Another squirrel killer next door

[nycbrown]

I moved to NYC for a reason many years ago, or so I thought, to be free of rednecks. Up until now I've been free of the necks, but now my new neighbor is trapping and killing squirrels because they are eating the vegetables in his tiny garden.

I ran into him a few days ago while picking up dinner. He was outside a local bar and mentioned this to me. I was honestly so shocked I couldn't do anything but walk away.

Anyway, he told me his wife agreed they should do this. And we (my fiance and i) are in a strange situation living merely feet from our neighbors sharing fence divided yards. I also have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and the cats occasionally hop fences and explore. I'd be baseball bat pissed if one of my cats got stuck in a cage.

I'd like to explain to them that killing only creates a vacancy for new families to move in, and they'd have to be perpetual squirrel killers with no benefit (unless they love killing). I also believe a better investment would be cages for the vegetables, as opposed to animals.

I don't know what kind of cage and killing mechanism they are incorporating at the moment.

Any advice that doesn't involve baseball bats would be greatly appreciated. I do plan on talking to them as well, I just want a back up plan cause more than likely they won't agree.

First timer here guys so appreciate the help!

[Twi_prime]

I moved to NYC for a reason many years ago, or so I thought, to be free of rednecks. Up until now I've been free of the necks, but now my new neighbor is trapping and killing squirrels because they are eating the vegetables in his tiny garden.

I ran into him a few days ago while picking up dinner. He was outside a local bar and mentioned this to me. I was honestly so shocked I couldn't do anything but walk away.

Anyway, he told me his wife agreed they should do this. And we (my fiance and i) are in a strange situation living merely feet from our neighbors sharing fence divided yards. I also have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and the cats occasionally hop fences and explore. I'd be baseball bat pissed if one of my cats got stuck in a cage.

I'd like to explain to them that killing only creates a vacancy for new families to move in, and they'd have to be perpetual squirrel killers with no benefit (unless they love killing). I also believe a better investment would be cages for the vegetables, as opposed to animals.

I don't know what kind of cage and killing mechanism they are incorporating at the moment.

Any advice that doesn't involve baseball bats would be greatly appreciated. I do plan on talking to them as well, I just want a back up plan cause more than likely they won't agree.

First timer here guys so appreciate the help!

Hi NycBrown. I hope your neighbors are receptive. When I think of how I would approach it, the first thing that comes into my head to say to them is "You must really hate having to do that." Hopefully their answer would be, "Yes, I wish there were a better alternative!" and then you save the day with better suggestions and even offers to help implement the better ideas. I know it doesn't always work that way, unfortunately. Just my initial thoughts. Good luck.

[MiriamS]

This has been bothering me for so long that I re-wrote my post but then the editing period had expired. I'm just going to post what I'd edited anyway because it's a bit more organized. Sorry if it's annoying but I'm totally disturbed. The stupidity of humans never ceases to amaze me and I applaud your reaching out for help. :thumbsup



As a Brooklyn native, I find this totally horrifying! I have a few ideas.

1. You try to handle the situation. It's up to you whether you want to confront this person one on one but Twi's suggestion is a good one. Perhaps there are ways to squirrel-proof a vegetable garden. Maybe you can help research and implement something.

2. Do something informal that would apply pressure to your neighbor.
a) I would also post for advice on another list serve at http://brooklynian.com/ to see if you can find some neighbors to back you up. There are a lot of lawyers on this site and perhaps an official "neighborly" letter from a lawyer threatening action of some sort would be sufficient.
b) Try to informally find out where and how your neighbor is setting the traps and attempt to trip them. Operation Sabotage!
c) Invite Island Rehabber over from City Island and she'll give your neighbor a real NEW YORKER TALKING TO.

3. Otherwise I think it's worth contacting the authorities to give them a head's up because what he's doing IS illegal. It might take them some time to address the situation, during which time you can try some of the above ideas. But it would be good to file a report and get the ball rolling in case the situation escalates.
a) Call ASPCA to Report Animal Cruelty: In NYC: (212) 876-7700, ext. 4450
b) Next I would call 311 which can get you information on legalities and enforcement from Animal Care and Control.

This is really bothering me. Please keep us updated.

