Ok we have a few cute ground squirrels under our shed which hadn’t really bothered us until it was realized that they were/are eating our garden sprouts …
What I need is a humane way to catch the squirrels for relocation since my disabled niece who loves all animals wont let us dispose of them (ie kill them)
anyone have a good idea ?
You might want to check whether relocation is legal. Where I live it’s legal to trap certain wildlife species (e.g., opossum), but you can only relocate to a location on the same property.
Just feed them something else?
I have a rat problem and was going to say this same thing. Upon looking into humane options – I love all animals, even nasty rats – I decided to just hire a pro. You can get a humane trap at Home Depot or Lowe’s or wherever, but laws are pretty strict about what you can and cannot do with the critter once you catch it. Depends on the critter, too, because certain critters carry diseases that other critters do not. I googled wildlife catch and release for my area and came up with a list of humane, Department of Wildlife-licensed professional companies who handle that sort of thing.
In fact, the rat-catching & relocating begins tomorrow.
ahh thanks since it seems there desert squirrels which are infinitely numerous sine we live in the desert we were just going to drop them off a couple of blocks over since its just unowned brush
I trap and release raccoons with permission from our state game commission and the owner of the property where they are released (a coon hunter).
I use large Havahart traps. The make squirrel traps as well.
Relocation won’t be very effective – other squirrels will just move in to take their place. After all, the squirrels are hungry, and you have a tasty garden available.
The same thing happens with feral cats – if they are trapped & removed, others move into that territory. That’s why most humane societies have changed to a Trap-Neuter-Return policy – the returned cats continue to occupy the territory and keep out others, but since they are neutered, the population growth doesn’t happen. The area tends to stabilize at the population of feral cats that the environment can support.
The most effective way I’ve found is to put a squirrel-resistant fence around your garden, then to plant some ‘sacrificial’ plants outside the fence for the squirrels – make those easier to get at then your garden. And squirrels can be quite amusing to watch – persuade yourself that the entertainment you get is worth the plants they eat.
Ask at a gardener forum which plants give off a smell that squirrels can’t stand, or taste too bitter for squirrels, so they leave on their own?
Terrier or other small vermin removing dog. Cats might work as well.
that would work if you want to be rid of them for 15 minutes. Squirrels have to be taken a considerable distance away or they will come right back. 10 miles would be a good start.
other animals beside squirrels will eat your garden , so if you were able to remove the squirrels you still will have the same problem . We have wild rabbits and groundhogs here , the rabbits ate most of our lawn and it all weeds now . And it not kind of weeds you can smoke .
There are always more squirrels.
Probably some of them have already been eaten by predators and you didn’t even notice because their replacements moved in immediately.
Liberally spread some mothballs around the shed. They’ll leave, stay gone, and others will not enter!
You are under the impression that your professional rat-remover plans a “catch and release” approach?
As Magiver notes, this is most unlikely to be effective.
I have a fried who trapped troublesome squirrels and moved them more than a mile away. It didn’t seem to be making much difference, so he got curious and took to tagging them by spray-painting their tails. They were often back on his property within a few hours.
This. We got a Jack Russell Terrier and he does a great job keeping squirrels and chipmunks off our property. (Prior to that I used live traps with only limited success.) Our dog spends a good part of the day roaming the perimeter looking for squirrels that happen to be wondering through. The squirrels soon learn that our neighbors are much more tolerant of them than we are. Or you could buy a .22 rifle and take care of the problem yourself.
Ferrets are still illegal in the U.S., right? I’ve seen hunting films of ferrets going down burrows and making short work of rats and vermin. But they were all videos from England.
Depends on which state you live in. In Oregon, they are legal, for example. They are not legal in other places.
well were trying pepper sprays and pouring cayenne pepper around the garden …
lets see if it helps
Yes, you can purchase a plastic Owl or Eagle and mount it on a stick. It scares lots of smaller pests away.