# Squirrel and Chipmunk Control



## daveroesler (Jul 25, 2009)

Anyone got any solutions for squirrel and chipmunk control? I live in the city so shotguns are out. A big mean cat is not practical for where we live and for travel consideration. I've heard there are chemicals or sprays to keep squirrels from digging. I trap and relocate chipmunks but it is a never ending problem.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)




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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

You could hire my wife! Not bad for 200yards and the first time with this rifle.

All kidding aside if you go to your local John Deere supplier they will have a granular that you can apply to keep them out. Its about 100 for a 25lb container.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

If it's impractical for you to have a cat then make gifts of kittens to each of your adjacent neighbors. Cats never stay at home.


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## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

Cats should be inside anyhew.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Depends on your purpose. If they're you babies, keep them inside. If they're for pest control, get a couple, put a dish by the back door and feed them enough to keep them from wandering off. If something happens to one, there are more free cats where they came from. They'll be quite content to live that way.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

B-b gun with a site. Pellet gun with a site. Sold in sporting goods store. That make little noise. I have never had any luck with chemicals. I call them potions. I have found that when you dispose of one six more appear. Chipmunks have a habit of digging under the family pool. Costly!!!!! When you shell out $$$$$ a couple of times you tend to have no mercy! They have also chewed many of my railroads inhabitens and wipe out our strawberry crop. I have also had luck with a paint ball gun. Freez the paint balls before use, making them like a marble. Good luck.


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## Ken101Ward (Jan 1, 2010)

+1 on the air rifle. I use a .22 cal air rifle for Groundhog control. It works great since discharging firearms
are prohibited where I live. A rimfire rifle in .17 HMR is a good choice if you have the ability to shoot firearms
on your property. The .17 HMR bullet acts like a grenade when it enters the critter, it fragments and has yet 
to exit any pest I've used it on.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Get a Live Steam locomotive, then get a whip and train them suckers... go on tour with them and make money!


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## tbar (Jan 26, 2009)

Boy Dave...got to have a sense of humor with these boys...only thing I can think of...try some moth balls...I get squirrels...but they don't bother anything.....when my cats are out, they keep them running for the trees.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

We will not be deterred.....


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

There is a funny smell in my car. Smells like something dead. I know what it is. This is the fourth time it happened. It looks like a chipmonk only a little bigger. It is a rat. It is on the squiral cage fan for my heater/ AC. Maybe he thought I needed to go green and was going to help me generate electicity for my car. But he is dead now and I need to get him out.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

BUT...you can hire us to patrol....


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi all,
Lots of fun comments and cute pictures. But, the damage done by Ground Squirrels, Squirrels, and Chipmunks is no laughing matter, the damage control can be time consuming and expensive.

This is the time of year when they, the ground burrowing types, are looking for dryer winter quarters so will search for and find anything that will meet their needs. Raised ground, under slabs, and foundations are some of their favorites. They seem to leave a trail for others to follow and use, not sure yet how this works but it does happen, will explain later.

Unfortunately in Far Northern California this year we are having an epidemic of Ground Squirrels. Myself and most of the neighbors are having lots of practice in eradication methods. What works best for me is our Border Collie. She corners them under rock pile, wood piles, in tree roots, etc, and "we" dig them out and she dispatches them, 8 in September and 3 so far in October. 

What works second best for me and is probably your best bet in an urban or suburban setting is live trapping. Best baits seem to be things like melon rinds and walnuts/almonds. You may have to chum the area for a few days to get them thinking they like your bait then set the trap. Once trapped your faced with the final solution, and be careful the little bast---- will bite the sh-- out of you if given the chance. California Fish and Game has regulations against releasing nuisance animals on someone else's private property( other places may be the same) so be careful there. My solution is a little more direct, it involves teaching them to swim underwater.

I don't use or recommend poison baits because of the secondary poisoning of everything from your and your neighbors pets to predatory wildlife. Shot guns, pellet guns etc. are very effective but, BB gun or Bazooka you have to be there and watch and make the shot to get the varmint. With the live trap you just check it and reset once or twice a day. WARNING don't leave the trap set overnight, Squirrels, Chipmunks, etc. don't travel at night but Skunks, Possums, and Raccoons do, if you trap one of them you now have a whole new set of problems. 

Good luck getting rid of the little bas, err, varmints.
Rick


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## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

Up in Northwest Michigan, prior to having trains in the back yard, we had a serious infestation of chipmunks that I think our dog was allergic to. I finally got frustrated and went over to one of the large sporting goods stores and bought the highest power pellet gun I could find - shot with the speed of a 22. It came with a telescopic sight and turned out to be pretty accurate once I sighted it in. 

Sighting it in was done in the back yard (no neighbors to speak of so if I missed it either fell to the ground or hit a tree). 

