For some reason, the pests haven't been so bad this year. I seem to be having less vole activity, and certainly less marauding terrorist squirrels. A whole family of bunnies moved in, but they are all small and have seemed to have smaller appetites than in the past although I did spy some munched Hosta yesterday. Last week I found a dead bunny in the grass, don't know if the grass cutting guy ran over him or maybe he died a natural death.
Speaking of natural deaths, I never had any groundhogs move back into the den this year, but I suspected that one was visiting from next door. A couple of mornings I found that newly potted plants that I left on the ground had been upturned and some were out of the pots.
One day DSO came in & asked me what kind of poison I was putting down outside this year. I did not use any poisons at all this year. Well, outside on the ground right next to my potting bench was a hugh deceased Groundhog in full rigor laying on his back staring up at me with paws clenched. What a gruesome sight. DSO put him in the trash can for the next days' pickup. Needlesss to say he had to scrub the trash can 3 times to remove the stench. It was a hot day!!!
Ravenous Rabbits and Other Garden PestsPart #3.
Ick!
My neighbors boxer got a groundhog the other day.
Wow, He could have sold tickets to that match!!! I once had a Groundhog that I was trying to chase away with a rake stand up on his hind legs and grab the rake out of my hand. Nasty suckers!
I've had some very bad squirrels this year. So far, two of them have gone for a swim and not come back. (:o) They are digging in my potted plants and destroying them (one was a rare clematis I purchased via mail order and have been babying all summer so it can get large enough to put in the garden. Nasty bas****s, broke the plant off at the soil line. I am hoping it will re-sprout next spring). I felt bad for sending them to heaven, but then looked at what they did to the plants and all remorse left me instantly. There is one more that I need to send on a swimming vacation. Hopefully, that will get done tomorrow.
I don't mind the squirrels, it's just that some of them develop such bad habits and I have no choice but to take action.
treelover, we all agree with your plight there. Your clematis should spring back OK. I've never killed one, but the day may come. How did you catch it to drown it? How did you drown it? I don't usually like guts and gore, but I'm trying to envision this process.
Stormy, My FIL traps probably 20-30 squrrils a year in a fairly inexpensive humane trap then hauls them to the woods for release. The traps are metal and would sink if that was the plan. We also use these on groundhogs using cantalope rinds for bait, they can't resist it. Ric
stormyla,
I have a Hav-A-Hart trap (don't laugh) and a large plastic garbage can that I fill with water.
After the trap catches the squirrel, I take duct tape and tape down the ends of the trap and then put the trap, at an angle, into the garbage can of water, so the entire trap is underwater. In less than a minute, it's done, so there is no suffering, relatively speaking. I have to hold the trap down or the squirrel will get the trap above the water line.
I bait the trap with peanut butter since squirrels have a love for PB. I usually end up sending a couple squirrels on an all-inclusive water vacation each year.
Sounds very humane to me Ric! LOL
I'm sorry treelover, I did laugh! It also sounds pretty painless for the trapper. I'm still laughing.
bizarre, about the mysterious dead groundhog .
treelover, that sounds like a pretty good plan. They can be so destructive, those 'tree rats'
Neighbors cat is staking out the bird feeders. On the up side we don't have near as many chipmunk and squirrels on the down side we don't have near as many birds, either. Not really sure quite how to get him to stop, I wouldn't do anything that would harm him, he's a very pretty cat just don't want him sitting under my feeders. I've been thinking about letting Buddy chase him away. Buddy is too old to catch him but might scare him enough to think twice about coming back. Where as when I chase him he just moves out of sight and circles back around again.
My Dad says that squirrels live in family groups. So he always releases his caught squirrels into the same wooded area.
The one thing that I have lots of this last 2 months, besides those noisy locusts, are frogs. Nope, no tree frogs, just little and medium sized brown ones hopping everywhere. I don't consider them pests. I'm actually quite fond of them.
Good for you Stormy I really enjoy our amphibian friends, we had a bumper crop of frogs and toads this year. At least 3 different frogs and common toads are everywhere. While I was working on the compost I found at least 2 distinct clutches of hatched snake eggs. I'm not sure if our painted turtle made it or not, the pond is so full of flora you can't see the fauna. LOL I have not found any salamanders this year though, it may have been wet enough here that they didn't have to congregate near water sources. Ric
Anytime you find amphibians, it's a good sign. Amphibians are quite sensitive to toxins that are in the ecosystem and if you find them, especially in good numbers, that tells you that the area is in pretty good shape, environmentally speaking, anyway.
Mike
edited to correct spelling
This message was edited Sep 22, 2009 10:16 AM
Mike, We use a minimum number and amounts of chemicals around here. Even the pool is so eco-friendly the tree frogs live in it. Some mornings we have to net the eggs and move them to 1 of the ponds to start the filter.LOL Ric
Ric, when I was using the trap to catch groundhogs, I kept catching squirrels. I was using apples as bait. I always let the squirrels go.
