Squirrel Pest Control Guide FOR BEGINNERS

Rules for Youth Squirrel Hunting in Texas

2011-09-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

The squirrel hunting season is here! By tradition, the young hunters will be given the chance to make the first kill for this season. Texas Parks and the Wildlife Department (TPWD) of the US have already instituted Sept. 24-25. 2011 as youth-only hunting dates -- older ones should wait until Oct. 1 before they can start their hunting adventure again. All hunters are given the opportunity to hunt anytime between October 1, 2011 and February 5, 2012. The squirrels are allowed to breed afterwards and the hunters are again given one more month to pursue their masculinities (May 1-31, 2012).

The state of Texas acknowledges that squirrel hunting is one of the most effective ways to introduce the youth to hunting as a sport that's why it goes further on by even giving these kids two days when they can exclusively hunt for squirrels on their own. Nonetheless, because the stakeholders are young, the state has already instituted rules and policies to govern their hunting practices. This article will be all about these rules.

TPWD determines the rules and regulations which are meant to be implemented during each hunting season. The department also sets the date during which the hunting will commence and end. Hence, it is also the TPWD that enforces the sanctions and punitive measures against violators. For more information about TPWD, you may want to visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

Squirrel Hunting in Different Counties

Now, although everyone is allowed to hunt during the open-seasons, all hunters are still limited to 10 squirrels per day. The following counties will follow the Oct. 1, 2011 - Feb. 5, 2012 hunting season: Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Delta, Fanning, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Gregg, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Marion, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker and Wood.

However, not all counties in Texas follow this provision. Some counties like Brazos, Burleson, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Falls, Grayson, Grimes, Kaufman, Madison, Milam and Rockwell are open for squirrel hunting every day. The only restriction imposed to hunters is the bag limit which is just 10 squirrels a day.

Unfortunately, there are counties in Texas which do not support squirrel hunting too. These counties do not have open squirrel hunting seasons all throughout the year. These counties are: Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Brewster, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Crane, Culberson, Dallam, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Ector, El Paso, Floyd, Gaines, Glasscock, Hale, Hansford, Hartley, Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Hutchinson, Jeff Davis, Lamb Loving Lubbock, Lynn Martin, Midland, Moore, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Sherman, Swisher, Terry, Upton, Ward, Winkler and Yoakum.

Hunting Costs

Apart from the hunting apparels that a young hunter needs to prepare, he/she also needs to present his/her own Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit. This permit costs around $48 and is supposed to be renewed every hunting season. He/she needs to pay an additional $7.00 fee for the Youth Hunting License which is a requirement before a young hunter can apply for an APH Permit.
Security Measures

Again, because youth hunting involves "children" who are yet below legal age, it is imperative that they must be accompanied by an adult. However, the adults are strictly prohibited from using the firearm to hunt for himself/herself. The only role that they can perform is to overseer the hunting practices of the young ones in order to make sure that they are safe and that they will not pose any harms to the other hunters.

Top 3 Reasons Why Captive Baby Squirrels Die

2011-09-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

There have been many cases when baby squirrels left by exterminated pest squirrels are kept by the homeowners as pet. Baby squirrels have this undeniably cute demeanor that will push anyone who sees them to take them and take care of them; well, many people have been compelled to do so. However, it was also observed that majority of the baby squirrels taken into captivity die even before they become adults. Here are the top 3 reasons why this happens:

1. The squirrels are given the wrong diet

Giving young squirrels inappropriate meals will cause many digestion problems. There are many products available in the market nowadays which claim to be the right "baby squirrel formula" milk, but in reality, they are not. It should be noted that many squirrel rehabilitation centers allocate a huge budget on squirrel food, simply because the right foodstuff is really expensive. Majority of those who keep baby squirrels do not realize this fact and just give the animals cow's milk, which of course can upset their stomachs and lead to diarrhoea and dehydration. For some odd reasons, to make the milk thicker, some people would even add heavy cream which actually contains so much fat! All these "unprofessional" approaches to squirrel feeding have contributed a lot to the deaths of numerous squirrels kept in captivity.

Now, if it is too costly to buy baby squirrel formulas in the market, we can actually make our own. All that we need to do is to make a thorough research about the things which can be added into the mix and we are good to go. As much as possible, it is better if we consult a veterinary or someone who has had experience with taking care of squirrels in the past; that would be the surest way to be able to come up with the best formula possible.

2. The squirrels catching the disease called Hypocalcaemia

This disease is actually just a fancy name for the body condition wherein the blood will have sudden decrease of Calcium content. Squirrels need extra amounts of Calcium in their bodies; in fact, they need higher amounts of Calcium compared to the other animals. They require this much Calcium that its lack can lead to death. They usually get the Calcium that they need from their mother's milk, but in the case of captive squirrels, they are forced to feed on other milk formulas which may not contain enough Calcium in it.

This disease is manifested by lethargy. Sick squirrels are definitely suffering from spine and leg pains, causing difficulty in walking and moving. As a result, squirrels would rather not move in order to avoid the pain. This disease can be fatal too because the lack of Calcium in a squirrel's body can actually lead to cardiac arrest. When this disease strikes, it is almost very impossible to treat it. Thus, the best approach for this kind of disease is to prevent it before it happens. This can be done by making sure that the baby squirrels are getting the right amounts of Calcium.

3. The squirrels have Internal Injuries

Baby squirrels are very susceptible to getting injuries. Sometimes, these injuries are so severe that it can cause internal bleeding or swelling which might not be obvious from the outside. Owners should be observant of their squirrels. Although the injury may not be visible to the eye, the squirrels will definitely exhibits signs that can lead the owner to deduce that something is wrong with it. As an example, a baby squirrel with an internal injury will have rapid respiration and its heartbeat will be a faster than the normal.

The White-tailed Antelope Squirrel

2011-08-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

Many people pay particular interest to the white-tailed antelope squirrel of all the ground squirrels that live in the desert. This is probably because these squirrels are commonly seen out in the sun no matter how hot the day is. This drives people curious about what they are really doing at such hot days. In general, these squirrels are relatively small; their eyes are lined with a white "ring" and the rear of their bodies also shows an obvious white mark. The back portion of their bodies appears dark and in most cases it is black in color, while their limbs are covered with bronze fur. The cheeks of the white-tailed antelope are bright and contrary to its name, most of them have black tails (but the underside is white). These squirrels use their tails as a form of sunshade so majority of the time, their tails are raised up.

These squirrels are named white-tail not because their tails are plain white. Like what has been said earlier, their tails are generally black but because they keep their tails raise up as a sunshade, the underside portion of their tail becomes obvious and visible, thus the name white-tailed. They have been distinguished from the Harris Antelope Squirrels with the use of the term "white-tailed" because both species practically look the same, with this specific characteristic as the major exception. Many of the white-tails can be seen in the Colorado River (the western portion) and their close relatives, the Harris Antelopes, reside in the eastern portion of the river. Since they live in deserts where food can be scarce, it is very common to see these squirrels "begging" for food to the tourists that come near the river. Many squirrels "beggars" are also found in the Nevada side of the Hoover dam.

The white-tailed antelopes also look like chipmunks, the very reason why many people often confuse them with the latter. But with a closer look, one can immediately notice that the two squirrels differ in the shades of their fur. The white-tailed antelope has brightly colored fur in the cheeks while the chipmunks do not. The antelopes also have a shite stripe on their side while the chipmunks have solid colors (with the exception of their chests). Moreover, the two squirrels do not habituate the same areas; antelope squirrels live in deserts with low elevations while the chipmunks prefer the mountains. Because the antelope squirrels live in the desert, they are most comfortable living underground where the temperature is cooler. They would dig their own burros which have openings that measures about 3 inches in diameter. If you see holes in the desert that are about this size, and then expect that the animal responsible is the antelope squirrel.

Scientifically speaking, these squirrels belong to the order Rodentia which is the order of all animals that gnaw like rats, mice, etc. The scientific name for the squirrel family is Sciuridae. Physically, both male and female antelope squirrels look the same. Unlike other species that have bigger males, male antelope squirrels are virtually of the same size as their female counterparts. Their tails measure about 3 inches in length only and their entire body is only about 6 inches. An average-sized antelope squirrel weighs about 5.5 ounces. Overall, these squirrels have 22 teeth and each female has 10 nipples (which suggest that it can support up to 10 infants at a time).

These squirrels normally breed during spring and summer. They would begin during the late spring season and then end at the beginning of summer. They can give birth to a maximum of 14 infants but in most cases, the maximum number of infants that survive is only 10 because they only have 100 nipples that can produce milk. Young antelope squirrels spend 6 to 7 weeks inside their underground nests and after this period, they would come out to start foraging. These squirrels stay with their parents for a year and then set out to start their own families.

Since these squirrels live in the desert, if they do not receive food from visiting tourists, they would feed on leaves and bugs which are plenty in their habitat. They are very good at locating bugs under rocks and even underground. They are considered as omnivore animals because they feed on insects and anthropoids too. Some of them where seen eating carrions. Apart from these, they also eat seeds, nuts and fruits -- depending on what is available around them. In general about 60% of their diet is composed of green vegetation, the rest are from bugs and insects. However during autumn, this dependence to green vegetation reduces to 20% and their anthropoid dependence would sour to about 35%. They are most active during day time and would normally stay inside their burrows at night. Amazingly, these squirrels can withstand temperatures that soar up to 180 degrees! That's enough heat to cause serious and fatal burns to humans. They are able to do this by using their tails as sunshades and by pushing their bellies into the ground. They are able to release the heat inside their bodies into the ground to cool down.

Life Patterns

White-tailed antelope squirrels are diurnal animals, meaning, they belong to the group of animals that do their activities during daytime and rests during night time. They are most active as the winter season is approaching, busy storing enough fats in their bodies as preparation for the hibernation that they would have to go through when the temperature drops to freezing point. They are extremely active at midday when the temperature is about 30 degrees Celsius. They begin their activities 1.5 hours after sunrise and continue to forage until about 1.5 hours before sunset. Experts were able to find out that the squirrels reduce activities by about 40% during winter season in order to save energy. The best habitats for these squirrels are in desert scrub, Joshua tree, pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, bitterbrush and the alkali desert scrub.

How to Keep Squirrels off Your Car Covers

2011-08-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

How many times have you caught a squirrel chewing on the covers of your car? Just like rats and mice, squirrels also chew on almost anything and everything that their front teeth can penetrate through. If you are one of these annoyed car owners then this article is perfect for you. But before we go through the steps which you can undertake in order to stop squirrels from chewing your car covers, make sure that you have all these stuff:

1. Cayenne pepper, rodent repellent, moth balls and ammonia
2. Bait
3. Traps, trash can lids, loud fog horn and motion activated misters
4. Rags and socks
5. Floodlights

Step #1:

Remember food and water will only lure squirrels into your car and thus to your car covers. Having known that these things can attract their attention, you must be vigilant about leftover food and trash which sometimes find their way close to your car. As much as possible, do not park in places where your car will be a few meters close to a pile of garbage, or even to a vegetable garden. Squirrels might be present in these high-risk areas and transfer to your car if they are close enough. If fruit-bearing trees are planted along your driveway, make sure that you routinely remove ripe fruits from the tree in order to discourage squirrels from climbing up. In many cases, squirrels that end up chewing the covers of your car come from these trees. Although it is not good to cut down these trees for the sole purpose of sparing your car covers from the squirrels, it is wise if the fruit-bearing trees are not planted along the driveway in the first place. Moreover, in order to completely remove all possible squirrel food sources, you must place all your trash bins in an area that is distant to your driveway. Bird feeders and pet food should also be kept far from the driveway.

Step #2:

Do you know that nocturnal squirrels hate too much light? Although most of these rodents are diurnal (forage by day), there are some species that also lurk at night. These are the same squirrels that chew on your car covers when you are sleeping or sitting on your sofa watching a football game. However, if you install a floodlight that has a minimum power rating of 100 Watts, you will definitely discourage these critters from ever coming near to your car. If you don't find floodlights energy-efficient, you can also try motion detectors that would only switch the light one when it senses movement around your car which is usually caused by squirrels. An instant flash of light is enough to scare away the squirrels and keep them that way for the entire night.

Step #3:

Now, although squirrels feed on almost anything, there are some types of food which they really detest. Item number 1 in the list given at the beginning of this article cites some of them. Seeds or nuts coated with cayenne pepper with a heating value of 90,000 BTU can serve as "landmines" which you can put around your car. Squirrels will feed on these seeds and nuts and get the full blast of the bombs in their mouth! A single cayenne pepper coated seed is already enough to burn squirrels tongue and scare it from going any further into your car. You can also try sprinkling cayenne pepper powder over your car cover. When the squirrels climb up or jumps down into your car, the powder will stick on their paws and once they start licking their bodies (including their paws), they will get a taste of the pepper and experience the same thing that the squirrels who have eaten coated seeds have felt.

Step #4:

You can also buy non-toxic squirrel repellents which you can buy from a pest control store or so an ordinary hardware. These repellents work just like cayenne pepper and some other natural squirrel repellents. The only difference is that these products are pre-processed and are ready to use; they are also stored in fancy containers which aides in easy dispersion of the product. You spray your car cover with these repellents and expect that the squirrels will no longer want to come any more closer to your car (perhaps because of the smell or the sensations that they get whenever they touch your car cover). Some of these non-toxic repellents are based on the smell of fox and coyote urine. These two animals are known to be great squirrel predators and in the wild setting, squirrels are naturally inclined to avoid areas already marked by a fox or a coyote's urine smell.

Step #5:

Squirrels do no like getting wet so if you install a motion activated water sprinkler close to your car, you will definitely frighten any of these critters that might attempt to come close.

Step #6:

You can also use mothballs to scare away squirrels. Make use of the fact that squirrels hate the smell of mothballs. Simply fill some socks with moth balls and place these socks around your car. You can also use pieces of rags, just soak the rags in ammonia and place the rags around the car. Mothballs and Ammonia basically have the same effects to squirrels.

Step #7:

You can also try "training" the squirrels to not go near your car. But in order to achieve this, you need to spend a little more time waiting for squirrels to indeed come near your car. Now, every time that they do so, all that you need to do is to bang two trashcan lids together (or any material that can produce the same sounds). If you are persistent and consistent, the squirrels will eventually get the idea that if they come near your car, they will hear annoying sounds.

Step #8:

Lastly, you can use traps to catch the offending squirrels. If you do not find this task easy, you can hire a professional squirrel control specialist to do the job. But if you are more inclined to try doing it on your own, all that you need to do is to set up the trap near your car and use baits to lure the squirrels into the trap. You just need to be patient though and wait up for the squirrels to come.

How to Preserve Squirrel Tails?

2011-08-02T02:22:00.000-07:00

Be it known that the things that squirrels in movies or in television shows do are far from what they actually do in the real world. These cute and furry little animals might have made it big in Hollywood but the opinion of those who have experienced at least one squirrel "attack" in their entire lifetime will definitely not change to favor them that easily. Although we do no discount the fact that these rodents can be really friendly in real-life, their foraging and nesting behaviours still give them away as pests that need to be controlled and eradicated.

But, even though these animals are considered as pests, people still find a good use for them (but only after they are killed). For example, many restaurants are already serving squirrel meat; some super markets are already selling raw squirrel meat too. Squirrel fur is also use in different textile application. High quality furs are made into expensive jackets and other clothing items while some squirrel pelts are processed to become home decorations. Even the squirrel's tail has been used for different applications. Some use the tails as fishing baits while some use them to make fine make-up brushes. On the other hand, art enthusiasts make use of squirrel tails in their art projects and creations.

However, squirrel tails also need to go through a process before they can be used in any of these applications. The tail can't be made into a fishing fly or a fly tyre if is "fresh" and "unpreserved. Tackle-making hobbyists and artists can't make use of such tails either. So, this article will be about squirrel tail preservation. I will teach you how to make a perfectly preserved squirrel tail whether with the bone intact or not.

Preserving Squirrel Tail with the Bone Intact

There are many reasons why you would want to preserve the squirrel tail with the bone still in place. For one instance, the tail bone would make it easier for you to use the tail for fly tying. This method of tail preservation is way easier than the boneless one as it takes three steps only. These are:

1. Cut off the tail from the squirrel's body. Now that you have the tail, remove all the flesh attached to the tail bone but leave the bone intact in the tail.

2. Get a handful of borax and rub it throughout the squirrel's tail. Get enough borax to coat the end of the tail that exposes the bone.

3. Put the processed tail in a warm and dry place. The tail should dry-out in 7-10 days. Until then, do not remove the tail from where you placed it.

Preserving Squirrel Tail without the Bone

A boneless tail has more application. These are the tails that are used as baits and as make-up brushes. These are also the same tails that usually find their way on art works and creations. The process is a bit complex but it is very doable even if it is your first time to do it. The steps are:

1. Just like what you did in step one above; you also need to cut off the tail from the squirrel's body. In order to not damage the tail, you should cut the tail starting from the underside of the tail. Make an incision in this area using the tip of a sharp knife and slowly slide the knife upwards until the entire tail has been cut off.

2. Next, you need to run the tip of your knife between the skin and the bone of the tail. The skin and the bone are held together by a thin membrane. Cut this membrane down to about 1/3 of the tail so that you can distinctly make the separation between the bone and the skin.

3. Now that 1/3 of the bone is skinned, you will have enough space to grab the bone with your one of your hands. You need to slowly pull the bone while holding the skin in place with your other hand. Pull until the remaining 2/3 of the entire skin has been removed.

4. Expose the flesh-side of the skin and rub a generous amount of salt into this side. Make sure that the entire exposed surface is already covered by salt before you leave the tail for 8 straight hours.

5. After 8 hours, you will have to wash away all the salt from the tail. Use paper towels to remove all the excess water in the tail.

6. Next, you need to rub borax all over the tail skin before you lay it flesh-side up on the board. Use Brad nails to hold each corner of the tail in place, make sure that nails are evenly spaced. The nails are important to keep the tail from twisting as it dries.

7. Before you set the nailed tail aside, rub some more borax into the tail. Make sure that you place the board in a warm and dry place. Do not touch the tail for 3-5 days (even more in some cases when the temperature and humidity is not cooperative). Once dry, you can now unfasten the skin from the nails and brush off the excess borax on the tail.

More Ideas

You can pursue squirrel tail preservation as a mere hobby or as a business. There are many people who do not want to go through the trouble of processing the tails but are fond of using squirrel tails in many different applications. However, preserve squirrel tails are not readily available in hobby shops or in crafts stores. You can actually make a good living out of these tails by buying squirrel tails from restaurants and super markets that sell squirrel meat (the tails considered as waste), preserving these tails on your own and selling them in an online store.

Reminder

Of course, there are squirrels which are protected by the law because of their scarce population. Make sure that you don't kill these squirrels for their tails.

Useful General Information about Squirrels

2011-07-27T03:14:00.000-07:00

It is natural that when you would have to deal with something, you would have to learn more about it before you can deal with it. Say for example you are going to deal with house damages and that you would have to do some house repairing in some of its properties; naturally you would have to take some time to look at the issue and assess the amount of work that has to be done. You will have to evaluate the amount of damage and what are the necessary preparations you would have to come by in order to successfully deal with the problem. In the same way, the problem about squirrel pests works the just like that. Before you can ever get rid of squirrels you would have to pause first and try to evaluate the information that you need in order to really get rid of them. You can just jumpstart into getting rid of them without knowing how to get rid of them at all. That is just practically illogical and would definitely result to failure. A wise person would always take his time to know his enemy first before he or she would ever engage into battle with it.

Of course, you are not just going to learn just for the sake of learning. The idea of it is to learn only the things that are necessary. That would simply imply that there is information that is relevant and there are those and obviously, you need not have to learn those that are not important. Learning the unnecessary would just definitely waste your time and effort over something that wouldn't be of use to you. Come to think of it, would you really take some time to include those things that wouldn't be helpful to you anyway? An average reasonable person wouldn't do such and would resolve into really gathering that information that would prove to be pertinent in his or her goals and endeavors.

In the light of dealing with squirrels, the same thing has to be applied as well. There is information that you need to know about squirrels and there are those that you don't really have to. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss about those information that will truly be of use to you. We're not going to talk about the super specifics though because that would already be rocket science. What we're going to talk about though is the general information about squirrels that any homeowner would have to learn in order to deal with his or her squirrel infestation problem at home. With this information, you will have an idea now where to start the evaluation process and hopefully you will be able to deduce a plan or a method to deal with the squirrel infestation out of it. You will need some personal values though, that would only be naturally occurring to yourself. These are the values of critical thinking and analysis. If you are truly critical enough in assessing the problem at hand, you will be able to devise the most potent methods or approaches that would really make things a lot easier to you than taking the long path of trial and errors. While, it is normal to go through the trial and error process and to learn from experiences you will get out of it, it is still better to effectively deal with the problem right away with less segues that would take you longer than what you expect to be the time duration in dealing with the issue.

So what is the necessary information that you would need to know when dealing with squirrels?

The answers will be discussed through this article and we will also give a brief description as to why it is important to learn about it. Hopefully, you will find the information in this content useful and would truly help you out in your undertakings in the squirrel infestation that's been going on. It's also absolutely okay if you're just a passer-by and just practically reading anything you think is worth reading. The information you will acquire through reading this article will definitely help you when the occasion rises you would have to face the problem of dealing with a squirrel invasion.

General Information about Squirrels

The Most Common Grey Squirrels

If there's any squirrel most common to be seen infesting inside the households of US Citizens, it's definitely going to be the famous and at the same time infamous grey squirrels. They almost inhabit two thirds of the United States areas. Usually, the grey squirrels would come in variety of colors, from grey, pure black and pure white with stripes or color shades in them. These stripes are usually found at the back. Grey squirrels are quite small and very light making them quite agile in terms of escaping the beholding homeowners and thus making them a bit more difficult to catch. They don't hibernate, therefore that would mean they are quite active the entire time.

Every type of squirrel will have a specific approach in order to deal with them. It is important that you know what type of squirrel you commonly found in your home infesting so that you will know what sort of squirrel control method or approach you would use eventually.

How Squirrels Communicate

Squirrels are definitely not the silent type of creatures. They are extremely vocal and loud. They communicate through screeches, barking, chattering, screaming and even purring. However, they do produce a different kind of purr than the usual purr you hear from cats. Surprisingly these purrs are loud and therefore audible. When they flash their tails or stomp their feet, those would also mean that they are communicating.

The communication process would entail a sense of indication of them being around. Knowing what they are communicating all about would definitely help you track them as to where they are and where they will be.

Squirrel Common Diet

Squirrels don't eat human flesh. Contrary to some childish beliefs that they are carnivorous, actually they are not. They are absolutely vegetarians (well, except insects) and they would like to feed on vegetation like nuts, seeds, and fruits. However, they do bite when they feel threatened and you would have to really worry about it if ever you will get bitten. It is because that they have the possibility to communicate diseases as well which may prove to be fatal if not treated properly.

The Range and Habitats of Squirrels

2011-07-27T03:05:00.000-07:00

Naturally, squirrels all have their own natural habitats and range as to which parts of the continent they cover and which areas they are usually found. These two are crucial factors in effectively identifying the type of squirrel that is infesting your house. You have to understand that squirrels are not naturally occurring to live in human homes. They are just lost along the way that's why they found themselves in habiting a weird looking tree which happens to be your house. This is usually the case every time there is a squirrel infestation. Because they think all properties inside your house is a part of the gigantic piece of wooden tree (of which they perceive your house to be) they begin to gnaw everything in it. That's why you regularly see gnawing damages in your house furniture, properties, and electrical wiring. Because all the squirrels inside your house assumed they are made out of wood as to what they are commonly used to when they are in a tree. They also roam around as what they naturally do a lot even when they are their natural habitat. So don't blame them if they do the things that they do, they are just being what they are. The only problem to that setup is that they are definitely at the wrong place. However, you can actually be able to help to set things right for them and place them back in the right locations.

With the help of what you are going to learn from this article, you will be able to effectively identify the type of squirrel you are dealing with and where to relocate them in case you will have to relocate them in a safe place. Of course you can choose to exterminate them if your state allows you to, but it would always be better if you can save their lives at the same time get rid of them. You'll never when they might become extinct and when they do you are partly to be blamed for it because you have been less thoughtful about preserving them. Losing them as well in the entire ecological balance would definitely have its devastating negative effects and when it takes toll, it would also compromise us human beings and that wouldn't really be a good idea at all. You'll be surprised; humans are no longer on top of the food chain.

In this article, we will be discussing about the range and the natural habitats of squirrels across the state depending on what type of squirrel. This is important because it will serve as a guide to knowing where to place the squirrels properly each time you would have to relocate them far from your house so that they will never cause any property damages anymore. It is important to place them to their right locations for the obvious reasons. One there are specific environments unique to a particular type of squirrel. If you do place them wrongly, you would risk of endangering their existence; that they may not live properly, lest survive at all. It would also help to know their specific environments in order for you to implement the right habitat control methods for squirrels such that they will be prevented from ever coming back inside your house. All these considerations are important and should be underscored properly for an effective humane approach to squirrels. This should be the way to go ideally and it should not be absolute extermination. After all, squirrels have an important role in the ecosystem that we can't just disregard. Taking out even just one of them would make you an accomplice to an apathetic spree of environmental killing that has been regrettably going on since time immemorial.

Range

One of the most common types of tree squirrels is the fox squirrels and they are usually found in the eastern and central parts of the US Continent. There are certain areas in the west that they are also found since they were also introduced to those places.

Along with the common fox squirrels are the also common eastern grey squirrels. They also happen to thread along to the same range with the fox squirrels. However, they don't occur in the western areas of the fox squirrel's ranges. Since they are eastern, they are only naturally occurring or endemic to the eastern parts of the continent.

Western grey squirrels are also strictly confined in the western areas of the states. Usually found in the west coast states and in the western Nevada areas.

Pine squirrels on the other hand are usually found in high places of the earth since these areas are the usual locations where pine trees grow. Pine trees are the natural resources for pine squirrels as their name implies. They feed on almost everything that pine tree produces. Therefore, pine squirrels are endemic in the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountain ranges. They also inhabit the west coast areas.

The common red squirrels are usually related to the coniferous forests and Douglas squirrels are naturally found in the west coast areas and in the southwestern British Columbia. They also extend to as far as the Sierras and northern parts of Baja California.

The northern flying squirrels extend in the northern parts of the Appalachian Mountain ranges and the Rockies. While the southern flying squirrels naturally occur in the central areas of the states.

Habitat

Fox squirrels and grey squirrels, since they both have the same ranges, they also happen to inhabit the same type forests which are the coniferous and hardwood forests, also since these are the most common types of forests within their range. Grey squirrels have larger populations in the areas that are forested and in the certain areas where there is only a 10th that is forest covered; their populations would be the same. Tassel eared squirrels are more than half the time associated with their common tree food source Ponderosa pine. As pine squirrels they prefer a lot coniferous forests over hardwood forests.

