Neighbor Trapping Squirrels Outside & Killing Them

[FlyerMommy]

Update



Still no little critters of any kind :hamstar have been trapped in the cage as of this morning.




The trap will be smashed very soon, and if he does replace it I've decided to have him turned in.


This is the first Halloween I've looked forward to since I was young.

[Jackie in Tampa]

Update



Still no little critters of any kind :hamstar have been trapped in the cage as of this morning.




The trap will be smashed very soon, and if he does replace it I've decided to have him turned in.


This is the first Halloween I've looked forward to since I was young.

get him! he earned it!

[tomcics]

To me this neighbor of your is no different than a murderer of humans, except maybe more of a coward since he is choosing tiny defenseless squirrels to kill. The only Halloween justice would be if Michael Myers paid him a visit.

[FlyerMommy]

Hi Everyone,

Halloween is just around the corner.

Anyone wanting to get in on the FUN?

If so, post your Halloween prank suggestions.

Number 1 on the list is to destroy the Trap.



Thank You,
Flyermommy

[CritterMom]

Don't break the trap - he will just replace it and maybe move it where you cannot monitor it. Keep urine on it - "refresh" frequently. If you or a friend have a dog, you could use that; if you know someone with a cat, get the litter box trash and use that. They won't go into a pee covered trap with a perfectly good bird feeder in the back yard.

I also wouldn't go nuts with Halloween tricks - they will only make YOU feel good and this isn't about you. Fly under the radar, girl... He will get tired of this eventually, especially since he isn't trapping anything. If he suspects he is getting targeted he will likely double down and you will only have succeeded in making things worse.

Never, ever use those flip traps - they are killers - I had the same thing happen with a mouse. Hav-a-hart types are the only really safe way to trap animals.

[Fireweed]

That sounds like a great Halloween, Freddymommy...good time to get back at a poo poo neighbour!
But I hate to be a downer: I to-tall-y agree with Crittermom. I would keep under the radar and I wouldn't break the trap. Most likely he'll just get another one and move it and then you and our little squirrel friends are screwed. He obviously hasn't figured out that there is pee on his poo poo trap ( yes, I'm 10) so I'd just keep refreshing it, like Critter says. Maybe he'll think he's done a 'good' job and has trapped enough squirrels if none are finding their way into the trap anymore. (That's such great news, btw! Good pee-er. Good. )

One thing though, there was a suggestion of cat litter/trash...I would never use that around squirrels (or rodents of any kind) or anywhere they might live. They can get a disease from it similar to the roundworm disease/toxoplasmosis and it sticks around in the environment for a very long time. Kitty poo poo on that idea.

[virgo062]

Good thing he does not live close to me....I roll everyones yard on Halloween One year I even rolled my own it was so much fun

[astra]

what if he ends up setting up a trap in his backyard by the bird feeder?... I am sure squirrels visit his birdfeeder, and if he sees them there, he'll get even angrier, because now it's not just the attic, but the feeder, too..

... still thinking of ways to report him... I honestly don't think they will tell him who reported. And if, as NutmegsMommy suggested, someone just "visited" relatives/friends/whatever in that neighborhood, he won't be able to know anyway, even if the neighborhood is rather small. Someone may not even have to visit relatives, they can simply happen to be in the neighborhood when they saw/heard him shoot (say, they were out for a walk from some nearby neighborhood, for a drive, looking for a house to buy whatever).

[justcuterats]

I would surmise that many of the posters here have never had a REAL squirrel problem. Have you ever had them in your attic? Pulling everything they can get their teeth into apart? Keeping you awake ALL night? Peeing & deficating everywhere? And worse still, chewing on cables and endangering you, your family and your neighbours lives with the threat of fire?

I have and suddenly they aren't so cute anymore. And that's what we're talking about here - the only diffirence between a squirrel and a rat is that a squirrel is cute. Is anyone out there trying to 'save the rats' or annoyed with guy next door disposing of them? No, of course not...because rats aren't cute.

Until you've had a real squirrel problem, you can't really criticise someone about how they deal with it. It can be a very stressfull situation. Walk in another mans shoes first etc before you judge him.

[island rehabber]

I would surmise that many of the posters here have never had a REAL squirrel problem. Have you ever had them in your attic? Pulling everything they can get their teeth into apart? Keeping you awake ALL night? Peeing & deficating everywhere? And worse still, chewing on cables and endangering you, your family and your neighbours lives with the threat of fire?