[Tracubs]

AWESOME SUGGESTIONS!!! :D
Im particularly fond of "B" and "C".Hehe :thumbsup
:goodpost

[NovaAlison23]

I checked into your local law.
If the squirrel is damaging his property, he can legally "take" the squirrel (yes, that's how they have it worded on the site, like "take" is better then kill). However it is very unclear on if he needs a license to do so or not, so that's the angle I would take on a legal standing.
If I were closer I would come over and shoot him with a BB gun myself, and say "I'm sorry, the law states I can shoot "Nusience" animals".
Aside from trying to disarm his traps before the squirrels can, and asking legal advice, I think talking to the neighbor may be the best idea. As was mentioned earlier, come up with a better plan and help the neighbor implement it. (Can you believe the response to one of the "Can I kill a squirrel in NY?" questions was "No NY squirrel is healthy, squirrels belong in the woods, so it must be ill to be out in NY, it's probably better off dead anyhow")

[SammysMom]

Okay, I had this same problem in the spring in Connecticut. It sucks!!!:sanp3 :sanp3 :sanp3
I ended up disabling the traps that I could reach and repeatedly spraying the ones we couldn't reach with ammonia with a super soaker water gun. It dissipates quickly so you have to do it often.
I have t run but will be back with more suggestions later. Good luck!

[JakesLittlePrincess]

If I were closer I would come over and shoot him with a BB gun myself, and say "I'm sorry, the law states I can shoot "Nusience" animals"
:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl
Hell I have a S & W 40 you could use!!!
I am sorry to hear this is happening. People are idiots and have been unfortunate to not be blessed by a little fuzzer in their lives. There is netting you can put over the vegetable which keeps them out. My father in law killed a bunch of squirrels one summer and I was so Pi$$^d I told him he wasn't helping the problem and showed him how to net the veggies and now they are fine. I wish you lots of luck!

[Adventurista]

I moved to NYC for a reason many years ago, or so I thought, to be free of rednecks. Up until now I've been free of the necks, but now my new neighbor is trapping and killing squirrels because they are eating the vegetables in his tiny garden.

I ran into him a few days ago while picking up dinner. He was outside a local bar and mentioned this to me. I was honestly so shocked I couldn't do anything but walk away.

Anyway, he told me his wife agreed they should do this. And we (my fiance and i) are in a strange situation living merely feet from our neighbors sharing fence divided yards. I also have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and the cats occasionally hop fences and explore. I'd be baseball bat pissed if one of my cats got stuck in a cage.

I'd like to explain to them that killing only creates a vacancy for new families to move in, and they'd have to be perpetual squirrel killers with no benefit (unless they love killing). I also believe a better investment would be cages for the vegetables, as opposed to animals.

I don't know what kind of cage and killing mechanism they are incorporating at the moment.

Any advice that doesn't involve baseball bats would be greatly appreciated. I do plan on talking to them as well, I just want a back up plan cause more than likely they won't agree.

First timer here guys so appreciate the help!


Move? Actually, I'm assuming that your city has some sort of ordinance about this---if they're in violation of that, you could report them and take them to court.

I'm assuming I would be classified as one of the "rednecks" you were trying to move away from....maybe you should rethink that and come out to the "country life?" lol! I love living where I do. I have 3/4 of an acre and still feel like my neighbors are on top of me, though! My motto is "give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above....don't fence me in..." :peace

[lila01]

Lol I would also be a redneck an proud of it! Hahaha I love the country life and am curently raising my baby squirrel Lila! Not all of us r bad people but I totally agree with u! I would totally want to go country on his butt!!! Lol hope it all works out and u are able to do something! Thank u for caring enough to try!!

[lila01]

If I were closer I would come over and shoot him with a BB gun myself, and say "I'm sorry, the law states I can shoot "Nusience" animals"
:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl
Hell I have a S & W 40 you could use!!!
I am sorry to hear this is happening. People are idiots and have been unfortunate to not be blessed by a little fuzzer in their lives. There is netting you can put over the vegetable which keeps them out. My father in law killed a bunch of squirrels one summer and I was so Pi$$^d I told him he wasn't helping the problem and showed him how to net the veggies and now they are fine. I wish you lots of luck!
Hahaha Jake! I also have a 30/30 she could use! My husband has a garden very year and the only prob we have with animals getting in it is out not so smart dogs! :rotfl

[hammyhobby]

I'm so sorry you're in this situation! I'm a "redneck" myself, but I am very compassionate about animals. I've had several people mock me for rescuing Sandy. They tell me I should release her now, or "There's enough squirrels in this area, what's the big deal?" I'm sorry I'm not cold hearted and will not leave a defenseless baby squirrel to die! :nono

Some people just aren't compassionate towards animals. :dono Let me know if I need to mail you an extra baseball bat!