Important Traits for a Homeowner Squirrel Exterminator

2011-07-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

In any undertaking, especially when dealing with pests and getting rid of them for good, it is understood that a process would have to be gone through before one would ever be able to get to his or her goal. This process are often arduous and time consuming therefore, it would definitely take quite an amount of determination to get there. Plus the trials and errors that one would have to come by would definitely make another consideration for anyone who will have to engage through the process of pest riddance. Therefore, to be able to successfully get rid of any pests or squirrels in particular, a person or a homeowner would have to cultivate some traits or values within him to really become a truly efficient squirrel exterminator when the occasion rises.

The process of dealing with pest squirrels is really a call of duty. It would take some hefty amount of traits for a person to have in order to become successful pest exterminator and that is what we're going to talk about this article; the traits on how to become truly efficient in dealing with the infestation problem at hand. Hopefully, the future squirrel exterminator reading this article would find the information useful and would definitely help him out become what he ought to be in the face of duty. He has to read this article with hearth though, as the discussions would not take any effect at all if it’s not absorbed thoroughly by the reader. The values that will be discussed in this article are the most importantly noted values of anyone who wishes to persevere in a designated task and therefore they are absolute and infallibly useful to anyone. But only if they are fostered and practiced that they will become truly useful. If you are just going to read through them without really understanding or app
lying them at all, they are utterly useless information. But if you get to find the heart to absorb the values that will be discussed in this article, you will definitely find them ultimately helpful in becoming a very efficient person, especially in the light of dealing with squirrel problems inside the house.

Why rid of squirrels?

To think about it, it's pretty much the same reasons why you would have to get rid of mice or rats or any pest on that matter. Squirrels are quite harmless creatures if they are in their natural habitats or if in the house, left alone. But they do have their own caveats we would all have to prepare of and therefore, it is wise to stay out of the risk as much as possible. And the perhaps the only way to do that is keep ourselves apart from the squirrels by keeping them apart from us. The caveats we are talking about is the possibilities of disease communication and property damage in different levels.

Disease communication is among the primary concerns why a person would have to get rid of the squirrels that are roaming inside the house. Contracting the diseases that squirrels carry can go in two ways. One is when you get bitten by a cornered squirrel. Through their saliva and bodily fluids they can transmute the disease they carry to you. Another way is through contamination through the food or the air we breathe. Some viruses that squirrels carry can be so thriving that they can be airborne. Usually they are carried from the infected squirrels feces to the air and thus to a human's system. Contamination could also be when they salivate the food that we eat. Both of those means of communicating the disease would really catch us off guard and the propensity of it penetrating through our system is quite high. It is jus wise not to take the risk.

Knowing the reasons why we should prevent squirrels from our homes, we could now move on into assessing what traits would need to be cultivated in order to become a truly efficient squirrel exterminator.

The Important Traits

The most important traits could actually be summed up into three general traits that anyone would need to have to become successful in his goal to become a squirrel exterminator. By exterminator we mean not necessarily someone who kills squirrels but some who is able to get rid of them in a very efficient manner (a.k.a "humane squirrel removal"). And for one to become like that, he or she would have to posses the following traits:

1. Patience

Patience has always been a virtue needed by anyone. Especially in these present times where everything seems to be so automated, we are starting to cultivate the culture of impatience. We become impatient when we see that the job isn't accomplished right away. We lose our nerves already when we see that something is taking too long or has already incurred too many setbacks. However, the value of trial and error is to learn from it. And that's where patience becomes a determinant. Any method or approach has the potential to be truly effective if it's compounded with patience; the patience to wait and see the desire output and not to rush things right away as to one thing is for certain, haste always makes waste.

2. Perseverance

To some it's just a word but it should be taken as a value. Perseverance is the words for the ability of a person to keep on going even if there have already been many setbacks that are taking place. This value is usually the compound for patience. When you are patient, you would have to persevere; to be persistent in becoming monstrously resourceful in finding ways in order to deal with the problem; to find the better solution to get things done.

3. Determination

Everybody knows what determination is but they don't really know how to apply. People often easily lose faith over something when it fails once. When they lose faith, they lose the zeal making them so easy on giving up. Determination would spell out the difference of someone who will succeed from someone who is doomed to fail. Determination is the value that gets you to your goal; to determine the endpoint of a process and determine the effort you will put forth to get there.

How to Modify Squirrel Habitats

2011-07-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most important considerations whenever you would have to get rid of squirrels out of the house is to know where their habitats are nearby your place. This would help a lot in distinguishing the locations of the squirrels inside your house. If you know where the squirrels in your house happen to live, you may know right away what sort of squirrel control mechanism you will use to quell them right away, you will also know where to apply the control mechanism for it work effectively and properly. Knowing the habitats of the squirrels that are infesting your house would definitely spell the difference between a successful attempt and an unsuccessful attempt to get rid of these tree rodents for good.

You may be able to find the locations of the squirrels by doing some investigative works by yourself. Trust me; you don't need to have some professional assistance to guide you through this process. Most of the process would only require you to be critically analytic in figuring out the way-points of the squirrels. You can do that by paying close attention to the squirrels that get inside your house. If you somehow are able to monitor their movements, you will find out where they go after leaving your house after foraging inside it. You need not have to follow the squirrels every step of the way, besides, most likely you won't be able to catch up with the squirrel anyway. So therefore, the best thing you can do is to run some checks on the background of your home in search of the trails of squirrels. That could be done by searching for the food residues leftover by the squirrels that have visited your house. Where you find the leftovers, you may also most likely find out where the squirrels are hiding. Also, you have to make sure that you do something about that place you've discovered to be where the pest squirrels are frequenting or even residing.

Now that you've found out where the squirrels are living, or in other words, their habitat, you now have to do something about it by altering their habitats such that they will be forced to depart and stay away from your house. Therefore, the key approach as to how you would be able to effectively relocate squirrels from the house or even from your precious lawn. The question now would be how would you exactly modify the habitats of squirrels such that they will really stay away from your dominion? The answers will really shock you as to how surprisingly simple they could get. They are so simple that you really need not have to put that much effort in altering their habitats. With simple relocation and alterations from there to there, those pestering squirrels will truly be driven out away for good and you will finally live in peace in your lovely homes. What you need to have though, are two very important components to truly become efficient in the task that you're about to do.

Key Components

The key components to the successful execution of the task of modifying the squirrel habitat (a.k.a "squirrel relocation") are not really some specialized technique or machinery to get the job done conveniently. What the entire process would actually need is something that would naturally come from you. These are actually the traits of patience, perseverance and determination. These three traits are so important that if you lose at least just one of the three, you will most likely fail in your present undertaking. The entire process may be easy, but it doesn't necessarily say that it's not arduous as it would entail some amount of effort coming from you. However, it is not really complicated at all as it is downright simple. You would just have to make sure that you do them right. The perfect execution would definitely spell out that efficiency out of the effort that you will be making. Without these approaches, you will surely fail. Make sure that you foster these values or traits within yourself to make sure that you wouldn't experience any setbacks along the way. It's always best if you would set your best foot forward in the execution of the task.

Now the Steps

The steps of modifying the squirrel habitats are quite easy as what was said earlier. You would just have to execute things properly as per instructed. It will be from the appropriate execution of the task that the desired output will be achieved. Failure to do so in any level of aspect would potentially mean failure and you can't afford to have such a downward spiral in your efforts. Here are the steps on how to alter the habitat of squirrels to change pestering situation of infestation in your home.

1. Once you have relocated the squirrels make sure that you will plot a demarcation line between your territory and the squirrel's territory. This boundary may just be imaginary or materialize. When you materialize, it would mean the use of fences, walls or what not, particularly squirrel repellents to keep them off a specific line. That may not come easy at first but it will work as soon as you have conducted a proper survey around the area. Then setup your boundaries as precisely as possible. You don't want an accidental inclusion of the wrong territories.

2. After, setting the line, go get your wood cutting tools to cut down or trim down the trees on those or barren the entire place to ensure that the squirrels will be forced to scurry away. If they don't have anything or any place to inhabit, they would be most likely be driven out from their original habitats. However, you have to make sure as well that you will acquire the necessary legal approvals before you can cut down the trees on that area. There are certain locations in a place that are often protected by city ordinances related to environmental rights.

General Classifications of Squirrels

2011-07-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

You may think that there's only a single type of squirrel that's been infesting your home. However, to believe that is utterly wrong as there could be actually many types of squirrels that are infesting your home right now. It's also wrong to think that there is only one species of squirrels capable of infesting human households as all of them are capable, even the flying ones which are naturally only found in the wild forests and rarely in human homes. That's why therefore, there is a need for you to learn what are the general different types of squirrels that can be found in households and how they all normally look like for you to be able distinguish them properly each time they pay you a visit in your house. You can't be too overconfident about them do as they may be deceiving sometimes. You would be able to prevent this kind of setbacks from happening by learning more about them and applying the things you have learned into practice. Make sure that you are certain in your appropriation of the information you have acquired. Don't mistake a squirrel for a different one cause that might cost you something eventually.

The importance of knowing the general types of squirrels is simple. When you are able to identify what type of squirrel is currently infesting your house, you may be able to place the appropriate methods in order to effectively deal with them. There are certain specific approaches to each type of squirrels that infest a household and you can't just go on applying any methods at all. Doing that may mean failure on your part and squirrels that are infesting your house right now would continue to do so. Also, another important aspect in learning the general types of squirrels is for pre-emption. If you are able to forecast that type of squirrels that might enter your house, you may be able to prevent them from entering the first place. That's the main advantage when you are dealing with squirrels and you already know the general types that might come in to your encounter. Since you already the know what are the specific approaches to do, you are already assured that you will get them once and for all and even better, you will be able to keep them away without putting that much effort at all in repelling them from your house.

It's quite natural that there will be times wherein the approaches are a bit more exigent but you need to worry about that because it happens rarely. One thing as well is that since you have already learned and studied through the different general types of squirrels, you are most likely already prepared of the necessary prevention methods to be used when addressing a particular type of squirrel that is infesting your house. All you would probably have to do is to open your cabinet and take that prevention material to deal with your problem. Also there are general types of approaches that need not require specific types of squirrels to take effect. However, such approaches are less efficient and effective. Also the truly effective ones are rare and would often take extra miles to acquire.

Each type of squirrel has its own distinct characteristics that would enable you to truly and effectively identify them from the other. This is one advantage as well when you know already what type of squirrel you are already facing. To know the present type of squirrel because you already know what it looks like would also mean a faster response coming from when dealing with them. In this article we are not only going to talk about not only the types but the general classifications as well and under each classification are the types below it and a little description as to how they look like and their natural behaviors. We hope that the readers would find this piece of information useful in their attempts to get rid of the squirrel problems in their homes once and for all. After all, going through the ramifications of hiring a professional exterminator would definitely cost you a lot, so why not instead do things on yourself.

General Classifications and Types

There are actually four general classifications or groups of squirrels that are found in the world: the large tree squirrels, pine squirrels, flying squirrels and ground squirrels.

When you talk about the large tree squirrels you would be able to identify the fox squirrels as one of them. They are the most common type of large tree squirrels found in US and are also commonly found in homes dwelling and pestering human beings. They often catch the fear of a lot of people because of their somehow considerably larger sizes compared to their other relatives.

Fox squirrels are normally 18-27 inches in length measuring form nose tip to tail tip and about 787 grams. The color would however vary greatly depending on their location. For example, fox squirrels in Florida are usually all black and they would be silver-gray if they are found in Maryland.

Pine Squirrels have actually two main types of squirrels included in the group. We have the red squirrel and the Douglas pine squirrel. These two are the most common of all pine squirrel types. Pine squirrels would usually range in size from 10-15 inches and could weigh over 2/3s of a pound. Red squirrels are usually red in color and would have white underparts while the Douglass squirrels are usually grey in color with yellow underparts. These pine squirrels have small ear tufts and they also have a common black strip which separates their upper dark colors from their lightly colored bellies.

As you all commonly know there are also two main types of flying squirrels. One is the southern flying squirrels and the northern flying squirrels and they are found in the different hemispheres of the continent. It's even quite difficult to distinguish between the two but most likely, you will find one specific type of flying squirrel and identify it according to which location you have found it.

How to Remove Grey Squirrels in the Attic

2011-07-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Most people who dial a professional squirrel exterminator's hotline would ask for help in removing a grey squirrel invading their attic. This fact is not that surprising though because grey squirrels are quite abundant in many areas in the United States and in Europe, a number enough to make house invasions a common scene. These little critters make it to the attic by slowly chewing up the weak portions of the roof. These wooden portions might have been weakened by moisture or direct physical damage. They can also chew their way into the attic through the vents and the soffits. Grey squirrels would patiently make an entry into your attic because it is vital for their survival. Unfortunately, with the rapid integration of squirrel and human habitats, squirrels have figured out that it is more comfortable to stay in an attic where it is warm and predator-free than to spend time outside where it is cold.

However, no matter what the squirrels are really up to, the definite result of their actions is damage, at least in the point of view of the house's owner. While squirrels get the warmth that they want once they get into the attic, humans lose theirs. As squirrels continue to live in the attic, they will eventually shred up and destroy the house's insulation system which supposedly keeps the people inside the house warm. If not shred, they would make the insulation smell awful because of their urine. Worse, their urine will also stain the ceiling which will be visible from the inside of the house. This too will produce a very strong awful odor. The house owner has to worry about the feces that they deposit inside the house too. These by-products can cause serious bacterial and viral diseases when left un-cleaned for some time.

But none of the things yet mentioned constitute the most serious possible danger that squirrels in the attic can do. The most serious problem by far is fire hazard. Because these critters are nibblers like their cousins (i.e. mice and rats), they would not hesitate to chew on the electrical wiring in and around the house, which by the way are most common in attics. Squirrels do not really electrocute themselves to death once they chew on the wiring, what they do is that they chew on the insulation of the wiring, thereby exposing its live part out into the open. As a result, the once this exposed portion touches water or any conductive material, electrical short circuits will happen. This can either result to sparks which can start a fire or damage appliance which can start a fire as well.

But all of these could have been avoided if the house was squirrel-proofed in the first place. Grey squirrels will not make such damages inside a house if they have not been given the chance to get in. But for those who have realized this fact late, there's still hope. By following effective techniques in squirrel removal or by hiring a squirrel exterminator and squirrel-proofing the house thereafter, the house owner too can rest from worrying about such dangers from happening.

The first thing that should be taken into consideration when it comes to squirrel removal is their behavior. These animals are mischievous in nature so they are used to escaping. But, they so not have complex thinking too so they would also end up falling down into chimneys, walls and other holes. They will also get themselves stuck in wood-stoves and other places by squeezing into areas where they are not supposed to. These behaviors will help you get the clues that you need on how you are going to deal with the squirrel inside your house. If they are not creating "party" sounds in your attic, then they might be struck somewhere, of course this should be backed by a previous knowledge that squirrels are indeed living in your house.

Removing Grey Squirrels in the Attic

These squirrels are diurnal, or they are like most mammals which are active during day time. Grey squirrels are the common squirrels that we see in your backyard or in the road during the morning and in the late afternoon. They are considered to be the most destructive squirrels in residential places. The only effective way to remove these squirrels from your attic is to trap them and then squirrel-proof your attic to stop other squirrels from coming in. To trap the squirrel, you will need to purchase a squirrel trap which you can install in the entrance that they have made in your attic. Although you can try to catch them using nets and other stuff, the trap is most recommended because it can be left to work by itself and it can be used by anyone even those who do not have any experience in squirrel control. You can also call a professional squirrel exterminator and have them catch the squirrel for you. This might cost you some dollars, but it will also unburden you with the trouble of having to do the task on your own.

You just need to remember that squirrels are territorial animals. Thus, you can catch the squirrel that is currently living in your attic, but if you will not squirrel-proof your house, once the other squirrels have sensed that the previous occupant of your attic is already gone, they will compete to be the next resident and so your problem with squirrels will never end. To squirrel proof your house, make sure that you cover all possible entry points which they can use. Cut down all tree branches too that stretched too close to your house, since squirrels can use these are "bridges". You can also buy chilli sprays and use it in the weak portions of your roof and vent. This will make the squirrels avoid these portions because they do not like the taste of chilli. But if you are not really confident that you can do all these stuff on your own, simply call a professional and end your problems right away.

The Dual Nature of Squirrels as Pests and Pets

2011-07-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

The dual nature of squirrels being pests and pets all at the same time has always been an issue among many people. For one thing, the increasing number of grey squirrels in some parts of the United States and in Europe has elicited strong support for their extermination in whichever way possible: hunting, poisoning, lethal trapping, etc. However, because of their attractive nature (chubby cheeks, furry tails, etc.) many people can't help but look at all these acts as acts against helpless animals, in the same way as hurting dogs and cats which are of course punishable by law. So, what happened is that some states allowed squirrel killings while some states make it a crime to hurt squirrels. These things strengthen the observation that we have established: squirrels will always have a dual nature; they are both pests and pets.

The Pest Identity

The conditions that define what pests are have been fluid these past few years. For example, some people have reached an agreement that pigeons are indeed pests; rats with wings they say. These people have agreed to label pigeons as such because of their destructive behavior in farms and even in some backyards. When animals reach a very big population, they will also consume more food and in most cases, since these animals are already in places where humans live, it cannot be avoided that they end up consuming what is meant for us. When mice, rats and pigeons eat and damage food that is intended for human consumption, they become pests. When they destroy human properties, they too become pests. Under these standards, squirrels can indeed be called pests.

Squirrels that come across human habitations will really have a hard time resisting the stuff that humans plant in their garden. In the wild, squirrels have an abundant supply of all the seeds, flowers, fruits and insects that they want, but in cities and towns, a human's garden is the only place where they can get this stuff. So, these critters end up eating tomatoes in the garden, or stealing chestnuts from backyard trees. They would also ravish flowers and eat the bulbs of the plants in the garden. They would dig into the landscaped yard and bury the food that they have collected there. All these acts are pestering humans, thus they become actual pests.

Squirrels do not just fall under the classification of pests because of their foraging behavior. Another thing that constitutes their pest nature is their way of destroying human properties. They would chew on the wooden past of the house to gain entry. Once inside, they will make the house their own jungle, urinating and excreting feces anywhere that suits them. As a result, the house will smell awfully and shredded materials will scatter on the attic floor. These animals will not stop from there; they will also make sounds that are both noisy and bothersome. They will make their presence obvious but they will give you a hard time catching them and sending them out; very pestering indeed.

Because of that, in some places people are encouraged to hunt squirrels in order to minimize their population. The squirrels are hunted for their meat too; some people even consider eating squirrel meat as ethical and right because it is their personal way of relieving the world from these pests. Some parade squirrel-fur clothing and bags in order to show their support to the clamor for squirrel control.

The Pet Identity

But what defines a pet? Of course, this can vary from one person to another since some might find Tarantulas cuddly while others would freak at the very mention of their name. However, no matter how diverse our definition of what a pet should be, we all agree on one thing: an animal which is tame and cute can be a pet, no questions asked. So, squirrels are pets right? They are tame animals, when you feed them, they will come to you, and they will not bite you or hurt you. They are cute, well who can resist their chubby cheeks? They even made it into the big screen (Alvin and the chipmunks) and were able to give the producers of the movie millions of dollars in return.

Their cuddliness does not stop there. Some towns are even naming their place as the home of this or that squirrel. For example, a handful of towns have made the white squirrel their official town mascot and system. Some market these squirrels to increase the tourism in their place. People are encouraged to touch the animal, to feed them and to care for them. Are these the very things that you do to loved pets?

In Arizona, more than two million dollars have been spent to make "bridges" for squirrels so that they can freely roam around without fear. Some towns would punish people who hurt squirrels whether by accident or not. For example, a certain cop was even punished after he sprayed pepper spray to a baby squirrel! All these things can only mean one thing, we love squirrels.

Conclusion

We can't really define squirrels as a pest or as a pet alone. These two identities have been associated with these animals for so long that it is almost very difficult to delineate between the two. Needless to say that we humans are fond of anything that is "beautiful" to look at. So, no matter how much damage squirrels will do to humans, we will still have rooms in our minds to think of these animals are simply rebelling pets. Well, it might be unfortunate for the mice and the rats to not have this duality in identity mainly because they are not as cute as squirrels. As for now, the best thing to do is to simply appreciate these animals for what they are. Fine, if these animals are really pestering you, go ahead and control them. But let those who enjoy keeping them as pets have their fill of satisfaction.

The Most Common Indications of Squirrel Infiltration

2011-07-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

You can just jump-start into concluding that squirrels have infiltrated in your house if you don't have evidence. If you don't have evidence, it might be that there are actually no squirrels in your house of no pests at all. You may have gotten it all wrong and it might just be your kids messing around the entire place. It could be a problem if you assume right away that squirrels have infiltrated your house, because you may have already purchased and employed the most high end technologies, methods and repellents for squirrel infestations and have practically invested money on it, only to find out that they are not taking any effect as a solution since there is no problem to be solved anyway. That's the thing if you don't look for appropriate evidence of genuinely a squirrel infestation inside your house. You have to know the difference as well between a squirrel infestation and other pests' infestation that are particular of the same family as squirrels like mice and rats. Rodents as they all are they would have most likely exhibited the same characteristics in terms of the damage that they do and the behaviors they manifest when they forage. The search for food is quite a basic instinct to all animals inside and outside the house. It's their driving force to keep on moving (apart from reproduction of course), moving so much such that they could actually penetrate the dwelling of humans just to find what they need and want. You have to make it a point that they don't go that far, or if ever they have, it is your responsibility to identify and get rid of them.

Why you would have to get rid of them have many answers. One is that fact that squirrels are often dirty creatures as they are originally from the wild. When they are dirty it could also necessarily mean they carry germs and bacteria that can be potentially harmful to human beings inside the house. In other words, squirrels can carry diseases and according to statistics, history and researches, squirrels are often the vessels of the most dangerous types of viruses and diseases in the world, like monkey pox and rabies. Theses disease can be truly fatal to humans especially if not treated and if they are treated, the entire process of treatment would definitely cost a lot and would certainly hurt anyone's pocket. If it's not treated to, somebody's or someone's future will be destroyed for certain. Therefore, there is truly a need to keep them away from the house for good. You can of course do that by using commercialized repellents and anti-squirrel technologies today as there are being marketed. There a lot actually and most of them are actually considered to be truly effective in dealing with squirrel pest problems. Some of them are even quite cheap and some of them relatively expensive. You can use all or any of them. But one thing you have to make sure of when using them is to find the evidences or the identifications first of the squirrels that inhabit your house. You might end up buying squirrel traps and what not but in the end you found out that it's not really squirrels that are infesting your house but rats and mice which would require different sets of traps and whatsoever. That is why it is truly important to spot the difference between a squirrel's paper trails compared to that of the other pests that may come inside the house. It will definitely spell the difference of finding an effective solution or not.

But what are the specific indications that squirrels have infested your home? How do you effectively identify them without confusing or mistaking the evidences that they live behind to something else entirely different? How would you be able to distinguish between a squirrel's tracks to its close relative the rats and mice? These questions have to be truly answered first before we can move ever move on to identify that the one responsible for infiltrating and messing up your house are actually squirrels and not any other pests that infiltrate the house as well. For all you know you may have both but you only assumed that squirrels did all the crime. That would be quite bias.

First things first, you can identify the indications of a squirrel track by just merely looking at the droppings scattered in their favorite places. The favorite places of a squirrel are not much different to that of the favorite places of rats. These are usually the dark and damp secluded corners or places inside the house. They like to dwell in there because they somehow feel that they are concealed from human contact and they it would diminish the risk of encountering animals that could potentially turn them into preys. You look for these particular places inside the house and search for their droppings. You will be able to identify the difference between a squirrel dropping and a rat or mice dropping from how it looks. It could be identified through the textures though but that is something you shouldn't consider at all. You would risk yourself from contracting potentially deadly diseases carried by the pests and they can be communicated through their droppings. It will be a problem. The features of squirrel dropping are, one it's quite smaller than that of a rat's dropping or mice's, they are also much more rounded and less elongated. Rat droppings are usually moistened and elongated in shape as their species are normally relatively larger than squirrels.

Another specific indication of squirrels inhabiting your house is the presence of their tracks. The shape and size of their feet will significantly spell the difference between an ordinary rat's tracks. A rat or mice's feet track are usually intact and spread trident shaped, splayed toes tracks as how their feet would normally look like. However with squirrels, their feet tracks are much more spread and smaller.

Squirrel Damage Control

2011-07-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

Squirrels are known to cause devastating amounts of damages if they are left untreated. Therefore, when you find a squirrel running around your place you best to do something about it right away or you might just end up regretting it. It is quite important that you take immediate consideration on applying squirrel control methods to get rid of them if you don't want to suffer more property damages from them. What usually happens is that a lot of people would fail to take into consideration the need for a control method when it comes to dealing with squirrels. Therefore, they would suffer oftentimes from property damages caused by squirrels. Absolutely, it is imperative to have a squirrel control method to prevent such damages. However, what if the damage is already been done? What will you do about it? Will you just careless and allow your properties to go that way? Or would you do something about it?

Of course, as a normal reasonable person, you will truly do something about it and recuperate from the damages caused by the pestering squirrels from your home. Of course it's best to prevent them from ever entering so that you won't have to go through the pain anymore, but if worst thing happens and they have already infested and damaged your home properties, you have to implement immediately some squirrel damage control methods to recuperate from the devastation caused by squirrels. One thing you have to understand about implementing squirrel control methods is that the methods never come easy and they would take ample considerations of time and effort and witty critical thinking skills to ensure that the damages done will be salvaged properly. Failure to do so may imply that you will a considerable amount of investments from the damages resulted from the squirrel infestation. You have to therefore, take immediate actions by dealing with the squirrels and knowing what to do about the damages they have already done.

There are initial steps on how to deal with squirrel damage control methods and one would have to be really careful in executing them as a simple lapse would ultimately mean the failure of your efforts. If you don't do things properly, you might just end up wasting your time on something you thought was repairing the damages of your properties. There has to be some careful preponderance to take place first imperatively before executing anything at all.

A property is the same thing as a money investment only that it has materialized. By saying materialized, it simply means that your money has taken a property asset form. If the materialized investment gets destroyed for any reason, it will become a loss of investment on your part and that would not be very good at all. Imagine, you have worked so hard for the investment; allotted a considerable amount of time and effort before you have achieved the acquisition of the asset and it will just eventually get destroyed. That's just absolutely preposterous and you must not allow such things from happening. Don't ever think of putting yourself in an inconveniently hapless situation of losing an investing over simple pests which you could immediately get rid of right away with the use of the newest methods of pest control right now. The same thing goes as well with squirrels. You have to ensure that the squirrel control methods are worth the while to implement. That can be standardized by saying or assessing the control technique to be effective and efficient and will truly grant you your desired output.

But before we discuss the damage control methods for squirrels, let's first discuss the important factors when implementing them. Let's first talk about the statistics or the frequency of the squirrel damages in the United States. The purpose why we need to know the statistical standing of squirrel damages in the US is for us to fully comprehend the gravity or the severity of the squirrel pest prevalence. Hopefully, once we get to understand how seriously alarming the rate of the damages caused by squirrels, we can therefore find it in our hearts to do something about the damages that they do.

