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Tips on trapping grey squirrel ? ( Tree rats )


lewis2012
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Ive just oredered the big cheese squirrel trap from amazon as my mate has a load of them in his garden and has asked me to trap them. Any tips at all would be appreciated guys :)

I know peanut butter is supposed to be good butlooking for tips for the initial trapping aswell

Thanks all

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If you are going to kill them, every single time, then you can trap them. Peanut butter or peanuts are very good as bait. Ensure you put the bait where it can be clearly seen from a vantage point in a tree, as they will want to scout the area out.

Apart from that, ensure that you have a good, reliable method of dispatching those you catch, kill quickly and humanely, and never, never go more than 24 hours between trap checks.

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Just in the middle of a big trapping regime at the moment. Peanut butter and or snickers do the job wonderfully. Using a mixture of live capture and fenn mk4's in cages.

 

Had 5 this week with the live traps fairing best, I despatch the critters with a .22 air rifle clean and quick.

 

I use small indirect bait trails of chopped peanuts in areas I know there visiting.

 

Karpman

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I find peanuts spread inside the trap work well as does maize, which is cheaper. Or a fat ball suspended over the treadle. Air rifle pellet to back of head or .22, but if you use .22 make sure you are shooting down into soft ground otherwise who knows where it will end up.

Don't forget to log the numbers on the PW count.

ATB

Edited by Fisheruk
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Just in the middle of a big trapping regime at the moment. Peanut butter and or snickers do the job wonderfully. Using a mixture of live capture and fenn mk4's in cages

 

Had 5 this week with the live traps fairing best, I despatch the critters with a .22 air rifle clean and quick.

 

I use small indirect bait trails of chopped peanuts in areas I know there visiting.

 

Karpman

Hey Karpman, great work. Don't forget to post your records on the site Grey Squirrel log, keep the numbers coming. :good:

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I use whole maize. It is fairly cheap, available in bulk, it's yellow so they can see it easily and it works as a bait. Squirrels also only eat one part of the kernel, which I have found useful when finding a trapping site. You can usually buy it from garden centres, pet food stores or agricultural suppliers. Sometimes you may see it packaged as squirrel food.

 

You should set the trap at the base of a mature tree. Once you have something, shoot it in the head. I prefer to shoot it with an air rifle from the side of its head, and put the shot between the eye and the ear. I'm not sure if you need to do that in a trap, but I do it just to make sure.

 

I've accounted for 88 squirrels using this method last year, and this year I haven't even got into double figures in over 2 months, so it must have worked.

Edited by Reece
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I use whole maize. It is fairly cheap, available in bulk, it's yellow so they can see it easily and it works as a bait. Squirrels also only eat one part of the kernel, which I have found useful when finding a trapping site. You can usually buy it from garden centres, pet food stores or agricultural suppliers. Sometimes you may see it packaged as squirrel food.

 

You should set the trap at the base of a mature tree. Once you have something, shoot it in the head. I prefer to shoot it with an air rifle from the side of its head, and put the shot between the eye and the ear. I'm not sure if you need to do that in a trap, but I do it just to make sure.

 

I've accounted for 88 squirrels using this method last year, and this year I haven't even got into double figures in over 2 months, so it must have worked.

Nice work pal, I had another this morning. There wreaking havoc in a big ol barn.

 

Karpman

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How do you get around the problem of mice or birds nicking the bait?

 

When I bait up my garden Fenn, invariably mice grab the bait - proven by the occasional mouse-trap that I lay instead, and with the live cage-trap, I get blue-tits hopping in and out and pinching the peanuts.

 

Neither, of course, are heavy enough to spring the traps

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How do you get around the problem of mice or birds nicking the bait?

 

When I bait up my garden Fenn, invariably mice grab the bait - proven by the occasional mouse-trap that I lay instead, and with the live cage-trap, I get blue-tits hopping in and out and pinching the peanuts.

 

Neither, of course, are heavy enough to spring the traps

 

I haven't had any major problems, except from pheasants, and I solved that with two sturdy sticks at the cage entrance. I've recently had problems with a few rabbits digging under the trap, but some planks of wood underneath will solve that.

Sometimes a bit of bait is nicked but so far, it has not interfered with my trapping.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Popped around 10 last year and not seen one during the winter and so far this year, neighbour tells me they are back.

 

Saw one on neighbours birdfeeder yesterday but Mrs S was present, she thinks they are cuddly fluffy little things!!

 

So must wait until she's out and if it shows up its game over, and what a pair of nuts the thing had so I guess there will be a few more around.

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