[SammysMom]

Okay, here's the thing...my state laws also say something similar. The authorities that I spoke to advised me that if there were "too many" (to be determined by a different person each time so very subjective) they could be removed or killed "humanely".
I approached the neighbor who was NOT at all receptive to any of my alternative suggestions. I also approached the "wildlife specialist" aka trapper/killer and offered him $20/squirrel. :osnap Incredibly he said no! I hung nest boxes and redoubled my efforts to feed in my yard. I went thru about 50 pound of nuts and peanuts in 5 days:jump
I started releasing the trapped squirrels that I could reach and spraying the traps with ammonia (since it smells like urine it repels them). It did not prevent him from trying, but at a few of his taps mysteriously broke, the trapper gave up.
You might suggest that ammonia around his garden might help deter them from going into it.
Good luck!

[muffinsquirrel]

I moved to NYC for a reason many years ago, or so I thought, to be free of rednecks.

HE HE HE I'm afraid that 'redneck' is a state of mind, not a state in America! They're found in every walk of life, with any amount of money, with manners of all sorts. I know that it seems that the South has a reputation for owning them all, but that's just because down here we dress them up and put them out there in the face of the public, rather than pretending that they don't exist. We laugh with them, and sometimes AT them, pray with them, and some times FOR them. We don't always approve of them, but we tolerate them because they add color to our southern lifestyle.

Killing squirrels to put meat on the table is redneck.....kiling them because they are messing up the garden is just WRONG, and shows a mean streak a mile wide, only a few marks above people that go on these 'canned hunts' to kill an animal so they will have a trophy to hang on the wall. Then they brag to people about the ferocious tiger they killed, and what a 'thrill' it was - they fail to mention that the tiger was in a fairly small enclosure and was trained to come to a particular place to get the food that was put out for it there every night, so that it would be an guaranteed 'easy kill'.

I don't see why they don't just have their dead relatives mounted and hung on their walls - then they could tell people "This is sweet old Aunt Looney - I remember her taking me to the zoo when I was a child, and we would stand outside the monkey cage and make faces at them! She died in her sleep at the age of 98, and I sure do miss her."

OK - sorry for the thread jacking - that isn't what I started out to do. This was supposed to be about rednecks - 'good ole boys', and I just got carried away. Sorry if I offended anyone - it wasn't intentional. (But not sorry enough to not post this.)

muffinsquirrel

[Rescue04]

i would like to give your neighbors a redneck stomping of sorts.

[Scooterzmom]

Some people are just beyond reasonning with... *sigh and calling all animal killers rednecks is - in my book - an insult to rednecks. Cruel inhumane a$$holes is more the term in my book but hey! Long as we understand each other :) Cruel jerks are in every walk of life unfortunately and while yes, some rednecks ARE cruel I think Jeff Foxworthy might tell you that not all rednecks are cruel :dono

Anyway... re. that CIA neighbor of yours (CIA this time as in cruel inhumane a$$hole) You might suggest using blood meal. It's a powder AND fertilizer and squirrels just HATE the smell!!! I have used it in my flower boxes for my herbs - to prevent my furry buddies from going there to bury their peanuts and uprooting my herbs - and it worked great. That way he'd have the advantage of having bigger veggies AND the squirrels staying away from them. You do have to put some on top of the soil after each rain though... but it's relatively inexpensive and works so very well.

Another thing to suggest is to build some chicken wire cages that he could lay on top of his veggie garden, with a door on top that flips open. The advantage of that is, he'd have to build those only once (easy to do with 1"x1" posts and chicken wire), then he wouldn't have to waste time each day to empty the traps or do away with the poor critters, and those cages can be stored (or even folded) for the winter and reinstalled next summer. They can be anchored in the ground with stakes so the critters can't lift them to go inside the garden.

