• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Flaming squirrels!!!!! (1 Viewer)

showaddy said:
Mary - thank you for the information you supply, though it is rather vague.

I am saddened by the rather harshly sarcastic note of your other comments - this is the sort of behaviour that detracts from a sensible discussion. I am trying to get information, not asking for a hissy fit.

Another thing to consider is that "they" also said that if you shot one of the following there would always be another to take its place:

Wild Boar, Beaver, Bear, Wolf, Red Kite, Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Great Auk, North American Bison, Tiger . . . shall I go on?


In the UK it is illegal to drown squirrels in traps, but legal to shoot them (in or out of traps) subject to normal weapons safety considerations.
Click to expand...

Hi showaddy,

I don't throw hissy fits.

I apologise for you thinking that, but if you have read every post that I have read on this thread,you would maybe appreciate, why I am getting a little peeved by now.Maybe not,as you seem to hold a different view anyway.

I don't like people taking pot-shots and believe that if a problem exists ,then the local environmental health, should deal with the issue, not a bunch of gun toting yobbos.

I still say ,check the internet,as there is a mind full of information there.I was not being sarcastic.
 
turkish van said:
I'd just like to say well done Jos!! I've noticed you're very good at giving sensible, reasoned answers to negative posts. (As are others on this thread). Much better than me anyway!! But that last one was one too many for me. :-C

:clap: :clap:
Click to expand...

Thats Jos for you......................Always - spot on......... :D
 
I think this is a bit extreme. We have a pheasant called Rocky who chases off our squirrels. Would you like to borrow him?

I loved this response :D

and... then Mary Evelyn, another one I loved:

I don't throw hissy fits.

And if you did I would warn everyone stand well back and be very afraid :-O
 
How do you eat then?

tiomet said:
I am on the side of never killing a living thing.

By 'Living thing' I am assuming you mean animals and not plants, fungi, bacteria etc. Would you medicate against protozoal infections?
Would you kill a flea or mosquito?

Too many people on this thread are against killing squirrels because they're cute I'm afraid.

What about the culling of rats on islands where they threaten rare native fauna like the Tuatara? Do we just let nature take it's course?
Click to expand...
 
ChrisSearle said:
Too many people on this thread are against killing squirrels because they're cute I'm afraid.

What about the culling of rats on islands where they threaten rare native fauna like the Tuatara? Do we just let nature take it's course?
Click to expand...


For many people, the 'cuteness' factor is irrelevant - a controlled, systematic cull of a species for a conservation goal and the 'pumping a squirrel full of lead' by scattered individuals are two totally unrelated issues. The former will have clearly defined purposes and stands a reasonable chance of success, the latter is little more than irresponsible and almost certainly going to be ineffective at a conservation level.
 
By 'Living thing' I am assuming you mean animals and not plants, fungi, bacteria etc. Would you medicate against protozoal infections?
Would you kill a flea or mosquito?

Aye regarding the animals.

I said in another thread lets not get into the tramping on an ant thing.

I am not against killing squirrels because they are cute and fluffy, I actually do not think they are ... they are rather sinister especially if you disturb them doing a peanut run. However, dislikeable as they are in attitude I still feel gunbubbling them is wrong.

I honestly do not feel up to semantics. I hope that in this thread in which I have posted at least a dozen times, my stance is clear.
 
tiomet said:
the individual that suggested feeding rats is going too far

I am the individual and I suggested no such thing.

Forgive me if I seem terse but I am getting very frustrated that posts are not read properly and in context and people use misinterpretations as canon fodder to support a varying opinion.
Click to expand...


Sorry Tiomet - but read your own post again - you wondered what you'd do if rats came, your partner "suggested" feeding them, and you went on to consider how to set up rat feeding stations. That pretty much amounts to "suggesting" feeding rats.

Granted - you did not recommend or advocate it, which I guess is probably what you mean in the post quoted above. This is an emotive topic, and you are likely to get sarcasm and derision for asking a reasonable and carefully worded question, or merely expressing a thought - just because someone thinks it automatically means you are "on the other side".
 
I missed out the smilies is all. My partner and I are such soft touches that if an izzidwadwa walked in we would give it lumps of cheese and aye, it may well be against the advice of the izzidwadwa haters and I am sure such a creature would be ugly as sin.

I guess in many ways my innocence does put me on the other side but innocence does not mean I am unaware. There is just a different perspective.

