Squirrel, I think! Grrrr….

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I buy 10 lbs. of rat/mouse poison pellets each year.

that about 1/2 a pail around here.
Unfortunately I need many pails yearly for the mice alone.
Luckily for me no expensive damage in last few decades but I know I need to keep on top of it.
I do worry about the dogs but fingers crossed no problems as of yet.

I too hate shooting squirrels but whats a guy to do when shooting / rat trapping 4 - 10 per week depending on the season and population never seems to go down. Decades long process with no solution in site.

I guess thats what we get for living in a forest 10 miles from nearest village,

 

[fried1765]

that about 1/2 a pail around here.
Unfortunately I need many pails yearly for the mice alone.
Luckily for me no expensive damage in last few decades but I know I need to keep on top of it.
I do worry about the dogs but fingers crossed no problems as of yet.

I too hate shooting squirrels but whats a guy to do when shooting / rat trapping 4 - 10 per week depending on the season and population never seems to go down. Decades long process with no solution in site.

I guess thats what we get for living in a forest 10 miles from nearest village,

IMHO your lifestyle is VERY MUCH worth the inconvenience of the nuisance creatures!

 

[DustyRusty]

I use a product called Final Blocks Rodenticide that comes from Amazon to rid the area of mice and squirrels. Works better than anything else that I have tried. Recommended by a pest professional.

 

[jaxs]

Funny I was just shooting a red squirrel off the bird feeder from the kitchen window. Reds get tossed across the road, greys go in the freezer.

Don't do that, toss them into stew, jambalaya or dumplings. Actually reds taste the same but can be tough to chew. The secret is look at their belly, if tits have been suckled or the boys are dark and shiny they need to be boiled to tenderize. Tits are not visable and the boys are covered in fur of less than 6 month old squirrels. Cook them up and i guarantee you can't tell the difference to greys. So for those who never tried squirrel but would if they knew how to prepare them here's an easy recipe. Salt and pepper ,cover in water,slow simmer in pan with lid until meat can be torn with a fork, add saltine crackers or caned biscuits and cook til biscuits are done. My fav is greys and young reds chicken fried and no they don't taste like chicken. Matter of fact I've never ate anything that tastes even similar.

 

[skeets]

Yep they are a major PIA, however on the grill with a little BBQ sauce they aint too bad

 

[ruger1980]

Don't do that, toss them into stew, jambalaya or dumplings. Actually reds taste the same but can be tough to chew. The secret is look at their belly, if tits have been suckled or the boys are dark and shiny they need to be boiled to tenderize. Tits are not visable and the boys are covered in fur of less than 6 month old squirrels. Cook them up and i guarantee you can't tell the difference to greys. So for those who never tried squirrel but would if they knew how to prepare them here's an easy recipe. Salt and pepper ,cover in water,slow simmer in pan with lid until meat can be torn with a fork, add saltine crackers or caned biscuits and cook til biscuits are done. My fav is greys and young reds chicken fried and no they don't taste like chicken. Matter of fact I'vRed

Don't do that, toss them into stew, jambalaya or dumplings. Actually reds taste the same but can be tough to chew. The secret is look at their belly, if tits have been suckled or the boys are dark and shiny they need to be boiled to tenderize. Tits are not visable and the boys are covered in fur of less than 6 month old squirrels. Cook them up and i guarantee you can't tell the difference to greys. So for those who never tried squirrel but would if they knew how to prepare them here's an easy recipe. Salt and pepper ,cover in water,slow simmer in pan with lid until meat can be torn with a fork, add saltine crackers or caned biscuits and cook til biscuits are done. My fav is greys and young reds chicken fried and no they don't taste like chicken. Matter of fact I've never ate anything that tastes even similar.

Around here red's are the size of chipmunks so not enough there to eat if you wanted to clean the little buggers. That and they stink and are tough.

 

[GeoHorn]

Squirrel and dumplings are an easy dish to fix…same as dove and dumplings…. I boil them in chicken broth and cut canned biscuits into quarters and toss them into the pot about 10 mins before done… the only spice used is a little fresh-ground black pepper and Italian Seasoning. YUM!

 

[jaxs]

Around here red's are the size of chipmunks so not enough there to eat if you wanted to clean the little buggers. That and they stink and are tough.

Yea we evidently have different squirrels. Our red Fox Squirrel is 2x the size of Grey Cat squirrels. If you see greys at the feeder those are also different to ours. I've never seen a grey in an urban area,they are only found in tall timber.

 

[DustyRusty]

Does anyone have any good cat recipes or do you cook them the same as squirrels?

