Posted on 07/14/2025 2:08:38 PM PDT by DFG
Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where some of the nation's nuclear arsenal is stored and the bombers capable of delivering it are stationed, is facing a threat the military may not be equipped to defeat.
Squirrels.
Yes, squirrels.
Minot AFB is under siege by thousands of Richardson Ground Squirrels, a.k.a. "Dakrats."
The ground squirrels have been a problem for the base for years, mostly because the base tries to keep the animal's natural predators out. The foxes, coyotes, and badgers stay outside the fence, while the Air Force's BASH team scares off the hawks and eagles to minimize bird strikes during takeoff and landing.
This means the squirrels inside the base perimeter reproduce like crazy.
Their burrowing undermines infrastructure like runways and buildings, resulting in lots of taxpayer money spent on repairs. The furry invaders can also carry fun diseases like bubonic plague.
Leadership at the base announced a new plan for clearing out the threat.
Using traps to remove the squirrels is pretty much the same strategy they've used for decades. There are poisons that can kill them, but no legal poisons that wouldn't also kill people.
They could hunt them, but can you imagine the panic and/or accidents that might ensue with a bunch of people firing rifles everywhere on a military base.
Airman 1st Class Josh W. Strickland wrote in 2019: 'One lone intruder. No problem. Ten thousand intruders is a different story entirely, especially when they are rodents.'
The good news?
If worse comes to worst, Minot AFB does have one option readily available to defeat the squirrels once and for all.
It houses 26 B-52 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and 150 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.
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Brunswick Stew anyone?
These are not the typical tree squirrels you are thinking about. It’s a different breed of cat, if you will:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson%27s_ground_squirrel
And BB guns generally lack the velocity or energy to kill small rodents. I’ve shot tree squirrels with my adult air rifle (Sheridan/Benjamin 5mm (20 cal) pellets) pumped up to about 800 fps and one will go through a tree squirrel but not exit, because the little critters are tough. A 22 cal rifle bullet will work just fine, but that has a danger range of up to 1.5 miles, so you don’t just give them nilly-willy to kids and tell them to blast away.
Don’t they make rodent bait that has birth control in it?
Funny story. Just after the birth of my son the in-laws came to visit. We were all blissfully sitting on the back deck enjoying the day with my ultra-liberal in-laws.
Then came a ‘tree-kitty’ and was trying to get at my birdfeeder. I proceeded to go inside and get my trusty BB gun and hit that critter square on with one shot.
It was one of my happiest days in my life and I will never forget the look on their faces. Priceless!
I love that idea👍
Set a couple of dozen coyotes free inside the gates...
Squirrel population should shrink appreciably...
Coyotes do not like to fly and they won’t steal any planes...
😄
I don’t laugh much, it’s not my nature. But that got a pretty good LOL from me. Good post.
Lol
I thought Rocky was on our side. Did Natasha seduce him into defecting?
Correct. Ground squirrels everywhere are considered to be destructive pests and may be taken freely.
A better solution is to use the Squirrelinator. It's a no-kill trap that allows you to catch up to 20-25 squirrels at a time. It's a lot like the squirrel motel. They check in, but can't check out.
Once caught they can be dispatched using an optional water basin to drown them or by shooting them through the bars of the trap.
I've used mine a lot over the years and they're very effective.
My family has a ranch in NW South Dakota.
I have spent many summers out behind the barn up on the hill plinking prairie dogs long distance with a Rem. 220 swift, then later a 22-250.
It’s a blast!
Watch out for rattlers.
I was stationed there in the early 70’s.
Contrary to base regulations. Against regulations we kept guns in our rooms and killed about anything that moved in the way of rodents.
We did not have a rodent problem. The first sergeants didn’t see anything.
Today you have a Democrat problem too many women in positions of power they have no character for.
Squirrel fried with biscuits and some of that speckledy gravy?
There are several species of ground squirrel in N. America. Seen them here in E.TX.
My hay crop is over-run with Belding’s Ground Squirrels. I just got one of these traps and boy does it work...
https://www.automatictrap.com/products/terratrap-gs-kit
So, your solution for a squirrel infestation around base housing is to turn loose a bunch of teenagers armed with .22 rifles?
Doesn't seem very safe to me. What happens when someone gets shot?
A better solution is some Squirrelinator no-kill traps that can capture up to 20-25 squirrels at a time. Once captured, they can be drowned in the optional water basin or dispatched with a pellet gun/.22 rifle shooting straight down into the ground.
Poison is illegal to use on squirrels in my state (Colorado) for this very reason.
I actual was just going to do a ground squirrel painting. I think they’re cute. Should I put a mushroom cloud in there now?
Dr. Strangelove’s pet squirrel.
Cry havoc and release...
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