Tuesday

Those Pesky Squirrels

Squirrels.

We live in a wooded community.  With squirrels.  Many squirrels.  We co-inhabit, nicely.

I've always thought they were kinda cute, in a stay-away-from-me-in-case-you-have-rabies-sorta-way.

Well.

The squirrels are driving me NUTS.



We have this lovely bird feeder filled with lovely seed for the lovely cardinal couple who live in our backyard.  

And the pesky squirrels think the lovely feeder was prepared for them.  Because these are seed-eating squirrels.  Apparently.  So, we've had to move the bird feeder out of the squirrel's reach.  Several times.


Normally, I would just let nature take it's course.  I don't really have time to care for the birds of the air.  Mainly, because I can hardly remember the needs of my real children. (I forgot to send my son to school with his glasses on twice last week.)  So, the birds are lucky there's even seed in the feeder.  But the seed is falling into my flowers.  Therein lies the problem.

My flowers are being trampled and destroyed by squirrel paws.  This is the second time I've planted in my flower box.



Always on his toes, my hubby took the matter into his own hands.  I was drawn outside to him yelling, "Gotcha, sucker!"  I was afraid of what I might find:



And so you can see, my dear internet friends, why I'm compelled to ask for your help, before matters get completely out-of-hand.  

Help me tackle this pesky squirrel problem before my hubby reloads.

P.S.  If it does get out of hand, Happy Mommy, would you mind sending me your recipe for "Fried Squirrel?"  Waste not, want not.

44 comments:

Shelle-BlokThoughts said...

OKay...I have no idea to help you with the squirrels...I might take the "over the hedge" approach...only that was for raccoons right? Anyhow...Beautiful bird feeders...and I'm for sure checking in tomorrow to see what your cool give-a-way is...hope you are okay with me stopping by more often! NOt just because of your giveaway...hahaha...
I DO love how you write too...funny and classy!
Shelle from blokthoughtsnmore.blogspot.com

Heather J. said...

My Husband gets out the pellet gun and does a little target practice...My daughter received a cap gun (rifle like) for her birthday, the first thing she asked when she took it out of the wrapping was, "Can I shoot the squirrels now too?"

Alicia said...

Awesome. My only suggestion is to get your husband a more powerful weapon. He will feel much more manly with a pellet gun. LOL.
Maybe a spray bottle, like I do to keep the cat off the table?

Unknown said...

My husband and son would love this! You might have to keep the squirrels around for some good old-fashioned entertainment for the boys!!

Liza on Maui said...

We've got tons of nerf gun bullets. Need some more?

Happy Mommy said...

You are simply hilarious! Really now you need a cute little squirrel dog to catch the cute little squirrels, problem solved.
And just fry um' up like chicken, and serve with mashed potatoes and gravy... OH' The things I do for the hunter, husband, love of my life!

United Studies said...

I really don't think there is anything you can do to chase away squirrels....they are very determined little creatures. And besides, I don't mind them. We put out nuts and berries for them.

Mama Smurf said...

My husband used pellet guns to help irradicate our coon problem. It didn't work. I think his aim must've been off.

Good luck!

Wonderful World of Weiners said...

CJ used to shoot them with his paintball gun. His theory? They were so mortified to be covered in neon green paint that they wouldn't show their faces in the neighborhood again.

Hope this helps!!

Hallie :)

marky said...

LOL..your post brings back memories of our old house in 'Squirrelville'. We had so many squirels it was ridiculous. Altho one year I had a opossom come and pull my flowers out one by one from my ledge flower box. I replanted them, and he did it again the next night. I finally put out a big rat trap (dh laughed at me and said I would only make the opossum mad) Sure enough I ticked him off, he knocked the whole flower box down! We finally had animal control take care of him.
Sorry no help about the squirrels, except to move the feeders.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just found your blog a few days ago. Thought I'd try to help you out with the squirrels. My policy has been if you can't beat them, feed them. I have squirrel feeders alongside my bird feeders in my yard and for the most part they stick to their own feeders. Recently my squirrel feeder was ripped off the tree (I don't want to know what psycho squirrel did that) so they've been raiding my bird feeders and cleaning them out in a matter of hours. So, maybe you could buy a squirrel feeder and some squirrel feed with the corn and peanuts and mount it on a tree or somewhere away from your flower beds. Hope that helps.

Sabrina http://knitchick825.blogspot.com

Dawn said...

We've faced the same issues and here's how we solved it.

First, get a tall shepherd's hook and use it to suspend the bird feeder. The key is to make sure you don't put it anywhere near a structure/tree/post that the squirrel can climb. Otherwise, he'll climb that and jump to the bird feeder.

Second, screw a squirrel feeder to your fence far away from where your bird feeder is located. I recommend getting the kind that has the screw sticking up from the bottom that you can screw an ear of corn or feed to. However, I don't recommend using the whole ears of corn as the squirrels will bury some of them. Guess what happens then? Yep, a very random field of corn. I recommend the ground corn "blocks" for several reasons. First, they can't plant it. Second, it lasts longer.

If you don't want to feed the squirrels, still try moving the bird feeder on a shepherd's hook.

Beckaboo said...

All I can say is....
LOL!!!

We have a squirrel problem at our house, too. In fact, we've had TWO in the house!! ACK!! So... I am not the blogger to ask how to rid yourself of them. I seem to invite them right on in.

Blessings.

Vivian M said...

Right now I have squirrels in my attic. My only suggestion is to maybe buy peanuts in the shell and start throwing a pile of them away from your feeder and garden, to lure them away from your house. The peanuts might make squirrel stew taste better too if your husband is a good shot!

Valarie Lea said...