Anyway, after I was done playing with target practice, I noticed that all the little 4 legged friends were missing (honest, I didn't shoot one). Must have gotten the message. 

Tom


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

Tom, 

How many 'Bambies' do you see on the side of the road feeding during hunting season. 

'nuf said. 

Bob C.


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

We have a large maple tree in the yard, near but not quite over the railroad, with a squirrel family living in it. The squirrels do frequent the railroad but I've had no issues with them so far; my railroad's built elevated @ 2 feet or so above ground, so digging isn't a problem. My more delicate structures (including a few like my passenger station with figures) are kept covered (the "garage" concept published in "Garden Railroader" a few years back), mainly to protect them from weather, so they can't get at the figures to chew on them. One of them got a rude surprise







from my *very quiet Bachmann Connie *about the time I was completing construction of the final passing siding on my mainline; the "Connie" was new at the time, just had it orbiting the mainline with a short freight, breaking it in (no sound system installed). I was in the process of laying the final few sections of track on the siding, facing towards a tangent that runs along the fence towards the rear of the yard. I was suddenly distracted by a grey "blur of fur"







streaking "eastbound" down the tangent at *full throttle! *







- He tore around the outside of the curve near where I was working , leaped off the railroad & scooted home up the tree; about a minute later, the "Connie" quietly glided into sight around a curve near where I first saw him. (Think he had been running *"westbound" *on the mainline & suddenly came *face-to-face with the "eastbound" Connie! *







).

I _*did *_have a cat







("Skippy") who used to like to frequent the railroad's right of way when the trains *weren't *running (like the squirrel, she also got surprised at least once by the Connie - & also by the live-steam Shay!). She did chase the squirrels when she was young







, but they were *just as fast as she was & could turn more sharply - *the closest she ever got to "nailing" one was giving him a swat on tail as he scooted up the tree (which she didn't like to climb). Sadly, she *"crossed the rainbow bridge" *







back in May at the ripe old age (for a cat) of 17 years...










*Tom*


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

My brother-in-law started a "live but not for long" catch and release program for the chipmunks that were plaguing his yard in rural Indiana. He would live-trap the chipmunks in his yard, then release them in a cornfield that he knew was patrolled by at least one red-tailed hawk.

May work for you, depending on your local.

David Meashey


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I share the land with many creatures, from birds and small quadrapeds to rattlesnakes and 300# javalinas....
Just last week I watched a rattler swallow a dove one wing at a time, took about a half hour to get it done... the second wing was unfolded to swallow it, the wingtip was the last to go.... Amazing to watch the snake stretch around the bird as he ate dinner.










I might not have seen it if the other critters weren't making such a racket as they scolded the snake... I was up on the porch.

Howw odd... I can't get below the pic to add more text! Anyway instead of trying to get rid of them I feed them peanuts and work around their holes.....

On another occassion, the snake was near the RR and a squirrel got between me and the snake and threw pebbles at it... he raised his tail and put on quite a show. He earned his peanuts!

John


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Good luck with any of these creatures!

When it comes to chipmunks there is a product call Tomcat All Weather Outdoor Bait Products. As long as you don't have a pet that will eat these, these solid bait sections seem to work very well on the critters. You can also flush them out. Find their holes and be ready with a bunch of glass jars. Cover ALL of the holes you can find in your area with glass jars and then start filling one hole with a hose. They will flush out and get caught in the glass jar. Simply slide the cover underneath and then dispose of how you would like. 

Now let's talk about squirrels, are they the gray/black/tan fox squirrel or are they the *EVIL* red squirrel? If you have the regular fox or gray squirrels they normally are not too much of a problem but the evil red squirrels can wreck absolute havoc on your layout! The best way to get rid of them is to get a live trap, bait it with soda crackers and peanut butter and put the trap on a path that they normally follow (I had to put the live trap on the top of my wood fence, with a bracket, in order to catch the little monsters that used it as a highway). 

Now once you catch them do not release them, they will come back (even if you go miles away!). I found out that a good old fashioned pellet gun works wonders on them. Don't try to aim it at them because they are too quick, however just hold the gun inside the cage and eventually they come up and look down the end of the barrel (as they are very curious) and, well, you then guess the rest of the story. Also, if you have one red squirrel you will probably have 5!

Good luck on them.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

WE have have had several fires here in New River Caused by Squirrels getting under the house and chewing on the electrical wireing. This type fire is not covered by home owners insurance. They have chewed through the Seal Tight conduit for my sisiters septic tank. Lucky they chewed on the Neutral and ground wires only. I have put new screens over the vent holes in my sisters house foundation.


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

High Velocity lead poisoning is the only answer. 

Bob C.


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