewing through the screens and breaking in. im desperate. ive thrown out so much food that theyve gotten their greedy little rodent claws into! i hate them.. before, i was a lover of squirrels.. now i despise them. seriously. this morning i woke up to find that one had chewed its way through the patch job i did to our screen above the kitchen sink.. knocked some stuff over that was on the ledge.. which then fell into said sink, and broke one of my mothers pizza glasses. i love my mothers pizze glasses.. that place was like a chatham landmark and i had a little something left over from it! not anymore. friggin squirrels.

im about to buy a gun. does anyone have any suggestions? i dont want to murder if i dont have to.

[bradm]

Get a cat, maybe?

Aloha,

Brad

[Birdy]

i travel too much. the thought had crossed my mind though!

[mattm]

I have no idea what it costs but you can get metal screens if you want which are much harder to chew through (I think regular screen material is some sort of plastic).

Other than that, you could try to catch them. Look in google for squirrel trap or something and see if you can cheaply build a little trap. When you get them, bring them far away (please don't kill them, they don't know better) or to the humane society who will bring them far away for you.

[color:purple]Or get a gun like you said (I would suggest a shotgun, better chance of hitting the little buggers with a spread shot).

Edited July 28, 2006 by Guest

[Alexis]

how's about getting some A/C if you don't have it and shutting your windows and locking them? squirrels can't chew through glass.

[Birdy]

lol.. im not really going to kill them! sometimes id like to, but i couldnt bring myself to do it.. hehehehe..

lol im just picturing myself standing out on the deck, shotgun on the shoulder, all squared off on one of the little buggers.. haha. thats funny.

its war though.. grrrrrrrrr.. once i get a gameplan that is.

[Alexis]

or you could leave food for them outside, giving them little reason to come INSIDE for food. but that's kinda giving in.

i personally would vote for target practice.

[Birdy]

haha! i think i need to borrow my bros bebe gun.

we have a/c but dont put it on if we dont have too.. i think weve only had it on for like a four hour time span so far this summer... were all about the industrial strength fans that sound like small jet engines.

i wish there was some kind of squirrel spray that they dont like the smell of.. you know that stuff that they used to sell for people who bite their nails.. tastes like shit? thats what i need... the squirrel edition of that.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

GUN!GUN!GUN!

make sure you're drinking heavily when it comes time to whack em, it'll help steady your nerves

your mother's pizza glass eh? that's so crazy it might just work... you could conceivably fold up the crust into some sort of crude vessel and just "drink" the toppings. no wonder you have a squirrel problem

[livingstoned]

haha! i think i need to borrow my bros bebe gun.

we have a/c but dont put it on if we dont have too.. i think weve only had it on for like a four hour time span so far this summer... were all about the industrial strength fans that sound like small jet engines.

i wish there was some kind of squirrel spray that they dont like the smell of.. you know that stuff that they used to sell for people who bite their nails.. tastes like shit? thats what i need... the squirrel edition of that.

you can buy "critter ridder" its at home depot or probalby canadian tire and the like. Its non toxic - I'm pretty sure. You could sprinkle on the window ledge outside and inside - wherever they are getting in - that's your best bet aside from calling a rodent professional or the shot gun.

Edited July 28, 2006 by Guest

[backbacon]

Tell that shady landlord of yours to do something about it.

I did not take the time to read this, (as i don't currently have a squirrel situation on my hands) but the solution to your problem should be somewhere in the following:

From The Squirrel Lover's Club:

The Squirrel Lover's Club TM

How To Keep Squirrels Out Of Your House

There are basically two groups of people that can benefit from the information in this article: squirrel lovers who enjoy attracting squirrels to their yards and feeding them but don’t want them getting inside their houses, and everybody else. Therefore, since each group has its own needs, this article is divided into two parts.

For Squirrel Lovers

Squirrel lovers (like me) who enjoy attracting squirrels to our yards and feeding them have to use extra precautions to keep our squirrels from doing damage to our houses .

