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Squirrels

Muckyai

Muckyai

Need ideas to get my parents'squirrels under control (other than a bb gun!) The critters are trying to knock every last lychee off her tree to the point where she is running around with a rake promising to off every last one of them.
 
I've had good results broadcasting cheap crushed red pepper to keep them from digging in the ground, but that may not be applicable to the problem you're describing.

My neighbor has thrown some nylon netting over her blueberries and eggplant, and so far that's been working OK for her.
 
Yeah, squirrels are really problematic for mangoes, avocadoes, and lychees.  In addition to being greedy little pigs, they are also wasteful, often taking only one bite, and leaving the fruit to rot, before moving to the next fruit, where they do the same.
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I sympathize with your friend.  Lychees are a high value crop - if not monetarily, then just by virtue of their deliciousness.  For starters, she will want to make sure and limit their access to the tree.  If it's next to a house, that will be impossible.  But if it's not, keep the branches trimmed back from any "access" points in adjacent trees or structure.  Next, you can wrap the trunk with something very uncomfortable.  Something like those wires they put out for birds.  And as an extra layer of defense, a good electric fence is every farmer's best friend.  You can actually buy twine that has metal ribbon in it, so it's not so expensive, and it's really easy to work with.  If you can insulate the trunk from the wire, you could potentially run spirals of it, to hit them while they climb.
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And, of course, a dog that chases varmints is a good addition.
 
Malarky said:
First I'd shoot them.
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Clearly, she ruled that out early.


Malarky said:
If not this box trap had been catching rabbits galore for me this year.
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The problem with that trap, is that it's meant for ground crawlers. It would work great for squirrels, in the absence of readily available food. But with a fruit tree around, there's absolutely no reason for a squirrel to ever go in that thing. Usually, those traps are most effective for either scavengers, or when put directly into the normal foot path of not-so-clever critters...
 
Set up some squirrel traps
 
this squirrel is nuts.jpg
 
This is her current method... Standing under the tree taking aim with a water hose while shouting "Yeah! Come get some!"

They seem to be taunting her by eating the fruit on the low branches closest to the living room windows.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
Can you get some of those exploding ink packets like banks put inside stacks of bills to identify bank robbers?

It may not fix the problem, but it might at least give you a level of satisfaction. :)
 
I feel your pain. My parents have a peach tree and the squirrels are impossible. They've taken to harvesting the peaches as soon as they have a slight blush and letting them ripen fully inside, which isn't ideal but at least they get a couple peaches. Not sure if that's an option with lychee (probably not!).
 
Personally, I've been battling them on my deck with my bird feeders. I got a water gun and have been stalking. My neighbors must think I'm nuts. The squirrels chewed the plastic flowers off my hummingbird feeder to get at the sugar water (jerks) and have been steadily cleaning out my suet and seed feeders. I switched to safflower seed and spicy suet and haven't seen them all day. 
 
I'm worried for my veggies, though. I've asked around and some people suggest cayenne powder or chili flakes - make a spray or sprinkle them around. Doubt that would work in your case, but could be something to keep in mind on a fruit-by-fruit basis - maybe try sprinkling some cayenne on a couple of the lychee to see if that deters them at all?
 
One lady at the garden center (after saying "Get a big gun" and laughing hysterically at her own joke) said her neighbors strung up a metallic fringe ribbon around their garden (basically created a wall of the stuff) and that the movement scared the squirrels off. Someone also suggested bloodmeal, but the garden center lady said it may or may not work (as with everything, apparently).
 
To make it all the more irritating, I asked for advice on another forum and a majority of the answers I received were "Why don't you like squirrels? I find them so much more interesting than birds!" or "They're God's creatures and deserve to eat just as much as the birds" or something along the lines of "You're a terrible person for wanting to deter the squirrels when they need to eat too!" Sheesh.
 
But. Like.
33527090_10211667994360798_7183717558615277568_n.jpg

 
Seriously.
33678434_10211673674222791_3500371618658516992_n.jpg
 
Lol. Wow. They look to be well fed.

The galling thing isn't that the squirrel wants to eat a piece of fruit... It's that they pick.. take one bite, then throw on ground and then repeat. The grounds over there smelled like fermented fruit one day and vinegar the next. Such a waste.
 
Putting some kind of tar on the branches might discourage them if they get stuck lol. Even some kind of netting might deter them.
 
I have two Jack Russels, and a VERY ANGRY american Robin that keeps the Squirrels from my yard. I also have my pellet rifle for any of the invasive Black Squirrels that have decimated the local chipmunk and red squirrel populations in my area. I no longer see any of the native species of tree rodents which makes me think they've all been killed off by them. I feel no remorse killing Black squirrels as they also will eat song bird eggs and chicks, then take over the nest. 
 
Squirrels are nothing more than fluffy tree rats. 
 
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