Squirrel damages ranks 5th amongst the most damaging creatures that have brought about serious annoyance to a lot of homeowners across the United States. They usually attack power cables in power lines or telephone lines and they gnaw them into destruction causing thousands to millions of dollars of damage per year. The damages are not only suffered by the individual homeowners of private properties but as well as to the government through the repairs they would have to come by on the public power lines damaged by the pestering squirrels. The government is doing something about the problem though so as not to increase further the damages caused by squirrels. By slowly reinstating the environmental natural habitats of squirrels, these rodents would no longer have to go through the power lines anymore or infest any households. But the concurrent rise of commercialization has proven to be quite a debacle as well. As more and more land areas are being commercialized and urbanized, many squirrels are driven out from their natural habitat as it is being replaced by subdivisions or buildings that are designed and allocated for human dwelling or usage. That's the most difficult part for the government actually, since there is already what we call a conflict of interest. Although, animal rights and environmentalist advocates are strongly pushing and lobbying their endeavors to the government and vehemently making their voices heard in the public. As much as possible they are trying to invoke a sense of vigilance and awareness to what's really going on in the environment. In the light of that they also hope that they will be able to catch up with the call of times to effectively preserve the slowly endangered species of the planet including certain species of squirrels in the wild areas. This is truly a difficult task for them.

How Squirrels Penetrate Your Home

2011-07-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

It's quite a big question as to how could squirrels find their way inside your house, especially if you think that your house is well garrisoned and covered with enough pest insulation. If the house is truly fortified with sufficient brick, wood and metal materials to prevent pests from entering you wouldn't expect squirrels to make any difference from all the other pests in your backyard. However, you have to understand that squirrels are quite clever and they could always find a way around your fortress and penetrate it like a piece of paper. That's how cunning they are and how quick they are in entering one's household. That's to the surprise of many homeowners in the world; they are still suffering from the problems of squirrel infestation despite their efforts to fortify their homes with sufficient fortification and pest insulation materials. It's only then that they realize that they actually need more than just material fortification to their houses, but they also need some kind of a repellent to truly keep the pest squirrels away from the house. This is the only way to prevent squirrels from every causing you any trouble inside the house. It is important that you implement one right away.

But let's go back to the question asked beforehand as to how squirrels are capable of entering a highly fortified house, granted that there's no usage of any squirrel repellents yet (as it is naturally assumed that their infiltration will be much more considerably inhibited when there are repellents applied). It is really a mind boggling question. The answer is quite simple. The answer as to why they are capable of penetrating or infiltrating the house of a homeowner is because they are quite small and they are truly small enough to fit inside the house holes that are regularly found in certain places of the house. You can't say that you're house doesn't have natural holes. You would have just said if your house doesn't have holes, there's no way that air could enter in your house. That's also like saying you live inside a safe vault, decontaminated from even the air that is necessary for us to breathe and live. While these holes exist to enable us to breath and live, it also serves as a passage route to squirrels in order to enter the house. However, that's just the general thing. There are more specific mechanisms for squirrels to really get inside the house. And that will be discussed thoroughly in this article. Hopefully, you will fully understand the ways on how a squirrel could successfully get inside your house and when you do, you will be able to do something about it by innovating the passage ways such that you will already prevent squirrels from entering them and at the same time not depriving yourself from the proper ventilation of air to breathe as you know this is quite truly important. You have to remember these key points so as not to put you and your family in serious danger.

If there are holes in your house, then squirrels would most likely find a way. Squirrels are willful animals, especially when they forage. The search for food could drive them to extend their limitations and would even decide to reach the extent of infiltrating human households to find resources. Of course, judging from a squirrel point of view, you wouldn't expect that they have deliberately planned this out. They would have probably thought that your house is some sort of another funny looking tree that would probably be the home to a lot of the things that they need, particularly food. You have to understand that the only ultimate and absolute driving force for any animal in this world is food. And when they do search for it, they would most likely go to the most unlikely places just to find them. We could even say the same thing with humans, especially when they go and starve, they would do everything that they can in their power to find food and even go to places they have never been before. They extend their coverage in order to adapt to the needs of the present time. Squirrels are not so much different as well. They would do everything they can to find food and find food they shall. We just hope we don't end up competing with them in our very own household ;-)

Now let's talk about the specific ways on how squirrels will get inside a person's house and how they are actually capable of doing certain levels of damages to our homes.

Attics...

One of the specific way as to how squirrels could get inside the house is through the attic holes. The attic is normally neglected and left forlorn as no one would usually stay up the undertows of the roof of the house. It's hot and quite dark in there since it is just a small allocated portion inside the house. It would be really tight for any adult to come and stay there. You can compound that as well with the many movie and story portrayals that the attic is the home of a haunting ghost inside the house. You'd be afraid to find yourself in there. That's why more than half the time, unless it's general cleaning, only kids are found dwelling in the attic areas. So will squirrels, since they don't really find human ghost that scary. They couldn't understand even the phenomenon of the ethereal beings. So they find it truly convenient to pass through the attic windows normally situated on the rooftops. This all the more makes the entrance of squirrels convenient because the rooftop is always their access route from the tree branches to your house. Imagine, tree branches are usually swaying and reaching across the rooftops and squirrels would just have to jump over from the branches to the roof in order to reach your home. That's not really too difficult for them especially that they are more like agile leaping animals.

Excluding Squirrels from the Backyard

2011-07-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

There are certain mechanisms or methodologies as to how you can effectively get rid of squirrels from your house. Or better yet, prevent them from ever entering into your backyard. If you can control the amount of restriction on your backyard, then you may be able to prevent any possibilities of squirrel infestation and you will be able to effectively safeguard your home from any property damages that may take place in any part of your house. There is an imperative sense of using squirrel exclusion or prevention methods to ensure that your house will stay safe and will experience a sense of longevity in a way that your house will last for a long time any mars or damages in any of its aspects. This kind of culture should be upheld every time by any homeowner to preserve the value of their house.

In order to do that, you would have to establish the prevention methods from the very beginning and in the locations where the squirrels would initially pass by when they head towards your house. And that location is none other than the exterior perimeters of your home. The exterior perimeters of your home are usually your lawn, garden or the ports. If you are able to establish successfully some squirrel prevention methods on these areas then you wouldn't have to worry anymore about squirrels reaching as far as your attic or basement. You wouldn't have to think about securing your leftover foods in the table because you fear they might get foraged by some small critters that roam around inside your house. You don't have to worry about squirrels at all anymore because you know that they will never ever be able to get inside your house in any way they can possibly think. Thankfully, they don't think a lot so there's quite a small room for you to think of options on how to prevent them from entering.

But what are the standards on how to effectively prevent or exclude squirrels out of your house? It's a standard question for anyone who wishes to expel the annoying rodents out of their homes. One would have to think of what kind of strategy or method to be used to truly effectively establish a garrison into their homes. Among the considerations is the consideration of what repellent brand to buy or what kind of trap to have around the house to ensnare the roaming critters. One would have to take into consideration as well the brands of the products they buy. The brands are implicative of the quality they produce. If you purchase a high end brand that is highly reputable and recognized by popularity then you have a greater chance of having an item that will truly be worth your investment. However, if you purchase an unheard of brand, and consequentially cheap, then you may have setbacks that will follow after.

Price is also indicative of the quality of the product you buy. More often than not, the more expensive the product you have bought, the more effective they are. Otherwise, you are in for some complications and issues that would come naturally with the cheap commodity. If ever you are to purchase a squirrel prevention method, repellent or technology, make sure that you don't settle for less. Always go for the highest standards to ensure that any monetary investment you have made will truly be worth the while. A return of investment is truly imperative when it comes to purchasing any chore item. Because if you don't have an ROI in what you purchased, then it may totally hurt you to realized you have just wasted your time, money and effort over something that doesn't work as well as you thought it would be, or worse, it doesn't work at all.

For you to be able to know what kind of brands that will truly be worth your time and investment, you have to do some home works first to know them. That could be achieved through research and study, and maybe even with a little mixture of experience. Research can easily be done through the internet. It can provide you with quality information. However, there are times that it doesn't and when it doesn't, you can always cross refer the sources you have read in the web. Scan and identify the information that are relevant and true and take out the ones that are bogus in the equation. You have to employ critical thinking on this matter. Without critical analysis, you may never be able to distinguish the difference between false and true information. A helpful tip in discerning information is to gather websites and cross examine the information and see to it if the information appears in two or more resources. If it's quite popular, (meaning it appears more than just twice), then there may be a shed of truth in it and it's definitely worth your try.

To exclude squirrels out of your house, you have to make sure that you have acquired professional or expert's assistance in placing the repellents in your lawn or garden. There are certain locations that are strategically conducive for capturing or repelling the squirrels. Usually, these places are the way points or routes of the squirrels when they get inside the house. It would take an expert's opinion these places. Unless of course if you are an expert yourself. The assessment process wouldn't cost as much as hiring the entire pest extermination package. Rest assured the following procedures can be manually done without the assistance of professionals anymore. However, it would totally be a different case if professionals were to handle the problem since they have more able facilities in getting the job done.

Lastly, to exclude squirrels means you have to habitually preserve the methods and not just leave them to work by themselves. You have to make it a point to monitory the devices or repellents every time and see to it that they are not hampered in any way. Make sure that they are still in optimal performance level to ensure the efficacy of preventing squirrels in ever entering your house.

Squirrel Value to Humans

2011-07-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

Surprise! You might not be aware of it, but part of the tax that you pay to the federal government is used to study how the South African ground squirrels go about their sex lives. This year, the government has allocated $600,000 to fund the researchers of the said study. Last year, the government has funded a study that aims to find out how squirrels have evolved, along with the other funded researches which many critics think are not really beneficial to the ordinary taxpayer who pays for these researches. While it is quite obvious why these researches are attracting a lot of criticisms, still, the government pursues them.

The study needs this much money because the researchers have to travel back and forth from Africa to the United States. The study started out as a small research by a biologist who is fascinated with the sex life of squirrels. She asked for a grant and the government is generous enough to give her $600,000 cash. She thinks that the African Squirrels, especially the male ones are very friendly animals. She also explains that she wants to know why they only spend time with their female counterparts during sexual contact. She also wants to know why they do not fight over a female squirrel, contrary to what the squirrels in the United States do.

But, what does an average tax payer need of knowing why the male African Squirrels are the way that they are? If this research has been funded by a private firm, it should not be that much an issue. But the problem is that the money used to sustain this research comes from the pockets of taxpayers who do not even see the use of such a study in their own lives. According to the National Tax Payers Union, studies that are of no significant impact to the taxpayers should not be funded by the tax payers. Anyway, the researcher could have asked the help of her university, of private foundations or ask for private endowments. The federal government could have endorsed her research to these money-giving institutions too to spare the taxpayer's money from being spent on something which does not seem to be relevant.

Many of the taxpayers in the United States are not even aware where their money goes. They are compelled to pay so much to their government but the government seem to not value that money too much. Surprisingly, many projects that are aimed to help other sectors of society have been turned down by grounds of being not a shared interest. Examples of such projects are the building of more homes for the mentally ill, a research on developing medication for diseases such as schizophrenia, an OCD home for treating people with compulsion and so much more. Many of these projects have been turned down because they were found out to be redundant and so, instead of these projects, the government has funded many different projects which are seemingly useless.

Well, apart from the money that is spent on different "useless" squirrel studies, you might have heard of the efforts mankind has put forth in order to save squirrels from human cruelty. In fact, some local legislation even gave squirrels more rights that humans (i.e. traffic rights, territory rights, etc.). But, have you heard of what some of the squirrels are giving back to humans for all these efforts? Of course, we do not expect squirrels to think and contemplate on their actuals, after all their brains are only the size of a walnut. So, this article will simple cite examples of the crimes that squirrels have committed to mankind and to the other animals without any intention to make them pay for every bit of it. All the contents of this article is intended to show people of the kind of harm and damage that these animals can do, thus giving them a warning the next time that they encounter one in the street, in the part and even inside their own homes.

The case of Kevin McDonald Versus a Grey Squirrel

While shovelling snow in his yard, Mr McDonald was attacked by a grey squirrel. Using its sharp front teeth, the squirrel was able to give Mr McDonald a couple of wounds which need medical attention. He rushed to the nearest hospital and got himself treated. Meanwhile, they were able to catch the squirrel which was then brought to the Vermont Public Health veterinarian named Robert Johnson. He observed that the squirrel found showed no sign of intimidation in the presence of humans. Squirrels normally show signs of aggression before they attack a perceive offender, but that specific squirrel should none of these signs. The veterinarian is puzzled by this squirrels behaviour and formulated a theory that it might have been previously hurt by a human causing it to be aggressive to Mr McDonald.

Songbirds versus Grey Squirrels

Grey squirrels are now blamed for the rapid decrease in the population of Britain's most love birds, the Songbirds. These squirrels are reported to feast over the eggs of these birds. They also eat young birds which are still not capable of flying. It was found out that the widespread population of Grey squirrels in Britain is the main cause of the Songbird's possible extinction. Today, grey squirrels can be legally hunted down in Britain.

Car Drivers versus Squirrels

Squirrels are also notorious road crossers. Many motorists have found themselves in danger because of trying to avoid a squirrel that suddenly crosses a street. Now, the problem here is no matter if it is the squirrel's fault, the driver will still be liable for anything that would happen to the squirrel. SO, the tendency of the drivers is to really avoid the squirrel and in most instances this can lead to accidents.

There are so many crimes which squirrels have done to mankind, we have not mentioned about their hobby of destroying homes just yet. This brings me into thinking, why do we care so much about them?

Prairie Dogs are Squirrels not Dogs

2011-07-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

In 1900s, the people from Texas called a type of squirrel a Prairie Dog. This name was given to these squirrels after a whole "town", about 100 miles by 250 miles wide was discovered to be "full" of these squirrels.

However, Prairie Dogs are not exclusively found in Texas. These squirrels are also found in Mexico and Canada, and in many US states. Prairie dogs prefer to live in places that are of higher elevation, popular examples are the Chihuahuan Desert and the Great Basin.

Prairie dogs are considered to be the most "social" of all the squirrels known to mankind. They live in a colony that is highly organized, where every member has to strictly perform a specific function and all these squirrels are impressively dedicated to the functions that they are tasked to perform just like all the popular social animals like ants, bees and termites. They are most related to ground squirrels and marmots which both live inside burrows dug unto the ground. But these squirrels are also related to Chipmunks which are known to live in trees and in houses. So far, scientists have named 5 squirrels that belong to the Prairie Dog family. These are:

1. The Utah Prairie Dogs - This specie is considered to be the smallest of the five and is generally treated as an endangered species. Its scientific name is C. parvidens.

2. Mexican Prairie Dogs - This squirrel is also considered as an endangered species and is exclusively distributed only within a few parts of Mexico. Gunnison's are now secured by the Mexican government, making its hunting and trade highly prohibited. The scientific name of this squirrel is C. mexicanus, for obvious reasons.

3. Gunnison's Prairie Dogs - Scientifically called C. gunnisoni, these squirrels are relatively shorted than its fellow prairie dogs.

4. White-tailed Prairie Dogs - These squirrels are normally found in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, all in the western part of the United States. Scientific name is C. leucurus.

5. Black-tailed Prairie Dogs - These squirrels are not rare but they occupy only the narrow bands throughout Texas and Canada which are dry and highly elevated. The scientific name for the black-tailed Prairie Dogs is C. ludovicianus.

The main species comprising the Prairie Dogs family are the Black-tailed and the White-tailed Prairie Dogs. Between these two, the black-striped ones are the most common and are usually kept as pets. People are legally allowed to sell and buy black-tailed Prairie dogs because they are very common and are far from being endangered. Pet owners usually get their Black-tailed prairie dogs from pet shops or by catching a bay prairie dog in the wild. On the other hand, the white-tailed prairie dogs are not as easily encountered in the wild because they prefer to live at higher elevations compared to the other prairie dogs. They also hibernate during the winter season but unlike the black-tailed, they are less colonial when it comes to their habits and attitudes.

Common Description

Prairie Dogs are quite fat when compared to other squirrels. They have broad bodies with rounded heads. They have short legs, but they also have very hairy tails. Prairie Dogs have 22 teeth! Their weight is slightly surprising if you come to consider their sizes. They are only about 11-13 inches long from the top of their head down to the bottom of their bodies but they can weigh as much as 3 pounds each. Their tails measure between 3 and 4 inches.

Overall, Prairie Dogs have a yellowish covering but they ears and bellies can appear whitish. Face-wise, it can be observed that Prairie dogs have a white patch on each side of its nose and there is a whitish ring around its eyes upper lips.

Noise and Sounds

Perhaps it is because of their call that the people from Texas called them Prairie Dog. These squirrels make a high-pitched call that sounds more like a dog's bark. One thing notable about Prairie Dogs is their ability to send-off different sounds to refer to different predators. They can create a distinct call for an approaching hawk, rave, ferret, coyote, eagle, snake or owl. They can also run fast despite their fat appearance, they can run as much as 35 miles each hour but only over a short distance, after running as fast as that, Prairie Dogs will become exhausted and would need rest. Nonetheless, this defence mechanism allows them to get away fast and hide from predators. This escape technique often works better than the complex escape techniques of some animals.

Behaviour of Prairie Dogs

All 5 Prairie Dogs are considered to be diurnal. They hibernate during winter and would only be a little active during cold days. They also follow a social order within a colony that is comprised of relatives. The entire colony only accepts new members which are offspring of the current female members. A colony's maximum population is 35 per acre of land.

These squirrels do not steal a burrow from other squirrels or animals; they always prefer to make their own burrows. They are excellent architects; they exhibit their skills in construction by building reinforcing dikes around their burrows which secure them from sudden rains and floods. They shape the entrance of their burrow as a funnel making it difficult to be accessed from the outside. The entrance measures about 3-4 inches in diameter.

Inside their burrows, these squirrels make different tunnels that can reach up to 16 feet long. At the end of each tunnel is a chamber which is used as a storage room, as nest or for some other purpose. Predators would find it very difficult to invade a Prairie Dog's tunnel because of its design. A single chamber can have a maximum area of as much as 100 feet.

Reminder

Prairie Dogs can be carriers of the bubonic plague, so you need to be careful with the ones that you interact with. Make sure that the one that you take with you is not infected with the bacteria that cause the plague.

Possible Breakthroughs in Human Hibernation through Squirrels

2011-07-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

Human hibernation first gained ground in scientific studies after scientists have found the need to make astronauts "hibernate" during space voyages that might take months or years. While this idea may have sounded far-fetched in the past, scientists finally say some light as they started to study squirrel hibernation.

We might have heard of squirrels and other animals like bears sleeping away the cold winter days and wake up to feed on the first spring foods. But to think of this method of "rest" as something that is possible for humans is simply outrageous right? But, now that scientists have found their ways in the laboratories of bright minds, this wild imagination may be possible in the future!

But the applications of hibernation studies are not only limited to human hibernation; it can also be used to prolong the shelf life of internal organs used for transplant operation, which in itself is already a major medical breakthrough. That's not everything even. Scientists believe that if they can find a way to apply hibernation for human application, they it would then be possible to help humans deal with trauma situations. It can also be used for weight control as squirrels are able to gain and lose weight during the process without any complications.

The 13-striped squirrel is currently given the most attention because of its ability to lower its heart rate and slow down its metabolism during winter. These measures necessarily make its body temperature to drop making it feel less cold during winter. These conditions would have been fatal to other animals, much more to humans. However, for some reasons, hibernating animals are able to prevent their organs from malfunctioning despite the changes that the body is experiencing. Hibernation lasts for many months and it brings scientists to marvel at these animals ability to stay alive even without eating, drinking or moving.

Cooling of Human Organs for Transplant

Scientists also believe that the squirrels might be the answer to lifting human limitations when it comes to keeping vital organs used in transplants for longer periods. At present, the most that doctors can do is to preserve a liver for a couple of hours after it has been extracted from the donor. The liver can't be preserved any further in ice because it begins to "die" after prolonged exposure to cold. Squirrels have this ability to keep their organs alive and healthy after months of exposure to cold temperature which is supposed to be almost at freezing point, the same temperature at which the human organs are kept before the transplant.

Scientists are currently studying squirrels in the hope of finally uncovering the secrets of hibernation. A specific lab has extracted 20 livers from hibernating squirrels and compared the lifespan of these livers outside their host to that of a rat's extracted liver. The rat's liver lasted for 24 to 48 hours only while the squirrel’s liver showed no form of damages within 72 hours and lasted up to 96 hours without the appearance of any significant damages. For an organ to remain useful after four days is simply unbelievable and scientists are excited to finally discover how to apply this on humans.

However, the question that remains unanswered is this, how do squirrels do it? To find the answers, researchers and scientists have collaborated to examine the livers to their molecular levels. The goal of the collaboration is to examine the livers extracted before and during hibernation. The examination can extend to the identifying the proteins that are present in the cells comprising the livers. The foundation of all cells is mainly protein and if the scientists are able to find out what is happening in the proteins, they might be able to mimic the conditions and apply the process on human cells.

They found out that the protein complex in the liver of hibernating squirrels is comprised on two enzymes. One of the enzymes is responsible for the breaking up of the fatty acids stored in the squirrel's body. The energy released because of this process is used to fuel the bodies of the hibernating squirrels. The other enzyme is supposed to help the squirrel to conserve the glucose that is present in its body. However, the enzyme that prolongs the life of the squirrels' organs during hibernation remains to be undetectable. Even the enzyme that causes the sudden jolt that wakes the squirrel up from its deep slumber is not easily found.

The main problem of scientists is the lack of human organs to use in their experiments. Every year, thousands of humans die waiting for organ donors and scientists can't just take away an organ that could have saved a life for an experiment which may or may not succeed. Because of these limitations, scientists are left in a corner where they simply speculate and test their theories on animals or worse, in their heads.

Thus, to some extent, extending organ shelf life may seem to be out of the question when we all know that the number of organs meant for transplant is limited. What is there to store, anyway? If there are too few organs, what is the need of an extended shelf life? But scientists remain to be convicted in their studies. To them, it does not really matter if it is urgently needed or not, what is more important is that this technology is already present come the time that humans would need it. Anyway, the main goal of their study is to find a way to make humans hibernate and organ preservation is but a secondary objective.

In the end, the more important lesson that we should learn from this is that the animals around us are capable of things which humans, who are supposed to be the most intelligent of all creatures, cannot do. This gives emphasis on the point that we have so much more to learn about everything around us, even the squirrels which some might even consider as pests.

Noisy Squirrels called Chickaree

2011-07-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

Chickarees are little squirrels which are mostly found in North America as well as in Alaska, Arizona and New Mexico. It is the name given to the three common squirrels that thrive in these places which are the Pine squirrels, the Douglas Squirrels and the Red American Squirrels. These squirrels are also called "Pillillooeet", a name which the Native Americans who live along Kings River have given them because of the sound that they make. Overall, Chickarees are lovely squirrels which have become more popular because of their fondness to human beings.

Physical Attributes

With a total length of only 30-33 cm from the tip of its ear to its tail, Chickarees are obviously smaller than the other squirrels which people normally encounter in parks and in their yards. These squirrels are also quite light, only 160-300 grams in total weight. The back coverings of Chickarees are normally rusty red but some are grey and brown while their chests are colored orange. Their feet turn grey during the winter but are colored brown during the other days of the year. One can clearly distinguish a Chickaree's upper and lower body because they are separated by a black or a white stripe.

On its own, a Chickaree's tail measures about 13 to 15 cm and it is more distinguishable than the tails of other squirrels because of its very bushy appearance. Without its fur, a Chickaree's tail is much more flat and thinner than the tails of the other squirrels. Moreover, the Chickaree's eyes are also rounded by a white ring.

Chickaree Habitats

It is very rare to find Chickarees outside the forest. In most cases, Chickarees that are found in parks or in houses may have just lost their way by following a human being (since they are really fond of humans) or maybe they are forcibly taken from the forest (i.e. for illegal selling, hunting, etc.). If left on their own, Chickarees will only choose to live in the forest, preferable in the northern boreal ones. Their more preferred habitats are coniferous trees although some of also live in other types of trees. Most of their population are found in deciduous woodlands, or in hedgerows. They also live in second-growth places.

Like most of their cousins, Chickarees are most comfortable living inside tree cavities. They make their den by scraping out the decaying part of the cavity until it become deep enough to contain an entire Chickaree family. They would also steal from woodpeckers and forcibly evict these birds from their nests by barging into the hole. These holes can be as high as 60 feet above the ground. In cases when they do not live in tree cavities, Chickarees would also inhabit tree stumps which either come from fallen or logged trees. The centre of the stumps would often decay like that of a tree's cavity making it easier for the squirrels to make a hole unto the stump. Chickarees also make underground holes which they use to store food. But in rare cases, especially during summer, Chickarees would build a nest that is closely related to a bird's nest. It is made from leaves and different kinds of twigs which they construct in between big tree branches.

Diet of Chickarees

Among all squirrels, Chickarees are considered to be more notorious to birds because they like steal and eat the eggs which birds leave inside their nests while they hunt for food. Chickarees also murder young birds which do not know how to fly yet. They are carnivorous but in the same way, like most of the squirrels, they too are herbivores. In short, Chickarees are omnivores or animals that eat plants and animals alike. They eat anything that will come across their way: seeds, mushrooms, fruits, nuts, etc.

Chickarees are also known to be very industrious squirrels, storing large quantities of food which they eat both during autumn and winter. A single chickaree would store as much as 150 pinecones all for itself. Chickarees may have developed this trait due to the fact that it cannot store food inside its mouth because of its lack of cheek pouches. Other squirrels have big cheeks because of these pouches.

Reproduction of Chickarees

The mating season of Chickarees starts during the early days of February and usually ends somewhere in March or April. During their entire lifetime, female Chickarees can give birth about 4 to 6 times. Female Chickarees have to carry their young for 4 to 5 weeks before the gestation period completes. Young Chickaree litters are called Kits. Chickarees only get pregnant once in a year (some can be pregnant to at most two times) so the population increase rate of these squirrels are relatively slow compared to other rodents. But, since young female Chickarees can already reproduce at less than one year, there population remains to be stable and steady despite concerns such as illegal hunting and spread of diseases.

Behaviours of Chickarees

It is easy to imagine why some critiques call pep squads as Chickarees. These squirrels are noisy and they repeat whatever sound that they make endlessly. This routine call that they made is repeated every couple of minutes during daytime. They are mostly asleep during evening and are normally active from dawn to afternoon.

Like all the other squirrels, Chickarees also tend to be highly territorial. They will occupy as much as 10,000 square meters and would keep other Chickarees out of that territory as much as possible. Under normal circumstances, Chickarees only live in groups having members that all come from a single group of Kits born from a single mother. They are excellent swimmers and divers.