I have and suddenly they aren't so cute anymore. And that's what we're talking about here - the only diffirence between a squirrel and a rat is that a squirrel is cute. Is anyone out there trying to 'save the rats' or annoyed with guy next door disposing of them? No, of course not...because rats aren't cute.

Until you've had a real squirrel problem, you can't really criticise someone about how they deal with it. It can be a very stressfull situation. Walk in another mans shoes first etc before you judge him.

Hoot mon, you surmise wrong.
Most of the folks here know squirrels very, very well. And with all of our knowledge of their good points and bad, we would never EVER dream of hurting one. That's what makes us Squirrel Board folks.....and you, well, NOT.

[stosh2010]

Amazing...that was his (hers) first post--ever. He registered just to vent.
Merry Christmas...to all the Scots...and RATS are definitely CUTE--too.
################################################## ####################
Stosh >>> Keeper of the KING ( of Costa Rica )

[astra]

I would surmise that many of the posters here have never had a REAL squirrel problem. Have you ever had them in your attic? Pulling everything they can get their teeth into apart? Keeping you awake ALL night? Peeing & deficating everywhere? And worse still, chewing on cables and endangering you, your family and your neighbours lives with the threat of fire?

I have and suddenly they aren't so cute anymore. And that's what we're talking about here - the only diffirence between a squirrel and a rat is that a squirrel is cute. Is anyone out there trying to 'save the rats' or annoyed with guy next door disposing of them? No, of course not...because rats aren't cute.

Until you've had a real squirrel problem, you can't really criticise someone about how they deal with it. It can be a very stressfull situation. Walk in another mans shoes first etc before you judge him.

This is not "surmising", this is making a huge sweeping ungrounded assumption.

1. Quite a few people here have had squirrels in their attics, garages etc. But the way they dealt with that problem was determined by their understanding that squirrels, just like raccoons, rats, skunks and all other animals whom ppl consider pests, have the same right to be here, if not more rights to be here.
You see, they do not really know that some human build a house and made that spot his/her property, and the trees, on which these squirrels' ancestors lived for ages, ended up on that person's property or next to that person's house. You see, to them those trees are still their trees.

2. The "infestations" of animals are all people's own fault. They dispose of their garbage incorrectly, thus inviting raccoons and rats (especially, eating establishments), they do not properly seal holes, cracks and various openings in their basements, attics, roofs. These examples can be quite long.
I, personally, often talk to the pest control ppl that come to our work place every month. And they confirm: rat/raccoon/mice/etc infestations are caused by people's irresponsible actions.

3. When a squirrel or a raccoon does end up in one's attic, there is a perfectly humane way of getting rid of them.
E.g., my landlord often faces squirrels in his attics, and he is not a TSB person. BUT he does admit that it's not squirrels' fault and no animal should be hurt. So, he found an animal removing company, whose owner is a normal guy, too.
If it is a baby season, he waits for some time, to make sure there are no babies. Then, he installs one-way doors - the animal can leave, but cannot go back.THAT IS IT! END OF PROBLEM! AND NO CREATURE IS HURT!

And if you go to any wildlife removing companies, read their brochures etc, you will be told that after that it is strongly suggested to inspect your attic/basement/whatnot for possible holes and cracks and seal them to avoid future invasions.

But most people are too lazy and too cheap to take responsibility for ensuring the house is animal-proof. It is much easier to kill these innocent vulnerable creatures.

As for the noise... well, it looks like a lot of people don't mind loud music, parties, obnoxious loud neighbors or non-stop working TVs in their homes, but an occasional pitter-patter of a 1lb animal annoys them.

Besides, there is NO WAY that squirrels are CONSTANTLY running and waking you up. During the day they are mostly outside, and at night they are fast asleep. And even when they run occasionally, it is not louder than the TV in your living room.

I, myself, had squirrels living over my head, and I know that they are gone most of the day, like good tenants. Only coming home to sleep, or in bad weather.

But regardless of the sound preferences,
it is the home owner's responsibility to animal-proof their house.
And it is a human's moral responsibility to find ways of removing the animal in a humane way, without hurting it. And it is possible!

Humans are the most invasive irresponsible destructive and cruel species!

PS. For your information:

1. squirrels and rats aren't the same. They belong to completely different families: Sciuridae and Muridae respectively.

2. actually, rats are cute, too. But to see that it takes an above average mind.

