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Jul 16, 2014 6:32 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
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I really hate squirrels and they know it ... but in case you don't know ... it's illegal in many states to trap and relocate squirrels. You might want to check into this and make sure to avoid your local Game Warden.

I ended up buying a sling shot and have gotten pretty good with it ... I haven't killed one yet but I've sure got a lot of them limping around from time to time ... If they see me come outside with the sling shot they scatter and I can hear squirrel warning chatters announcing the crazy lady is out and she's armed. They also have a different chatter for when I come outside without the sling shot.

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Jul 16, 2014 9:48 PM CST
Name: Dirt
(Zone 5b)
Region: Utah Bee Lover Garden Photography Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Photo Contest Winner: 2015 Photo Contest Winner: 2016
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...or get a cat?
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Sorry if this offends everyone's delicate sensibilities--there is no war going on here.
I don't hate squirrels or have a serious problem with them. Every once in a while they succeed in wreaking a little havoc for me but not very often. I don't have to 'feed' them--they have plenty to eat around here--and I sure as heck don't need to lure them in closer just to feed this guy!
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Jul 17, 2014 9:02 AM CST
Name: Toni
Denver Metro (Zone 5a)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Salvias Garden Procrastinator Irises I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
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DDorphins - I don't have a problem with cats eating squirrels. But here in CO, squirrels carry ticks that carry bubonic plague, and I'd rather have squirrels than plague. We do have a couple of falcons that keep the squirrel population in check for the most part.

But what I've done to keep the squirrels in my yard in control is feed them. I have a couple of feeders that I keep filled with el cheapo bird seed that's mostly cracked corn & sunflower seeds and they seem to keep out of the other feeders & don't dig. I also give them the heel of the bread I make every Sunday, so they seem quite happy about that. I only have 2-3 squirrels at any given time.
Roses are one of my passions! Just opened, my Etsy shop (to fund my rose hobby)! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tweet...
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Jul 17, 2014 11:34 AM CST
Name: Dirt
(Zone 5b)
Region: Utah Bee Lover Garden Photography Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Photo Contest Winner: 2015 Photo Contest Winner: 2016
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Yowsa! Who wouldn't rather have squirrels than plague?
Reminds me of the game the kids used to play...would you rather have a sharp stick in the eye or fall into quick sand?
Good thing you have a couple of falcons, Toni.

I'm not sure I follow the logic though? I can prevent fleas and ticks on my cats but not on the legions of tree rats aka squirrels and the street-drain rats down the block. I can't imagine purposefully feeding them, in my yard, facilitating the development of a thriving breeding colony, that regularly visits my yard to feed as being something I would do to lessen my chances of being exposed to the vector of bubonic plague, which is a flea, btw.

Anyway--I'm not trying to advocate for cats as squirrel control, although they do a pretty good job keeping them out of my gardens. Mostly, I was inappropriate in taking advantage of the opportunity to post a disgusting pic of my cat licking his chops with shred-o-squirrel in the foreground. Quick census this morning--upwards of 15 squirrels in the apricot trees having a party. Two cats sleeping under the roses.
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Jul 17, 2014 1:33 PM CST
Name: Toni
Denver Metro (Zone 5a)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Salvias Garden Procrastinator Irises I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Charter ATP Member Xeriscape Region: Colorado Roses Cat Lover The WITWIT Badge
I didn't think it was a disgusting picture.. it's just a kitty having a squirrel snack! Hmm.. I heard on the news that it was the ticks we had to watch out for, not fleas. We don't have fleas in CO for some reason, thankfully. But I know we're supposed to watch out for squirrels & prairie dogs. They're the ones supposedly carrying plague (we just had a case of pneumonic plague like last week? this week? http://www.thedenverchannel.co...). http://www.city-data.com/forum... My Wolfgang had one tick on him and I treated him with a medication.. like 4 months later he died of lymphatic cancer, and the cat who slept with him nightly died 3 months after that. But I don't know where he got the tick from.
Roses are one of my passions! Just opened, my Etsy shop (to fund my rose hobby)! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tweet...
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Jul 17, 2014 1:41 PM CST
Name: Barb
NE Illinois (Zone 5b)
I dream of a veggie garden completely enclosed in 1/2 inch hardware cloth. :D

Chipmunks are the bane of my existence. They burrow under my patio and take bites out of my ripening tomatoes. Bunnies aren't much better, but I can keep them away with a two-foot high fence.
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Jul 17, 2014 1:51 PM CST
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
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Barb - I know some gardeners use hardware cloth (a strong type of screening) as the base-layer in a raised bed. That way the critters couldn't dig UP into the garden area. Galvanized would be best:

http://www.louispage.com/blog/...
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
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Jul 17, 2014 2:59 PM CST
Name: Dirt
(Zone 5b)
Region: Utah Bee Lover Garden Photography Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Photo Contest Winner: 2015 Photo Contest Winner: 2016
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GreatLakesGardener said:I dream of a veggie garden completely enclosed in 1/2 inch hardware cloth. :D

Hilarious!
Grasshoppers are eating everything here! This year I have used the Nolu biological bait and I like to pretend that it is helping somewhat...

Toni--you don't want either fleas or ticks.
Ticks, for example, can have the bacteria that cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease. Fleas can have the bacteria that cause plague.

Here are a couple quotes from your linked article:
Subtitle
Plague often carried by fleas on prairie dogs
In the article
It is spread by fleas on rodents, most commonly prairie dogs, he said.
Do not feed prairie dogs or other rodents -- this attracts them to your property, brings them in close contact with other rodents and increases the risk of disease transmission. Do not directly handle any dead rodents. Keep pets away from wildlife, especially dead rodents. Don’t let dogs or cats hunt prairie dogs or other rodents. Don't allow pets to roam freely. Treat all pets for fleas according to a veterinarian's advice.

It is that fantastic semi-arid, high desert thing that you have going on there that keeps fleas relatively limited to their host populations rather than hopping about all over the environment looking for their next meal like more humid areas. But obviously, you do have some infected fleas in CO, otherwise you wouldn't be having cases of plague.
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Jul 17, 2014 3:17 PM CST
Name: Toni
Denver Metro (Zone 5a)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Salvias Garden Procrastinator Irises I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Charter ATP Member Xeriscape Region: Colorado Roses Cat Lover The WITWIT Badge
I got the pleasure of cutting & burying diamond wire for my mom's gladolias when I was a teenager..

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbul...
Roses are one of my passions! Just opened, my Etsy shop (to fund my rose hobby)! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tweet...
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Jul 21, 2014 2:35 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
It is not illegal to trap squirrels. I could just kill them if I wished, but my sensitive nature Sticking tongue out makes me re-locate them instead. Heck, our Animal Control Center will even lend traps for this purpose. Squirrels, though fun to watch, are no different than coons, armadillos, skunks, possums, and on and on. When they cause damage, that's all that's necessary to trap them.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Last edited by drdawg Jul 21, 2014 2:39 PM Icon for preview
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Jul 21, 2014 2:36 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
Plant and/or Seed Trader Birds Cat Lover Greenhouse Tropicals Bulbs
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus Hybridizer Garden Sages Butterflies
You're lucky you can trap and release somewhere else in your state.
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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