Conservation Status

Chickarees are listed as "Least Concern" animals by the IUCN; this means that the population of Chickarees is stable and safe. Despite their numerous predators like owls, foxes, lynxes, minks and hawks, Chickarees are able to keep their entire population safe from whatever form of dangers that might threaten their existence in the wild.

Making Squirrel Fur Useful

2011-07-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

Squirrels use their fur to keep their bodies warm, just like what all animals do. However, squirrels are unique in a way that they wrap their tails around their bodies before they sleep, the same behavior that made the Greeks call them "in the shade of a tail". This characteristic is perhaps nature's first hint that the squirrel's fur should feel really good on human skin. In the medieval times, only the nobles wear clothing made from squirrel pelts. Even today, high-quality squirrel fur clothing displays the same amount of elegance that was once exclusive to the nobles alone. The most expensive squirrel furs are from Russia (Siberia mainly) because of the level of quality that this country maintain in order to produce only the best squirrel pelts. The fur from grey squirrels is often left with its natural color because it is already desirable in itself. The other furs which are not of solid colors are normally dyed in taupe, beige and mink. Other elegant colors are the shades of Viatka and Summer Ermine.

The United States also produces a little amount of squirrel pelts, but they are nothing in comparison to those from Russia and Siberia because they are not really commercially produced to be used for clothing’s, instead, they’re produced for linings which are really cheap application. Nevertheless, when carefully processes, squirrel pelt is luxurious to touch and to look at. The most valuable portion of a squirrel's pelt is that from its back. Un-dyed pelts require immense skills to be properly matched in order to make a fur coat of almost uniform color and pattern. The famous Hudson seal which is one of the pillars of the fur-clothing industry has produced squirrel fur combined with muskrat, ermine and mink.

Under normal conditions, a squirrel fur coat can last up to 8 long years or more if cared properly. But if the clothing is seldom used, it can last forever.

If you are interested to make your own squirrel pelt, you can actually try your skills on some of the squirrels that you can catch in your attic or in your yard. You can also hunt for squirrels (see my other articles for this). If you already have a dead squirrel at hand, skin the squirrel by following the process below.

You will need a very sharp knife, a bowl, rubber gloves and some water. You also need an assistant to help you especially if this is your first tip to skin a squirrel, but this is actually optional. Now, if you have all these materials ready you will need to soak the dead squirrel in water. It is easier to work when the hair of the squirrel is wet. Dry hair normally sticks to the meat while you skin.

Next, you need to hold the squirrel upside down. If you have an assistant, ask him to turn the squirrel for you or you can hang the squirrel with its legs away from you so that you can work. Remove the squirrel's fur on the base of the squirrel's tail. After you have cleared that spot, you need to slit open the squirrel from its tail down to its body. Do not cut off the tail, simply cut through it.

Slowly separate the skin from the meat using the back of your knife to avoid damage. Let your assistant hole the squirrels tail or step in the tail so that you can exert enough force to pull out the skin off the squirrel's back. Pull up the skin on the legs using your hands. Be careful not to damage the skin. To completely remove the skin, use your knife to cut off the portion that clings to the head and the ankles of the squirrel. Then cut the squirrel into two, opening it along the stomach to expose the internal organs. With your fingers, remove all that is inside the squirrel's body and then wash the squirrel. The meat can be cooked up to become an excellent recipe. As for the skin, what you need to do next is to tan the pelt.

How to tan the Squirrel Pelt?

1. Make sure that all the meat attached to the pelt has all been removed. To do that, simply scrape the other side of the pelt (one with no hair) with a dull knife. Be careful to not cut through the pelt or you will be ruining your creation.

2. Mix a gallon of water to five cups of salt. Use a large bucket (about 5 gallons) in order to give the felt enough room once you sink it in. Now, submerge the pelt into the solution. Soaking will make it easier for you to scrape off the flesh which you might have missed earlier.

3. Set aside you "clean" pelt and let it dry in the air.

4. To make you tanning solution, mix four gallons of water to two pounds of salt. Stir the solution until all the salt is completely mixed with the water.

5. Dissolve two pounds of alum into the some water in a separate container. Add this mixture to the salt solution that you have prepared.

6. Place the "clean" pelt into the solution and let it stay there for about 24 hours, just don't forget to stir the mixture at least twice within that period.

6. After the allotted time, you may not remove the pelt from the solution and wash it with clean running water. Clean the pelt thoroughly until you are sure that all unabsorbed tanning solution is washed away.

7. Hang the pelt to air dry, keep the fur side away from direct sunlight to protect the fur from damages. You might need to hand the pelt for several days before it dries.

8. Once dry, you can roll up the pelt with the fur side inside. Let the roll sit for an entire night.

9. Now you are ready to soften the pelt. The process is similar to how leather is softened. You can use table edges to do this.

10. Lastly, use leather lubricant all over the pelt with your hands. The lubricant is used to even out the tan of the pelt. Use a narrow-tooth comb to untangle the fur side of the pelt.

Knowing Fox Squirrels More

2011-07-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

There are so many squirrels in the world, although most of us as just familiar with the ones that we have seen in parks and in Alvin and the Chipmunks. This particular article focuses on one of the most common of all the tree squirrels in the United States: the Fox squirrels.

Fox squirrels can be distinguished from other squirrels because of its large and bushy tail. Its ears are rounded and lack the turfs which are common to most squirrels. Fox Squirrels are normally black but some also appear to be grey, red-orange or the combination of these colors. The covering of their bellies are normally lighter than what they have on their backs. The color of Fox squirrels increase in brightness with age so expect a young Fox squirrel to be pale as compared to the adult ones. These squirrels are considered to be the largest tree squirrels with its weight of at most 1.4 Kilograms and a height of 2 feet.

Fox squirrels are native to the eastern parts of South Dakota, but they can also be found somewhere in the west. According to some historical accounts, the migration patterns of Fox squirrels are dependent to the agricultural activities around their natural habitats. Record shows that these squirrels look for the most favourable habitats by following where cottonwood, elm, box and ash trees are planted. They like to inhabit such trees which are commonly grown in orchards. These squirrels have also reached the city parks and is quickie becoming comfortable living in such areas along with grey squirrels.

Most of their activities happen during sunrise and sunset; they are dormant or idle during the other parts of the day. They are not picky with food. They easily adapt to new kinds of foods, and are usually well fed because of their opportunistic nature. These squirrels spend much time on the ground, sniffing for food within the area where they are foraging. Fox squirrels normally hop around to move, their walk looks awfully awkward and I guess walking is also more difficult for them than jumping thus the preference for jumping. They do not just eat their food everywhere. Once they find food, they will take the time to carry it to their favorite "eating" place and munch on their treat there. The location might be a branch, a tree stump or a log. Fox squirrels would spend as much energy as possible to carry their food no matter how heavy to this spot.

Fox squirrels are omnivores. During the spring, they would feed on insects and helpless bird eggs; they would also eat tubes, roots and flowers. When summer comes, they will start eating fruits, grains and berries, also seeds. Fox squirrels are notorious to farmers because they also like to eat ripening corn. Large Fox squirrel populations can be enough to damage a small corn plantation. In such places, Fox squirrels are highly considered as pests.

Right before winter, Fox squirrels will start to collect food for their winter use. Just like other squirrels, they store up food for winter because they will not be able to find food when the temperature is very low. By October, Fox Squirrels should have stored enough food to last for the entire winter season. They can burry thousands of nuts throughout autumn, these nuts are located before winter comes using their strong sense of smell.

The home range of fox squirrels is 5 acres, but in some cases, this can extend to 40 acres. Fox squirrels forage within this area without interruption from other squirrels. Within this home range, the squirrel may have multiple nests which might locate inside the hollow of trees, or in between the big branches of very large trees. Their nests are so designed to blend with its surroundings and the Fox's coverings also camouflages with the trees around it so it would be really difficult to detect these squirrels in the wild.

Fox squirrels make two kinds of nests: the shade and the winter den. The shade is intended for summer use which they inhabit for a short time only. The winter den on the other hand, is made from twigs, leaves and some mud. These materials are careful "mixed" to construct a durable nest that is safe for winter use. To keep the temperature of the den warm, squirrels line its interior with leaves. The leaves also keep the inside of the den safe from rain and strong wind. Fox squirrels hibernate, thus, they need a solid home to live during the winter season.

Fox squirrels mate from December to January and in April to June. The also follow mating rituals like the other squirrels. Females are supposed to run away from males who get to mate with them once they catch up. Fox squirrels' gestation period lasts for 45 days, other squirrels last for 30 to 60 days. They usually give birth to at least 2 Kits. The most number of Kits born in a single litter is 5. The males have nothing to do with the weaning of the Kits.

The baby fox squirrel is only 15 grams in weight. Like all squirrels when they are born, fox squirrels are also born blind, hairless and deaf. But over a span of 10 to 12 weeks, these squirrels will develop to become an adult squirrel. At 10 months, the squirrel will be ready for mating and will be able to produce Kits of her own. Fox squirrels can live up to 7 years in the wild, but when kept in captivity, their lives can be prolonged to as long as 15 years!

The common predators of Fox squirrels are Coyotes, hawks, owls, bobcats, weasels and foxes. Fox squirrels are excellent climbers although they stay in the ground most of their lives. They have this skill in order to escape their predators fast. However, Fox squirrels have no means to escape parasites that live in their bodies. They can harbour lice, fleas, ticks and mites which can cause serious health problems.

Grey Squirrels for Lunch, Anyone?

2011-07-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Squirrel meat is selling hot. Squirrel butchers are quickly running out of squirrels right after they get some. According to those who have tasted squirrel meat, it is sweet and tastes like a combination of lamb and duck meat. They also say that it is very low in fat and thus is a perfect protein source for those who love meat are prohibited to eat some because of fat issues. Some even say that it is ethical to eat squirrel meat; at least there bodies do not remain useless after they are hunted because of their insanely increasing population.

Well, Grey squirrels are indeed very abundant in the United States and in many European countries. They might be related to the endangered squirrel species found in Britain but these are certainly not endangered themselves. In fact, hunters are allowed to just shoot them dead for mere fun and sports. Dozens of squirrels are shot but hunters brutally because they do not care about ruining their meat. But since the meat of squirrels became in demand, hunter became more humane in their killing methods. They use guns which can kill squirrels immediately, without causing too much pain. They want that because they need to use such guns to keep the squirrels' meat beautiful and ideal for butchering.

Some shopping centres in the United States are already selling squirrel meat in the grocery while some restaurants are already serving squirrel-based food. Some grocery owners say that they have sold as much as a thousand squirrels already since the day that they have started selling ones. Each squirrel costs about 3.5 pounds. Like all new products, it was also not clear whether squirrel meat will be marketable, but after a couple of months in grocery shelves, the owner of these groceries attested that people do buy squirrel meat.

People are mixed when it comes to describing the taste of squirrel meat. Some say it tastes like wild boar, some say lamb while others say duck. But this confusion is because of the fact that squirrel meat does have its own unique taste that can't be compared to other meats. Say, would you liken beef to pork or to chicken? Or would you say that fish tastes like lamb or game? Of course not! That is because we acknowledge that all these meats have their own tastes, the same is true with squirrel meat. But if there is definite about the taste of grey squirrel meat, it is the fact that it is sweet because grey squirrels mostly feed on sweet berried and nuts.

Many people also think that eating grey squirrels is a good form of helping the red squirrels to thrive. Red squirrels are losing their place in the wild because grey squirrels are rapidly taking over. If there is a high demand for grey squirrel meat, then more grey squirrels will also be killed. Of course, legislations are needed to not cause the extinction of grey squirrels in the wild. Maybe, they can be bred domestically just like pigs, cows and chickens if the time will come when their population in the wild is threatened.

The popularity of squirrel meat grew even more after Hollywood celebrities started to make noise about it. They have invited intrigue over the celebrated meat, luring more people to want to try it. Once they have tried it, many became hooked to its taste and thus, a new squirrel-meat buyer is born. In all actuality, most of the people who buy squirrel meat are plain curious ones who are driven by the novelty of the squirrel meat's cost. But, no matter what drives people to try eating a squirrel, the end result is almost very obvious: they would love the meat and buy some more.

Because of the estimated number of squirrels around the world (5 million in Britain alone), there is a high possibility that the craze for squirrel meat will continue for some time and that its market will eventually expand to a point that domestication would be necessary. Squirrel is small so a single squirrel should not be enough to satisfy a hungry person. Most of its meat is found in the rear legs just like a rabbit (which is also killed for meat). Squirrels also require a short cooking time because its loins are thin.

Squirrels are cooked in many different ways. For example, some restaurants serve fried squirrels which are the usual best sellers. But there are other cooking styles too like squirrels in Cornish cream, squirrel on a bed of walnuts, tandoori squirrels, etc. Some also make pasties out of squirrels, here's an example of the recipe:

Ingredients:

Squirrel meat (cubed 1cmx1cmx1cm, 140 grams)
Potato (slices, 100 grams)
Onions (diced, 50 grams)
Bacon (smoked, 30 grams)
Swede (sliced, 100 grams)
Hazelnuts (chopped, 15 grams)
Butter (75 grams)
Parsley (chopped, 5 grams)
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Egg-wash the edges of the pastry circles that you are to use.
2. Mix the potatoes with hazelnuts, swede and parsley. Season to taste.
3. Place mixture in each circle and top with bacon, followed by the squirrel meat and then onions.
4. Put some butter on each pastry. Fold the pastry and crimp its edges to secure your mixture.
5. Place you pasties in a grease-proof baking tray. Make sure that both pasties are properly egg washed.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius before putting it the tray into the oven.
7. Baking time is about 45 to 50 minutes.

Well, you might not be able to try this at home if you are not able to find a grocery store that sells squirrel meat. But you can hunt for your meat yourself if you are really that interested. You can use squirrel traps to catch them. Just make sure that you will only kill a grey squirrel or you will be liable to the law for killing animals which are supposed to be protected, i.e. red squirrels. But I suggest that you unburden yourself of all these troubles and simply go to a restaurant that serves squirrel meat.

Endangered Squirrels in Singapore

2011-07-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

No matter how common squirrels might seem, there are squirrel species which have become endangered because of either human activities or natural calamities. Natural calamities include wildfires, storms, earthquakes and the like while human activities are mostly related to logging, land development, hunting, etc. According to "Singapore Red Data Review" published in 2008, many of the squirrels that live in the country are already critically endangered or they are in the brink of possible extinction. Examples of these squirrels are:

1. The Cream-colored Giant Squirrel

These squirrels are classified as the largest of all the squirrels found around the world. They can grow to as high as 38 centimetres when standing on both hind legs with a total tail length of 44 centimetres. The average weight of a giant squirrel in about 1 Kilogram but some can weigh up to 2 Kilogram or more. It was officially named and described in 1821 by a scientist named Stamford Raffles after an incident report of a local spotting "many" giant squirrels in the woods of Singapore. However, the squirrel is believed to have been already popular among the locals since it is already sold for meat and as a pet in the early 1960s.

The giant squirrel is also diurnal like its cousins, which means that most of its activities happen during the day. It looks for food in tropical forests and rarely come down trees. These squirrels are also omnivores but their diet mostly comprises of fruits and plant matters. But, they also feed on small insects to accompany their vegetarian diet. Although they are mostly creamy in color, their upper body parts are brown.

These squirrels are not only found in Singapore, in fact, three other countries are known to host these squirrels, and these are: Thailand, Borneo and Indonesia. Even in Singapore, these squirrels do not just live everywhere. Since 1995, it was found out that these squirrels have become exclusively found in Bukit Timah and the "Central Catchment Reserves of Singapore". According to an official estimate, only 10 Cream-colored Giant Squirrels remain to live in the wild.

2. Shrew-faced Ground Squirrels

Unlike the first one, these squirrels are seldom found on trees since they live on the floor of the forests. They feed on the earthworms, termites and beetles that are very common on forest beds. They also eat other insects and ants. Being a typical ground squirrel, they also live in solitary and secretive life. They do not like to associate with other animals although most of these activities happen during the day when other animals are also active. They got their name from the likeness of their long and pointed snout to the Tree Shrew which is also a type of a mammal. Their front teeth are obviously smaller than the other squirrels, giving them the appearance that is almost very distinct from their relatives. They have white colored under parts and dark brown upper bodies. They measure about 23 centimetres in length with a tail that measures about 17 centimetres.

Back in the 1900s, these squirrels have been reported to be abundant in the Changi jungle found in Singapore but at present, these squirrels have become extremely rare that they are now just found in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

3. Red Giant Flying Squirrel

These squirrels are called giants for a reason: they are huge! They can measure up to 46 centimetres in body length alone and their tails can be as long as 50 centimetres, Their natural habitat is the forest and they make their nests in the cavities that develop in tall trees. They eat fruits and shoots alone. These squirrels are nocturnal, unlike the other squirrels. It means that they are most active during evening. Moreover, these squirrels do not explore the forests alone. They always move in pairs and they travel from one tree to another by "flying". They do that by gliding through the air using their "wings" which is mostly an extended skin that occurs between their limbs. They have reddish-brown bodies, but some may have black tails, ears, noses and limbs.

They are mostly found in many parts of Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, China, Pakistan, Borneo and India. In the 20th century, these squirrels were classified as common, meaning there are extremely many squirrels of this kind that live in the wild and these can be kept as pers. However, as the 20th century ends, these squirrels began to disappear rapidly, causing the Singaporean government to panic over possible extinction. The last sightings of the squirrel in the wild were in 1986. There by Red Giant Flying Squirrels kept in reserves, these squirrels are carefully bred for possible release to the wild. But that scenario would not happen any time soon.

4. Red-cheeked Flying Squirrel

These squirrels are really small, considering that its full body length is only 18.4 centimetres. Its tail can be as long as 16.6 centimetres. It is also nocturnal like the other flying squirrels that are known to us. They also in in the forest and inhabit tree cavities that they make or they steal from woodpeckers. They have long tails which look more like a feather. They also have rounded head and snout bodies. Their normal color is grey-brown or rusty-brown with some white or orange markings all throughout their bodies. Their tail is basically orange in color and its cheeks seem orange-brown or reddish-grey.

These squirrels are native to Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. However, in 1996, it was found out that this squirrel has already become exclusive to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

What Endangers these Squirrels?

The real reason why these squirrels slowly fade into extinction is the loss of their natural habitats. Because of the rapid urbanization which is very apparent in Singapore that has a very limited space, many squirrels are pushed to live in forests which are not really their natural habitats. As a result, the population of these squirrels start to decrease until too few of them are able to survive.

Caring For Infant Squirrels (Kits)

2011-07-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

Female squirrels normally give birth to at least three Kits which are born blind and naked. These Kits measures about an inch or two only and would literally die without its mother's care. They don't have any chances of survival outside their nest and for an entire 75 days, they will be completely dependent to their mother for food and warmth. The mother will teach these Kits how to look for their own after this period is over. Eventually, these Kits will grow to become adult squirrels themselves which are ready for mating and reproduction as well. But before that happens, it is the mother that teaches them how to climb and how to do everything that will help them survive on their own after they detach from their mother.

However, there are many situations that can render a Kit orphan. For example, a simple storm would be enough to knock-down a nest and make all the Kits in it fall on the ground where they are completely helpless from predators. Or, their mother could die because of that storm, leaving the Kits to die in hunger waiting for their mother to come home. However, the storm is the most common reason why some Kits become orphans, but the lack of space. Some female squirrels are not conscious enough to build a large nest that can contain all its babies which are fast growing. As the Kits grow, they would end up crowding the nest too and they would push each other after several weeks. The mother squirrel would pick up fallen Kits, but unfortunately, the mother squirrel has this tendency to just don't mind an injured squirrel.

Human Help

Humans by nature are inclined to be fond of squirrels and it is very rare for humans who find infant squirrels to let them die without trying to help. However, it was later observed that sometimes it is better for us to keep away from a fallen Kit first (at least for several hours) to see if the mother will pick up the Kit. If we become too hasty and try to "help" the Kit immediately, we might have robbed it with its chance of being with its mother which is actually the best one to provide the Kit with whatever helps that it needs. However, if after several hours the mother has not appeared yet or if the baby squirrel is in the position where it can be harmed (eaten by predators, etc.), then it can be acceptable for us to finally intervene.

The first thing that should be done is to examine the squirrel for possible injuries. If the squirrel seems to be very distressed or if it has a bleeding wound, it is better for you to call for professional help immediately. Taking more time to try help the Kit on your own during such a complicated situation will only harm the squirrel more.

If the squirrel looks alright, check if it is dehydrated. To do this test, what you need to do is to check it nose and mouth to see if these exhibit dryness. The mucous membranes on the Kit's nose and mouth should appear tacky and red if it is dry. Also check for the pliability of the squirrel's skin. Just pinch the skin on the Kit's back, if your pinch remains to appear on the Kit's skin after the pinch, then the Kit is definitely dehydrated.

Dehydration can also kill the Kit if left for long, so after you have verified that the Kit is indeed dehydrated, immediately apply treatment. You can treat the squirrel yourself if you have the right tools and materials. But before you start to do anything else, you need to warm the Kit's body to 98 degrees Fahrenheit by wrapping the Kit in a warm towel for a couple of minutes.

If you are sure that the Kit is already warm enough, start introducing the medications to the Kit. Warm 1cc of "Pedialyte" and inject it into the Kit using a small syringe. This medicine is use hydrate human babies, should work just fine for baby squirrels too. This medicine is an over-the-counter drug so you can buy this in pharmacies anytime. If the medicine is not available, you can improvise by using the energy drink called "Gatorade". This drink is very popular that you can buy it from most stores, even the very small ones. When introducing the fluid, you need to make sure that the Kit is kept warm. This level of warmth should be kept too even during feeding (after the Kit is treated).

The Kit should be fed with "Esbilac" that is carefully mixed with water. Although other milk formulas can be used, Esbilac is mostly recommended because it is designed as a milk supplement for puppies, thus it is readily available in pet stores and it is not very much foreign to animals like squirrels. You need to allow the Kit "suck" the milk slowly. This may take a little practice but it is the best way to help the Kit survive as if it is still in its nest.

To mix the right Esbilac milk, you need to mix the following: 1/2 cup Esbilac, 1 cup water and 1/2 whipping cream. The cream that you should use should be fortified with vitamins and minerals in order to provide the Kit with the extra advantages of "formula" milk. However, some squirrels might be allergic to Esbilac and they would experience diarrhoea. If that's the case, choose PetAg which is an Esbilac product that is made from goat's milk.

Feeding Guide

0-2 weeks of age needs 9 feedings a day which starts at around 6AM and ends at 10PM. Overall, the interval between each "meal" should be two hours only and during each "meal", the Kit should be fed with at least 1/4 teaspoon of formula milk.

2-3 weeks, needs 5 feedings a day. Each meal should be about 1 and 1/2 cubic centimetres of milk formula and can be increase on a daily basis up to 3 cubic centimetres.

4-5 weeks, should be fed 4 times in a day. Measure of each meal should be 3 and a half to 5 cc.

6-7 weeks, still fed 4 times a day but with 6 cc of milk formula for each meal. The amount of milk fed can increase up to 9 cc.

8 weeks, fed twice a day with 10 to 14 cc of formula milk. You can also start to introduce solid food to the Kit for as long as they are cut into small pieces.

The infant should also relief itself after each meal in order to stay healthy. To stimulate this you, use a cotton bud dampened with oil and rub in gently across the Kit's genitals.

25 Interesting Facts about Squirrels

2011-07-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

Apart from being cute and adorable, there are more things that we should know about squirrels in order to fully appreciate them. These interesting facts are laid out in this article. Enjoy reading!

1. Squirrels run in an erratic path whenever they cross a street. Experts say that their movement is supposed to confuse incoming vehicles and thus avoid being hit. However, this choice has been proven to be one of the squirrel's poorest choices because it obviously increases their chance of getting hit.

2. For some reason, when a squirrel feels insecure or when it feels that danger is approaching, it pretends to be a motionless object and completely stay still. If this sense of danger happened while the squirrel in on the ground, it will run to the nearest tree, climb up and circle its whole body around a branch. But if it is far from anything that can be climbed, it will roll on the ground trying to pretend that it is a rock.

3. Grey squirrels build their nests in very unusual places. Many grey squirrels have been found to build a nest inside cars, chimneys, porches and barbeque grills.

4. Squirrels blame their nests for the fleas and the other parasites that infest its body. Thus, squirrels tend to leave their nests and build a new one whenever infestation happens. This is the reason why is a specific area, one can be sure that the number of squirrel nests always exceeds the actual number of squirrels.

5. Squirrels mark their territories using their sweat. This is not much of a trouble for squirrels because their sweat glands are found between their paws and foot pads. So, wherever they go, squirrels are surely able to leave their scent without even trying. Their scent is used to mark the boundaries of their territories.

6. Squirrels follow a specific way of storing their nuts. First, they crack it using their teeth and then lick the nut clean using its tongue before it buries the "cleaned" nut on the ground where it becomes "dirty" again. But the licking is not actually for cleaning purposes; squirrels do that in order to leave a strong smell to the nut so that it becomes easier for it to locate it. Squirrels use their noses to locate buried nuts instead of using their memories.

7. Trapping is the only effective way to remove squirrels that live inside attics.

8. Squirrels chirp like bird. Chirping is their way of talking to other squirrels. Their chirp is let out in a frequency that ranges from 0.01 to 10 KHz. This sound is used to send their messages, from sending alarms to mating and laughing. They also use other actions to accompany the chirp; such actions include tail movements and scratching.

9. An adult squirrel has to eat about half a kilogram of food each week to stay active.

10. Squirrels have brains those measures about a walnut size only. But despite this size, squirrels are able to exhibit intelligence in their lifestyle.

11. Just like how we sharpen kitchen knives, squirrels sharper their teeth by rubbing it on a specific material. Knives are sharpened using a sharpening stone while squirrels' teeth are sharpened through branch chewing. This might be the reason why they strip tree barks. However, squirrels sometimes mistaken a power line to a branch causing power outages in some places.

12. Grey squirrels can't live without salt in their diet. So, they look for salt deposited in snow or ice.

13. Squirrels will eat animal carcasses when no other food is available.

14. Squirrels can see a wide field in a panoramic view. They do not have to turn their heads just like other animals.

15. Tree squirrels do not hibernate even when the temperature around them is freezing cold! Other squirrels sleep for the entire season as they consume the layers of fats that they have stored before winter came.

16. Squirrels love the morning sun. They are active for 2-3 hours after the sun has risen, rests after that period and then resume whatever activities that they need to do 2 hours before the sun is gone. Squirrels rarely come out of their nests when it is already dark. However, when the season is cold like when it is in winter and the squirrel is not hibernating like the tree squirrels, they will do all activities in the morning and would lock inside their dens from midday until the next morning.

17. Contrary to its name, the Red squirrels are commonly black.

18. Grey squirrels are not necessarily grey. They can come in many different colors such as brown, white, black or the combination of any of these.

19. Baby squirrels are called Kits and they weigh about 1 oz. during birth and measures about 1 inch in length. They are naked, toothless and are almost blind. They need 8 weeks to appear like a real squirrel.

