Squirrel Deterrent

sheramber

There will be plenty others to take the place of any that 'disappear'.

 I have a squirrel who visits in the winter but a couple of brazil nuts and off he/she goes.

i do not get any plants destroyed- can't say that about the pigeons who trample over them.

Squirrel does sometimes bury them in the garden or in the grass but that doesn't cause any damage.

I do have a plant growing that looks like Jack's beanstalk which I think must be from something the squirrel has buried.

FreeBear

sheramber said: I do have a plant growing that looks like Jack's beanstalk which I think must be from something the squirrel has buried.

I have walnut trees popping up in random places. Don't know of any mature walnuts close by, so assume a squirrel has been burying his nuts and then forgetting about them.

silverwhistle

Farway said:

Sapindus said:

subjecttocontract said:

Squirrel trap then drop them off  few miles away.

It's against the law to release a grey squirrel into the wild, even if you've just caught it out of the wild.  So legally, if you catch one, you have to kill it.

Just saying.

They have to be humanely killed in situ if trapped, so no carting off to chuck in the canal 

Waste not, want not. Best casseroled as per hare.

Sapindus

silverwhistle said:

Farway said:

Sapindus said:

subjecttocontract said:

Squirrel trap then drop them off  few miles away.

It's against the law to release a grey squirrel into the wild, even if you've just caught it out of the wild.  So legally, if you catch one, you have to kill it.

Just saying.

They have to be humanely killed in situ if trapped, so no carting off to chuck in the canal 

Waste not, want not. Best casseroled as per hare.

From anecdotes I understand they are very tough to skin.  Have you tried?

subjecttocontract

Worth the effort though......3 skins is enough to make a Davy Crocket hat.

We stopped putting food out for the birds in early spring and the squirrels stopped coming.

Dustyevsky

Many years ago, when I did a bit of metal detecting, I'd get up at 4am at this time of year and get an hour in without hassle at the local park.   

One morning, I met a couple of guys with guns, who looked rather sheepish when asked what 'game' they sought. It turned out the city council used hired marksmen to keep the squirrel population under control, and didn't want it to be common knowledge. 

Bet they can't do that nowadays! 

Farway

Dustyevsky said:

Many years ago, when I did a bit of metal detecting, I'd get up at 4am at this time of year and get an hour in without hassle at the local park.   

One morning, I met a couple of guys with guns, who looked rather sheepish when asked what 'game' they sought. It turned out the city council used hired marksmen to keep the squirrel population under control, and didn't want it to be common knowledge. 

Bet they can't do that nowadays! 

Not sure, pre covid, local pub was offering squirrel casserole

The squirrels were shot, under licence from council, on nearby nature reserve land

May not have been common knowledge, but it was not a secret in the pub, a bit of a selling point, local meat etc

KittenChops

Alfrescodave said:

We have 3 squirrels that frequently visit our garden, yes I know they're cute but they are causing damage to many of our smaller plants.
I've tried the chilli and other plants options to deter them but with no great success. Has anyone any suggestions how to tackle this problem?  Are Ultrasonic repellents worth trying?

Look forward to your suggestions / experiences 

What damage are they causing & to what plants?
I've seen up to 4 grey squirrels at a time in our garden - the only plants I've noticed them take an interest in have been sunflowers (eating the seeds)

subjecttocontract

They look cuddly but they raid birds nests and eat the eggs. I'd much rather keep the birds and eat the squirrels.

sheramber

Frome the numbe rof pigeons, magpies and crows around here they donlt eat their eggs.

Maybe the discarded sandwiches and pizzas keep them satisfied.