3. yes, we save rats, too, because EVERY ANIMAL IS PRECIOUS! Regardless of whether one considers it "cute" or not.

[astra]

P.S. Just sort of wondering: what kind of person would want to go through a registration process only to ignorantly, with quite a few typos (or spelling mistakes;-)), go off like that on CHRISTMAS DAY!....hmmm....from what I learned in my psychology classes, there might a few issues to resolve, therapeutically, that is...

[mpetys]

Astra - another great posting.

Michele

[SquirrelNut]

OMG, why would you come out of your hole on Christmas Day to attack SQUIRRELS on a Board that obviously LOVES them????

I will NEVER understand some people!

IR, thanks for your magnificient and objective "banning" of this individual!

Merry Christmas to ALL the Squirrels in the World and to ALL the People who LOVE them!

[island rehabber]

astra, those of us who are Moderators can tell you that every major holiday brings out the nuts -- and I don't mean pecans and almonds. We had a 4th of July blitz one year that would have blown your mind: one weirdo dysfunctional geek after another, spamming (usually with dead squirrel pix) TSB for over three hours. We've had similar freak shows on New Year's Day and Christmas. Today's been light so far, if you look at our history.

Maybe their shrinks' offices are closed? They run out of their meds and the drugstores are closed? Whatever -- it's a Holiday Freak Show for sure.

[Scooterzmom]

...about cayenne... I don't know, this is something I heard from someone who considered ways to protect their flower bulbs from squirrels. They told me that they read/heard/were told that pepper adversely affects squirrels' eyes/vision, that they might gradually go blind or lose their vision partially. That's why they decided not to use it to protect their bulbs (good ppl).
Again, don't know how true this is, but just thought i'd share (just in case)

Please don't use cayenne!!!! They get their little paws on/in it and then may rub their faces, eyes and they get badly burned from it.

One natural product I've had great success with is pureed garlic. I take big whole cloves of them, puree the entire thing with a little bit of water and put some around whatever I don't want them to touch. Usually works like a charm. I've rubbed that concoction on my wood railings which they would chew on; since then they have stopped chewing them. They also hate the smell of mothballs but if you use those, do not use the crystals - since they could walk in those and get poisoned from licking themselves clean. I use whole mothballs and bury them (shallow beneath the surface) near what I don't want them to touch. We don't smell them but they do and they will not dig to get them out cuz they hate the smell.

Ideally you try to get the offending stuff on or near the trap but in such a way that your neighbor cannot detect it. Hopefully he'll just be ticked off when he realizes that the trap doesn't work OR he might think he's won the war against the sqees.

[Kat762]

If this jack@$$ is determined to kill the squirrels and he is turned in for shooting off his gun, I would be afraid that he would then poison them = (

I hope and pray one of the natural repellants like fox pee or neighbor pee works, I think the only way to keep the squirrels safe is to keep them away, and also not put any food out

I'm sorry you have to live next door to that murderer =(

Pray to the Great Spirit to make him go away one way or another for the animal's sakes.

[Lulu2010]

Some good friends of ours had a squirrel problem in their attic several months back. They were getting in through a hole in the siding and making so much noise and mess. One night they had just laid down to go to bed and the wife happened to look at the ceiling and freaked because there was a little squirrel head peering out at them through a hole he had chewed through their ceiling at some point. Finally, they had enough. They searched the attic the next day so they could scare out any squirrels that were there (they didn't see any) and they patched the hole that they were entering through. Since then, they haven't had any more problems. I think this guy is just taking it too far and trying to get revenge on squirrels that were just trying to find a safe and cozy place to live. They didn't know any better. Now that he solved the problem, he should just let it go. What a jerk for killing them. I hope all the squirrels team up to reek havoc on his house. Maybe then he'll just move.

[astra]

there was a little squirrel head peering out at them through a hole he had chewed through their ceiling at some point. .

Of course, that must have been a project to search the attic and patch the hole, but I just cannot help laughing.... I had a similar situation when some fuzzbutt tried to get through a fan vent on the kitchen ceiling...

But I didn't get to see a little squirrel face, because my landlord closed all openings. And yes, that solved the problem.
In fact, it is often strongly suggested that homeowners inspect their houses for holes and other possible animal entry points. Once those are patched and potentially 'weak' points are reinforced, the problem is solved, pretty much (unless there is some especially determined furball - then, of course, a little extra effort might be needed;-)).