Vandal! (1 Viewer)

Hi folks,

Now I know that some of you 'suffer' from Squirrels but I like the little critters, probably because I don't get swarms of them, usually only one. And also because usually it does stick to nicking Sunflower hearts from the feeder (it's Squirrel-proof) and noshing up peanuts off the ground-feed; these I can live with for the pleasure of watching it's antics, although I do get a bit teed off with it burying peanuts.

But! A couple of days ago it did something new. It came to the narrow bed at the foot of the dwarf wall and PULLED UP A TULIP SHOOT (bulb and all) and ate it! And while I had the window open too!

This is a bit much and I shall be looking at it less kindly if it goes on.

Bill.

Hi Bill,
Well it is nearly Valentines day! maybe he got a bit mixed up with the concept of giving flowers.

Ummmm, I just realised how he's likely to present his gift! eek. eew!!!

Great pic's & story Bill

Awww! how cute, bless 'im. (Its easy to say that when its someone else's tulips he's eating )Maybe he just fancied a change in diet. Nice pic Bill


Best wishes

We have had the same happen in the past Bill, I suppose as long as he sticks to the odd one then he will still be very welcome

Lovely photos of him too :t:

At least your squirrel ate what he'd dug up. The usual culprit of digging up bulbs in my garden is a pesky cat (or two) and they dig them up, poo on them and leave.... :-C

I love the squirrels we have around here...they are about the only wildlife I see on a daily basis. Messy, but cute.
I suggest putting out a small basin of water on the ground. Squirrels usually go for that kind of stuff because of lack of water. I know it works for tomato-eating-squirrels, so why not tuber-eaters too?

Hi birdpotter,

No, he's(?) got plenty of drinking water if that's what he needs; he's in the garden at least a couple of times a day and knows his way around, it's just the first time that I've seen him pulling things up, he's more usually burying them.

This is one of yours by the way, the Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis. They were introduced to England and Wales from America over a period from 1876 to 1929 and have spread to most of those countries. Some were brought to Scotland from Canada between 1892 and 1920 but have never spread quite so much, probably due to the different types of trees. Officially they are now classed as a pest and if you find a sick or injured one you're not allowed to release it back into the wild even if it recovers.

I like them, I think they're good fun to watch.


Cheers, Bill.

I'm with you Bill I like them too, I have 3 visiting my garden and I love to watch 'em. I put out peanuts specially for them, and that way I find they leave the bird food (and me bulbs!) alone, (well usually!). I work on the principle of "you can't beat 'em, so might as well enjoy 'em"! I've just bought and put up a proper Squirrel feeder, (Hubby made me one but it wasn't made of treated wood so I'm afraid it didn't last long!) they used that last year, so I'm hoping they will use the new one. It's so funny to see them lift the lid up, get a peanut out and eat it!!
Love the photos Bill, and I hope your little vandal reforms!!
All the Best,

Hello everyone. Yes, I'm still around.I have a mental list of things that I love to see in other peoples gardens.Especially neighbours but, not in mine.
Bearing in mind that my garden is very small I will list a few of them.
grey squrrell ,cats, dogs,lilac, laburnum ribes and magpies.Remember that I said that I like to see them in other gardens tho'.

maurice ... almost a trogladyte now. I could name many more trees.
.

Great pics Bill,made me giggle (if thats allowed |:$| )

They know not what they do!!

Matt

bill moss said:

Officially they are now classed as a pest and if you find a sick or injured one you're not allowed to release it back into the wild even if it recovers.
...

Click to expand...

They are pests - do all sorts of damage to woodlands and of course, are driving our own red squirrels to extinction. :-C

Oh yes, Bill, they do like digging up and eating tulip bulbs, and many other bulbs too as well as digging holes in the lawns. Pesky things.

Hi Bill.

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry ( as Kramer would say....) that our squirrel vandalized your garden. You must remember this:

NEVER trust the Americans! LOL!!! ~~>Squirrels, that is!!!

Oh the tales I could tell you, or perhaps I already did, of our squirrels ravaging our house plants that were put outside for the summer.

Tree ferns, orchids by the dozens, ferns from Ecuador and soooooooo many more plants were yanked out of their pots, chewed, shredded or kidnapped and taken on high to the home of the squirrel we know as Cookie.

One summer she stole a Cattylea, Phalaenopsis and the Vanilla Orchid plus the Tree Fern, Dicksonia antarctica, and placed them (planted them(?)) in her nest in one of the Weeping Willows in our yard. We could *CLEARLY* see them sticking out of the nest! She took all the Spanish Moss too!!!

Thunderstorms came and went that summer. Finally in late September or early October that year the nest fell after a storm. Mike retrieved what could be viable from the nest and called the neighbour across the street. The neighbour had a lift bucket for his landscaping business and he replaced Cookie's home back into the Willow tree after her loot was retrieved. LOL!

So far she and her kin folk have left our bulbs alone. So far. I won't discuss their taking the labels from the plants and tossing them about. Now I have at least 8 orchids that have no identification because of the labels being stolen or just pulled out of the pots. ~SIGH~

Ain't Nature grand?

Lydia

I sympathise with anyone suffering squirrel damage, but as I'm fortunate not to be overrun with them, I can only say that I love mine.
I get one or two in the garden on average, and sometimes three. It was a big thrill when I first saw them in my very own garden - wildlife on my doorstep! Over the years they have 'planted' several hazel bushes, and are a delight to watch as they bury bits of apple (!) and search again for their loot. As they quickly demolished parts of my first proper bird feeders, I switched to heavy metal! I don't mind feeding them as well as the birds, all are welcome. We did fit up a squirrel feeder the other year, and it was fun to watch them lifting the lid and feeding themselves. Over the last year, however, they (or the new generation?) haven't used the squirrel feeder, but it isn't a problem sharing out the mixed seed amongst them all.
Here is a picture of one of my pals, taken in the good old days when I had a rowan tree.