My pesky ex-neighbor did that (we now have moved away from there and onto 1.5 acre of land now, so I finally have peace and am rid of her, thank you :)) but, although she was and always will be a royal pain the butt to whomever lives nextdoor to her, I must admit that her system worked very well and it did at least save my squirrels from getting killed. ;)

[nycbrown]

All, sorry for lumping all rednecks and animal killers together, I didn't mean it that way, and frankly meant it more jokingly. I'm originally from Ohio and most of the people I dealt with over the years didn't care much for animals, unless they were eating them. I've been in NY for many years now, and this is my first time experiencing this type of thing first hand. Just a little disappointed.

Anyway, thank you very much for the advice. I haven't had an opportunity to confront the neighbors yet, but I'll keep you posted on the happenings.

[nycbrown]

All, I've taken into consideration all of your recommendations, and I have a plan. Talking to them isn't the hard part. Finding a way to bring up this situation is. Luckily, my fat 14 year old cat started squeezing his fat body through the wooden fence and visiting their yard literally a couple days ago. I'm going to apologize for this but also voice my concern about the traps and my cats. Then I'll lead into basics of urban wildlife (they are just creating a vacancy, the problem will be perpetual), vegetable cages, it's disturbing, etc.

If they aren't receptive to any of this, I will go to plan B which is more of a firm stance and potentially get some form of legality involved as several of you mentioned (esp my fellow brooklynite).

Plan C is the baseball bat.

Anyway, next time I see them in the yard when they don't have company over I'm going to address this.

As mentioned, I'll post updates.

[MiriamS]

:wahoo fat cat to the rescue! :wahoo

Bet nobody ever expected to see that posted on TSB. :D Your concern for your cat's well being will be a perfect segue into a discussion about inhumane traps and urban wildlife. :thumbsup You could proactively purchase some of that blood meal fertilizer and casually mention having it "on hand" for your neighbor to borrow and test out.

Then bring out the baseball bat. Just curious, what neighborhood?

[iluvbabysquirrels]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS GOING AROUND KILLING HARMLESS SQUIRRELS????????????????????????? GRRRRRRR IM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT ANIMALS!!!! (if you havent told yet!) HASNET HE EVER HEARD OF THE QUOTE "VIOLENCE IS NEVER THE ANSWER"???? i have a baby squirrel of my own and im veryyyy disturbed about this!!!! grrrrr!!!1


Ronnie and me am very mad!!!:Cannon :mad: :overkill




no. this explains how i feel!!!:

:devil (evil neighbor):overkill

[nycbrown]

Miriam, I'm in Cobble Hill. Haven't seen the neighbors once in a week, usually see them all the time. Hopefully this weekend. Will keep you posted.

[muffinsquirrel]

Maybe the squirrels are holding them hostage - won't release them until they sign a legal contract to 'cease and desist the harm and/or harassment of all wildlife, particularly squirrels of any kind, and furthermore agree to feed, water, and otherwise care for said squirrels'.

We can only hope!

By the way - I wasn't offended by your reference to 'rednecks'.....just pointing out that they're EVERYWHERE! No matter where you go, you'll find that they are are already settled in. Goodness knows I have known more than my share, and consider some of them friends. Even had a date with one, long long ago, (and only ONE date,) that, at a party, pulled a roofing knife out of his pocket and proceeded to clean his fingernails!!! Now who in hell would carry a roofing knife in their POCKET?!?!?!? You might be a redneck if....

muffinsquirrel

[nycbrown]

All,

I confronted the neighbors, and the trap is no more. My fat, old, 14 year old black cat is actually the hero, as my neighbors removed the trap after seeing him in their yard and didn't want him getting caught.

Additionally, they realized the futility of fighting urban wildlife, and that it would be a never ending battle.

Thanks for all your suggestions, and good luck to you all.

[SammysMom]

This post is a real victory! Good job Fat Cat!!!:thankyou

[Twi_prime]

That's wonderful news!! :jump

[Scooterzmom]

GRRRREAT news! So happy for you ... AND for the little fuzzers out there :D

This should be moved to TSB success stories :)