I stopped using the trap as DSO didn't want to take them in his van anymore as they kept peeing in his van. If I have to use it again, I'll try the cantaloupe rind.
This is the first year that no GH's moved back into the den.
My dog caught a chipmunk today at first I thought he was playing with a grasshopper but nope, playing with it like a squeeze toy, even let out a squeak everytime Wall-e picked it up. He was a good boy and dropped it when I told him to...the poor thing slowly crawled it's way to the fence into my neighbors yard, little did it know that their boxer killed a groundhog the other day so that little chipmunk doesn't stand a chance against him.
Stormy, I have found if you keep the trap covered while handling and transport the animal remains much calmer and usually doesn't wet. Setting the trap on an old towel and newspaper will help also. Ric
Congratulations on your posting blitz, I think you woke up all those with the summer doldrums!
LOL That's a good idea Ric.
There are still a few MIA, but I'm sure they'll show up. It was getting so bad it would be embarassing if any new members lurkers were checking it out.
LOL, raising my hand, MIA - guilty as charged! Thanks Stormy for waking everyone up :) Just a whirlwind of activity here the past month or so and we'll be busy until the middle of October. I haven't had the camera in action for over a month although I wish it had been handy when our monster sized GH went strolling up the driveway yesterday!!! I swear he's the largest GH I've ever seen! The dogs have been active with daily pest control watch - caught a rabbit AND a vole within 15 min of each other :) They regularly check the GH dens - emphasis on dens, there's more than one! Makes me a little nervous because this MONSTER is definitely not one I'd care to see them wrestling with. I'm hoping on one of the GH's excursions into the gardens he'll soon find himself looking at the end of a gun barrel!
Acute lead poisoning is very effective for Mr.GH. I prefer the trap because if they make it back to the den they can really cause a stink. Ric
Sally & Claypa, So the squirrels are driving you nuts?? There have been far fewer here than normal this summer. Maybe they'll be showing up now. What a shame that I picked up all of those walnuts. NOT
They usually show up in force after I start bulb planting. They love to dig up the newly planted bulbs.
Sally, what are they doing to your mom's roof?
Glad you asked!
Well, go back three years to when she had a raccoon in the roof. The house has an 'attic fan' one of those huge vent fans that, well now they call a whole house fan. Creates breeze thru the house when nature didn't. The upstaris is finished with this vent fan and jut a four feet of the roof crawl space. So coon got in thru tron screen on the vent for the fan, but not inot the living space thank heavens.
So exterminator trapped the coon, or maybe he didn't, I am rusty on that but eventually he left a set live--trap up there and said call if you hear anything. Never heard it.
So this summer we start to hear somethin scampering. The screen is loose again. Well, what with life the universe and everything, including the possibility of a raccoon staring me down, we ignored it as best we could til we saw recently that is was a squirrel. OK, that I can handle!
My brilliant idea is to throw a bunch of mothballs up there and make the space inhospitable. Took three wanderings of a store to finally FIND mothballs. Phew did they stink. Phew did they not have any effect whatsoever. The varmints ran past that and went down in the rafter spaces, all cozy.
So on Saturday we have a chance to clean the gutters and while hubby had the ladder there, tackled the loose screen. Its a steep roof so you have to pull a ladder up there or you'ld slip to the porch roof. He was able to nail the screen and add to it. But the first thing he did when he arrived was enter the backyard with a pellet rifle behind his back, and took out one squirrel. Sorry folks Had to be done! Other squirrel runs back in the roof and hides. Now we think--one squirrel in roof.
So next day I to go to moms again but I make time to stop and buy the NON-RETURNABLE trap at southern states. NO RETURNS! They've posted that forever. But I want to hit the ground running with a working trap when I get to moms.
You know what I find when I go open the hatch in my old bedroom's ceiling. A working, empty squirrel trap. Of course, since I just spent $$ on one. So why did that exterminator say he was trapping for coon, with a squirrel trap? So now I think for 300 bucks all he did was leave a trap and fix the screen and visit twice.
And mom says she looked at the vent and saw four squirrels trying to get out. So we had a family all along. I set the trap with apple and PB. After 24 hrs we had one in the trap, who was barely breathing, I guess from stress or dehydration. Empty, set, repeat. That's where we're at. Three to go, or pass out and croak somewhere in the rafters.
Anybody want to buy a brand new in the box squirrel trap? I will deal.
Oh my gosh, Sally. Are you guys going call that exterminator, I'd want my $ back?? Make him buy the new trap since he likes using them so much.
Good luck catching the others. Hopefully they'll be caught and not die down in the rafter spaces...that would really stink (in more ways than 1)
The trials & tribulations of owning a home, and the task of trying to find people to hire to do a job the right way to help you maintain that home.
