My 92-year-old mother has a constant battle with the squirrels who steal from her bird feeders. She yells at them and bangs on the window trying to scare them away but they learned all her tricks years ago and are oblivious to her threats. I get tired of all the screaming and yelling and banging so I recently decided that I'd set our small varmint trap and see if I couldn't trap what I thought was three around our big oak tree. Little did I know that three was just a drop in the bucket. I baited the trap with sunflower seeds and sprinkled a few up to the open door hoping to entice a little critter inside. It doesn't take long for them to find the seeds and they begin their munching, delighted to find a yummy buffet. So one day after looking out the front door and seeing one of these crafty characters around the trap I decided to capture the event on camera.
Uh-oh, I think he saw me standing behind the glass door spying on him. He takes a break and gives me his best pose.
Here he's heading into the trap. Several times he backed out but couldn't resist those tasty sunflower seeds leading up to the plate which, if he even lightly touched, will trigger the closing of the door.
Bingo! Here's the little rascal, none too happy with his predicament. They chirp and occasionally make a barking sound. I place squirrel and trap in the back of my pickup truck and off we go at least four to five miles where he will hopefully join up with some of his long-lost cousins. My squirrel relocation project has paid off with me scoring 10 out of 10. After the last two trappings we have managed to be squirrel-free for a mere two days before we spot another one. At least the banging on the window and the yelling has stopped for the time being!
15 comments:
My elderly neighbor in San Antonio had big tall pecan trees. She didn't like sharing with the squirrels so she trapped them and hauled them to the cemetery. Now she is buried in that same cemetery. The squirrels she hauled out there probably have relatives playing on her grave. Nothing wrong with that
So happy to hear you relocated them. Great shots.
i am laughing as i'm just envisioning an army of 10 squirrels organizing a march back to your place!
Wait if they come back. They bring all their cousins. That will change the score. And we will have lots of photos :-)
I love your "relocation program". Hopefully that will solve to the problem or at least slow it down.
Relocation is a nice idea, it just mostly doesn't work. A friend trapped a squirrel, gave him a shot of red spray on his back, drove him 10 miles away and he was back in two days. Probably missed his family.
Cheers,
Jo
the photos are great and made me laugh.. that is a lot of squirrels but if not those others will be right behind. i told that to my husband who fights with them. i said let them have the fruit, the are cute. but ours are half the size of yours and not nearly as handsome. now he has two that he talks to, he has been putting rotten avocados out in the front yard by the fence. they eat it all, even the seeds. to me i rather watch the squirrels than birds, but you will never get your mother to feel that way. good job on the trapping.
I loved your trapping story! They are cute, but oh so pesky!
What a great story. I'm not sure that five miles is far enough to keep them from coming back but maybe when you get the whole family relocated they will be happy in their new home.
The pictures are great.
You are a wonderful person to relocate the squirrel.Not everyone would opt for such an ending.
LOL, you are quite industrious. I'm with your mother, though, can't stand these rodents around my feeders. Somehow I have a feeling your project is going to go on for a while. :)
I've never met a bird feeder that a squirrel could not conquer! These photos are adorable, Kathy. He really does not look at all bothered.
You are to funny! I did this once with chipmunks. It takes patience. Good for you the squirrel pose is hysterical!
Paula's comments amuse me! Kathy, I hate to tell you this, but you will NEVER rid yourself of these pesky little critters!
We use a similar trap to relocate squirrels at "summer camp" - a dense woods a few miles from where we live. (Well, now we are taking them to "winter camp.") It's amazing how fast a new bunch moves into our neigbourhood when they realize no other squirrels are there, though.
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