I rue this world and all its death by humans, it just feels weighty and it is not so much emotive as resigned, I guess. It makes my heart tired. And I do not feel like putting smilies on lots of things. Perhaps later, if I am here longer it will not be so bad. Plus, a friend of mine has rat pets and they are funny, intelligent, lovable and cheeky, and do not stink... but of course they are not in the wild where I am sure that they eat bird eggs and spread disease ... mind you don't hedgehogs do that too? Oh well, I still hope that the hedgehogs are nestled in my hedgehog house this winter.
 
Mary Evelyn said:
Hi showaddy,

I don't throw hissy fits.

I apologise for you thinking that, but if you have read every post that I have read on this thread,you would maybe appreciate, why I am getting a little peeved by now.Maybe not,as you seem to hold a different view anyway.

I don't like people taking pot-shots and believe that if a problem exists ,then the local environmental health, should deal with the issue, not a bunch of gun toting yobbos.

I still say ,check the internet,as there is a mind full of information there.I was not being sarcastic.
Click to expand...

Hi Mary

Thanks for your response.

Forgive me but I thought that the triple laughing faces implied a dismissive derision of my intent to avoid "emotive hot air" - perhaps you intended more to imply that my hope to do so was amusingly naive.

I know that the internet holds all of recorded human knowledge and much much more besides - but it seems quite reasonable within the forum to simply ask people for some evidence or justification for such a sweeping statement as "its no good shooting one, as another will take its place" - for the sake of a sensible discussion it seems necessary to find who is talking from sound facts and who is talking from "emotive hot air. That was why I tried so carefully to make the point in my first post that I was interested in serious discussion.

I really want to know the answer(s) to the squirrel question.

Pray tell me - what point of view do you think I hold?
I have attempted so far to express no opinions on the rights or wrongs of squirrel shooting. It may be apparent that have a good knowledge of the legal situation, and the practical capability to carry out a squirrel cull - but that does not make me in favour of it. Hey - I know the law and the practicalities with regard to arson, but that does not make me a fire raiser.

I am certainly not in favour of "people taking pot shots" nor of "gun toting yobbos".

But in the face of "incontrovertible evidence" that squirrels DON'T harm birds in one report and DO harm birds in another report I would really like to be able to make some sense out of all this.

cheers

Dave
 
tiomet said:
I missed out the smilies is all. My partner and I are such soft touches that if an izzidwadwa walked in we would give it lumps of cheese and aye, it may well be against the advice of the izzidwadwa haters and I am sure such a creature would be ugly as sin.
Click to expand...

In my experience izzidwadwas prefer a bit of bacon rind. Especially around moulting time.

(place smiley of your choice here)

Its true what I said about having survived Weill's disease.
I know it's not the rats fault personally.
But it still hurts when you get it.

A lot.
 
red squirrels

turkish van said:
Sorry, but I have to defend the squirrels here.

For a start, what exactly would you categorize as 'vermin'? If badger numbers increased, would they then be vermin? Hedgehogs? Red squirrels even?

Secondly, the only reason the grey squirrel is an alien species is because WE introduced them, along with many other things. The squirrels are surviving and have increased in numbers because they have a varied diet, they can live in many places and climates and are very adaptable. As are humans. Which is why we have spread ourselves in huge numbers all over the globe, resulting in the demise of MANY other species. If there were a creature higher than humans, would you think 'fair enough' if they started shooting us down? :frog:

Lastly it is all too easy to blame the grey squirrel for the decreasing red squirrel population. I think the fact is that red squirrel and grey squirrel habitats rarely overlap, and where they do the two species live in perfect harmony, because they occupy different niches. The red squirrel has a specific diet it needs to survive, and a specific habitat. As I said before, the greys are very adaptable, and probably don't have any significant negative effect on the red squirrel niche. At the end of the day only humans again are to blame for red squirrel drops, not because of introducing greys, but because of the huge destruction of the only areas red squirrels can inhabit and survive in.

Sorry, I know all the other posts were in good humour (I hope!), but this gets me a tad worked up!! :-C

For the record, we have a squirrel feeder in the garden, and they get their food and only occasionaly take any bird food. And that is usually leftovers on the table.
Click to expand...
Get real, of course the grey is blame for the reds decline what about the virus it carries. Cull the lot I say.
 
redsquirrel said:
Get real, of course the grey is blame for the reds decline what about the virus it carries. Cull the lot I say.
Click to expand...

If you would be so kind as to read some of my other posts on this thread, I explain that the virus you are probably refering to (parapox) already affected the red squirrel population before greys were introduced, and infact contributed greatly to their decline, in the early 1900s, at which point greys were not numerous enough to have a significant detrimental impact on reds.

:egghead: :brains: :smoke: :stuck:
 
There's a lot of interesting views on this thread, but considering this a bird forum, little practicality.