What is that list where you rate repair people? Angie's List ? Has anyone tried it?
jen, I'd be lucky if mom even knows the guys name. Then even luckier if he was still in business and has a working phone number.
Sally, They ate the entire insulation out of my kitchen roof. Then luckily the dumb things knawed the electric wires and self immolated. DSO replaced the wires and insulation.
Stormy, Lucky they didn't catch your house on fire. Hope you have lots of working smoke/fire detectors.
Yes, Lady I do. The one that made me call the fire Department was when they chewed the main electric line leading into the house and there were sparks hitting the outside wall right by my back door.
Stormy, No wonder you wage war on those critters. Stormy the Terminator
LOL Lady, When the electric company came out, they cut two trees on my white fence neighbor's property down to chest height. I had asked her several times to prune them back as the squirrels were jumping from them onto the electric lines. They had completely covered the lines.
The electric company guy was so mad about the fire Marshall calling in the utility that he literally cut the trees down. Apparently if the fire dept has to call in the utility, the utility has to do all kinds of reports to the PUC and the incident is fully investigated. I had had the electric company out several times before about my lights flickering, which I now know is the first sign of damaged wires. They never got it the first 3 times as they could not get through the trees to find it.
Our electric company does not trim any trees away from wires unless those trees are along side of a road. Any trees on the interior of a property are the owner's responsibility. She was not willing to have them trimmed. I tried calling the township and they said they would investigate it, but I never heard from them.
Do you have Penelec ?
Here is my story: This happened awhile back, heavy winds, a branch from our locus tree came down and was laying on the electric line which runs up our street, not to our house, branch still attached to tree, electric line ok. Called electric company, they would not send anyone out until service was disrupted. A week later heavy winds and rain, branch lets go, pulls line down, no electric.
They come out several hours later, run the heavy equiptment up on our side walk, smashes several slabs of fairly new sidewalk that we had replaced about 2 years before. They cut down the branch, repair the line and drive off. I reported the broken side walk about 3 times, 4 months later they send a contractor out to replace the sidewalk.
No Lady, the old Philadelphia Electric, which is now part of Excelon. Your story is typical. At my office the electric company had dug a 6' deep trench and was working on the underground lines. All of a sudden my phones & internet went dead. I go outside and they are down in the trench. I asked them what happened to my communications. I get a big Duh... They tell me they are almost done for the day and will be leaving. I call the phone company and they say to go out and tell them not to fill in the trench. I go out & get the foreman as they are filling in the trench and tell them not to. I go back inside. Of course they filled it in. Then the phone company comes out and has to call in an earth digging machine. I was without phones and internet for two days.
Sally, The squirrel wars. LOL
I'm having cat issues this summer. Our dear old girl goes missing and some how we then end up with some neighbors cat stalking our birdfeeders. We had way too many chipmunks and squirrels but now there are hardly any. Not near as many birds as before either. I have always had inside and outside cats so maybe it is some cosmic payback for all those years when my much younger cats roamed at will.
Holly, your old girl kept the other cats out of her yard. Fred will chase away all the strays that show up here, this is his home, all others keep out!
I need a sign "Beward of the Cat"
I think you are right LadyG we would see other cats out in the pasture but never close to the house, she is very much missed. Mostly she didn't bother the birds and I could call her inside when I wanted. When I chase the cat it just goes out of site to return a few minutes later. I have thought about letting Buddy loose when I see the cat. Buddy is so old that he would never be able to actually catch it but would give it a good scare but he has gone deaf in the last month so we are more careful with him. I'm going to take him to the vet's next week and see what they say.
Fred is so handsome! I don't remember seeing him before.
Squirrel #2 found its way down thru the walls and greeted me by the washing machine in the basement the other day! He was small, and tired out. I got him in the cage and scooted him into the yard with a complimentary apple slice for his trouble. See, I'm not totally heartless. Now we have set a trap in the attic and another in the basement. I really think the others are dehydrated or exhausted by now, but can't be sure. Mom's afraid one will end up in her living space and eat her cookies.
Cookie loving squirrels? They're more likely to attack her fruit bowl, if she leaves one out. Maybe you should set one out to convince her that it's a decoy to safeguard her cookies.
We really should both be asleep doncha think? LOL Mom's sometimes tired of me and my smarts, I try to just say Yes mom sure great idea
Asleep? Heck, I'm up and ready to start my day as soon as it's light out! LOL The only squirrels I have to deal with are the ones Lucky tries to bring inside! The other night he was whining at the bedroom window to let him in - I'm on to him though, I've learned that a muffled meow usually means there's "something" in his mouth - sure enough another flying squirrel!
Chris, I agree with Sally, Fred is a beauty :)