20. Female squirrels prefer the strongest male that will court her for mating. But female squirrels do not mate the same male twice!

21. Squirrel gestation lasts for 30 to 60 days depending on the species. chickarees take 31 days while fox squirrels need 60 days.

22. There are more than 365 species of squirrels known to mankind. These squirrels are grouped into 7 families. The most common families are called the tree squirrels, the ground squirrels and the flying squirrels. There are squirrels that hardly look like squirrels like the ground hog, prairie dogs and the gophers.

23. Male squirrels chase female squirrels which they want to mate with. They will also try to chase out the other suitors who are interested to mate with their target female squirrels. The mating ritual is an excellent site if you happen to catch squirrels doing it! Males would perform amazing acrobatics in order to please the female.

24. Female Red Squirrels are known to be promiscuous. They can mate up to 14 different males a day without minding! They also welcome any male who comes their way.

25. Squirrels are part of the big order called "Rodentia" which includes rats and mice. This order has 1650 species and is in fact the largest order of living mammals. About 40% of all day mammals belong to "Rodentia".

Squirrel Unusual Behavior

2011-07-22T02:36:00.000-07:00

You will be surprised how certain animals in the world can be capable of doing things you would not have thought at first they would do. You may assume petty little creatures like squirrels are so dumb judging from their size and in relation of that size to their brains. However, there are things that will definitely catch your attention and would definitely make you think of them otherwise and change your perspective about their intelligence. Believe it or not, some animals are capable of intellectual behaviors despite of them being just animals. You'll be surprised that eventually you will truly comprehend the extent of animal intellects in certain situations or areas.

The truth is, animals do have a miniscule amount of rationality in the things that they do. They often look like they're doing things because that's their nature but sometimes there are these actions that they take that constitute a higher degree or level of mental activity or ability. The behaviors that these animals do are somehow in response to their surrounding environment and would definitely make you think or ponder how such animals could be capable of doing such actions. One particular example is the squirrel.

You may think squirrels are pests and they are absolute nuisance to our homes, especially in terms of private residences. However, there's more to what you normally see with squirrels as they are actually capable of performing behaviors or actions that will totally stun you in awe. Squirrels are not just pest in the house but are often the most amiable domestic pets in the house if you choose to acquire one. There are certain observations that indicates the higher intellect of squirrels, especially in terms of interacting with some other animals inside the house, be it a cat or a dog, a squirrel may do so well in accommodating the inter-animal relationships between the pets inside the house.

If we are to talk about unusual behaviors in squirrel pets we may as well be inclusive of this set of questions. These questions are the ones that one would essentially ask when they are study the rationale of squirrel behaviors up close. You'll be surprise to find out about the answers to these questions in demonstration of the reported accounts of their behavior manifestations.

1. How do squirrels interact with domestic cats inside the house?

2. Do squirrels have unique interactive behaviors to its fellow squirrels?

3. How peculiar are their behavior?

4. Is there a difference in behaviors in between different types of squirrels?

These questions will be normally raised each time you try to delve deeper into the study of squirrel behavior. Hopefully, you will find the answers you're looking for in this article and eventually come in full comprehension of the squirrels' behavior. This will truly help a lot if ever you have the advocacy to protect squirrels from unwanted fatalities brought about by human greed and negligence. After all, some species of squirrels are already classified as endangered. You would do well in protecting these creatures by starting to comprehend their nature and eventually take the fight on the bigger arena.

A Squirrel to a Cat

Here's an interesting story as to how a squirrel would mercilessly tease a tied cat in a house nearby. Sometimes around summer, our neighbour tied a cat right at the porch of their house. The rope was about 10 feet long enough to grant the cat the liberty to move around in a convenient distance but still kept within the house's perimeters. That could have been a not so good idea if there was a dog around. However, there was none, only a squirrel. A squirrel was hopping across the lawn when it passed by the cat. The cat saw the squirrel as well and began dashing right at the passer-by.

When the cat dashed at the squirrel, it almost reached the squirrel. However, eventually the cat did not reach the squirrel because it ran out of rope, disabling the cat just about halfway to the where the squirrel is. Of course, the squirrel, afraid of being reached by the cat, scurried away and ran to climb up the nearest tree. The squirrel wondered why the cat did not pursue the chase; the squirrel went back down to the ground to figure out what was going on. The squirrel went towards the cat and each time the cat would dash right back at it, it would scurry back into the tree for safety. Eventually, it realized that the cat could not reach him for some reason and he began to play around with the tied cat by hopping back and forth at the cat, tormenting the poor tied feline.

Squirrels do Groom their Mates

And you think apes and humans are the only one capable of grooming routines, that's where you are wrong. Squirrels also do groom their mates. Usually female squirrels are the ones who get groomed by their male partners. This works like bidding from female squirrels to have their male mates groom them from time to time they would ask for it.

One time, there were two squirrels hopping across the power line and halted when it reached the telephone pole and straddled to sit into one side of its crossbar with its feet hanging in the air. I could tell that the one sitting is a female because it's also been nursing her young. And then the male squirrel came in and started grooming and preening the female.

Squirrels in the City

Most squirrels would scurry away if they see a cat or dog coming their way. This is usually because dogs and cats would run after the squirrels and as a defence mechanism; squirrels would certainly keep their distance from the dogs and cats and would try to keep away from human contact as well especially if there's canine companion around. However, it's a different case with city or suburban squirrels as they would like to mingle with humans especially if it would feed them.

Squirrels Defence Mechanism III: Behaviors

2011-07-22T02:29:00.000-07:00

In the previous article we have talked about the common predators that squirrels would do pretty well to avoid instead of coming in close encounter with them and we have also learned that we are one of those things that squirrels avoid. Humans being so conquering in nature would do anything, conscious or unconscious to show their dominion over everything and that would including impressing our superiority into small creatures like squirrels, especially if they happen to cross our territories. Sometimes, we choose to domesticate the docile creatures or we could just dispatch them and rid of them for good whenever we want to with the use of the most potent eradicating mechanisms we know of. This is how dangerous we are to squirrels as they can't do anything to avoid us once we decide on absolutely icing them. The human frenzy to kill is the most dangerous thing on earth as the only thing that can stop is human intervention only, apart from miraculous intervention and divine providence which doesn't really happen a lot in common terms. That's why if possible; squirrel would do everything they can to stand out of our way. However there are just these times, being small brained animals as they are, they would unintentionally cross our paths and therefore they get obliterated along the way. Squirrels could only pray to live (that is if they do actually pray) in our presence.

Also we have learned that animals such as snakes and hunter birds are also part of the entire enemy list for squirrels and squirrels would try to avoid them as much as they can as well. Although they may not be as fatal as human's killing frenzy but they could do some serious damage as well and pose considerable threat to the squirrel race. They would try to hide from them as well as there is a greater risk of fatality than survival when it comes to encountering their animal foes. However, we have also learned that at times they could also fight back and there are actually tangible possibilities of squirrels winning against them like the Californian ground squirrels over rattlesnakes. There instances that the rattlesnakes would rather fear the heating up squirrel instead of the other way around. Such are indeed very fascinating facts about squirrels that are worth mentioning about.

In this article we will now then thoroughly discuss the behaviors that constitute a squirrel's defence mechanisms. We will tackle each of those behaviors in every squirrel aspect. That means talking about specific parts of the body of a squirrel and how they would react to a certain degree or level of fear depending on what kind of attacking predator there is. Squirrels do have these characteristics and they are quite noticeable since squirrels are usually quite timid and easily fearing animals. They scurry a lot and they would prefer hiding from the sight of their predators rather than engaging them right on, which would definitely prove mostly as suicide to them. Not that they think of it that way though, but that's how we humans would most likely see it.

The Defence Behaviors

Squirrels actually have a variety of sets of behaviors for them to be able to ward off or thwart any impending threats.

Visual Presence

Actually, without doing much, a squirrel is already engaged into self-protection mode with just by their fur colors. The colors of squirrels are usually brown or auburn, or red in color and these colors pretty much that of the trees they usually dwell in. These fur colors already serve as camouflage mechanism for squirrels, thus enabling them to be hardly seen once they are already in the trees or in the ground. It also makes it easier for them relocate from one side to another in a tree trunk and the predators would somehow be unable to notice them move. However, certain squirrel predators are undeceived by this squirrel trick, especially those animals that have really keen sight. They could almost immediately detect a squirrel on the way while still in some far distance from the target.

There are other squirrel species such as the southern flying squirrels commonly found in Mexico that chooses a time in a day to be active. They tend to be more active at night where there is poor visibility to conceal themselves in their activities, especially when searching for food. They spend most of the time in a day hiding from their known predators.

The Squirrel Feet

A squirrel's feet are actually quite a feat. If you pay some time to notice a squirrel's feet, you will come to notice that they are actually capable of leaving them in a fix position while their bodies would rotate 180 degrees to see their backs. That's like literally being able to watch their backs. This would enable squirrels to easily escape in case of incoming dangers. Their flexibility is a key characteristic that would ensure their survival.

The Tail

A tail may just be a tail to some creatures. To some may be for balancing purposes. But to squirrels it means their life. A squirrel's tail is actually used to defend squirrels in times of danger. They would normally flick their tails from left to right and vice versa to somehow confuse the incoming predator. If ever a predator would become impatient and lunges in right and pounce the moving tail, the tail would then easily break off from the squirrel's body. We could say therefore that the tail is also an agitator to its predators and an escape button to the squirrels. Fortunately for squirrels, they could always grow it back eventually whenever it breaks off. You may have also noticed this defence mechanism characteristic in lizards. Lizards are quite efficient in this sort of evasive maneuver.

Sound Effects

The shrill chirping sounds that squirrels make aren't only for nuisance purposes, but it also works as a defence mechanism to fend off any incoming predators. Often the predators are unable to tolerate the sounds that they make. Also, in context of sounds, squirrels are able to assess the amount of danger that is imminent by the sound that the predators produce.

Squirrel Defence Mechanisms II: Squirrel Predators

2011-07-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

In the previous article we have talked about the necessary introduction to the concept of squirrel's defence mechanisms when facing natural threats or whenever they feel they are threatened at all. We have also talked about the animals or situations squirrels usually feel threatened of and how they initially deal with them and how they would substantially react towards each threat. Another part of the previous discussion is the identification of the importance and value of the predator-prey relationship and how it consummates in the entire process of the life cycle and the relevance of this cycle to the very existence of each living thing on earth. Lastly, we have also talked about what are the key questions you would ask a reader or an individual who wishes to learn more about squirrels' defence mechanisms.

The key questions which imply the key aspects that would make us fully comprehend the idea of their defence mechanisms as to how they do it, when they do it, why do they do it, which one does it. The questions ought to be answered significantly so that we will fully understand the nature of squirrels whenever they are faced with something that threatens their existence; we also pose threat to them. In order to avoid becoming a threat to such important creatures of the planet, we have to know what are the ways on how we can't be a threat to them and that can only be attainable by knowing what squirrels are afraid of and how they would react towards them.

Sometimes we are often very ignorant about these as we would all normally deem they are insignificant and should not be of any our concerns at all. However, thinking that way would be quite wrong since squirrels as creatures would always serve a vital role in the entire balance of the ecosystem. If mosquitoes alone, so small and apparently insignificant and are even considered pests, could actually have some relevance to the planet, how much more with squirrels that does more than just feeding animal predators in relation to them? This paradox should be more than enough proof to anyone to understand that there is more than just the looks and the size of a creature or the things that they do to human property as they do serve important roles we may not be even aware of unless we deliberately learn them. After all, if you come to think about it, humans are not the only creatures in the world and we can't therefore live as if kings of the planet. We may be on top of the food chain but we can never be on top unless we give recognition to those species below us that granted us the position we have now in the pyramid of consumption. These small creatures, mosquitoes, termites, squirrels and etc. are the ones responsible for making us the higher ups of the pyramid and without them, we would have not existed at all in the first place.

Understanding the Squirrel Defence Mechanisms

The Predators

Before we can move on in understanding squirrels defence mechanisms, we must get to know what are the common animals or predators that squirrels are afraid of. If we get to know the animals behind their fears then we will therefore understand why they act that way when they feel fear. Here is the list of the most common squirrel predators that these rodents would try to avoid as much as possible.

1. Humans

Humans are the most unstoppable squirrel predators of them all. People hunt them not only for food, but even for some other purposes like animal stuff or for their fur. We also hunt them down when we feel that they have become pests in our homes or in our vegetation. Squirrels may have certain mechanisms to fight back against their predator when they are cornered but with humans, all their efforts will be nullified. Imagine yourself combating a squirrel. It's just practically mismatch. And often humans would even come with the accompaniment of technology like guns (poachers), traps, poisons, repellents and what not and believe me when I say that squirrels will never stand a chance against any of those. The best that they could do to avoid the absolute fatality brought about by humans is to keep away from human territories. However, we can't expect much from a squirrel mind to pre-empt that. They would still eventually wound up in our homes, and thinking but only ourselves, we kill them right away without remorse. Therefore, we are ultimately the greatest predators of them all.

2. Snakes

There are about many types or species of snakes in the world and if you do place a squirrel right in front of them, they will never ever think twice to devour the poor creature. Squirrels are directly below the food chain to snakes. Snakes would take them as a regular diet as long they are visible within the snake's proximity. This would make snakes to be the next most fear predators for squirrels and perhaps their arch enemy since they are naturally found as well in the same places that squirrels are present. However, unlike humans where squirrels are helpless, with snakes they can fight. Of course they could choose to either fight or flee from the dangers of the slithering predator. But when squirrels are cornered by snakes, they have a characteristic to heat up and fight snakes when they are aware that there's nothing else left to do. Oftentimes, the snakes are the ones that usually flee because of the sense of threat they would feel from a pugnacious squirrel. The defence mechanism is actually effective. One species in particular, the Californian ground squirrel have this mechanism especially against rattlesnakes.

3. Airborne animals

Owls, eagles, hawks, and falcons are amongst the most notorious feather-ish brethrens that squirrels are afraid of. They are known for swooping down and swiping their prey to death. Often could only hide from them or bite their feet while on the air but more than half the time the squirrel is just to immobilized to do anything anymore.

to be continued...

Squirrel Defence Mechanisms I: Introduction

2011-07-22T01:48:00.000-07:00

All creatures on earth follow a distinct cycle called the food chain. This chain indicates that every creature is a prey to another much more superior creature. And this cycle constantly reels on and on forever and it will never stop unless there is some sort of an external superior force that will disrupt the cycle. The cycle in itself is a balance among all creatures, in terms of predation and population control. Through this cycle, it is ensured that there will be no species that will become predominant than the other, thus the balance in our ecosystems. Serious problems will arise if a disruption will occur in the balance cycle. If one species will become predominant over the other, the other species will not survive as well in terms in their resources. Eventually, the predominant species will no longer have anything to eat anymore since they have already subdued whatever is left available for them. For example, if spiders have gone extinct, then its predators, like squirrels, rats and lizards will no longer have anything to eat anymore since their primary source of food has already gone extinct.

Eventually, due to diet deprivation, these animals will also begin to dwindle in number until they go extinct. There may be a possibility though that the species will not die or go extinct because they have undergone through adaption and evolution. If a species that normally feed on carnivorous diet, will no longer have anything to feed themselves anymore, they may find a way to alter their diet systems and feed on whatever is left available for them. Carnivorous animals may eventually evolve into herbivores in the future due to the scarcity of resources, it would force them to eat grass or any plant materials since it's the only thing left. However, the process of evolution would take a very long while and are often even unsuccessful as the evolution may meet some absolute obstacles in the way. Thus we have extinction. Extinction is basically the inability of species to adapt in the environmental deprivations that take place every now and then. Because they are unable to adapt in these changes, their species will eventually be removed from the system.

However, with the rate of deprivation going on at present due to the massive influx of technological advancements and commercialization at the same time, couple with human intervention upon the cost of profiteering, a lot of species in the world have become close to extinction and are considered already endangered and ought to be protected in highest priorities. The occurrence of habitat restorations to preservation parks and the culturing of niches are just the recent counter measures of concerned humanity to balance the collapsing equations of balance in the environment. Without these proactive countermeasures, a lot of species would have already gone extinct and it wouldn't be long until the entire human race would follow the dinosaurs into their doom. The criticality of the environmental situations right now is appaling and has to be deal with accordingly and right away.

Among the species that are close extinction already are the squirrels. The squirrels have long been a favorite target to a lot of poachers, especially during poaching seasons even if there has been already some prohibition implemented and promulgated in certain states. Apparently, poachers don't seem to pay any heed certain policies and continue infringe them as long as they satiate their personal desires and wants. And right now this is what's happening to the squirrel race as they actually dramatically dwindle in number. It would only be a matter of time now until the entire squirrel race will be wiped out from the face of the earth.

A squirrel's life is posed into many dangers not only with human intervention but also to their fellow animals. Predators of squirrels are often placing squirrels on top of their list of prey, primarily because squirrels are weak and feeble creatures and they are often slow to escape thus giving an opportunity for their predators an easy catch. In light of these predation processes, squirrels have evolved and eventually developed certain traits that would protect them from the hungers of their predators. These traits are actually behaviors that serve as defence mechanisms for squirrels. These defence mechanisms would somehow ensure squirrels that they will escape certain death, however there are still those times their efforts would become futile since they are just so small in comparison to those species that are after them. Nevertheless, their efforts to defend themselves would regularly take effect on their predators and would definitely save them another lifetime more to live on in search for food instead of them being the food to be served to their predators.

Squirrels' defence mechanism behaviors may depend on what type of squirrel or the type of predator they are faced upon with. They could either choose to fight or flee and that would completely depend on what sort of threat there is. A squirrel can have dozens of defence mechanisms to get away from a fight and they could just easily and conveniently live through another day because of these behaviors. For example, a unique behavior of heating up the tail among Californian ground squirrels has enabled them to fight back against the attacks of their known predators, the rattlesnake and often these defence mechanisms have saved them from the certainty of death from their arch enemies.

Before we could move on into discussing about the defence mechanisms that squirrels possesses, let's first talk about the key points of these discussion and they could all be summed into three essentially basic questions that would define the entire idea of squirrel's defence mechanisms. Here are the questions:

1) First question is how do certain predators threaten the squirrels? The fear may be the same but the process of how to instil the fear may differ from each predator.

2) Second question is what are the different defence mechanisms of squirrels? As it can be deduced that they would practically differ from each other.

3) Third would be how some squirrels would use a heated tail. This is perhaps the most common or generic defence among squirrels and we have to therefore discuss them.

to be continued...

Giant Squirrels: Marmots

2011-07-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

With an average body weight of 30 pounds or about 14 kilograms and a height of 1.5 feet or about 45 centimetres (when standing on two feet), the Marmots are considered as the world's largest squirrels. These "gigantic" squirrels naturally inhabit steeps, alpine pastures and grasslands. They are commonly found in Europe, North America and Asia.

Three species of Marmots are found in many parts of Alaska. These are: the hoary marmot, the Alaska marmot and the woodchuck. Hoary marmots usually inhabit the bases of talus slopes which are active, most of which are in the mountains found in the south-western, central and south-eastern parts of Alaska. On the other hand, the Alaska marmots live mostly in the Brooks Range while the woodchucks prefer east-central Alaska's dry lowlands where the river valleys are found.

Of these three, the hoary and Alaska marmots are most related to each other. Both of them can weigh up to 10 pounds or more with a total height of not less than 24 inches. But they can grow as much as 30 pounds depending on their feeding situation. Woodchucks are a little bit lighter than the other two. The weight of these squirrels does not go down to 2 pounds, but it too can't exceed 6 pounds under normal circumstances. Their average height is 20 inches but they can grow longer than that.

Like their relative, marmots also try to get fat by the end of summer in order to prepare for the winter season. They need to accumulate as much fats as possible in order to sustain the needs of their bodies during winter hibernation. Three species have similar body shapes but are quite very different from the body shapes of the other squirrels not belonging to the marmot family. They have broad heads with small ears; short legs but clawed front paws; stout-looking bodies and very furry tails.

Alaska Marmot
(c) latimes.com

The hoary marmots and the Alaska marmots are not only similar is body size, these marmots also have the same covering. These squirrels have grey body fur and a reddish tail. Their faces and lower back usually have darker shades of grey although these two differ in the color of their feet and nose. Hoary marmots have dark brown feet and a white-patched nose while an Alaska marmot does not have any white spot on its face and its feet is light brown.

Hoary Marmot

Hoary marmots are often called "Caligata" which means "booted" in Latin because of the different color of their feet. On the other hand, the woodchucks have a solid reddish brown color with no marking on their faces. Woodchuck means "similar-sized animals" in the Cree Indian dialect and this name has been given to woodchuck marmots because of their relatively uniform sizes, not because of certain behaviours or characteristics.

The two similar marmots, Hoary and Alaska, like to live in talus slope because they secured in these areas from their common predators. These areas also provide good lookout stations where a "guarding" marmot can keep watch for incoming predators. Their dens below the ground can reach up to 30 feet long with chambers that has nests made from grass. The main entrance to their den is usually covered with dirt mound and is normally concealed from plain view. Like termites and ants, marmots are social animals, meaning, each of the marmots that live is the same den performs a specific role for the entire family.

These squirrels are also real hibernators; they can enter torpor state in the winter and be asleep the entire time. They can maintain their body heat despite the dropping temperature of their surroundings. They hibernate in their burrows; these same burrows serve as their homes during summer season. Before they start hibernating, they sort of plug the opening of their nest in order to keep the cold air and snow from entering. The plug is made from dirt, faecal materials and some vegetation. Their hibernation ends somewhere in the end of April or the early days of May. They immediately scurry to look for food in order to sustain their bodies which by this time, have already consumed the layers of fats that they have accumulated before the winter started.

Alaska marmots are quite different from the hoary and the woodchucks because they create separate hibernation dens, that is, they do not use the dens in which they live in during summer. This special den only has one entrance, and is strategically dug in an exposed ridge because these places are usually the first ones to become exposed to the sun when the winter season comes. The single opening of the den is also plugged by the marmots from the inside, inhibiting other animals to enter the den during the hibernation period. Unlike the hoary and the woodchucks that mate once they get out from their den after hibernation, Alaska marmots mate before they get out of the den. These winter dens can last long, experts have observe that some of these dens have been there for 20 years or more already. In summary, marmots spend most of their lifetime inside winter dens or that is about 2/3 of each year.

During spring and summer, marmots are busy looking for food and interacting with other marmots during the early hours of the morning and during late afternoons. However, marmots also leave their dens during other periods of the day for other activities. To warn other marmots and other animals that they are already entering a taken marmot territory, marmots would rub their faces and sexual glands on their surroundings -- rocks, trails, trees, etc.

Marmots have pelt colors that help them adapt to their surroundings which are usually rocks that are lichen-colored or soils that appear to be rusty-brown. But despite this feature, marmots are still very good at spotting predators like foxes, bears and eagles. When one Alaska marmot spots a predator, it sends a warning to its fellow marmots by producing a low-pitched "scream". Woodchucks and hoary marmots make a very loud whistle (which may not be low-pitched) to call the attention of their fellow marmots too. They will immediately seek for covering for their safety.

White Squirrel Fanfare

2011-07-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that certain kinds of rodents will grow to be too popular and loved that towns around the United States will clash between each other just to get the title of being their original host? Blame it to the curious case of the albino squirrels. White squirrels are not that abundant in the US. In fact, of the three squirrel species that possess a white coat, only one is found in the US, the Sciurus. But that's not what's really interesting about white squirrels. The real deal is that the towns squabble about the Leucistic and Albino white squirrels. Such squirrels can be considered as "mutated" squirrels, that is, they are not really from a family of white squirrels (probably grey or brown) and because of either natural or artificial genetic mutation, they developed a white coat. Of course, those towns that fight for the right to claim to be the "home of the white squirrels" want to be popular for the naturally mutated ones and we are talking about 5 different towns here!

Town: Kenton, Tennessee
Total land area: 2.0 sq. mi
Total human population (as of 2000): 1306
Claimed Total squirrel population: 200

Kenton locals insist that white squirrels have been in their town the longest as compared to the other towns that claim to be the original host of the these rodents. It is said that white squirrels started to live in Kenton in 1869 after a "gypsy caravan" accidentally left their carnival squirrels in the town. There is a rumour that Kenton is the original place where the white squirrels first bred, before some of them set out for the other towns.

Town: Olney, Illinois
Total land area: 5.8 sq. mi
Total Population (as of 2000): 8,631
Claimed Total Squirrel Population: not revealed

This town is perhaps the noisiest when it comes to actively promoting the white squirrels as their local emblem. They have billboards that say "Home of the White Squirrels" in prominent places. They brag about having the most albinos, scoffing the other towns to have white squirrels with black eyes. Every year, the town conducts a squirrel count that is participated by the locals. They look for all the squirrels in the town to determine their actual population and to observe whether this population has been growing over the past year.

Squirrels are freer than humans in Olney when it comes to street rules. They have full right-of-way everywhere in the town, no matter which street. People who hurt the squirrels by accidents are liable to the law, so much more those who intentionally hurt them. If a local brings the squirrel outside town, he or she has to pay a huge fine. Not only that, local police in Olney wears a uniform that has a white squirrel patch on its left sleeve.

Town: Marionville, Missouri
Total land area: 1.4 sq. mi
Total human population (as of 2000): 2,113
Claimed Total Squirrel Population: no official count

Like Olney, Marionville also claim to be the "Home of the White Squirrels". To make this claim more believable, a local legislation has instituted a $500 fine to anyone who would captures and sells these rodents in and outside Marionville. One thing that made Marionville controversial is their claim that the first white squirrels in the other towns that claim to be the original home of the white squirrels were just kidnapped from them. However, authorities from Marionville have never showed any proof of this allegation nor give a clear explanation as to how their white squirrels first get in their place. They just claim that the white squirrels have been in their area since the 1800s.

Town: Brevard, North Carolina
Total land area:
Total human population (as of 2000):
Total claimed squirrel population: no official count

Brevard don't want to do anything with the Albino squirrel squabbles, but local do appreciate the white squirrels with black eyes that live in their area. Interbreeding between these white squirrels and the other local squirrels (grey and black) has also caused mutation to the original white squirrel species. Some of them have grey strips or black caps but are still proud of all their squirrels. Although squirrels in Brevard are not as celebrated as the squirrels in the towns that boasts their white squirrels, in general, squirrels in this place is still "protected" by local laws and policies. They also have a little town festival called the "White Squirrel Festival" to celebrate the presence of these critters in their area.

Town: Exeter, Ontario
Total land area: no data
Total human population (as of 2000): 4500
Total claimed squirrel population: no official count

The craze for the white squirrels has also reach in the border between the United States and Canada. The town has an official white squirrel mascot whose name was chosen through a town-wide competition in 1986. The winning name for the mascot is "White wonder" and an official music video has been recorded with the mascot in it. They also celebrate a white squirrel festival.