I have a bird table about a foot square, with a roof, supported by a square wooden pole. It sits in the middle of my lawn. How can I prevent squirrels getting the bird food?

What are baffles and how to you make them? If I were to surround the table with metal mesh, from roof to table, what size of mesh would exclude the squirrels, but let in the maximum variety of birds?
 
Hi,

A baffle is basically a circular plate that sits round the pole so the squirrels cannot get up to the food. If you Google for squirrel detterents you will find many different things on the market, most are available at bird food suppliers on line or locally.

One good tip seems to be site your table as far away as possible from anything the squirrel can use as a "launch pad" they can leap a long way.

Good luck and if you find a device that works please let us know as many members have the same problem.

Ann :egghead:
 
Thanks. For a baffle, I wonder if one of those circular Roses chocolate tins would do, if I cut up the sides in several places and fanned them out. Is that big enough to keep squirrels off the table?
 
This system is perfect I have it with a longer baffle for racoons but I reckon this version would be great in the U.K. You need a distance of 3.2 meters (10ft.) from trees or anything that the squirrel could jump from in all directions. Basically a twenty foot open circle with the aps in the center. http://www.wbu.com/aps/
 
I say a cull is definitely needed as soon as possible to rid Britain of this irresponsibly introduced species that has been proven to harm the native red squirrel, bird, and small mammal population, as long as it is done extensively enough, intensively enough, and by properly trained individuals.

Unfortunately the only way this can be done is with the support of major national conservation organisations and the government, and this makes it unlikely as these won't dare upsetting their subscribers/voters that fall into the "Don't hurt it cos it's cute and fwuffy" brigade.

However, even getting rid of them from Britain may be a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic with the greys contiuing their march northwards through Europe, culls being opposed again and again by the same people!

I always think that we either kill actively for the greater good of conservation, or kill reds/birds/small mammals passively by letting them wreak havoc.

Incidentally a separate feeding station has been suggested to get rid of the squirrels from bird feeders-this is rather mind-boggling as greys aren't a species one would want to encourage!
 
Dealing with greys

Spot on Colonel! We’ll never get rid of all of them but we can have some fun trying.
There is no more satisfying sound than the thud of grey squirrel on bracken. The best way to deal with them is with a semi-auto 20 or 12g shotgun.
You need four to make a hat and for eating they are best lightly smoked, then barbecued. Less like chicken….
I‘ve shot and trapped many hundreds and seen that they can be controlled in rural areas. However, you must keep it up and actively hunt them down. September is the main month as the juvs move into the oak woodland for acorns replacing the previous residents who have been blatted. On the 400 acres where I live you would be lucky to see more than a couple.
Traps are defiantly the best method of control in gardens. Once they’ve realised their close family members are curiously disappearing from your garden they will get the message. With an air rifle using one pellet at max legal pressure you are never sure of a kill even with a head shot.
 
A CHAPLIN said:
Hi,

A baffle is basically a circular plate that sits round the pole so the squirrels cannot get up to the food. If you Google for squirrel detterents you will find many different things on the market, most are available at bird food suppliers on line or locally.

One good tip seems to be site your table as far away as possible from anything the squirrel can use as a "launch pad" they can leap a long way.

Good luck and if you find a device that works please let us know as many members have the same problem.

Ann :egghead:
Click to expand...

Hi Ann

Great logic, and great common sense in what you say here. No off the cuff and the straight and narrow here, :-O
I will refer to all what you say here, as it is all from an enthusiastic person as we all are here.

We understand each other as we should and care about our birds, over Grey Squirrels anyday.

By the way Stevo what you have said is valid too.
 
Last edited:
I've managed to stop them climbing the pole my feeders hang from by putting a long piece of drain pipe around it - too wide to get a grip on. Maybe you could split the pipe, then 'wrap' it around the birdtable post.
BTH, if anyone were to livetrap a squirrel, with the intention of releasing it elsewhere, it's illegal! If you trap it you have to kill it. See DEFRA for details.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 16 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

G
Olympic Quality Squirrels
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
JoeyVimsanteThePoet
J
E
Polite bluejays mad at me because I yelled at the squirrels.
Replies
0
Views
85
Engineeringtech
E
R
Bluejay trapped in coiled wire wreath peanut feeder
Replies
5
Views
350
Lisa W
Lisa W
C
Extraordinary behavior!
Replies
10
Views
995
Tripp
T
G
  • Article
Timing Is Everything & A Birding Hard Reset
Replies
0
Views
165
Green Sandpiper
G

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top