Squirrels - I really hate them

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OVERKILL

OVERKILL

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I live in an old part of town; one of the oldest. Big brick houses. Big old trees. And big black squirrels. Last year, in an attempt to curb their efforts in achieving squatter status in my attic, I cut the large branch that was their gateway to my roof.... off. So they got back at me. They decided to make a nest in my garage. They ATE A HOLE through the back wall of my garage and created an elaborate nest of garbage in the stack of spare wheels for the Lincoln. They ate the plug wires off the Capri, and a host of other things that are likely safety related. I'm sure I will find out when I try to start the car and it explodes. I nailed sheet metal over the hole. I shop vac'd their nest. So they rebuilt it. INSIDE THE HEATER BOX of the Capri! I shop vac'd that too. Discovered there were babies in it when I heard the "thunk" of something large and solid flying through the hose of the shop vac. That was a month ago. I had since cleaned out the car, and all the garbage they left inside it. And my ego was beginning to recover from the vexing these furry creatures of fury had unleashed upon it. Then today I went to mow the lawn. They ATE THE GAS CAP OFF MY MOWER!!!!!!!!????????? These creatures must be stopped! But I am wary of firing off my pellet rifle in town. I think it may be illegal....? But it is by far the quickest method of dealing with them. And I'm a very good shot. That gun has probably 100 squirrels under its belt.
 
I think gamo makes a silenced pellet rifle that should do the trick. It costs about $200 but that seems cheaper than constantly having to deal with those pests.
 
Originally Posted By: sparkplug
.22. /thread.
That would end in an encounter with these guys:
 
Where I reside in MI we have black, grey, red and fox squirrels. Black squirrels are the most aggressive and fox squirrels are the most clever. A battle keeping them out of bird feeders. Our Maine Coon cat does a good job of keeping them away from the house and garage. A few years back a couple of red squirrels got into our basement and she got both of them.
 
We have black and grey here. Though you rarely see a grey. Take a short tour to the country, and we have red ones. In Muskoka, where I did most of my squirrel killing for my grandfather years back, they were all red. In town, the black ones seem to dominate.
 
I had them damage my car as well in the last couple of months. Parking lot at work has huge water oaks which gray squirrels seem to love, I guess they just need some plastic to go with it. Chewed my wiring harness at the cooling fan which shorted the motor out/burned it up (how I don't know) also chewed away parts of the shroud. I can't take my revenge out on them at work, however if they were at my house I would dispatch them with a boltaction 22 using shorts or cb's... however knowing your Canadian situation from talking with friends in Canada etc I would suggest you go the route of a silenced pellet gun if that is legal in your area. I would not however step outside the law using a firearm in any way other than maybe a air rifle in city limits... you don't want any bad attention pointing to yourself dealing with firearms,.... and especially a silencer without a permit which is worse than murder itself here in the states it seems ( ATF don't play well with others, and they don't just give out hand slaps). Edit to add, all we have here are gray squirrels, the picture of a black squirrel is just so odd, it's actually a good looking, well fed varmint that you pictured hide I always think lowly of anyone badmouthing another persons country, or home of origin .. saying that I do hope we the US never come to be like Canada in their gun laws which seems so harsh, and untrustworthy.
 
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Sure are cute looking little......I mean destructive little buggers.... Dang they are trying to see if they can make you snap! Now they are trying to huff gas on your lawnmower.......Sounds like a small Charles Manson group of little squirrels. We only have gray squirrels around here, at least in the city. Yes I'm not a gun fanatic, but I hope we don't ban them like up there that would suck.
 
We have a couple of oaks, people on one side have black walnuts, people on the other side have oaks, and we also have filberts (hazelnuts), more of a shrub than a tree. As a result, this place is squirrel heaven. There is actually a squirrel path worn in the grass between the two white pines we have out front. We have grey squirrels here. When our Great Pyrenees was alive, the squirrel population was kept in check, because for whatever reason, he liked to run them down and snatch them, an experience no squirrel could survive. You would be amazed how quietly a large dog can move when he wants to get something. If the dog spotted one of the little buggers too far from a tree, the squirrel was out of luck. There was also a powerful intimidation factor, and the squirrels learned to avoid our place. Now, however, they run rampant. They have yet to destroy anything, but give them time.
 
.22 shorts are much much quieter than regular .22's, but probably not enough to keep the neighbors away. I have a .22 air rifle (Daisy, lever-action) that is actually quite loud for an air/pellet gun! Pump it enough, it will penetrate a heavy steel can, an aluminum drink can inside of it, through the other side, and 2" into a standard phone book. Serious stuff! Downside is potential overpenetration which will just lead to injured animals and more pain, you want to dispatch them cleanly and humanely. Depending on how close you are with your neighbors (both as friends and in proximity), maybe a discussion about such and asking the simple question if they would have a problem if you "took care" of them would they be offended/call the police?
 
Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
Depending on how close you are with your neighbors (both as friends and in proximity), maybe a discussion about such and asking the simple question if they would have a problem if you "took care" of them would they be offended/call the police?
I wouldn't say a word to the neighbors. You know that some of them are putting scraps out for the squirrels and consider them pets to an extent. I don't like poison. It tends to kill all the critters in the food chain. Squireel eats poison and dies, Hawk eats poisoned Squirrel and Hawk dies, Coyote eats poisoned Hawk and Coyote dies etc. I really like my rat zappers I have. Kills em w/o a mess and humainly.
 
You can also look at the have-a-heart traps if that's what it comes to. Takes away the fun of a long shot, however the outcome would be no danger of bullet/projectile going astray !! I know some of the readers think go ahead shoot them, however if I had my kids in that neighborhood I wouldn't want some nut firing away at squirrels either... you do have to look at it from both sides with a non prejudice view to understand why some laws are in place. I would do anything possible to not use the poison option, local neighborhood dogs, cats non intended animals as mentioned above it might get you into more trouble than the air rifle fired in town.
 
Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
.22 shorts are much much quieter than regular .22's, but probably not enough to keep the neighbors away. I have a .22 air rifle (Daisy, lever-action) that is actually quite loud for an air/pellet gun! Pump it enough, it will penetrate a heavy steel can, an aluminum drink can inside of it, through the other side, and 2" into a standard phone book. Serious stuff! Downside is potential overpenetration which will just lead to injured animals and more pain, you want to dispatch them cleanly and humanely. Depending on how close you are with your neighbors (both as friends and in proximity), maybe a discussion about such and asking the simple question if they would have a problem if you "took care" of them would they be offended/call the police?
I have a very old break-barrel Russian pellet gun. It is .177 cal and will go straight through a squirrel at 100ft. I have no idea what the FPS is (I'm thinking 900+?) but I know it will kill a groundhog with a head shot.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
That would end in an encounter with these guys:
crackmeup I'm used of living in the country. I can lay in my back yard and shoot my .308 1/4 mile down into my targets in my field and no one would give a rats.
 
You'd hate me - when I was a young lad, I rescued a litter of squirrels from a neighbour who had cut down a tree. Family raised them and released them, and we ended up raising/weaning 3 more litters for our local wildlife organization. From there we moved to nurse a litter of Racoons. A few years ago, I rescued a baby squirrel that had fallen out of the nest on my in-laws property. Put it back in the nest, but I don't know if the mom came back for it. More recently, my wife and I stopped ont he highway, and very quickly rescued a terrified baby turtle that had wandered into traffic, and was just huddled in his shell in the middle of the road. Put him in some swampy grass off the road, and as he scurried off, he actually stopped, and looked back at us like, 'hey, thanks'.... Naw, I'm not an animal lover! :P
 
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