I suggest moving the bird feeder away from the flowers. Like on a hook somewhere, and then getting one of those corn feeders. I suggest the one that spins around as the squirrel is trying to get to the corn. That would be funny to watch. :)

Cascia Talbert said...

I don't know how you can fix your squirrel problem but moving the bird feeder sounds like a good idea and getting a separate feeder for the squirrels also sounds like a good idea. I don't think your husband needs a more powerful weapon. Good luck with the pesky squirrels!

Cascia @ Healthy Moms

carrie said...

you could entice them with vanilla wafers. I'm not even kidding. we did that at the park and they were eating out of our hands. I wrote a post about it awhile back with photos and everything if you don't believe me.

You could make a trap with vanilla wafers as the bait. It would be diabolical.

Tonya said...

I have no ideas but please let us know what you end up doing!

Suzie said...

Yumm I love a good squirrel fry up

Amanda said...

My grandmother used to hang her feeders on a cord between two trees, then she'd grease the cord and the chain down to the feeder. It didn't always prevent them from getting to the seed, but with all the slipping around, they couldn't stay there for long. It made for good down-home entertainment at the very least.

I think the hook/corn suggestion is your best way to go.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen a single squirrel on our deck ever since I put those cereal bird feeders up. Maybe you could put Cheerios out as squirrel repellent.

Anonymous said...

sounds like our gopher problem!

Pixie said...

We love squirrels here! They are much more entertaining to watch than birds!

Definitely consider moving your feeder away from your plants if there is a spillage/trampling problem.

Remember, they're just doing what comes naturally to them and enjoying the bounty you're providing! LOL

The Fritz Facts said...

We don't have as many gray squirrels, but we have the
NASTY red ones. They are just plain mean. We use water guns, they are filled ALL THE TIME and ready for that pesky squirrel to bug me.

Good luck!!

Anonymous said...

Oh no! We have some squirrels but the things that really do me in are the oppossums! Luckily, The Beast keeps most of the wildlife away. I dread the day the oppossums figure out they can take him.

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Sorry, no good advice from me other than to get the hubby a more higher powered weapon!

Anonymous said...

It's good to see hubby is taking the problem SERIOUSLY. Ha!

Amanda said...

we too had that problem. I ended up having to buy a special feeder that closed up when heavy squirrels tried to jump on it- it works but I still get that messy seed on the ground- I ended up having a "carpet" of green grass seedlings under the feeder-I left it and pretended I "planted" it on purpose.

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

The nerf gun may be your best chance!

The Maid said...

Teach them to surf and go on Letterman.

Otherwise, tis better for you to just fry em.
:)

Squirrels are just fluffy rats, in my opinion.

The animal loving maid.

Unknown said...

The only time I've ever had this problem is when I lived in the country, and we were surrounded by Hickory Trees. Those pesky critters would bury the nuts in my Hosta and other flower beds. I mean, the ground would be COVERED with nuts, so WHY they had to hide them, I don't know. Then they would sit on the landscaping timber and eat their nuts, leaving the shells scattered every where. But I had four cats. And I had three dogs. And they learned to REALLY like the taste of squirrel, without any help from me!

Karen said...

I'd invest in some serious squirt guns and have a blast. You don't have to retrieve the darts that way.

Darla said...

A friend of mine, who lives in town (which makes no sense if you ask me) has a terrible problem with squirrels.

One day she sat her purse down in the garage to get some items out of her trunk, looked back and there sat a squirrel ON her purse. She freaked, needless to say.

We live in a new development, there are no squirrels just deer, LOTS & LOTS of deer (and wild cats).

Marni's Organized Mess said...

ha ha ha!

Anonymous said...

We had a similar solution at our house once with a chipmunk. Happy hunting!!

Tracy DeLuca said...

Move the birdfeeder away from the flowers. Give up on the squirrels. They will make you insane. If all else fails, squirrel stew sounds ok.....

Anonymous said...

Here's what my 93 yo grandmother in law does. She gets giant barrels, fills them with water, and puts a layer of leaves over the entire top. Squirrels jump on them and drown. Maybe Happy Mommy has a recipe for squirrel stew instead?

Mr Farty said...

Plenty more recipes here.

I'm just sayin'.

Toni said...

I too would love to find a solution. The squirrels tend to bury their treasures in my flower pots in doing so digging up my flowers.

Last year due to the freeze and then drought there were not many nuts on the trees so they really did not have anything to bury.

I am curious to see if I get surprises this year...

Megan said...

Ha ha, I seriously thought that was a NAIL GUN your husband was holding. I know squirrels are pesky, but sheesh!

The Nerf solution is much much better. :-) Good luck!

The Buntens said...

Our squirrels eat all of our bird food so I did have to buy special squirrel proof bird feeders. I have also heard squirrels do not like cayenne pepper and to put that in the food. I have not tried it though. I did put all of my bird feeders away from my flowers on shepards hooks and it helped, too!

Good luck. Fun to watch - very pesky.

twin power mommy ♥ said...

reminded me of a video my pastor just posted on his blog. check it out if you get a moment!

http://paulgostanian.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-bond.html

(since i'm not too techy, i am not sure how to make that into a link. you'll have to copy and paste to your browser URL)

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

First ... do not use any "home remedy" poisons like moth balls ... they don't work, and are en EPA violation when placed in your yard.

Bird feeder ... you will need an exclusion device placed on the pole and support wires.

Window ledge flower boxes ... move bird feeder and clean boxes of any food sources.

Container gardens ... You will need to either elevate them on a platform that is restrictive to a squirrels ability to climb and jump. Or you will need to build a perimeter fence and roof out of 1/4" galvanized wire mesh or hardware cloth, attached to the ground so they do not go under. Make an "door" for vegetable retrieval that the squirrels can't get through.

I hope this helped.