Like the white squirrels in Brevard, the white squirrels in Exeter as not albinos too. Their squirrels have black eyes although they have snow-white coverings. People in Exeter also respect squirrels so much that a local legislation has been passed to fine anyone who upsets or annoys a white squirrel; so much more if these squirrels are harmed or killed. In cases when white squirrels are indeed killed because of calamities or because of road accidents, the local government is convicted to disposing of their remains as fast as possible to "protect" the locals and the visitors from the "sad" scenario. To do that, they preserve the remains of the squirrels in ice and send it to funeral homes where they are properly attended.

Now, you might think of all these attention that white squirrels are getting are already ridiculous to some extent, but these are truly happening. So, the next time that you see a white squirrel, consider yourself very lucky.

Weapons Used for Squirrel Hunting

2011-07-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

This article is more about the lethal means to get rid of squirrels, so if you are looking of something else, do not read any further. Here, you will be taught how to use weapons such as airguns, bow and arrow and firearms to hunt squirrels in non-restricted areas.

Abide by the Laws

Please do realize that squirrels are not considered as pests in some states and countries so you must make certain first that it is legal for you to hunt squirrels in the area of your choice. Be familiar with the local laws before you set off for the adventure. Some people make good money for selling squirrel meat and squirrel tails, if you are one of them then you are surely up for a lot of dead squirrels. You will not get away from the law for doing that in a place where squirrel hunting is restricted.

Nevertheless, most states that allow squirrel hunting consider squirrels as game animals so you are not really allowed to hunt without limitations. There will be lag limits and other hunting guidelines, be ready to follow these rules. However, you can declare the squirrel as nuisance and you will be legally allowed to hunt it down even if it is not hunting season. You just have to drive it away from the city limits before you can shoot it since it is highly illegal to discharge a firearm with the city.

Choosing Your Weapon

Your weapon is very important in the success of your hunting adventure. Choose the weapon that you are most comfortable with. Here are some examples:

1. Air Rifle

This is the best weapon to use if you are a beginner. Of course, you need to figure out how to use the air rifle first before set out for the hunt. An air rifle is inexpensive too but it requires good accuracy, thus an air rifle handling training is really important. A .177 daisy pellet is available at Wal-Mart for only $50 each, although some air rifles can cost more than that depending on the brand and the quality.

If it is your first time to buy an air rifle, I suggest that you go for the cheaper one and experiment using that. If you feel that you are already good enough and that a cheap air rifle no longer suits your skills, then buy a new and more expensive one. In your experiments, you will see that pellet placement plays a very significant role in the accuracy of the shots that you make. You will also find out about the disadvantages of an air rifle. Examples of such disadvantages are:

a. It requires impressive shooting skills for it to work well

b. The rifle only has a 25-yard effective range.

The first disadvantage is actually a very big deal. If you are not precise with your shots, you might just wound a squirrel and not kill it with the shot. Any wounded squirrel can still scurry away from you by climbing up trees and hiding behind branches.

2. .22 Calibre Gun

Most squirrel hunters use this firearm in squirrel hunting primarily because of its small size. The size of the bullet that it fires gives a clean shot, something which is important to hunters who hunt squirrels for their meat. It can also be used for long range shooting, unlike the other weapons used in squirrel hunting like the air rifle, the shotgun and the arrow.

The best thing about this firearm is that it is not just designed to make a single shot, giving the hunter a fast chance to make another shot in the event that the first one did fail. On average, hunters who use the .22 calibre get the most kill compared to the other hunters who use other weapons. Nevertheless, like all weapons, the .22 calibre is only as good as the shooter who holds it. Thus, training is still very important if you really want to maximize the capabilities of this firearm. You see, an average squirrel has the size of an 8 oz. soda bottle and your .22 calibre can only hit the target with a .22 inch bullet, so accuracy is really a big deal.

Anyway, to most people that's exactly the reason why they hunt for squirrels, to practice their shooting skills through a "sport" that involves actual "killings". More experienced hunters don't even shoot the squirrel; they shoot branches that will fall directly on top of the squirrel making the squirrel unconscious. That way, they are able to preserve the squirrels skin and meat without any damages from the gun shot.

3. Shotgun

The shotgun is ideal for medium-range shooting. This weapon can release a bullet that measures about a fourth of an inch in diameter or less. The maximum effective shooting range of a shotgun is about 30 yards and because of the size of its bullet, it is almost impossible to miss a squirrel when you are using this gun. This weapon is so effective in knocking down squirrels that even though the shooter will not be able to make a perfect shot, a simple wound coming from a shotgun would still be enough to render the squirrel weak that it can fall off the tree and drop on the ground for an easy pick up.

Most hunters use gauge 7.5, this gauge is enough to kill the squirrel but not to the extent of ruining its meat. You might be interested to know that the shot gun kills the squirrel not because of the pellet or bullet penetration; rather, it is the impact of the pellets that hit the squirrel. The penetration power of the shotgun is only about a few millimetres and is usually stopped just in time when it has penetrated the skin. Thus, the meat of the squirrel is entirely safe. This shot also qualifies as the kindest shot that a hunter can make mainly because it will not prolong the suffering of the squirrel because it results to an instant death.

However, the downside of this weapon is that it is actually harmless outside its effective shooting range, which is only 40 yards. The shells for this weapon are also very expensive and big. Furthermore, the recoil of the gun is too strong that hunters with smaller body built may not be able to induce it long. The shots are also set off with a loud sound that may be enough to warn the other squirrels in the area to move away from you.

The Antelope Squirrel

2011-07-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

There are many species of squirrels that live among us and each one of them have particular uniqueness that distinguishes them from among the others. It is important that we get to know and understand these species and know their differences to enhance our environmental and biological appreciation of their species. This add-on to our knowledge will not only broaden our perspectives on the biodiversity of life, but will also awaken our sense of awareness and concern to our degrading environmental conditions. Hopefully, the accessing of additional information will foster wisdom and vigilance among us to be more proactive in the fight against planetary destruction; to curtail the culture of apathy and to actively promote the salvation of our planet.

One way to do about introducing new information is to learn the biological background of one specific species. The next step would be to understand the species while we learn more from them. Then we continue on learning more about different species as well and become more appreciative to them. We have to be very careful and concerned not to let the information we have read pass through us like it was just a mere transient thing. We have to make it a point that this crucial and relevant information will be absorbed not only in our minds but also in our hearts. This way we will truly cultivate a sense of empathy to our environment through caring those species we have learned much from.

In this article, we will talk about a specific species of squirrels and its biological backdrop. These types of squirrel are quite common but generally dwindling in numbers as the human intervention and the destruction of natural habitats continue on. If we get to understand them, then we may be able to help on working the ways on how to preserve them, even in our own little ways once we see them at certain situations or occurrences. This species of squirrels are called Antelope-squirrel. Learn more from them and make it a point to understand their nature and eventually truly care for them in the long shot. Also, attempt to spread out your understanding on them after reading this article so that more and more people will become awakened from their indifference. Eventually, you will no longer stand alone in your fight for the concern of the creature species in this world.

Background Study

Antelope squirrel is the common name for the type of small rodents that are naturally found in the western parts of North America. The other name for an Antelope squirrel is antelope ground squirrel as they are actually classified as ground squirrels since they dwell mostly in lands and they are rarely found in arboreal territories. The antelope squirrels are perhaps more commonly found in really dry areas, such as dry-lands and deserts, somewhere along the northwestern parts of North America, extending to California to as far as North Mexico. They can also be found as far as the northern parts of Texas. Since their natural habitats generally have vegetations, they would spend most of their time in the ground searching for food, digging burrows to stay.

Contrary to where it got its name "Antelope", which happens to be relatively large species of animals, antelope-squirrels are small squirrels and they are actually smaller than the common grey squirrels we found in frequenting public urban places, such as parks and residential backyards. The size of an antelope squirrel would only range from 14-17 centimetres which should be around 5.5-7 inches in total length. They also have relatively shorter tails which ranges from only around 6-10 cm or 2-4 inches. They are also relatively light. They weigh somewhere around 142grams only. The bodies of the antelope squirrel can be distinguished by its fur which is usually coarse, light brown in color, with a hue of red or accents of grey. A distinguishable narrow white stripe can also be distinctively seen from their shoulders to their ramps. Their bellies and the underside of their tails are also colored white. Humans often mistake antelope squirrels as chipmunks because of their behavior to scamper around when searching for food. Chipmunks also scamper a lot.

Antelope squirrels' diet is mainly based on the general normal die of any squirrels in the world which is on nuts, seeds, roots, some plant materials and sometimes small insects. However, antelope squirrels are also known to scavenge for animal corpses. Antelope squirrels also have cheek pouches. They use them to carry their found food back to their burrow dwellings. Antelope squirrels are also not nocturnal animals. They prefer to be more active at day time where the sunlight would aid them in their search for food.

Antelope squirrels are actually quite nomadic. They may create their own dwelling by digging burrows into the ground; however they don't usually stay in just one burrow. They transfer from one burrow to another from time to time, carrying their young along with them. Antelope squirrels also have longer mating periods than any other squirrels. Their mating period would last as long as late winter and would even extend as long as late spring. The gestation period for female antelope squirrels is estimated to be sometime around 30 to 35 days and gives birth to a litter of five to fourteen young antelope squirrels. Sadly, most of the time, a half or three quarters of the conceived young will not survive the initial year. However, for those who will survive, they could live for as long as five years. Antelope squirrels are rendered inactive during winter but they do not hibernate.

However, these beings are actually considered pests to certain locations since they do eat agricultural crops and burrow holes in the ground which could cause the soil to erode or leak the apparent irrigation network systems, losing the nutrition due for the vegetation. The influx of urbanization and other land development projects in light of commercialization has dramatically reduced antelope squirrels in numbers in certain areas of America. California is almost running out of antelope squirrels at present because of their unprecedented commercial developments.

More Squirrel Control Methods: Using Traps

2011-07-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the most conventional method (perhaps even the most ancient) to deal with pests is the use of traps. Traps have been found to be truly effective since time immemorial that's why most people use them even up to until now. However, the technology of trap has continuously evolved throughout time as well and has become more efficient and effective in its present forms of innovation. Traps are more automated and less mechanical nowadays that you need not to go through the painstaking process of setting them up anymore. All you have to do is place them in the right or appropriate locations and leave them there to do the rest of the job. Human factor is almost no longer considerable in the applications of traps usage as more sophisticated mechanisms and robotics have already replaced human functionality. They have been found to be more efficient and less erroneous in terms of quality output; in short, they get the job done. However, there are still traps that remain to be manual or human operated and a lot of people are still using them. It doesn't mean that they are not effective though. In fact, they may prove to be the most effective tools of the trade still if used properly and they would definitely work much better than any automated traps of the present. Human factor remains to be sublime in terms of ascertaining the effectiveness of a mechanical device such as traps and making sure they deliver the desired output.

It is therefore implied that there is a certain process on which a manual trap would become truly effective and it needs time and effort for it to be properly executed. Apart from the time and effort factor, of course the human factor should be underscored; a part where you play. You are the crucial determinant whether the trap will truly become effective or not.

On Ensnaring Squirrels

Squirrels may not be the most prevailing pests in residential household and are also not the most destructive, however, they still pose certain threats to the house as well as to its members. With that said, there is still the need to properly get rid of them such that they will not cause any inconvenience to you and the other members of your household. In order to do that, you would have to employ pest control methods that are effective and efficient to ensure that you wouldn't have to go through anymore with the hassles of dealing with pest damages in the long run.

Squirrels are pretty agile animals and they move a lot making them a bit more difficult to deal with. You may use poisons or any chemical based pest control toxins to deal with them but in return of the efficiency and effectiveness it provides, they also serve side-effects on a dish, endangering your health and the other's wellbeing as well. Using chemicals will only be okay if there's sufficient assistance from an experienced individual on pest extermination or professionals. The latter would entail considerable amount of expenses and that wouldn't be practical anymore. You have to find other means to deal with the pests without having to endanger anybody or going the extra mile in your expenses. There are things that come cheap.

That's why, we will be using traps in this article to capture and rid of the squirrel problems inside the house. Tips on using traps as squirrel control will be elaborated in the following discussions and you must pay close attention to the reminders that will be told in this article as well.

Using Traps

Using traps isn't all free. Sometimes you don't get to have the liberty to use certain traps in certain states as there specific places that implement particular ordinances that prohibits the use of certain traps. This is the first important reminder. Make sure you conform with people in authority about your usage of traps. If you don't and then you found out later that you're using a prohibited trap, squirrels won't be the only ones who will be in the cage for some time. A little phone call will truly save you a lot of trouble.

Another consideration when using traps is the gestation periods of the female squirrels. With that you would also have to take into consideration the season of the year as the gestation of females is seasonal. A female squirrel would normally give birth to a litter of 3-4 baby squirrels every early spring or sometimes in the fall as well. If you trap and relocate the mother squirrels, it would separate her from her young. The young squirrels will then be left to die as they can't live their dwellings without their mother. If you leave these young squirrels to die, not only have you committed a heartless act, you also risk the possibility of stinking your house with the dead squirrels' stench. You have to think thoroughly first before you execute the trapping right away.

When purchasing traps, you have to make sure that the traps you buy are suitable to the type of squirrels that are infesting your house. You can't buy a mini-sized trap when you're squirrels are the size of a cow, that would be ludicrous. In order to avoid the problems of wrong purchasing, you have to do some investigative works first. Make sure you find out first what types of squirrels are infesting your house, and the range of their sizes. This is important to consider in order to appropriate the type of traps you will purchase.

Often traps come with instructions and therefore you must read them first before using the trap right away. Hazards would be just around the corner waiting for your undoing and they will often deliver the harshest accidents ever. Read and understand the instructions carefully so that you won't have to worry anymore about impending accidents to carelessness.

When entrapping squirrels, the process would usually entail the use of baits. Make sure though that the baits you will be using aren't just any leftovers in the tables. Know the squirrels' diet first and use their favorite dishes to invite them over the traps. Usually, peanut butter would do the trick.

Squirrels in the City

2011-07-18T04:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to their extremely cute features and to Disney's Alvin and the Chipmunks, squirrels in city parks are abundantly fed by picnickers all over the United States. Have they looked like their other rodent cousins like rats and mice, there's no saying how awful their life could have been. This inexplicable affection that city people has for city squirrels, particularly the black ones, even pushed legislators in Marysville, Kansas to pass a bill that seeks to make the rodent their official mascot. The bill also gave the squirrels the complete immunity from all traffic rules and regulation, the right to exclusively pick black walnuts within the city boundaries during the first day of the harvest season and the freedom to visit and exploit all places owned by the city government. To seal their proclamation of being the Black Squirrel City, a fine of $25 is imposed to anyone who harms squirrels within the city. Residents also attach boxes to trees to serve as a house for squirrels because of the common notion that these rodents can bring good luck.

In other cities around the United States, squirrels may not be as "loved" as much as those that live in Marysville, but they are still getting enough food each day. Picnickers incessantly feed them with peanuts, junk food and every kind of food that they have with them. And, squirrels are not picky; they will nibble on anything that you give them, a characteristic that makes people love them more. Nevertheless, despite the almost absurd fondness of most people to these rodents, squirrels are still not entirely safe in the metropolis; just consider hungry street cats and speedy vehicles to get the picture. So, how do city squirrels live their lives? This article will attempt to understand.

Food Chases

Although squirrels in the city are fed by picnickers and homeowners with all sorts of foods, these rodents are still most fond of Acorn. When they spot an Acorn, they because extremely cunning in finding a way to conceal their find from the squirrels around them (since squirrels in the city live close to each other unlike when they are in the wild). The other squirrels who observed the discovery will also not hesitate to steal the Acorn from the lucky squirrel and the food chase will start.

To prevent other squirrels from stealing a precious Acorn, it will start a shell game. Surprisingly, squirrels know how to "pretend" that they are hiding their Acorn in a fake location. The game starts with the squirrel making digging motions on the ground coupled with motions that seem to depict the jamming of several Acorns into the hole. The squirrel when smoothens the grass on top of the supposed hiding place to complete the drama. Immediately after that, the squirrel will run off with the Acorn still inside its mouth and find a real hiding place where it is almost certain that no other squirrels will find the treasure in its mouth.

What's funnier about this behaviour is that most of the time, it is not the same squirrel that digs up the hidden Acorn treasure comes winter time. The fact is that squirrels do not retrieve whatever they have buried by memory; instead, they find them with their nose. Now, squirrels will just come sniffing every inch of ground where they are most likely to hide food.

Outsmarting Control Measures

Although they are generally loved by city people, there are some citizens who really do not like having squirrels in their yard because of the following reasons:

1. They mess up with expensive flowers grown in rare city gardens.
2. They dig up landscaped lawns which are really costly in the city.
3. Squirrels have the tendency to nibble on the wooden materials in the house; again, repairs can be costly too.
4. They eat the seeds inside bird feeders which are meant to invite birds into city backyards which is extremely rare.

Of course, the three reasons given above are only examples as homeowners may have their own reasons in mind. But, whatever their reasons are, these homeowners are one and the same when it comes to squirrel control. They use devices to keep the squirrels away, most especially from the bird feeders. But, squirrels that live in the city are smart and by experience, they have learned how to outsmart these devices. By trial and error, squirrels are able to identify the weakness of the device and find a way to get through it.

Food Smart

Squirrels are also smart enough to sort out shelled Hazelnuts from those which are not. Squirrels collect unshelled Hazelnuts for immediate consumption while they gather and hide Hazelnuts with shell for future use. Moreover, squirrels have an impressive skill in identifying good and bad Acorns. Acorns which look perfectly normal through a human's eye may not be ideal for long-term storage and squirrels know how to identify those types of Acorns.

They consume these types of Acorn to sustain them for the day and they keep those that can last long so that they can dig them up when food becomes scarce. If the squirrels do not find Acorns that can be kept for a long a time, it will "process" those available Acorns. By scraping out the embryo of the seed, they are able to make the seed last longer than its normal storing period.

Squirrel Lovers

You are very wrong to ever think that the only ones who care about squirrels are the scientists who study them. It has been made clear in this article that lots of people do. In fact, if you will Google "Squirrel", the top search results would be websites that are solely dedicated to protecting squirrels, knowing more about squirrels and all the other things about squirrels. There are so many Squirrel-related clubs too that hundreds of thousands of members across the world. Examples of such clubs are the very famous The Squirrel Lover's Club and the different Squirrel Clubs based in various universities in the United States.

The Promiscuous Female Red Squirrel

2011-07-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

So far, the red squirrels rank as the number one most promiscuous member of the kingdom Animalia. Researches reveal that these small creatures can mate up to 14 different sexual partners in just a single day! Now, that might sound too much but red squirrels are really notorious for their sexual behaviours, especially the female ones. It is easy to see the obvious advantage of multiple sexual partners to male red squirrels, but it is quite too difficult to figure out for their female counterparts. For one reason, male red squirrels are inclined to spread their "genes" to as many female squirrels as possible, but to female squirrels, what benefits could they get? Whether they go multiple or not, they will still be capable of bearing the same number of litters. This big question actually pushed a lot of scientists to focus their studies on the female red squirrels to find the answer to this question.

A certain red squirrel project spearheaded by a non-government agency started to monitor about 7000 female squirrels during different seasons. They found out that regardless of the season, the female red squirrel will always be in heat. It cannot lower down the level of its "appetite" for sex and just like most males in the kingdom Animalia (like male humans), male red squirrels are nothing but very willing participants.

The old theory that tried to explain this rather odd female red squirrel behaviour is hinged on genetics. The theory stipulates that the female squirrels are genetically-driven (that means that the chemicals which their bodies normally produce drive them to want to have a lot of male sex partners) to copulate that much, thus the act becomes hormonal and unfortunately, for squirrels, their hormones for sex just don't reach a low point. Still, this theory has not been supported with actual valid data just yet. The red squirrel project is still out there trying to figure out why red squirrels are very sexually active. However, the most acceptable answer that we get nowadays is that these squirrels are just promiscuous and there's no need to explain why because they are simply the way they are.

Well, understanding red squirrels as simply promiscuous animals is kind of acceptable too. For one reason, the elephant seal also exhibits the same behaviour as well as Garter Snakes. According to scientists, the male elephant seal can impregnate about 50 female elephant seals per breeding season; talk about male scarcity. The Garter snakes are not as "manly" as the male elephant seal but just like some humans, these snakes participate in group sex or orgies. Nevertheless, as far as female promiscuity is concern, the red squirrels still top the list.

Because of their promiscuous behaviour, female red squirrels are often infected with sexually transmitted diseases. The problem is, male red squirrels do not really mind, so they too become infected of such diseases once they mate with the infected females. Sexually transmitted Diseases or STD account for hundreds of squirrel deaths each year. But, quite surprisingly, because of their sexual behaviour too, they are able to maintain their population into a safe level despite the mortality rates. The population can even raise high enough to cause serious pest problems in some orchards and gardens.

But, the question is, how are female squirrels able to get too many sexual partners? One possible constraint is their highly territorial nature. This means that if a family of squirrels is already in a specific area, other squirrels will not invade the area and would find another "territory" to own. If they are so picky about territories, how are female squirrels getting all the males that they want? Well, the first answer is: female red squirrels are not really picky; they mate even with their cousins and relatives. So, even without other male squirrels from other families, female red squirrels still get laid down. Second, if the cousins are not enough, female red squirrels excrete urine along their path to create a trail towards them. This method is called the "chase". Needless to say, male red squirrels are more than willing to participate in the chase. Whichever male red squirrel that catches up with the female red squirrels that left the trail will definitely get its reward.

We can actually say that squirrels as less evolved animals which are not capable of turning down a "suitor". This behaviour exposes the squirrels into two major threats:

1. Exposure to predators

Squirrels do not mate under mattresses, we all know that. Plus, they are also defenceless during mating and are totally focus to the act that they will not be able to notice an approaching predator. It is so easy for a predator to strike a mating pair and be almost certain to get the kill every time.

2. Spread of sexually transmitted diseases or STD

This has been touched earlier in this article. Because of their sexual behaviour, squirrels are exposing themselves to the risks brought by having STDs and unfortunately, the potential of them catching these diseases is quite high.

Quite surprisingly, it was also found out that not all female red squirrels prefer to have multiple sex partners, although this does not mean that they don't get as much sexual intercourses as those that prefer to have a lot of males screwing them. This fact makes it harder for scientists to actually spell out the real normal behaviour of female red squirrels when it comes to mating.

For the reasons stated above, the study on squirrel mating behaviour becomes more and more intriguing as scientists uncover new secrets. While it may not be very clear now why female red squirrels do what they do, scientists are certain that they would eventually find out the real story behind their promiscuity in time. For now, all that we can do is to wait for the scientists to finish their job and just enjoy with the thought that some animals are more promiscuous than humans. Some people might actually find that comforting to hear.

Types of Squirrel Traps

2011-07-17T02:49:00.000-07:00

For the many people who consider squirrels as pests, any method that will enable them to get rid of these rodents is a blessing. To date, there are three ways to do that: by using squirrel repellent, by poisoning the squirrels and by trapping. Of these three methods, the use of traps is more popular because many people really find it effective, even the professional exterminators themselves. However, the kind of trap used affects its effectiveness in catching squirrels. Later on, we will discuss about the four major types of squirrel traps developed by squirrel exterminators and squirrel control enthusiasts. But let's touch base before we talk about these traps. Let's examine the other two methods used to get rid of squirrels.

Squirrel Repellents

The use of squirrel repellents is best used before a squirrel invades a house. If the homeowner wants to start right, he or she should squirrel-proof his or her house through the use of repellents. Experts also agree that when it comes to squirrel control, prevention is always better that extermination. However, once squirrels have already nested in a house, the use of repellents is futile.

Examples of old-fashioned squirrel repellents used by house wives even up to this day are naphthalene balls, bleach and ammonia. Some even go overboard and use human hair, which of course is not scientifically proven. However, all these things have one thing in common: they can produce unpleasant smell which squirrels might dislike. Unpleasant odor usually discourages squirrels and other animals to stay in a place. For example, mice flee once they get a whiff of rat smell or gazelles run away once they smell urine excreted by lions. Thus, just like how humans are warned by their sense of smell to go far away from rotting garbage, animals are also warned to get away from something which might harm them through their sense of smell. The only difference with the use of repelling scents is that the harm is not actually apparent, instead, these scents are used to confuse the squirrels into thinking that the place is not safe for them to stat.

However, the problem with this method is that the door from the repellent used cannot actually spread throughout the entire house (or else, you too will not find your house liveable anymore), thus, squirrels will just have the tendency to relocate to another area in the house. Say, maybe the squirrels used to nest in the attic and you place your repellents there, they might just go to the basement or the ceiling. This proves why squirrel repellents are best used before squirrels have nested in your house.

Apart from scent repellents, electronic repellents can also be used. Examples of electronic repellents are devices that emit ultrasonic high pitch sounds. Regular radios can also be used for this purpose. However, the FTC has warned people from using such repellents because they found it ineffective in performing its supposed function.

Squirrel Poison

If you have been a victim of a squirrel attack in your house or in your garden, you might be surprised to know that no squirrel poison has been registered yet. That means that no poison can be legally used against squirrels. I don't know what the legal implication of this is, but I am pretty sure that this means that the governments of the different states around the world do not really encourage killing squirrels. The only known "allowed" way to kill squirrels is through the squirrel hunting events in some parts of Europe.

If we would just consider poisoning as a method per se, of course squirrel poisoning is effective in killing squirrels. However, since squirrels are highly territorial animals, killing the squirrels that invade your house or your garden will only "tell" the other squirrels out there that the "territory" is no longer "taken" and so they will take-over. The result is a never-ending process of squirrel-killing.

Moreover, killing animals is also a very controversial issue. Many people would indict you for hurting animals, lest killing them. This, killing is simply an ineffective and inhumane way to get rid of squirrels. Dead squirrels can also emit a very strong horrible door which is really awful to smell. This usually happens when you kill a female squirrel that is currently nursing squirrel litters. Without anyone to attend to them, the litters are left to die.

Now, we are ready to talk about squirrel traps. The four types of traps are: Body Grip Traps, Single Animal Live Cage Traps, Repeating Live Cage Traps and One-way Exclusion Door Traps.

1. Body Grip Traps

Although traps are supposed to be humane, this specific trap is lethal and is seldom used by squirrel control professionals. It is more like a rat trap, only bigger. Like rat traps, Body grip Traps snap through springs. These traps are usually set over holes made by squirrels through the attic or the basement. Since squirrels get in and out the hole every now and a while, squirrels will definitely get caught into these traps and end up dead. We are all encouraged to find other trap alternatives.

2. Single Animal Live Cage Traps

This is the most commonly used trap both by professionals and do-it-yourself enthusiasts. Cage traps are nothing but metal cages that are left open with food bait inside. Squirrels that are lured to enter the cage will be trapped by closing the door behind them. The doors either close through a trigger or through manual closing. These traps are widely available in pest control stores around the United States. Normal size is 16 by 5 by 5 inches.

