30-6 Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 My farmer friend is getting squirrels in the chicken coop and his barns. He asked me to keep an eye for them and thin them out. To be honest for a year or two i haven't shot a lot of them over there, and they've probably built up a bit. Went for a little walk around the area and reckon this is the worst year i've seen for them knibbling the bark off the branches. Seen two, shot one. Expected to see a lot more to be honest. So my questions are, (1) - is there a best time of day to see them and (2) - is there a preference of trees they like throught the year, e.g. i know they hit the hazel in September. Usually used to walk around whenever, as never deemed a best time for them, but want to really thin them out to help my friend and the poor trees, which like i said are really taking a hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Grey squirrels are most active at dawn and dusk, and you usually don't see many of them unless you wait for a while. I saw one squirrel in what is, as far as trapping is concerned, our wood. Set a trap and caught over 20. In autumn, they will be found feeding from any tree which produces nuts, including oak, hazel, beech, etc. Not sure about the summer though. It is hard to see them in summer as the leaves are on the trees. Trapping is more effective than shooting. We use cage traps baited with whole maize. Edited July 29, 2012 by Reece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonseed Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 ....We use cage traps baited with whole maize. On my shoot, the landowner has planted maize in a field alongside a wood for the past two years. I've had some of my best sessions ever with squizzers on fine winter afternoons after the maize was cut. They don't hesitate to go out as far as a hundred yards into the open field to find pieces of broken cob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 They can be tricky things. A cage trap is the most effective way, the problem with them is they should be checked twice a day, and then the trapped squirrel needs to be shot. Squirrels can be out at any time, but I'd say dawn/dusk mostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 I find them most active at dawn. They seem to venture further from cover on open ground in the early morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 On my shoot, the landowner has planted maize in a field alongside a wood for the past two years. I've had some of my best sessions ever with squizzers on fine winter afternoons after the maize was cut. They don't hesitate to go out as far as a hundred yards into the open field to find pieces of broken cob. They do seem to love maize. We've also seen the odd one feeding off wheat stubble. I just posted to tell 30-6 to post his grey squirrel kills to the 2012 pigeon watch grey squirrel kill count Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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