After all, squirrels, like all rodents, must continue to chew on objects in order to grind down their continuously growing teeth. This means that they sometimes chew on your house. Typically, the damage occurs on wood siding, louvers, soffits or any place there is an edge they can get their teeth into. They have even been known to chew wooden stairs.

Keeping your squirrels well supplied with “hard†food like hard shell nuts, peanuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and field corn will give them less need to chew other things. And don’t shell or crack the nuts for them. They need to do that work themselves to keep their teeth ground down.

I know some you even let squirrels come into your house to eat sometimes. I’ve let them walk into my house, too. This is a controlled situation, where you know where the squirrel is and what he’s doing until he goes back out again. The squirrels probably never do any damage as a result. Mine never have. However, when a squirrel enters your house by chewing through your eaves or finding an opening other than your front or back door and gets up in your attic, down in your basement or inside your walls, you now have a problem; and that squirrel will do damage to your house. Here are some methods of preventing those problems.

If you have trees or bushes near your house, trim limbs and trees to 6 to 8 feet away from your house to prevent squirrels from jumping onto the roof. Keep bushes and trees from overhanging the eaves at least 4 feet from the roof line. Squirrels will always climb a tree first to access your house before they will climb the downspouts or electrical wires.

If you have isolated trees or electrical poles less than 6 feet from your house, you can prevent squirrels from climbing them to your roof by encircling them with a 2 foot wide collar of metal 6 feet off the ground. Attach metal using encircling wires held together with springs to allow for tree growth.

To keep squirrels from getting in your house, close openings to attics and other parts of the house, but make sure not to lock squirrels inside. They may cause a great deal of damage in their efforts to chew their way out. Place Havahart traps inside as a precaution after openings are closed. A squirrel excluder can be improvised by mounting an 18 inch section of 4 inch plastic pipe over an opening. The pipe should point down at a 45º angle. A one-way door can also be used over an opening to let squirrels out and prevent them from returning.

Close openings to your your house with heavy ½ inch wire mesh or make other suitable repairs. Do not fill holes chewed through wood with more wood. The squirrels will only chew through it again. Use the wire mesh or heavy duty sheet metal.

Screen every attic vent with ¼ inch galvanized hardware cloth so that it is positioned toward the exterior of the mosquito netting. This way, the hardware cloth protects the mosquito netting from being damaged by squirrel claws.

If your house is vinyl sided, make sure caps are installed at the base of the corner pieces.

Screen dryer/bathroom vents. Caution: use care in screening your dryer vents. Failure to screen properly can result in lint clogging the vent, causing the temperature gauge to burn out or causing a fire.

One of the most dangerous traps for squirrels is your chimney. Contrary to public belief, only raccoons, chimney swifts and bats can extricate themselves from a chimney flue. This means that chimneys are a death trap for all the other animals. Countless birds, squirrels and other wildlife die an agonizing death from falling into chimneys. Animals falling into your chimney is also dangerous for you, as an animal’s body can block your chimney and cause carbon monoxide to back up into your house. Protect your squirrels and yourself by capping your chimney.

Chimney caps also protect your chimney’s crown from rain damage.

Can you still use your chimney? Absolutely! Capping still allows carbon monoxide and other dangerous gasses to escape.

Cap all chimney flues with stainless steel caps and don’t think that, because you capped your chimney years ago, it is still protected. Stainless steel caps are a relatively recent invention. For years, they were made of galvanized steel, which would rust away in time.

Caution: chimneys may have more than one flue. Be sure that all flues are properly screened with a professionally manufactured chimney cap.

Do not cover chimney flues with hardware cloth. Hardware cloth not only rusts, but it runs the risk of catching snow which could block the upward movement of gasses and thereby force the gasses back into your house. This is especially true for gas furnaces. Gas furnaces throw off a great deal of water vapor which could freeze on the mesh and force the carbon monoxide back into the house.

Squirrels can also be kept away from some areas of your house with repellents that have an odor squirrels object to. The three most common are: moth balls, dried blood and fox urine. Remember, however, that using these products in areas where you and other people spend time will subject you to the same odors that turn the squirrels off. Moth balls smell like dry cleaning fluid, dried blood smells like a dead animal and fox urine smells like a skunk. So, use these with discretion.

