Squirrels in the loft & house! (merged threads)

Tigsteroonie

rdpro wrote: »

leave a trail of peanuts leading to the microwave..

squirrel kebab anyone?

Apparently you can roast them, but I'm not sure you'd get much meat ...

Dunstan_2

I was once told that the best way to get rid of squirrels from your loft is to mix some powdered hot chocolate with powdered plaster and leave it out for them. They are attracted to the chocolate, but when the plaster mixes with the liquid in the squirrel's stomach, it solidifies. Apparently it's quicker than poison. Not a nice way to go, though.

Coming to think of it, the guy who told me that was a bit weird ......

Joking aside though, squirrel used to be quite a common dish in this country. I wouldn't have any hesitation in giving it a go. I'm sure Gordon Ramsey has tried / will try it on The F Word.

skintchick

You're scared of a squirrel?!? It came in once, and probably won;t do it again. Chill.

h_roberts

What's best to get rid of - or reduce the nuisance from - grey squirrels.
Normally I don't mind the odd one nicking a bit of bird food, but this year they're making a damn nuisance of themselves.
They are also getting very blase; if I open the front door and walk towards them (plural - they appear in twos and threes, now!) they just look up as if to say, "What's up Doc?"
My son suggests a BB gun, someone else an air rifle, but having looked briefly at gun websites, I'm not too keen on spending upwards of 50 quid just for the pleasure of sitting for hours in an attempt to splatter one poor rodent's brains over my garden.
Don't fancy poison unless I can target only the grey tree rats.
There appears to be a useful looking trap (Kania 200?) but that also isn't a cheap option.
Any one with some words of wisdom and experience? Please??

El_Sid_III

I like squirrels, but they don't come into my garden (possibly all of the local cats see to that).

Can you not get a squirrel proof feeder? They'll !!!!!! off if they can't get at the food I'd imagine.

Apparently squirrel tastes quite nice!

Bungarm2001

Well, I'd get a dog. Small terrier, like a Jack Russel. That'd get rid of 'em

Nile

Hello h_roberts

I've merged your thread with the existing squirrel threads to keep all the information together.;)

Regards

Nile

h_roberts

Ta, Nile
Nice to know I'm not alone!!!
If it wasn't for the destructive antics of these tree rats, I'd be content to just laugh and marvel at their ingenuity.
As it is, I'm getting rather p[$$ed off with them. On opening the front door and walking towards them (yes, them, they come in twos and threes, now!) they just look up as if to say, "What's up Doc?".
The areas arouund my various feeders are now flattened by the little b<gg@rs jumping on my plants.
I did have some fun a week or so ago - put a good smear of Castrol on the feeder poles and watched the grey balls of fur slithering down.
But you can't keep a good(?) squirrel down; they worked out that if they took it in turns to gather a pelt-full of grease, then groom themselves, the pole gradually became climbable again!!!

Nile

Can I send you the bill for a box of tissues? I'm sat here with tears streaming down my face...............thanks so much for the laughs.:rotfl:

I hope you get your grey varmints problem sorted soon.;)

h_roberts

There is a fairly dense covering of large-leaf ivy on part of my house, which is home to a community of sparrows, starlings (sometimes), blackbirds, wrens and others. We've occasionally seen squirrel heads poking out of this cover, and also seen them lolloping along the window ledges. No doubt after the nests, as well as the rose hips on other parts of the wall, which means they break off many of the new stems of roses.
T'other morning, lying in bed, my wife heard a bit of scrabbling on the roof outside and, thinking it was probably a magpie or somesuch, looked out to be met by the perky gaze from a squirrel, who was peering over the guttering!
Now, antics apart, we are getting really fed up with these varmints and short of stopping feeding the birds altogether - which we don't want to do because the feeders attract a tremendous variety of birds, many of whom do useful pest control whilst waiting their turns! - we need some serious advice regarding control.
Cats: the local ones don't stand a chance. Too fat.
Dogs: don't want one - a neighbour's causes us too much grief with its incessant bored barking.
Poison: no experience, but have no desire to put untargetted species at risk.
Trapping seems to be the most likely solution, but before spending 50 quid or more on one which both catches and despatches them (sometimes two at once, as the website seems to infer!) I'd appreciate any comments from MSE-ers with knowledge and/or experience.