Squirrel hunting
 

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 05:19:33 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/16/2015 4:37 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/15/2015 11:34 PM, wrote:


Set the trap again. You may have more than one.
BTW a 2" hole sounds like it was opened up to be a door. That is about
as big as any of them need to go through at a full run. They can slow
down and get through a much smaller hole wiggling their way through.
They quickly open it up before they go back out.
I had a full grown roof rat get out of my trap by chewing out one wire
in a 1/2" mesh hardware cloth cage. (1" x 1/2" hole)
It took a while for me to even find it. I thought I had a real
Houdini. He was there and 5 minutes later he was gone.
He was pretty dumb because I caught him again the next night.
I went right after him that time before he started chewing.



Yup. I had set the trap again after releasing the first one.
At 3 am I woke up to the sound of something frantically banging
around in it. Went up and had another one ... a little bit smaller
than the first. These are obviously very young grey squirrels. Based
on pictures I found on the Internet they appear to be maybe 3 or 4
months old. Look just like a full grown squirrel but are much smaller.

So, I released this guy down in the woods. It was dark and I couldn't
see the deer who was standing about 10 feet from me. The deer darted,
crashing through the woods which scared the crap out of me for a sec.
The wildlife is active at 3:30 am. Went back inside and set the
trap again. Sat down with a cup of coffee and *bang* ... heard the trap
slide door shut again. That was half an hour ago (4 am) Another one.
That's three.

From what I've read on the 'net ... the mother runs the adult male out
of the area after the kids are born. Then, once they have reached the
age where they can fend for themselves, she leaves. They typically have
anywhere from 3 to 5 at birth, so I may have one or two more.


Update:

After releasing the third one, I set the trap again and went back to
bed. Within 5 minutes I heard the trap's door slam shut again.
Number 4. Released in woods. Gonna be a long day with little sleep.

No, they are not "returning". I can tell from markings and size that
they are all individuals. Hopefully, that's all of them but I set the
trap again just in case.


I suppose you could have sprayed a little of that water based "marking
paint" on the tail to be sure. Then for a while you could see your
"guests" running around in the yard.
It is supposed to be fairly non toxic as things like that go. (once
the propellant evaporates)

Squirrel hunting
 

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 08:49:55 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/16/2015 7:20 AM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:29:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

A squirrel set up residence in the attic of our house about two weeks
ago. At night I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet running
around in a small workshop that is located in the attic'. I saw him a
few days ago when I opened the door and caught him by surprise sitting
there. He ran off quickly into some insulation on a wall and was gone.
That night he was back again though.

So, I bought one of those electronic ultra-sonic things.
It seemed to work because that night I didn't hear him at all. But,
then I realized that he was probably still in the attic somewhere and
had just moved to a more inviting location.

I searched for a trap and found one on Amazon. It had some good reviews
and was only about $25, so I decided to order one and try it.

It arrived today. Made in China but good quality. After looking it over
I baited it with some peanut butter, set it and put it on the work shop
floor.

Came back down to my computer to argue about drones and *SLAM*. I heard
the door on the trap slam shut. Only took about 15 minutes. Went back
up and sure enough, the night prowler was jailed. Let him go out near
the woods, away from the house. He booked it up the nearest tree.

If it's the metal trap with the drop door, the thing has caught 11 chipmunks, a bunch
of squirrels, and several birds in the past two summers. They all love Jif peanut
butter.

That's the one. Works great and it's cheap.

http://www.havahart.com/x-small-1-door-trap

I ended up making one because I needed it right away. It is 1/2"
hardware cloth formed into a square tube about 6x6x 20 long with a
sliding door on one end that runs in a track cut with my table saw in
1x1 red oak rails. I use a big Victor rat trap to pull the pin that
holds the door up (on top of the cage) with a piece of bailing wire
going down to the trigger platform inside. Smear a little peanut
butter on that and a little around the door to tease then in.
It has been very effective.

