We were attacked by ground squirrels this year. Everything I put out was eaten, including 10 bean plants in one night. Mine also went after the tomato plants, and the squash and the cantelope and the cukes. Hairy leaves didn’t bother them a bit the way it puts off rabbits. The hibiscus couldn’t put leaves out fast enough - the squirrels would strip them clean, same for the roses. Then they started to eat the corner of the house. But we didn’t know how many squirrels there were - thinking there were only 3 or 4 troublemakers with us living on the edge of wilderness. Spent a few weeks trying to shoot them, only got one.
Then we declared war.
There’s a catch cage called a ‘squirrel-enator’. Baited it with mango and dog food and caught 5 squirrels in two hours. Rebaited it with just dog food and caught 4 more. Highlight: most of them died on their own from either stress or the heat - some pretty quick - so ‘cleanup’ was basically tossing them into the vacant acreage behind us for the hawks and buzzards. (they get smelly really quick in the trash can). To make a long story short, within one week, 37 ground squirrels and one possum later, it appears to be all quiet on the western front. IMO definitely worth the money. We told the neighbors they could have their share of the squirrels back, but they’d have to keep them on leashes :)
Looked up the Squirrelinator .... exactly what we need around here ... will be ordering one shortly. We use other traps, but the squirrels have to trigger the door to shut & that doesn’t always work, you have to reset after each squirrel, plus the trap is big enough to catch things we don’t want to catch ... like skunks (oh yes, I’ve had to deal with releasing one of those!). This Squirrelinator eliminates of all of those issues - can’t wait to get one. :-)
Perhaps a stupid question, but ...
For squirrels caught in the squirelinator who do not die from stress, what is the humane way to deal with them? Relocating them a few miles away is one option, but I’d be interested in something which ... requires less gasoline. But I wouldn’t want to be a monster.