Baiting squirrels

[Ant8681]

Ive been give permission to shoot a large estae garden to rid them of the squirrels, they are pretty clued up little ****, ive tried baiting them with peanutbutter, sunflower seeds, monkey nuts and peanuts and had quite alot of success to date, they are now wising up even though ive changed areas three times, does anyone have any other ideas to attract and rid the garden of these little pests?

[PotHunter96]

you could possibly try either tunnel traps, and smear the ouside with peanut butter, or a cage trap baited with those things. however it would be more fun to shoot them, but if there causing problems traps may be the way to go

[ricky green]

you could possibly try either tunnel traps, and smear the ouside with peanut butter, or a cage trap baited with those things. however it would be more fun to shoot them, but if there causing problems traps may be the way to go

try a multy catch trap,i have hade good succes with then.fairly easy to make out of wire mesh with just a flap door so no catches to worry about.. all i dun was throw some nuts around the trap and in it and just left them find it.job dun.and had the person whos garden it was ring me when they were in there.

[bedwards1966]

I've had difficulties with squirrels, shotguns make life far easier but they can still be cunning.

I found that one of the most effective methods was simply to trap them, then shoot them. It's amazing how many you can catch in a short period of time, and they don't cost that much off eBay either.

Edited April 14, 2012 by bedwards1966

[amateur]

I bought a cheap live-trap off ebay too, and, baited with peanuts, has worked remarkably well.

 

The downsides are that shooting a trapped squirrel at point blank range is somewhat less satisfying than having one in the cross-hairs of a sight at 20 yards, and the mice kept nicking the peanuts - so I put a mousetrap in the cage too, and have now caught equal quantities of mice and squirrels.

[Ant8681]

Nice one thank you guys, I know they have tried traps before and the squirrels seem to be a biy shy of them, ill try a live trap though as it may look a bit different to them.

Thanks again!

[CoolhandMal]

I bought a cheap live-trap off ebay too, and, baited with peanuts, has worked remarkably well.

 

The downsides are that shooting a trapped squirrel at point blank range is somewhat less satisfying than having one in the cross-hairs of a sight at 20 yards, and the mice kept nicking the peanuts - so I put a mousetrap in the cage too, and have now caught equal quantities of mice and squirrels.

Be careful what mice you are trapping as most mice are protected especially the wood mouse,not trying to patronise just making a gestured point

[UKPoacher]

There are two ways how you could shoot them.

 

The first involves shooting around whatever food source is in season. At the moment for example it may be buds. As the wheat and barley ripen they will steal that. Evidence is seen in empty husks laid on the edge of the field where they stuff their chhks with grain. Later on they can be shot in and around beech and oak trees and also apple trees. Squirrels also need a water source so you could plot up near to streams and ponds that they are known to use.

 

The second method is to bait them with wheat using a large bin pheasant feeder. This works better in winter, but can be a good bet at other times too especially if there is a water drinker situated nearby. All you need to make them are a few blue barrels and some wood. The wheat can be sourced from the farms you service and topped up every couple of weeks. Set up a hides around twenty yards from the feeders (or 65 yds if you are a really good shot ) and walk in quietly.

[amateur]

Be careful what mice you are trapping as most mice are protected especially the wood mouse,not trying to patronise just making a gestured point

 

In the suburbs they tend to be house mice

[UKPoacher]

I used to live in the suburbs and had to stop using traps because I only caught wood mice.

[CoolhandMal]

In the suburbs they tend to be house mice

There is no such thing as a House Mouse,this term was given to them by people over the years calling them this,but it is actually the Wood mouse entering properties looking for food or warmth however,they will inhabit the attic and feed on moths,spiders,flys too.

[Ant8681]

Im going to leave the mice alone, i actually quite like them! The traps are no longer an option as the owner doesnt like them about the garden as its open to the public when im not shooting so i guess im just going to have to sit and wait for them to present themselves. I had put out three peanut feeders to try and attract them, when i went back the next day two had vanished and the third was on the floor looking like squirrelzilla had torn it apart!