Squirrel hunting
 

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/15/2015 11:34 PM, wrote:


Set the trap again. You may have more than one.
BTW a 2" hole sounds like it was opened up to be a door. That is about
as big as any of them need to go through at a full run. They can slow
down and get through a much smaller hole wiggling their way through.
They quickly open it up before they go back out.
I had a full grown roof rat get out of my trap by chewing out one wire
in a 1/2" mesh hardware cloth cage. (1" x 1/2" hole)
It took a while for me to even find it. I thought I had a real
Houdini. He was there and 5 minutes later he was gone.
He was pretty dumb because I caught him again the next night.
I went right after him that time before he started chewing.



Yup. I had set the trap again after releasing the first one.
At 3 am I woke up to the sound of something frantically banging
around in it. Went up and had another one ... a little bit smaller
than the first. These are obviously very young grey squirrels. Based
on pictures I found on the Internet they appear to be maybe 3 or 4
months old. Look just like a full grown squirrel but are much smaller.

So, I released this guy down in the woods. It was dark and I couldn't
see the deer who was standing about 10 feet from me. The deer darted,
crashing through the woods which scared the crap out of me for a sec.
The wildlife is active at 3:30 am. Went back inside and set the
trap again. Sat down with a cup of coffee and *bang* ... heard the trap
slide door shut again. That was half an hour ago (4 am) Another one.
That's three.

From what I've read on the 'net ... the mother runs the adult male out
of the area after the kids are born. Then, once they have reached the
age where they can fend for themselves, she leaves. They typically have
anywhere from 3 to 5 at birth, so I may have one or two more.



I put in a barn owl nesting box. Squirrel box now. We have a horned owl
someplace close as we hear it hooting sometimes. Was told barn owls avoid
horned owl territory. Figured natural roof rat killer.

Squirrel hunting
 

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/16/2015 7:20 AM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:29:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

A squirrel set up residence in the attic of our house about two weeks
ago. At night I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet running
around in a small workshop that is located in the attic'. I saw him a
few days ago when I opened the door and caught him by surprise sitting
there. He ran off quickly into some insulation on a wall and was gone.
That night he was back again though.

So, I bought one of those electronic ultra-sonic things.
It seemed to work because that night I didn't hear him at all. But,
then I realized that he was probably still in the attic somewhere and
had just moved to a more inviting location.

I searched for a trap and found one on Amazon. It had some good reviews
and was only about $25, so I decided to order one and try it.

It arrived today. Made in China but good quality. After looking it over
I baited it with some peanut butter, set it and put it on the work shop
floor.

Came back down to my computer to argue about drones and *SLAM*. I heard
the door on the trap slam shut. Only took about 15 minutes. Went back
up and sure enough, the night prowler was jailed. Let him go out near
the woods, away from the house. He booked it up the nearest tree.

If it's the metal trap with the drop door, the thing has caught 11 chipmunks, a bunch
of squirrels, and several birds in the past two summers. They all love Jif peanut
butter.

That's the one. Works great and it's cheap.

http://www.havahart.com/x-small-1-door-trap



Maybe you should have gone for a bulk purchase.

Squirrel hunting
 

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 08:49:55 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/16/2015 7:20 AM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:29:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

A squirrel set up residence in the attic of our house about two weeks
ago. At night I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet running
around in a small workshop that is located in the attic'. I saw him a
few days ago when I opened the door and caught him by surprise sitting
there. He ran off quickly into some insulation on a wall and was gone.
That night he was back again though.

So, I bought one of those electronic ultra-sonic things.
It seemed to work because that night I didn't hear him at all. But,
then I realized that he was probably still in the attic somewhere and
had just moved to a more inviting location.

I searched for a trap and found one on Amazon. It had some good reviews
and was only about $25, so I decided to order one and try it.

It arrived today. Made in China but good quality. After looking it over
I baited it with some peanut butter, set it and put it on the work shop
floor.

Came back down to my computer to argue about drones and *SLAM*. I heard
the door on the trap slam shut. Only took about 15 minutes. Went back
up and sure enough, the night prowler was jailed. Let him go out near
the woods, away from the house. He booked it up the nearest tree.

If it's the metal trap with the drop door, the thing has caught 11 chipmunks, a bunch
of squirrels, and several birds in the past two summers. They all love Jif peanut
butter.