3. Repeating Live Cage Traps

This trap is more expensive because it can hole many squirrels, maybe up to six squirrels depending on the size of the cage. It can catch as many squirrels because its entrance door can repeatedly open into the cage but its exit cage do not open.

4. One-way Exclusion Door Traps

The best squirrel trap, as per my personal opinion. It is just like the repeated cage trap but it only has one door. The door can be pushed from the outside, allowing squirrels to enter it. The same door can't be pushed from the inside of the cage so the squirrels are trapped inside.

Squirrel Control F.A.Q.

2011-07-17T02:35:00.000-07:00

Squirrels are not considered as pests in most places around the world unlike their cousins (mice and rats), so it is actually safe to assume that majority of the people around the world do not really know so much about squirrels, much more squirrel control. Even in places where these animals are causing problems like garden damages, lawn digging and bark stripping, many people are still not familiar to the ways which can be used to control them. This article will tackle about the frequently asked questions about squirrel control.

Q: How do we make sure that we only target the right animal, i.e. squirrels?

A: Catching non-target animals is a common problem to amateurs. Because of the lack of experience, amateurs are inclined to set their traps in places where other animals like their pet dogs or cats can also get themselves trapped into them. But, if it is of any consolation, squirrels are highly territorial animals so they are most likely to stay in one place and move around the same path as they come in and out of the house. So, you can simply place your trap near the point of entry of the squirrels. This place is usually above ground, so it is quite impossible for your dog to get there. Your cat may have the ability to climb up into the attic but there is nothing else that you can do about it except to keep a close look at your cat.

Q: What happens if the traps do not catch the squirrels?

A: It is interesting to know that this question is often made by those who have not really tried using traps at all, because it he or she has indeed tried using squirrel traps, it is easy to know that the trap actually works if it is properly placed somewhere where the squirrels pass by. Moreover, if the right trap is used and if the trap has no defects whatsoever, it will definitely catch squirrels. As a reminder, the squirrel trap has to be bolted into place so that it does not fall or wobble. Make sure too that the opening of the trap is placed properly.

Q: What are the types of effective baits?

A: It might give you relief to know that baits are not really that much of a big factor when it comes to squirrel control. Squirrels fall for almost all kinds of baits, they are gluttons and they are very inquisitive. Thus, it is not difficult to lure them into the trap by simply using different kinds of seeds and nuts. But if you want to be picky, you can use oranges because squirrels like juicy fruits. You can also use peanut butter and whole peanuts. You should put the baits close the entry and exit holes of the trap.

Q: Are there accidents associated to squirrel traps?

A: Again, since squirrel traps are usually placed above ground, accidents are not really much of a problem. However, the installation of the trap is associated to a couple of ladder and roof concerns. Inexperience individuals usually overlook the basic safety measures required for all above ground installations. If you are to install the trap yourself, make sure that you are observing safety measures. If you are not an experience above-ground handy-man, ask for the assistance of someone else to avoid accidents.

Q: Would I be accountable to the law if I trap squirrels?

A: The answer is both a Yes and a No. In most states, you can legally trap squirrels but there are certain states that make the trapping illegal. In places where trapping is legal, then you are also obliged to kill and properly dispose an injured squirrel. Of course, you can nurse the squirrel and set it out in the wild if you prefer, but if you do not have any plans of saving the squirrel and if the squirrel got an injury from the trap that is enough to kill it in the long run, you are obliged to end the suffering of the squirrel right then on. Moreover, some states do not allow you to catch a squirrel and release it out in the wild, especially in places where they do not naturally live. Check the regulations on squirrel control in your locality before you proceed or better yet, consult a professional before you make a move.

Q: How can I control squirrels on my own without breaking any law?

A: The rule is simple, be kind to these animals. If the squirrel in your attic is nursing some litters, it is really not a good idea to trap the mother as this can cause the death of the babies that depend on the mother for food and nourishment. If these little squirrels die, you need to bear with the foul door that their carcasses with produce, thus, if you want to avoid this from happening, might as well follow my tip. Wait for the baby squirrels to grow old enough to get out of the nest on their own. You can wait for six weeks or for the time when you start hearing them running around in your attic. Next, choose the kind of trap that you are going to use. If you are dealing with an entire family of squirrels, use a repeater trap so that you can catch them all using a single trap. You should set these traps during August and February because squirrels are mostly active during these months to prepare for the winter season. Be careful when you install your traps in your attic; make sure that you only step on the wooden supporting beams in your attic to avoid any accidents. Also, wear a mask to avoid inhaling dust in the attic (I suppose that normal attics are really very dusty). Wear thick gloves too, just in case you encounter a squirrel and they start biting. If ever you get to encounter a squirrel, carry a small sack or pillow case with you so that you can catch them on the spot.

Monkeypox: Dangers of Squirrels

2011-07-15T01:11:00.000-07:00

You now already know that squirrels can't be immediately trusted when it comes to domestication. The fact that they may potentially carry many forms of disease makes them an impending threat to anyone who takes them. It should be made a point to go to a veterinarian and have the squirrel checked first before domesticating it. Better yet, do not domesticate a squirrel at all to avoid any slim chances or possibilities of contracting the disease. That way you don't have to spend anything anymore for the vet checkups, lest the hospitalization fees you would have to come by if ever the diseases from the squirrel are contracted.

The diseases the squirrels carry could range from mild to fatal. Some diseases may not be fatal, however could prove to be very inconvenient to a person who acquires them. And of course, there are those few that can truly be fearsome as they can really deliver a fatal blow. However, the worst disease that squirrels carry still has to be discussed. This disease doesn't only have the capacity to hurt on person but an entire population even. At some point this disease had an epidemic outbreak and has included many human casualties along the way. What's even worse is that disease is still out in the open and scientists still haven't found the ultimate cure for it yet. Therefore, if ever you contract this disease, you can never be certain if ever you will be cured or not. There is a 50-50 chance that you will get saved or suffer the worst consequence of the disease.

This disease is the Monkeypox disease. This disease has always been known to be transmitted coming from animals, particularly small critter animals, like prairie dogs, chipmunks, rats and squirrels. The upside though is that this disease is only often found to originate in the wild and they would most likely come from wild squirrels. However, you can never be too certain that these wild squirrels will never find their way inside your house. Therefore, you are still at risk of contracting the disease. What's even more intimidating is that, unlike rabies wherein the infected squirrel would manifest symptoms of abnormality in behavior, in monkeypox, you can never detect anything. Therefore, an average normal looking squirrel may potentially be a carrier of the deadly disease and you will never be aware of it. It's truly better to prepare yourself and prevent this kind of things from happening at all.

In this article, in order to provide emphasis on the dangers of having wild squirrels around the house, the pathology of the monkey-pox disease will be discussed. This is to make sure that the readers will fully grasp and comprehend the extent of the dangers that squirrels pose to our household and as well as to its members (including yourself). To make you understand that there's more than just property damages to worry about, as these little critters packs more than just that for a punch; that they could really hurt you in times you expect least. Hopefully, this will help prepare your mindset on squirrels and how to handle them appropriately such that you will not risk yourself of its potential dangers.

The Monkeypox Virus

Actually, monkeypox is a disease caused by the sinister monkeypox virus. This virus belongs to the family of orthopoxvirus virus in which the cowpox and smallpox viruses also come from. Monkeypox is classified as zoonotic disease; a kind of disease that originally comes from animals but are highly transmittable to humans. This makes it all the more very dangerous as it can be easily acquired just by coming in contact with an infected animal.

The Symptoms

The monkeypox disease is very much alike of that the smallpox disease, including symptoms' manifestations. However, the former is practically milder than the smallpox disease which can cause severe suffering to the affected individual immediately. Monkeypox takes a slower process of making an individual suffer and it's not as painful as it would be when one has smallpox. The symptoms of a monkeypox disease would only manifest after 12 days from the point of contraction. The symptoms would usually be severe back pains, frequent muscle contractions and pains, headache, fatigue, and swollen limp nodes (indications of the rapid release of antibodies in the body to combat such considerable disease), accompanied with high fever. After the fever develops, rashes in the skin will soon follow after and develop in the affected individual. Later on, the rashes will turn into boils or fluid-filled bumps. The rash would commence initially in the face. It would start small and simple but after three or more days, the rashes would spread out the entire face. The bumps the formerly developed will become crusty. Then it will become a scab and then fall off. The symptoms would usually manifest within three to four weeks. That's quite a long time for an individual's suffering already.

Communication

Obviously, the only way you are going to get affected with the monkeypox virus is when you get bitten by a squirrel or any rodent type animals that happens to be affected. If the person gets bitten, it will be no longer than the twelve days that the person who got bitten will develop the symptoms mentioned above. Another way to communicate the disease is through blood transfusion, the use of needles that were already used by infected individuals, exchange in bodily fluids or touching the rash of an infected animal. Sometimes, the transmission of the disease can be through just merely facing with someone who has been infected. This is because it can be communicated through the simple processes of respiration. Facing someone who has been infected with the virus may pose potential threat to those that interact with him or her. Even the objects that are used by infected individuals are still dangerous if they find their way on innocent hands. Beddings and or clothing are amongst the most expedient ways of communicating the disease to each other.

Flying Squirrels as Pets

2011-07-15T01:04:00.000-07:00

While most people believe that squirrels are no good as pets some people whoever still believes that they're the cutest thing ever. In fact, squirrels are cute, no doubt about it, except of course of those few people who think that they are the scariest things ever, there's just absolutely nothing we can do about it. But let's just focus on the bright side first and talk about the plausibility of having a squirrel as pet.

Squirrels are actually good animals to have as pets. They are plush and cuddly; they almost resemble your most favorite stuff toy only that they do actually live. And what could be better than having a real live thing to have around to hold and cuddle. What's even more inviting when you choose to have squirrels as pet in your house is that they are absolutely portable. Since their size isn't something so considerable at all, you could just simply place your pet squirrel in your pocket and have it around anywhere you go. Another advantage with having squirrels as pet is that fact they are very docile and they like to hang around their owners once they have already been introduced to the feeling of domestication. It would even make you love them more once you get around with the fact that they don't litter a lot. Unlike the usual pets like dogs and cats that mess up a lot of things inside the house, the even poop a lot which could really make your house stink so much that it would really make you feel like you just want to leave right away and stay away as far as you could from the stink.

Enough said about the advantages of having squirrels around, let's talk about which squirrels are the most ideal to have around the house. There are about 250 species of squirrels in the world and you can just pick any of them to have around. However, there are those that would remarkably catch your attention and interest and therefore, they should be the one you should go for whenever you feel like having squirrels to have around. Also, there are certain species of squirrels that are apparently not conducive for domestication as they posses certain wild traits that could make them quite annoying to domesticate. These types of squirrels should be avoided and left along in the wild. Another danger to these wild types of squirrels is the possibility that they may possess dangerous communicable diseases that will not only put you at harm but also everyone inside your household.

One of the best types of squirrels to have around the house as pets are the flying squirrels. Flying squirrels are those type of squirrels that have skin membranes attached from the wrist of their fore limbs to their hind legs. They use these skin membranes to glide through trees in cases when they would have to transfer from one location to another. From that behavior, we can say therefore that tree squirrels are tree type squirrels. But even if they are actually tree type squirrels, it doesn't necessarily mean they are unsusceptible for household domestication.

Here's a brief background on flying squirrels that you may use as reference and guide in your future decisions of purchasing one as pet.

Southern Flying Squirrels

The scientific name of a flying squirrel is Glaucomys volans and most of them are expected to live as long as 10-12 years in existence. They still belong to the family sciuridae, the same family as the other squirrels, chipmunks and prairie dogs belong. Their sizes would on range from around 8-10 inches from nose tip to tail tip and they could only practically weigh to about 2-4 ounces.

Flying squirrels are commonly distributed around the southern and eastern parts of United States. However there are certain instances that you can find them flying in the wilds of central parts of U.S. just that there are only very few of them around these places and seeing them would be quite rare. If you want one, you can just outright visit the mentioned places above. You also have to take into consideration the legality of acquiring these squirrels as pests as there are certain cases where some states in US prohibits the domestication of the squirrels and that they are better off left in the wild. There are states as well that would only allow domestication of the critter upon the issuance of a permit. Without that permit, you may never be able to own one at all. It is best that you research first and know whether you are allowed to keep on as pet or not. You may happen to live in a state where domesticating squirrels is not allowed, then you may have to relocate to some other place first where it's okay.

Flying squirrels have tendency to develop the docility towards humans, especially if they are already domesticated while they are still young. They would like to hang around with their owners climbing and playing and sleeping in the owner's pocket. They are quite timid and would often like to fondled or caressed every once in a while.

Flying squirrels are naturally nocturnal. This means they are normally active at night and sleep or rest at daytime. However, it doesn't necessarily mean as well that they can't learn to become active at day. Most domesticated flying squirrels learn to be active at day to play around with their owners and participate in any pet activities provided that they have bonding pouches or pockets where they could rest. Flying squirrels membrane serves as a gliding device for them to transfer from one location to another. The distance they could travel would reach as far as 150 feet but only in a downward position. If there isn't that much height to take into consideration, then they won't go far in each glide.

Flying squirrels are easy to feed as their main diet is based on nuts and seeds. Often they eat fruits and smaller insects all of which are not that difficult to find at all.

The "How's" in Squirrel Control (Part II)

2011-07-14T04:25:00.000-07:00

Three "How's" will be discussed in this article. These are:

1. How to clear the chimney or fireplace of squirrels?
2. How to make your bird feeder safe from squirrels?
3. How to deal with loose squirrels in the house?

If you haven't read the first part of this article, you can go and check my archive below. The first article was all about keeping squirrels out of the house and of the attic. As we all might have realized that squirrels have very strong front teeth which they use to nibble wood. This characteristic enables them to enter houses by widening narrow opening on the walls. They are also very good at climbing, so they can actually climb through tree branches and get into your house through the chimney. This article will help you deal with squirrels on your own without harming these animals. Let's start with the first issue:

Keeping Squirrels Out of the Chimney or Fireplace

Before we start talking about anything else, let me emphasize that smoking an animal out of the chimney will do you no good. Sure, you can kill the squirrel by doing so, but other squirrels will just come in and your problem is not solved. You smoke them out again, and then others will come after the others have died. So, you are involved in an endless massacre of poor animals. Remember that most of the time; the key to stopping squirrels from entering your house through your fireplace is by prevention. You might have heard of the cliché "prevention is better than cure", well, that is very true.

To prevent squirrels from using your chimney as an entry point, you need to install a chimney cap over your chimney. The chimney cap will also keep birds and other animals out. Now, if ever you start hearing a squirrel making a sound in your chimney, there is a very high possibility that the squirrel is already trapped, otherwise, it could have just run away and stop making all those noise. It is easy to imagine why squirrels can get themselves stuck in the chimney since the chimney walls are not easy to climb because of the soot. The best way to help the squirrel get out is to provide it with something to use to escape. You can use a fairly long wood or a thick rope to help it get out. Simply lower the wood or the rope (about a three-fourths of an inch in thickness is enough) down into your chimney. You need to take extra safety measures as you do this since you need to climb up your roof. Make sure that the rope reaches the floor of your fireplace. To make it easier for the squirrel, tie knots along the rope. The squirrel should start climbing almost immediately after you lower down the rope.

Now, if the squirrel has gone as far as reaching the bed of your fireplace, the better option is to catch it alive. You can kill it if you want, but what's the merit to killing a poor animal right? So, might as well make sure that the squirrel is safe even as you use the live trap. To lure them into the trap, simply spread peanut butter over the fireplace door surface. The peanut butter will make the squirrel come near the opening even though you open the fireplace. This will make it easier for you to catch the squirrel using the trap. After catching the squirrel, simply set it out of your house. Of course, you shall only do that after you have installed a chimney cap or else the problem will just recur.

Securing Bird Feeders

You have to understand that squirrels do not normally feed on bird food. But, once you let them get to know what the taste of bird food is, they will get accustomed to it and hunt down every bird feeder that you install around your house. So, as a word of advice, keep them away from your bird feeders in the first place! Well, if this is the first time that you have heard of this advice, then probably you are already having problems with squirrels. You might be relieved to know that there are already bird feeders that have baffles installed into it. The baffle takes that shape of a stovepipe and it serves as the pole of the bird feeder. A baffle is a better pole because squirrels cannot climb up it. It is only 15 inches in diameter and is usually set about four feet above the ground. Moreover, the feeder should also be placed away from trees, buildings or other structures which the squirrel can use as an access point towards the feeder. It is also helpful if you stock your bird feeder with seeds that squirrels do not really find appetizing. Examples of such seeds are safflowers which are very delectable to many different birds like the grosbeaks, thistle, cardinals and goldfinches.

Many people have actually tried mixing hot pepper mix into the bird seeds in the bird feeder box. The rationale behind this is that squirrels detest hot pepper so they will not want climbing up a bird feeder just to get detestable seeds. However, you should also realize birds do not like hot pepper too and by mixing hot pepper with your seeds, you are also discouraging birds from coming into your place. Take into account too that squirrels are irritated to hot pepper, feeding them with such will hurt them.

Dealing with Loose Squirrels

There are many instances when squirrels enter houses by mere accident. When this is the case, the squirrel will be frantic to find a way out of the house. As a result, the squirrel is run to and fro your house causing too much noise. To help them get out, simply cut on your wall. The opening should be enough to permit the squirrel to get out. You can also place chairs and tables near open windows to let the squirrels climb up and get out through the window.

The "How's" in Squirrel Control

2011-07-14T03:56:00.000-07:00

The cartoons are actually depicting squirrels right. Squirrels are highly trainable animals. They are intelligent and are very inquisitive of their surroundings. However, the same characteristics that make squirrels unique also make them one of the most common trouble makers in home gardens and commercialized orchards. Because of their nature, these animals can actually find ways to penetrate gardens and feed on flowers, seeds, nuts and bulbs grown there. It is important for gardeners to keep a close watch over their garden, or else, these cute and furry creatures will devour their most precious garden produce.

Squirrels normally live in trees but with the continuous practice of humans to cut down trees even in the wild, squirrels are fast adapting into a new way of living. These animals have actually learned how to utilize living spaces that resemble a tree. As a result of this learned behaviour, squirrels are able to live under houses, in attics and even in ceilings. This article will discuss about the many "how's" when it comes to squirrel control in the house.

1. How do we stop squirrels from entering our homes?

No matter how cute squirrels are, they are still rodents and we all know what they are capable of. Like all their cousins, squirrels are opportunistic; they would grab every opportunity they can have to forcibly enter a haven where they can get food. Thus, if there are existing openings around your house, there is a very huge possibility for squirrels to use that as an entry point. The opening may not be wide enough to permit squirrel entry but the squirrel is capable of gnawing around the opening to make it wider. This normally happens in the attic or in the ceiling where most of the time, the material used is wood.

The best way to avoid this scenario is to give your house a thorough inspection. By careful examination, you will be able to find holes and buy enough time to seal them before a squirrel finds out about it. You can choose to have the opening repaired but if this is a little bit too costly for you, you can simply "plug" the hole with paper towel or with old newspaper. If the squirrel is a bit incessant, you will notice that this "plug" will be pushed out. If this happens, then your best option is to invest either on the materials used to close the opening or on squirrel spray. The squirrel spray is usually made from a chemical concoction that is distasteful to squirrels. Spraying the immediate surrounding area of the opening will prevent squirrels from gnawing it. You also need to be mindful about the season. Squirrels usually invade homes during summer or during spring. Be sure to do your inspection before the start of these seasons.

2. How to make your attic squirrel-free?

Squirrels get into the attic by climbing trees having branches that stretch into the attic. To prevent squirrels from doing this, you need to make the tree difficult to climb. Simply wrap the trunk of the tree with a 3-foot wider metal sheet. Don't wrap starting from the ground as this can make your metal sheet corrode over time (moist soil, grass, etc.). About 4 feet about the ground is enough and you don't need to wrap the entire trunk, one 3-foot sheet is already enough.

However, if squirrels have already gained entry into your attic, you are left with no other option but to get them out. Remember that squirrels can give birth to two litters each year and they start giving birth in the beginning of spring. It might be difficult to hunt down the squirrel during this period so you have to wait for about six weeks. Only until then will the mother squirrel go on hunting trips. You will notice movement during this period and it will be easier for you to track them. The most humane way to keep them out is to simply install live door traps directly into the entry point that they are using. The trap will not harm the squirrel so you can actually set them out after they are caught. If you feel bad about the litters left by the mother, you can make a thorough search in your attic and take the litters outside for possible integration in the wild. But then again, chance of survival is relatively low.

You will know if you trap has already caught all the squirrels that go in and out your house once you notice that the squirrels are no longer making sounds in your attic. If this happens, you are ready to remove the trap door. However, make sure that you patch the hole with industry grade cloth or with wood, else the squirrels will only come back. To increase security, you should spray the surrounding area of the hole with squirrel repellent. These sprays can be bought in many pest control shops and gardening shops around the country. If you do not have access to these shops, you can also try spreading hot sauce directly into the surfaces around the hole. Squirrels detest hot sauce and this will prevent them from chewing into the wood around the hole.

Nevertheless, you should know that if you use the trap door during the winter, you are most likely also killing the squirrels. They will definitely die outside your house during these cold days. So, if you want to be kinder, try to exterminate them before winter comes. That way, they will still have time to look for another place to live when the temperature begins to fall.

Thus, the best way to keep squirrels out of your attic is to prevent them from getting-in in the first place. Make sure that you do periodic inspection around your house to find possible entry points the soonest that they appear. Trimming overhanging branches of huge trees and putting on a chimney cap will also help keep them out.

Squirrel Diseases

2011-07-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

You may think they are all cute and cuddly. You may think that they're too docile to become sinister. You may think they're absolutely harmless at all. You think wrong.

Squirrels may have one of the most docile and tame appearances among all the animal critters in the world, however you must not be too overconfident about them to assume that they will not hurt you at all in anyway. It's true though that they don't normally bite humans and that would only occur if ever they are in dire situations or absolutely threatened. However, if ever they do bite, you are also not in a safe position to assume that it's totally harmless. It is because that squirrels potentially carry many forms of diseases that once transmitted to humans, could potentially lead to fatality. Squirrels are known carrier of some of the most notorious zoonotic diseases in the world and a single bite could be all that it would take to make you suffer the most painful undertaking in the rest of your life.

This is also the primary reason why there is a certain need for control or repulsion once there are invasions of squirrels inside the house. There are reasons of preventing property damage and or just plainly keeping your house in place but the greater reason as to why you should keep squirrels away from your house is the possibility that they are vessels or communicators of certain diseases. And as much as possible you will do everything that you can to keep them away and preserve you and your family's healthy wellbeing. The idea of property damage when you talk about infesting squirrels is quite negligible as they don’t usually cause as much damage as their harsher rodent relatives do but they pose grave threat to everyone's health. Especially if the squirrels are originally from the wild and have found their way inside your house, they pose even greater threat to the people inside the house.

As of today there are many known antidotes to the sicknesses that squirrels carry. The only thing you have to make sure of is to deal with the infection right away before it gets worse and you will surely live a full life. However, like an old adage say, prevention is still always better than cure, it is still best if you can keep them away from your house as much as possible. Thankfully, there are also a lot of options to choose from to ensure that no squirrels will get anywhere near your house. You can just immediately pick one in your convenience and apply them right away. Some of the methods can even be manually done. All you ever have to need is to have a manual with the set of procedures on how to do it. And you don't even have to look that far for these manuals as the internet itself could provide you many manuals of varieties of solutions on how to deal with pest squirrels inside the house. Just be careful though you don't wound up reading the wrong and misleading ones or else, you will indeed suffer from the consequences of accessing false information.

In order to acquaint yourself more with the potential dangers that squirrel infestations could bring about to your household, let's get to know more about the diseases that they carry. In this article, the discussions will just going to be on identifying the diseases that they carry but also a brief description about each disease. This way, you will be informed of not only the possibility but also the eventual consequences you will suffer from once you disregard or condone the necessity of controlling the squirrels inside the house (if ever there are any).

Rabies

And you think only dogs carry rabies? Think again, because it can also be carried as small as mice, prairie dogs and squirrels. Squirrels are also known carry of the rabies virus. However, the cases of wild squirrels carrying rabies are quite rare (you should be relieved to know this part by now). Rabies' effect on human brains can lead to inflammation and could lead certain death if not treated with anti-rabies right away. What's even more difficult is unlike dogs which can be easily captured for observation; squirrels easily get away making them elusive for clinical observation in the case of rabies infection. When there is indeed an infection, instances will be that the squirrel will exhibit abnormal behaviors. If ever you found one, avoid that squirrel right away.

Squirrel Fibroma

Also known as squirrel pox, this disease is manifested through tumors on the squirrel's skin. This disease can quickly spread among animals and could also be communicated to humans. Though the effects of this disease may not be fatal, it still has to be avoided as it could cause severe inconvenience. The virus that causes this disease doesn't originate from squirrels. The primary carriers of the virus are mosquitoes. Mosquitoes communicate the disease to the squirrel through bites.

Rodent Plague

The rodent plague is a common disease to among all small scale sized animals which inevitably includes squirrels on the ranks. The infection is basically caused by bacteria called yersinia pestis and are usually transmitted through ticks and fleas. The rodent plague is a very serious disease that once communicated to a person the person will begin to develop inflamed lymph nodes and high fevers. If not treated immediately, infections may result to severe complications to the health which can be very life threatening.

Bone Diseases

This one however, is not communicable to humans. The bone disease that a squirrel may suffer could be a result to lack of exposure to vitamin D (a mineral normally found in sunlight). Without sufficient exposure to the source of the vitamin, the bones and other calcium built features of the squirrel's body will begin to deteriorate causing the weakening condition of the squirrel. Eventually, if the squirrel could no longer tolerate the severe weakening it would eventually give in and die.

Squirrels and Chipmunks

2011-07-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a common question to quite a number of people whether chipmunks and squirrels are the same considering their features are almost akin to one another. Actually, the idea of relating them to each other is quite true since both squirrels and chipmunks are all rodents. However, they belong to deferent genera and family and that is their primary difference. All the other features then would then somehow look the same with each other; facial structure and body structure. But their tails are significantly different to each other. There are other differences you may have to consider in order to identify them once you look at one over the other. In this article we will have a thorough discussion on how to distinguish a chipmunk from a squirrel and vice versa.

Chipmunks

The name chipmunk is actually a generic name for all the 25 rodent species found endemic in the continents of Europe, North America and Asia. Their primary physical features would comprise of reddish-brown fur, often having black and white stripes on their back that extends to their tails. Their tails are furry but not as buff as those of squirrels. Chipmunks have plump cheeks that reach to the back of their heads and sometimes to some species of chipmunks reaches to as far as their shoulders. Also, you can immediately distinguish a chipmunk from all the other ground squirrels because of the stripe features in their faces. Another chipmunk identity is that they create a shrill, chipping sound every time, thus the name "chipmunk".

