Those Demon Squirells!

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I just want them all to die! I fear they have eaten my peas I planted two weeks ago! And the beets. I want to poison them! Argh! As if moving into my house and costing me $600 to remove them (mostly unsuccessfully I might add) wasn't enough.

And I've tried all the natural crap. Until I can shut down the 24/7 peanut buffet down the street, I fear there is no hope but poison. I haven't bought it yet, but oh, I'm close. My husband's pellet gun just isn't working fast enough.

I'm not really here for ideas, just commiseration.

[MidnightCommando]

I will commiserate with you, although my problem is the summer scourge of grasshoppers. You can actually hear them eating the garden

do you have a dog? That would probably be the only natural deterrent I could think of that might work.

[Thystle]

I hear you!


Our squirrells also try to get INTO the house! WITH the cats inside! They care nothing of the dogs. They throw things at our windows and knock over our trash.


Last year they ripped the garden fabric off of my beds and the birds got most of my seed. Ruined the garden.


They ATE the habenero plants. WITH the peppers.



I fear they are evil. No other explanation.

[Thystle]

They sit outside when my husband grills and actually run up to his legs to grab anything he drops... like the spicy sausages he always grills.


I have watched them kick two birds and their nest right out of a tree.

[CultivatingMyRoots]

Thystle, your squirrels scare me!

Would bells or cans work to make enough noise to scare them off? I know they are creepy smart, so maybe not. I'd probably start chasing them with things. The hose?

[PlayaMama]

i hear you. no squirrels out here in the desert (yay!!) but they totally harass my mom's dogs in the city. they throw things and yell and tease them and then run away chuckling. well, i'm not sure if it's really a chuckle but it sounds like it.

[candm]

Want to borrow my Westie (West Highland White Terrier)? : He'd be happy to hunt squirrels every second of every day for the rest of his life. Sorry about your garden.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

thanks for the laughs. I have tried most of these things, and while the puppy chases them dutifully out of the back yard, my garden is in the front a mere 200 yards from crazy cat peanut lady. (did I mention she not only gets two elephant sized bags of peanuts delivered TWICE a month, but also feeds all the stray cats (and skunks) in the neighborhood?)

The hose works okay, but again, only for so long. I think the exterminator did get two or three of the worst offenders (out of the almost 2 dozen he killed), but it only takes them so long before they figure it out. Evil fuzzy little geniuses.

Oh, and they have tried to poop on me from the tree in our back yard. Bastards!

[CultivatingMyRoots]

Animal Control might be interested in your neighbors feeding habits....

They can't be appreciating her support of the pest population. (And if you feed a wild animal reliably, it does become a pest.) I'd also be PO'ed at her, and if SHE didn't change her ways I would probably stoop to petty means to get back at her. Then again, she sounds kind of :.

[Theoretica]

I have the same problem with deer. They aren't scared of anything. Hate em.

Try this stuff....works well...

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-...7524709&sr=1-1

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Yeah, we called animal control (he's an acquaintance of ours) and he said there was nothing he could do. I think I am going to give some kind of fencing a try, especially when things are coming up new. I just hate the nasty little buggers so much! I wish they would die!

[jessaries]

Oh how terrible. We have a few squirrels here, I haven't noticed them damaging anything other than roughing up the soil to plant pecans. I think it was a different night roaming rodent that ate my cayennes last summer. I think they are trying to pass an ordinance here against feeding the deer in the city. Lots of people do it and it's just so bad. I think the squirrels here get scraps, dogfood, trash and aren't as interested in our garden so far. One of those little beasties stared me down the other day from a tree, it was so humiliating.
Is poisoning her peanut supply an option? :

[Keria]

but but but they are so darn cute

[Theoretica]

Originally Posted by MissMommyNiceNice

thanks for the laughs. I have tried most of these things, and while the puppy chases them dutifully out of the back yard, my garden is in the front a mere 200 yards from crazy cat peanut lady. (did I mention she not only gets two elephant sized bags of peanuts delivered TWICE a month, but also feeds all the stray cats (and skunks) in the neighborhood?)

Do you live by my stepmom???? She lives alone now and does this...I don't know how the neighbors can STAND it. She now has squirrels that she 'recognizes' who come up to her freaking patio door and wait for her to feed them.

:

[serenetabbie]

I suggest spraying the neighbor with the hose rather than the squirrels. I am amazed they do not have a law about not feeding the pests, I thought all suburban neighborhoods did!

Do you have the hose on a motion sensor? They seem to work very well for cats... hmmm. How about fake snakes or owls? I will ask at my next MG meeting to see if anyone has any other suggestions for you. Hopefully I do not see you on the news before then!

While we were on vacation out west I saw the biggest friggin squirrels I have ever seen in my life. I am so very glad ours are not that big! I forget, do you have the little red ones too or just the fat grey ones? The grey ones are more "tame" seeming and aggressive (at college on the quad in Philly I had one come up and take a sandwich right off my lap!), but the little reds are soooo super nasty and mean.

[jocelyndale]

In our last house, my husband pulled the hose in one window of our sunroom and aimed it out another. (That was his office.)

If he noticed squirrels on the bird feeder or in the garden, he took aim and shot off a stream of water.

He enjoyed it.

Now that we own our home, we have a standard poodle. Squirrels are still a bit of a problem, but at least the dog gets exercise. I do think the squirrels just ate some of my (still blooming!) crocus bulbs. Grrrr. I usually dust my garden liberally with cayenne powder. I buy the huge Tone's canisters at the warehouse store and just pour it on. Keeps the squirrels at bay until my plants are established.

[GardenStream]

I don't have squirrels, so I don't have any advice. I just wanted to tell you that it makes me laugh every time I see your screen name and topic.

[the_lissa]

I hate squirrels too. They dug up everything I planted two years ago. Every single thing.

They also go into my house in university and terrorized us. Overrated rats.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Originally Posted by *Louise*

but but but they are so darn cute

Yes, cute as a freaking demon. Those big fat grey bastards. I would love to poison crazy squirrel cat lady's peanut pagoda (did I mention she feeds them out of a giant pagoda she constructed for their pleasure?). I've thought about it many times. But I would have to do it under cover of darkness, when the skunks come to feed. And, IMO, they are scarier than squirrels for the sheer fact that they can cause me to stink for a week. Although cute, they are stinky. Oh, and she has a motion detector.

Animal control has been out a few times. We have coyotes that live in a nearby graveyard (maybe 1 1/2 miles). That's fine, they can't hurt the dead people. But they can follow their fuzzy little prey to the peanut pagoda and eat them there. This crazy bitch wanted to feed them too! Animal control said if they saw them, they had to shoot the coyote on sight, because they can become a nuisance and harmful to people. The lady's husband pretty much said she would divorce him if he did that. Great. Now it's squirrels, skunks, and coyotes which can eat my baby. :

I think I'm going to invest in one of those screeching high pitched rodent eliminators. They run about $100 for a good one, but it may be worth it. Does anyone have a recommendation?

[Theoretica]

I have to agree. Your ranting about the bastard squirrel population compared to your name...that's one of the best ironies I've ever seen!