[Ant8681]

There are two ways how you could shoot them.

 

The first involves shooting around whatever food source is in season. At the moment for example it may be buds. As the wheat and barley ripen they will steal that. Evidence is seen in empty husks laid on the edge of the field where they stuff their chhks with grain. Later on they can be shot in and around beech and oak trees and also apple trees. Squirrels also need a water source so you could plot up near to streams and ponds that they are known to use.

 

The second method is to bait them with wheat using a large bin pheasant feeder. This works better in winter, but can be a good bet at other times too especially if there is a water drinker situated nearby. All you need to make them are a few blue barrels and some wood. The wheat can be sourced from the farms you service and topped up every couple of weeks. Set up a hides around twenty yards from the feeders (or 65 yds if you are a really good shot ) and walk in quietly.

 

 

Ill give this a go as there is a pheasant pen on the edge of my permission, hopefully feed there wont look too out of place! Thankyou!

[Alpha Mule]

Those fat/seed balls for the birds will pull them in from miles around.

'Chocolate' spread also works. Smear it to keep them in one spot though.

[Ant8681]

Those fat/seed balls for the birds will pull them in from miles around.

'Chocolate' spread also works. Smear it to keep them in one spot though.

[amateur]

There is no such thing as a House Mouse,this term was given to them by people over the years calling them this,but it is actually the Wood mouse entering properties looking for food or warmth however,they will inhabit the attic and feed on moths,spiders,flys too.

 

And there was me thinking that they were two different species Mus domesticus and Apodemus sylvaticus

[huffhuff]

Those fat/seed balls for the birds will pull them in from miles around.

'Chocolate' spread also works. Smear it to keep them in one spot though.

 

Yep. Works in my garden a treat! (but I trap)

 

You could also try this method;

 

Edited April 16, 2012 by huffhuff

[CoolhandMal]

And there was me thinking that they were two different species Mus domesticus and Apodemus sylvaticus

Must be th Alzheimer's kicking in

[Ant8681]

Yep. Works in my garden a treat! (but I trap)

 

You could also try this method;

 

Brilliant!

[amateur]

Must be th Alzheimer's kicking in

 

Yup, I guess so, because googling "Wood Mouse Protected" produced this

 

"Wood mice have no legal protection and conservation does not seem necessary as recolonisation after mortality is often rapid."

 

So I shall merrily continue adding a mouse-trap to the squirrel trap and not fear the unlikely occurrence of my trapping an Apodemus sylvaticus instead of a Mus domesticus

Edited April 16, 2012 by amateur

[CoolhandMal]

Yup, I guess so, because googling "Wood Mouse Protected" produced this

 

"Wood mice have no legal protection and conservation does not seem necessary as recolonisation after mortality is often rapid."

 

So I shall merrily continue adding a mouse-trap to the squirrel trap and not fear the unlikely occurrence of my trapping an Apodemus sylvaticus instead of a Mus domesticus

Smart ****

Edited April 16, 2012 by CoolhandMal

[CoolhandMal]

Edited April 16, 2012 by CoolhandMal

[amateur]

Smart ****

 

Apology accepted

[Ant8681]

I heard you can only trap mice if they are actually causing a pest of themselves i.e in a house or barn eating animal or human food stuffs. Dunno if its true but thought id add it anyway!

[amateur]

I heard you can only trap mice if they are actually causing a pest of themselves i.e in a house or barn eating animal or human food stuffs. Dunno if its true but thought id add it anyway!

 

See the quote above from the Mammal Society on the wood mouse.

 

The house mouse is classified as vermin, and, if they are not raiding your food stores, are at least urinating over it.

 

I'm surprised that a thread on squirrel-baiting has been diverted by non-factual statements on mice - but, hey, that's the charm of PW