Squirrel control - take care

[Darren]

Treebloke said it all. If sentiment was the factor I wouldn't be killing them. Instead I would be saying" the poor trees are being stripped again, oh well"

Facts are facts, you can act upon them or leave it to chance.

[Henrietta]

The staple food of the Incas in the highlands was potatoes, in the lowlands it was corn which was used to make bread. Although there was the variety of food you mention Richard, the poor had very little meat and relied heavily on the staples.

The Aztec staple was corn but it was a combination of Spanish diseases and crop failure due to drought and plant disease that did for them all.

[treebloke]

tis truly a pity they didnt eat Squirrells.

[Henrietta]

They ate guinea pigs.

[Exeldama]

All quite right..cattle, palm oil etc..everything we do is with cost, as is everything nature herself does.. we only worry because it WILL and DOES bite our bum already.. the question is how much does it bother us....

We turned to meat for a reason..ie concentrated calories at a time before diet guru`s (weird people)... i fully respect anyones choice to eat what they like, but that doesnt extend to causing cruelty with knowledge which is why i dont practice badger throttling.

There is nothing that is cost free ...nothing..!! Its like when they talk about wind turbines which i dont mind.. ... you have to factor in its runnning costs, production costs including the food it takes to power the man who makes the wires etc etc etc..simplistic ..yes.. but you know what i mean.... i still think there are too many people to keep things in a happy balance and to be honest who is content enough to turn down a new car or a bigger house or a chainsaw rather than an axe... oh i do like people by the way im just a realist and like to be argumentitive....

[RichardKing]

So you now agree that the Incas did NOT put all their eggs in one basket

[Henrietta]

Richard, only if you agree that corn was every bit as important as potatoes, if not more so.

[Woodlark]

Don't forget the squirrels - we were discussing humane methods of dispatching them.

[Exeldama]

Did the Incas eat squirrels to.? personally i think we should feed the blighters on maieze then boil them with potatoes.....Incas.

[yackerty]

I have come to the conclusion there are an infinite number of greys. Shot 11 the weekend before last and one week later saw another 3 around the bird feeders. I put a squirrel feeder near the bird feeders and shoot from a hide with an air rifle at about 15 meters. Free lunch to lights out without any stress in the middle for the squirrels, and the bonus of excellent bird watching for me- well worth one afternoon a month. Benefit of an air rifle is that it is quiet and doesn't bother the birds, neighbours, or other squirrels- who don't seem to notice that their mate has just keeled over. However if anyone wants to use this method please take the trouble to practice first. If you wouldn't be prepared to bet £100 that you could hit a 20p coin at the range you are shooting at, then you shouldn't be shooting at creatures.

BTW - I don't shoot anything else. I started shooting squirrels after they ate their way into our nest boxes and destroyed some birds nests we were watching and because of the damage they do to our trees and 'squirrel proof' feeders. I have no illusions that more will not arrive, but thinning the numbers means there is more food to go around and we haven't had any nest boxes attacked since.