 

[ruger1980]

Does anyone have any good cat recipes or do you cook them the same as squirrels? View attachment 118408

Broccory stir fry!

 

[06B3030]

Those little bastards SUCK!!!

I had been keeping the tractor in the garage for years, but needed the room, and moved it to a storage container. I was using it regularly, and everything seemed perfectly normal. It was back in the garage for a couple years before doing the alternator upgrade. We've never had any issues with critters getting into the garage...storage container must have been compromised!

I needed to pull the dash...and this is what I found!!!
I already pull a bunch of "nest" material out.

It was jam-packed!!! ...pulled all this sh!t out...

Little bastards chewed the insulation off a couple wires too...

 

[Velma]

We had ground hogs destroy both cars multiple times. To the point 2 new cars were not running

 

[Soopitup]

You can usually buy just the metal pin that goes into the connector and crimp it onto the wire. No need for splices (other than extending in your case I guess).
And with temp sensors it doesn't matter which wire is power and which is ground. The internal resistor works both ways.
FWIW

I had a Tacoma come in one time with a coolant leak in the engine V they thought was under warranty. After tearing the intake manifold off it turned out to be a critter had eaten one of the hoses.
They came back 2 days later with the same problem mad as hell because they thought I screwed up. Whatever it was had gone back and chewed the same hose again.

Nevermore.

Edgar Allen Poe would agree....

 

[torch]

Eastern Beaver can be a good source for hard-to-find OEM style connectors.

 

[BigPapi]

If you feed the birds and critters, you created and continue to feed the problems.

Stop feeding them.
Stop putting anything (aside from poison) out for them to consume.

Place strategic bowls of Rat Poison around your property, and keep those bowls full.

We had an issue where they (mice and rats) were living in every building and then some. Even in our vehicles.

Nevermore.

I agree with stop feeding them, but I urge people to think it over prior to using mouse and rat poison. I have recently learned from wildlife officials that the poison is killing many species of wildlife, including owls, hawks and many others, even including domestic cats. It's called rodenticide poisoning.

What happens is the mice or rats consume the poison and they live for several more days, but they are sick and move slower, so they are much more vulnerable to attack by wildlife, etc. Then the wildlife consumes the poisoned mouse and then it suffers a certain slow death. Please consider other methods of killing these rodents. Thanks!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: stop feeding them
two garages within 200'. one mostly heated(45+ all winter)..NO mice,other is cold at night, maybe 55 during the day ,LOTS of mice. the difference is NO food in the warm one. Coffee yes, but nothing else. Other guy traps 20-30 every fall/winter, has for years. Crazy thing is he paints cars in there so 1/4 time is STINKS.

so......eliminate the food sources and vermin won't come around.

 

[jaxs]

I agree with stop feeding them, but I urge people to think it over prior to using mouse and rat poison. I have recently learned from wildlife officials that the poison is killing many species of wildlife, including owls, hawks and many others, even including domestic cats. It's called rodenticide poisoning.

What happens is the mice or rats consume the poison and they live for several more days, but they are sick and move slower, so they are much more vulnerable to attack by wildlife, etc. Then the wildlife consumes the poisoned mouse and then it suffers a certain slow death. Please consider other methods of killing these rodents. Thanks!

Here's a handshake from a distance. More folks should heed your advice of "think it over prior to" FILL IN THE BLANK. to remedy pests. The SE USA environment has suffered immeasurable damage from feeble,failed attempts to control Fire Ants.

 

[GeoHorn]

I simply can’t believe it…but the little has done it again!…. the exact same wires eaten-off again!

THIS time I’ve painted the wires with peppermint oil….AND wrapped them in heavy-duty aluminum foil secured tightly with tie-wraps! I hope it breaks his teeth if he comes back!

 

[fried1765]

I agree with stop feeding them, but I urge people to think it over prior to using mouse and rat poison. I have recently learned from wildlife officials that the poison is killing many species of wildlife, including owls, hawks and many others, even including domestic cats. It's called rodenticide poisoning.

What happens is the mice or rats consume the poison and they live for several more days, but they are sick and move slower, so they are much more vulnerable to attack by wildlife, etc. Then the wildlife consumes the poisoned mouse and then it suffers a certain slow death. Please consider other methods of killing these rodents. Thanks!

I have a 293 year old house, and two barns that are all unoccupied for 6 months (Winter) each year.
All the buildings are unheated!
The rodents like to move in for the Winter anyway.
I use POISON!
What is the more environmentally friendly method that you would suggest I use?

 

[skeets]

Well you could try bucket traps, but since you are not there 6 months out the year that wouldnt help cause you have to rebait them once in a while,, or just get some cats