That's the one. Works great and it's cheap.

http://www.havahart.com/x-small-1-door-trap

Either a dog or coyote tried to get at a squirrel that was inside mine once. The trap
was down in a hole the animal had dug as it was scratching at the trap. But, the
squirrel was just fine.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Squirrel hunting
 

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 09:10:05 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/15/2015 11:34 PM, wrote:


Set the trap again. You may have more than one.
BTW a 2" hole sounds like it was opened up to be a door. That is about
as big as any of them need to go through at a full run. They can slow
down and get through a much smaller hole wiggling their way through.
They quickly open it up before they go back out.
I had a full grown roof rat get out of my trap by chewing out one wire
in a 1/2" mesh hardware cloth cage. (1" x 1/2" hole)
It took a while for me to even find it. I thought I had a real
Houdini. He was there and 5 minutes later he was gone.
He was pretty dumb because I caught him again the next night.
I went right after him that time before he started chewing.



Yup. I had set the trap again after releasing the first one.
At 3 am I woke up to the sound of something frantically banging
around in it. Went up and had another one ... a little bit smaller
than the first. These are obviously very young grey squirrels. Based
on pictures I found on the Internet they appear to be maybe 3 or 4
months old. Look just like a full grown squirrel but are much smaller.

So, I released this guy down in the woods. It was dark and I couldn't
see the deer who was standing about 10 feet from me. The deer darted,
crashing through the woods which scared the crap out of me for a sec.
The wildlife is active at 3:30 am. Went back inside and set the
trap again. Sat down with a cup of coffee and *bang* ... heard the trap
slide door shut again. That was half an hour ago (4 am) Another one.
That's three.

From what I've read on the 'net ... the mother runs the adult male out
of the area after the kids are born. Then, once they have reached the
age where they can fend for themselves, she leaves. They typically have
anywhere from 3 to 5 at birth, so I may have one or two more.



I put in a barn owl nesting box. Squirrel box now. We have a horned owl
someplace close as we hear it hooting sometimes. Was told barn owls avoid
horned owl territory. Figured natural roof rat killer.

We have an owl expert right here on the staff.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Squirrel hunting
 

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 19:15:44 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 08:49:55 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/16/2015 7:20 AM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:29:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

A squirrel set up residence in the attic of our house about two weeks
ago. At night I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet running
around in a small workshop that is located in the attic'. I saw him a
few days ago when I opened the door and caught him by surprise sitting
there. He ran off quickly into some insulation on a wall and was gone.
That night he was back again though.

So, I bought one of those electronic ultra-sonic things.
It seemed to work because that night I didn't hear him at all. But,
then I realized that he was probably still in the attic somewhere and
had just moved to a more inviting location.

I searched for a trap and found one on Amazon. It had some good reviews
and was only about $25, so I decided to order one and try it.

It arrived today. Made in China but good quality. After looking it over
I baited it with some peanut butter, set it and put it on the work shop
floor.

Came back down to my computer to argue about drones and *SLAM*. I heard
the door on the trap slam shut. Only took about 15 minutes. Went back
up and sure enough, the night prowler was jailed. Let him go out near
the woods, away from the house. He booked it up the nearest tree.

If it's the metal trap with the drop door, the thing has caught 11 chipmunks, a bunch
of squirrels, and several birds in the past two summers. They all love Jif peanut
butter.

That's the one. Works great and it's cheap.

http://www.havahart.com/x-small-1-door-trap

Either a dog or coyote tried to get at a squirrel that was inside mine once. The trap
was down in a hole the animal had dug as it was scratching at the trap. But, the
squirrel was just fine.

I caught a few baby raccoons in the larger size trap and the momma
ripped a hole in the side big enough for them to get out, or so we
guess. I had the whole family a day before. I was trying for feral
cats.
The next day I had a possum and he wouldn't leave. I just left the
trap open all day and he was still there the next morning. I finally
just gave the trap back to the neighbor, a little the worse for wear.
I brazed in 5 new ribs on the side where the raccoon ripped them out.

Some time later a bobcat or something ripped up the feral cat I was
trying to catch. It looked like it had been hit by a bush hog mower.