You can also use sticky substances (like honey, not glue) in areas where you don’t wants squirrels climbing. Squirrels, like most mammals, don’t like getting their hair gooey.

For Everybody Else

All of the techniques recommended for squirrel lovers also apply to everybody else. However, since you’re probably not interested in keeping squirrels around and feeding them, there are a few more techniques that apply to you.

One is: don’t feed birds! Bird feeders attract squirrels like magnets attract nails; and when it comes to making a bird feeder 100% squirrel proof, despite the claims of some, I personally believe it’s not possible. I’ve gotten to know squirrels too well to believe any different. However, if you insist on feeding birds, there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of squirrel traffic to your bird feeder.

Put a decent baffle on the pole both above and below the actual feeding area and keep the feeder at least ten feet from any trees or other objects that a squirrel could leap to it from. Also, make sure there are no tree branches directly over the feeder. Forget the idea of hanging the feeder from a thin wire instead of putting it on a pole. Squirrels are fantastic tight rope walkers on the thinnest of wires.

Feed your birds seeds that squirrels don’t like; e.g. thistle or safflower seeds.

Don’t buy mixed bird seed. Many birds will pick out the seeds they like and throw the rest on the ground, which will attract the squirrels.

Modify your feeder so that spilled food gets caught in a tray below the feeder instead of falling on the ground.

Consider installing a squirrel feeder as an alternative food source for the squirrels in a part of your yard that is as far from your house as possible.

Another trick for those of you who are not squirrel lovers is to pick food from the garden as soon as it is ripe. Squirrels like fresh, ripe fruit, too.

Just remember, it’s always better to keep squirrels from getting in your house in the first place than to have to figure out how to remove them without harming them.

Gregg Bassett

Editor and President

©2002 Squirrelly ProductionsTM

[KarinGarage]

To deter squirrels from buildings -

rags soaked in ammonia

socks filled with mothballs (be careful with children/pets**)

cayenne pepper squirrel repellent

Recipe for squirrel repellent:-

1) 1 bottle (small) hot pepper sauce

2) 1 gallon water

3) water retentative (available from plant nursery) or 1 teaspoon of mild liquid detergent such as dishwashing detergent.

Spray this repellent on plants or anything you would like protected from chewing. Many commercial products designed to repel rodents are not effective. In fact, some say the animals actually eat more of the plants after the repellent is applied.

**Please remember that mothballs are toxic when ingested. Children's curiosity and bird's lack of smell can increase their chances of ingesting mothballs. Children and birds should not have access to the mothball filled socks.

Gardeners can make their own repellent by placing a handful of hot peppers in a large container and adding a quart of boiling water. Allow the peppers to soak overnight. Strain the peppers from the water and add a few drops of mild dish detergent to make a spray to protect the plants.

found the info on this site

here's a Link to a irrevelant, but nonetheless, interesting squirrel site, too.

[Birdy]

lol.. man do i ever have a situation on my hands!

hehehe

your mother's pizza glass eh? that's so crazy it might just work... you could conceivably fold up the crust into some sort of crude vessel and just "drink" the toppings. no wonder you have a squirrel problem

lol.. not really my mother's pizza glasses.. but more my "MOTHER'S PiZZA" glasses.. mother's pizza used to be this kick ass pizza restaurant in chatham! haha

Tell that shady landlord of yours to do something about it.

lol! haha now i'm picturing kels out there with the shotgun.. hahah.. vegas could probably do some damage.. she chases them away in the yard.

i like karin's and livingstoned's solutions.. thanks guys! i may have to brew up a little concoction tonight... or hit up home depot on the way home from work.

dinner time is OVER!!!!

[Sunshine]

Definately try the hot pepper trick....

or possible Dog Hair.

Put some dog hair around where they like to enter and it might scare them off.

It works for skunks.

[timouse]

Definately try the hot pepper trick....

or possible Dog Hair.

Put some dog hair around where they like to enter and it might scare them off.

It works for skunks.

pm lazlo. he might sell you some ass-hair shavings.