A chipmunk's diet however is not so different of that a squirrel as they mainly feed as well on nuts, grains, fruits and some small insects. They are often found living in small burrows in the ground. These burrows serve as their hibernation den as well as storage area for food in case winter comes. Normally, chipmunks would stay inside their burrows for a long time until the winter is over, feeding or often just hibernating. However, they do get out during warm days within the winter to forage. Mating routines for chipmunks would take place sometime around March. A female gestates tops of 31 days and after that gestation period would have a litter with as much as 3-5 offspring. The offspring maturity would come only after 1-2 months and by then they can now already breed with the other chipmunks. Usually, though the breeding for the next generation of chipmunks would take place only in the following spring. The scientific classification of a chipmunk is that they belong to the family Sciuridae.

Are chipmunks also found in human homes?

Actually, like squirrels - chipmunks could potential find their way inside human homes in their search for food. Like squirrels, chipmunks would also a human house as some sort of a funny looking tree (as animals would find it hard to distinguish the difference at all). However, they are rarely often found in human dwellings because chipmunks fear humans as much as they fear the creatures that are larger than them. More than half the time, chipmunks consider creatures larger than them as predators and they would do anything that they can to keep themselves away from their perceived danger. Chipmunks are more afraid than squirrels in terms of courage to forage in unchartered territories. They often seclude themselves in their burrows for the rest of the time until their stored food has run out. That's the only time then that they will go out to search for more food to store every time winter will come. However, there are certain times that a chipmunk is found wandering in human homes become domesticated. Since chipmunks are very docile mammals, they are easily befriended.

On Ground Squirrels

Ground squirrels are the common nomenclature for any burrowing, terrestrial rodents that are native in North America. They are easily recognized by their facial features which are often plump. A common misconception among ground squirrels is that they are commonly mislabelled as gophers. That notion is absolutely false as ground squirrels do not pester farms and plants as gophers do which destroy crops and grains in the farm. Gophers are actually considered pests while ground squirrels are not. However, there are certain situations when ground squirrels are also sparingly regarded as pests, especially when they are found invading human territories, particular dwellings. Ground squirrels actually have an alternate name, called "spermophile" the Greek word for "seed lover". This alternate name is basically derived from the common diets which are grains and nuts. Often their diet can be inclusive of small insects and crackers (like their much more considered as pests), that's why there are certain instances when ground squirrels are also found in human homes.

Like their chipmunks relative, the ground squirrels also belong to the family Sciuridae. That's why chipmunks can also be considered as squirrels. The major difference between the two is their outright physical appearances which can easily be distinguished just by referring to the specific descriptions of their appearances mentioned above.

Domesticating Chipmunks or Squirrels

Actually, if you wish to domesticate any of the creatures mentioned above, you may do so. Both chipmunks and squirrels are very docile creatures and they can easily be controlled apart from the fact that they are plush and conducive for tactile interactions. Most people find having these creatures as pets since they are highly controllable creatures. You can conveniently place them in cages and they wouldn't have to go littering all over the house. You need not to worry anymore of picking up critter wastes everywhere at all since you can confine them all in one place.

When you do domesticate of the creatures mentioned above you have to make sure you have gone through the necessary legal and clinical ramifications in acquiring the pet. There are certain caveats you may not be able to see right away. For example, there are legal provisions when acquiring specific species of squirrels or chipmunks especially if they are classified to be almost endangered. Clinical procedures are also important to make sure that you will not be domesticating a carrier of disease.

A Close Look at Squirrels

2011-07-12T02:03:00.000-07:00

Among the many important task that one should uphold in a household is to make sure that there are no pests that get inside the house. It is a basic chore that any homeowner should make it a point to execute every once in a while, if possible every day. However, a lot of homeowners seem to neglect this part of their responsibilities inside the house. That's why more often than not, we hear a lot of complaints every now and then from homeowners about pest infesting their household; from creepy crawling insects and bugs to rodents. They are all just a few to mention from the most common pests that invade our homes. They have to be dealt with accordingly, of course with the use of credible methods for pest control. However, there are certain clauses once you decide to make use of pest control methods, i.e. the fact that you would have to execute the methods properly, be keen in your sense of criticality of which method control to be used, and the ultimate requisite of being observant and taking an intellectual perspective about the entire pest scenario that's taking place inside the house. These are all important factors that one has to consider before deciding on taking any actions to eradicate pests.

Inclusive of those factors that were mentioned earlier, is another crucial factor that has to be considered initially before taking any of those above. This is the consideration of gather knowledge about the pests. Before you can ever take them on, you have to make sure that you know enough, if possible, more than enough about them. It is imperative that you know how their mind works, how their routes go, and they forage for food. And all the other must be considered behaviors that pests do.

In this article, we are going to focus more on discussing about a particular pest that normally beset most homeowners in the state. We are going to talk about squirrels and how their mind works in times that they invade our homes. Squirrels may not be among the most destructive but they can be the most annoying of all pests that could possible infest inside the house. They like to run around the house every time and it just pisses you off seeing them do their stuff. If possible you would not want these little critters doing goose chases inside your house, along the corridors and corners of your home.

But before you are going to hunt them down and probably kill them, you have to understand first that not all of them are killable. There are certain species that are protected and should be returned to the wild instead of being hunt down and eliminated. These species that are protected are endangered species and are likely to go out of existence anytime soon. That's why there is a need for you to first understand about squirrels and be able to identify them so that you will know next time which to exterminate and which are those that must not be iced.

The Squirrels

Squirrel is actually a common name for any mammal rodent that has likings or belongs to the specific family of woodchucks, chipmunks and prairie dogs. There are two main classifications for squirrels: the tree dwelling squirrels and the ground squirrels. Both of these classifications can also be found in your household once they get lost in their way or have been foraging too far. The two classifications are inclusive of somewhere around 230-250 species and there are also those that are called flying squirrels which have around 43 species. Squirrels may differ in size depending on which type of species or family it belongs. The smallest type of squirrels are found in Africa and they are called pygmy squirrels which size could only range from 4-5 inches in length (from tip of the nose to the tip of the tail) and the largest species are the giant squirrels which could reach a size of 36 inches and they are commonly found in Asia. Peculiarly, squirrels are found in the rest of the world but in Australia. Australia doesn't have squirrels inhabiting their wild thus they wouldn't have to read about this article. They don't have to bother about how to control squirrels at all.

Most squirrels live in trees and barely in the ground. Ground squirrels are relatively few compared to the population of tree squirrels in the world. Squirrels diet is mainly based on tree vegetations, i.e. fruits, nuts, seeds, acorn and buds. However, there are times that they consume smaller insects, especially specific species of squirrels that are omnivorous (consumes both vegetation and meat). Squirrels have a common habit of storing seeds for rainy seasons; this habit at the same time helps the dispersion and distribution of trees as well as the other plants. In places where the climate is colder, ground squirrels normally hibernate the rest of the time until spring. However, tree squirrels don't. They continue to forage even during winter season that is why they are constantly on the move.

In the North American continent, the most commonly widely distributed species of squirrels are the red squirrels, which are also commonly found invading houses in Canada and US. They forage consistently turning homes into another invitational trees where they could look for resources. Red squirrels are dominant species of squirrels although, they are not that big in size, and they are also very quick and agile than among others. Other squirrels that are also commonly found in these areas are the eastern fox squirrels which are endemic in the eastern plains. These squirrels are park dwellers and they typically allow themselves to be seen by people. They are more docile which enables humans to touch them. The interaction however has its limitations and they could easily flee away once they sense a feeling threat from the human contact. These type of squirrels however are not normally found foraging inside the house, but there are still times when they could find their way inside.

Effective Conventional DIY Squirrel Control Methods

2011-07-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

You may not be aware but squirrels do more than just property damage to your homes. Squirrels can be a carrier to certain serious diseases, in the same way as their relative rodent families. If there is a squirrel infestation in your household you have to make it a point to really get rid of them right away without any further delay. The delay you will have once you take too much time before making any action could cost you dearly. Little did you know, that one of your family members in the house has already contracted the disease from the squirrels and could put his or her self in serious danger.

Contracting the disease coming from squirrels can be in many different ways. It could be that you will be able to contract the disease by ingesting leftover food that is already contaminated with squirrel saliva since many squirrels often find it better off foraging in leftover foods in the table. It could be through a bite from these creatures. A bite can take place once squirrels often feel cornered and threatened by human presence. Although, squirrels don't normally bite off humans when they are not threatened, it is still better to be careful. Take the necessary precautionary measures to fend off any possibilities of a squirrel bite.

But how do you exactly get rid of squirrels? There are many solutions actually on how to get rid of squirrels once and for all. There are many known methods and you can just readily pick one you find convenient for your sense of approach. There are methods that require chemical treatments (more often than not they are commercialized), there are also certain methods that are more manual and would require certain mechanical devices to ensnare them. There are also methods which are more automated and usually electronically operated. They are more convenient to use since they work with only a single click of the button. However, their efficiency could be compromised if they reach their depreciating point which often comes fast especially if the device is not of high quality. The downside to this approach is that the devices that are more effective and would take a longer time to depreciate are usually very expensive and they may not prove to be cost efficient at all. If they are operated with direct current, the battery life could easily and quickly be expended and if ever they are running on alternating current, they could consume a lot and may not be cost efficient at all.

If you really want to deal with squirrels in the most cost efficient way, you have to make sure that you don't use electronically driven devices as they may prove to be the contradiction to your endeavors. Manual and improvised methods are always at our disposal and convenience and all you have to do is to make your brain work in order to come up with something innovative and effective. That is all that you would ever need so that you will be able to create a do-it-yourself method of dealing with squirrels.

The DIY squirrel control methods that are going to be discussed in this article will not talk about improvised or synthesized chemical repellents or anything of that sort, but it will be focusing more on conventional strategies one can employ to deter squirrels from ever entering the household. Traps and basic positioning techniques to impede the foreigners from crossing your home's borders are among those that are going to be discussed in this article. It has to be stressed though that the techniques in this article would require the creativity of a person and the patience to see through the output of the techniques. These methods are not for the weak and meek people. One thing's for certain, you have to be hardcore in order to deal with these squirrels once and for all. Remember, these vermin squirrels don't only cause property damage but they could also harm your health and your family - all the more reason for you to take immediate actions without any further delay.

Here are some conventional logical but still effective ways on dealing with squirrels that infest your household:

1. Make sure that your house is clean and tidy.

Perhaps the most important factor yet the most overlooked as well. The most crucial thing about keeping pests away is to make sure that there will be no reason for pest to inhabit your household. If you are not particular in keeping your house organized and clean, you are giving an open invitation to pests as well and that would include squirrels. In the case of squirrels, it's the food leftovers that they find interesting inside your house and they will stop at nothing in getting inside that funny looking tree –your house. Make sure that food leftovers in the table are properly sealed and morsels should be cleaned up right away. Food scraps that are in the trash bin should not stay there longer than a day. Make it a point to dispose of them right away and also make sure that they are disposed far away from your house so that squirrels will never find anything they can dig within your territories. Also, don't litter a lot of things around unorganized. Make sure you pile things up in a systematic and neat manner. Squirrels like to dwell in places that are cozy and messy, therefore don't make your house like one.

2. Make it a point to regularly check your house for any infestation manifestation.

That could be noticed through scratches and other material damages that squirrels do to your properties. If you find these evidences then there is a possibility that squirrels are already inside your home. The idea here is to detect them early before they could get worse. Don't make it a point to procrastinate and wait for the time when squirrels are already freely roaming around your house like stay-in visitors. If you are able to spot their habitation as early as possible, then you can immediately take the necessary actions to curtail their presence and eventually get rid of them for good.

Squirrel Prevention for Beginners

2011-07-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

If you happen to have a squirrel problem in the house, you need not to worry because you can certainly get rid of that problem at any time. Just make sure that you don't drag too long before taking any actions on them or you might end up having a catastrophe inside your house with all your properties destroyed by rodent nibbling. As of today, there are a lot of known solutions that can immediately treat squirrel pest problems inside the house. Some are highly mechanized and technologically driven and some are more strategic and employs more manual method. However, the ultimate solution to any pest problem inside the house is never the cure but it is always prevention. The preventive measures you will take in an earlier time ahead the infestation will ensure you that there will be no infestation that will take place at all. And to do that, it simply means you would have to make sure that your place tidy and organized, as well as properly sanitized. Maintenance is always the key for a harmonious and peaceful living; free from any foreign bugs or critters that may pose threat to the interiors of your house.

To think, humans per se are the main contributors of resources for foraging squirrels, and they are not even aware about it. To squirrels, your house may just look like another weird looking tree to them and they will never ever have to think twice whether to get inside it or not. Normally a squirrel would spend a very long time building their shelters with fallen woods and twigs. But if they found out about your attic or basement where it's absolutely a warm place to be, why would they ever have to do all the silly manual labors anymore? Plus, they don't even have to be bothered anymore by unpredictable attacks from their natural predators. What could be more heaven to squirrels than human abodes?

Now let's talk about foraging. Oh wait! That's absolutely unnecessary anymore. You see, a table left unattended after eating with all the leftover food still on it, an unfinished pet food, a garbage can left open, are all perfect resources of food for any hungry squirrels that inhabit a house. They don't have to search for food anymore for days because everything that want and need is just within reach.

It seems that you have already read a lot through this write-up and judging from your determination to read the rest of this article you most likely have problems with squirrels already. So get ready and prepare yourself with a handful of household chores. Clean up that table right away and soap it to make sure that there are no remaining scents of food in it anymore. Empty the pet food container and make sure to throw away and seal any trash bins in your homes. Barbecues are also favourable homes for squirrels; they have been known to build homes in them and it usually doesn't take too long for them build one. By then, they will have unrestricted access to whatever is it that you are cooking on the grill. One time you're just flipping, the next thing you know, you're looking for that piece of meat anywhere.

One of the most vexing things that pest squirrels do to your home is what they do to your garden. They are so fund of digging up burrows creating tunneling holes in your beautiful piece of green lawn (that is if you have one of course). Of course, the soil needs aerating and stuff but that's just too much. It will be probably destroy the rest of your grass and some rooted plants with all their roots severed from the squirrel burrowing. You eventually find them as well popping out from your flower pots. Unless you somehow manage to kill all of them with some sort of a genocidal poison, you will most likely be unable to stop these squirrels from burrowing in your garden. However, you may be able to do something to eventually discourage them from burrowing anymore. One way to do about that is to buy a piece of hardware metal cloth. A cloth made of softer steal which makes it easily malleable but still robust. Cut a piece of that metal cloth a fit them around the flower pot or box. Make sure to cover the entire thing so that if ever the squirrel will attempt to bite their way in, they will just most likely destroy their own teeth.

There are times as well that squirrels climb up your fruit bearing trees and consume all of the flowering fruits before they can ever ripen. The only way to stop them is either using a very potent pesticide that gets rid of any squirrel problem or caging the entire tree itself. Caging is not a practically sound idea though, but you may do so if you think that's the best option there is. Or you could just leave the squirrels do all the food tasting tasks for you. It may be a small price to pay but it's the only nearest practical thing you can do about squirrels that feed on fruit bearing trees.

As of today innovations of technology have really brought about change in how we handle the pest problem with convenience. When before, we find using traps and stuff to be of utter convenience, today we now make use of high frequency sound emitting devices to keep them out of sight. These high level rodent deterrents are useful to some extent. For example, if they are properly placed in certain strategic locations where squirrels normally pass, it heightens its efficiency and effectiveness. However, according to much more recent studies, it has been found out they are not as effective as they may seem to be. Scientists say that frequency emitting device may work initially with rodents but eventually rodents will get around to the sounds they emit thus, making them less effective agents in deterring the rodents. However, they have been found very useful deterrents for smaller types of pests like bugs.

Understanding Squirrel Bark Stripping

2011-07-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Debarking is an odd squirrel behavior that has been recently manifested by Fox, Grey and Ground squirrels. To date, no substantial books have yet been written to explain how and why this behavior started when squirrels in the past have never stripped tree barks before. This article attempts to understand bark stripping and explore the ways as to how this behaviour can be stopped to save trees grown in orchards, crop plantations and market gardens from being unconsciously damaged by these squirrels.

Before we can talk about the more complex stuff, we should be familiar with the nature of bark stripping first. As a general fact, stripping are usually between half an inch to six inches wide; twigs and small branches with diameters not more than half an inch are usually clipped off and simply dropped into the ground by these squirrels. Thus, squirrels give away which tree they have just stripped because of the debris that they leave. It is easier for squirrels to strip horizontal branches but there are known species that also strip tree trunks. The amount of damage that squirrels can do to trees can be massive; to some extent, trees can die because of debarking.

For some reason, debarking normally occurs in the second half of winter. However, squirrels have also been seen to strip barks from trees that do not produce masts during spring. Squirrels are able to strip hard barks using their incisor teeth which are really designed to cut through wood. The width of the strip that they make depends largely on their specie because each specie has varying sizes of incisors. For example, the fox squirrels from the east can strip tree barks that are as wide as six inches. The types of trees that squirrels normally strip barks from are the following (year indicated corresponds to the year when the first squirrel strips in the tree has been seen, those without years have been discovered more than 3 years ago): Ash, Olives, Cedar, Redwood (2010), Willow (2008), Elm (2009), Gingko Biloba (2010), Hackberry, Honeysuckle (2008), Maple (2009), Lilac Bushes (2010), Linden (2008), Mulberry (2009), Oaks (2009), Red Oak (2010), Pecan (2009) and Sycamore. Many other tree species are left unrecorded here.

Why Do Squirrels Strip Tree Barks?

To date, there are four theories as to why squirrels strip barks from trees. However, these theories are all unfounded yet. Experts are still observing dozens of bark stripping squirrels to really find out which of these theories are more accurate. But for the purpose of this article, here are the theories:

1. Like most mammals, female squirrels also experience great pain during pregnancy; they also experience behavioural changes during pregnancy, for example, a female squirrel will not feed on anything hours before birthing. One theory is that, bark stripping could be their way of responding to the pain brought about by their pregnancy.

2. The second theory used to be quite sellable to people until it was observed that squirrels also strip tree barks during the wet seasons. The second theory supposed that squirrels strip barks in search for water since many trees retain moisture within the barks. But like what have been said, this theory has been greatly weakened by current observations.

3. Another theory is that squirrels strip barks in order to find good food. Although squirrels can feed on a lot of stuff including seeds, nuts and plants, the theory suggests that squirrels might be after the nutritional value or the taste of the inner bark layer of trees. Of course, it has already been proven that inner tree barks contain a lot of nutrients which trees use for its sustenance.

4. The fourth theory is quite interesting because it assumes that squirrels might be stripping barks for fun. The theory stipulates that perhaps, squirrels strip barks because they enjoy doing so. Squirrels possess queer qualities that makes this theory believable. For example, squirrels make loud noises during sexual intercourse simply because they enjoy making those noises. Just like other mammals, human for example, some activities are not really required for survival, but these activities are performed anyway because of the fun element involved in it.

Nevertheless, it is quite impossible for us to really pin out why squirrels debark tress as of this time. This behaviour has been recently discovered and experts are still in their way to understand how and why it happened. For now, we can just content ourselves with these theories and wait which of them is closest to reality when experts finally come up with answers.

How to Stop Squirrels from Stripping Tree Barks?

We can't really smear trees with chemicals or any other products of that sort to keep squirrels from touching it without actually compromising the tree itself. Thus, the best way to dtop squirrels from hurting trees is to keep them out of the orchard, the plantation or the garden. This can be done through the use of natural repellents like urine powder and strong-smelling herbs; dogs can also keep the squirrels out. For severe squirrel invasion, traps can even be used to catch them before they can do any damage to the trees. But if you want to be specific with tree-protection, you do the following:

1. You will have to invest on aluminium flashing sheets in order to get this done. Use the sheet to wrap at least 6 feet of the tree trunk (from the ground) in order to prevent squirrels from climbing up the tree. Squirrels are able to climb trees because of the texture of the bark; flashing sheets will make it very difficult for them to climb the tree.

2. You can also use barb wires to prevent squirrels from climbing. Just be careful not to hurt the trees with the wire. Start covering the tree about 8 feet above the ground to make sure that unsuspecting people are also not hurt. However, this method may hurt squirrels so if you are not fond of hurting animals, might as well consider method #1.

General Types of Squirrels

2011-07-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you found squirrels roaming inside your home, you would have most likely noticed that they all do look alike. But don't you ever get yourself to thinking that they are all the same. There are many different types of squirrels you can find in your own backyard. There are so many of them that you can’t actually take them all into account at once.

It is important to be able to identify which type of squirrel you are currently dealing with inside your household if you want to know how to get rid of them. Knowing the type of squirrel will enable you to know which method or technique to use, or what squirrel control device you should use to effectively catch the vermin that's roaming all around your house. Also, there is a need to be able to identify the type of squirrel in order to know which ones are endangered are which ones are not. If you kill an endangered type of squirrel, you may as well risk yourself to considerable fines and even imprisonment. There are certain types of squirrels that are protected by specific states in US. There are also those that are generally acknowledge worldwide to be endangered therefore they are understood to be utterly protected by animal rights.

Therefore, there is an imperative need for you to first know the general types of squirrels that are normally found in households. Don't ever go killing squirrels right away when you are not even sure which ones you are killing. You may have to face some serious legal consequences if you do so. It's best to be very careful first.

Here are some types of squirrels and some descriptions to help you identify them whenever you see one around your house:

Fox Squirrels

Fox squirrels are among the normally found squirrels inside the house. They are usually 18 to 24 inches in size lengthwise (from nose to the tip of the tail). They are quite light for their size actually. Fox squirrels could only weigh as much as 2 pounds and usually have bushy tails with yellow tipped hairs. Fox squirrels are usually brown to rusty grey and brown. There are also grey to black variations of them. However, such type of fox squirrels is rare to be found inside the house. They are normally found in their natural habitat.

Gray Squirrels

Gray squirrels are much smaller species of squirrels than the fox squirrels. Their sizes would only range from 17-19 inches from nose to tail tip. They usually have buffer underfur and grey on top. However, there are also gray squirrels that have black furs and they are also found inside households. They forage a lot inside the house, feeding on whatever leftover food they can find in the table or in the trash bin. They could cause quite a mess inside the house. They have bushy tails that are usually colored grey. They also have silvery tipped hairs which makes them easily distinguishable.

Flying Squirrels

Despite their capacity to glide that makes them seemingly fly, these squirrels are smaller which also make them also lighter, making their weight highly ideal for their gliding features. They have membrane skins in their side area, from the wrist of their front legs to their hind legs. This feature enables them to fly around by gliding through the air. Their tails are flat which also works at the same time as their rudder each time they glide. Flying squirrels also have very large eyes with respect to their size. They also have longer furs and with grey or brown back and often creamy white bellies. Flying squirrels have lesser fur compared to other squirrels. They're not as plump and bushy. The size of a flying squirrel would only range from 9 to 10 inches from nose to the tip of their tail.

There is actually a major difference to the foraging habits of the previous three types of squirrels mentioned in this article. The flying squirrels are known to be nocturnal, which only makes them active during night and often sleeping the entire day. The fox and gray squirrels are more likely to be active during daytime, from morning to late afternoon and would often rest by the evening.

Foraging Habits

Squirrels would normally have biological needs to ferret for food and the process is called "foraging". Foraging creatures like squirrels like to roam a lot in many different places just to search for food resources. If ever they find one, they make it a point to dwell on that particular place as long as they can until they will realize that it's already time to move on to a different location. The only time that happens is when they feel that the resources are already apparently depleted.

Sometimes the reason why squirrels leave their foraging territories is because they found a better area to relocate themselves. However, more often than not, it is rare for squirrels to relocate themselves. They will usually just settle down in one place especially if they are aware that there are enough food sources in their present areas.

Fox squirrels diet is normally on fruits, tree buds and nuts. Among their most favorite food found in human territory are crackers. They love eating crackers and they are often the cause why crackers left on tables suddenly go missing. Field corns and soy beans are also among their favorite dish and they will eat those whenever they are available. But usually they are stored until fall and that's the only time fox squirrels will consume them. Fox squirrels are often prey to owls and hawks. Snakes are also after them as well as many other larger ground predators. Fox squirrels are also among the favorite dish of many predators.

Eastern gray squirrels do litter from two to three offspring. They usually conceive their young ones during spring. They actually wean their young in the first 50 days after the conception. Acorns and nuts are also among the most favorite dish of this squirrel.

Stop Squirrels from Eating Tomatoes

2011-07-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

For some reasons, most of us have the tendency to look at squirrels as adorable little creatures. Some people even feed squirrels with peanuts and other stuff. However, squirrels remain to be rodents and welcoming these critters into our homes and in our gardens will never a good idea, especially if you are growing tomatoes. Squirrels do not really like tomatoes but during dry seasons, these red and delicious pulps are the best source of moisture to most squirrels. You might have spent weeks tending your tomatoes and for days you might have had your eye on the choicest tomatoes in your garden. It is not a good feeling to just lose your tomatoes to pest squirrels right? But squirrels are clever rodents and they have their own ways of getting their hands on your precious tomatoes. Thus, you only have two options if you want to keep your tomatoes for yourself: (1) kill the squirrels that get in your way or (2) keep the squirrels out of your garden by creating a barrier. Of course, the first one is rather too bloody and animal right activists might end up rallying right in your doorsteps if you do that. SO, your best option is to create the squirrel barrier.

How to build a squirrel barrier?

You don't have to be fancy with the barrier that you install in your garden. With some cheap materials and a little carpentry skills, you will do just fine. Just follow the steps below.

1. You purchase enough chicken wire to cover the perimeter of the area that you need to protect. Since you are simply growing tomatoes in your garden, then we are not talking about acres of land here. About five meters of chicken wire will do just fine.

2. Make sure that you do not build your chicken wire fence too close to the tomatoes or else the squirrels will still be able to reach out and eat your tomatoes even after you have installed your barriers.

3. You also need to install a top cover over your chicken wire "cage" to make sure that the squirrels will not be able to penetrate through your barriers by climbing up the chicken wire.

4. The bottom of your chicken wire barrier has to be secured too. If you leave enough space between the ground and the edge of the chicken wire, squirrels might still be able to pass through the barrier and eat your tomatoes. If order to secure the chicken wire, you can simply bend its edges and put weights on the bent edges. You can use rocks or bricks as weights.

5. If you are after long term protection, you might want to consider building a wooden frame around your tomato garden. The frame will have a cover that you can easily open so that you still have good access to your tomatoes. You don't need to use expensive wood for this project. In fact, you can use slab wood and build the frame yourself. You can consult a friend, a book or an online material for some tips on carpentry if you do not have an idea on how to build the frame.

6. Well, you can also make use of nylon netting. It works like the chicken mesh, but it's easier to manoeuvre through it so that you can still have access to your tomatoes. However, if the squirrels are really determined to get your tomatoes, you shouldn't be surprise if they manage to chew through your nylon netting.

But then, what if constructing a barrier cage is just too complex for you? Don't you have any other options? Actually, you do. You can use organic chemical barriers. An example of an organic chemical barrier is Urine Powder.

Big predators like lions, foxes and bears usually urinate throughout their hunting area to send the message to other predators that the place is already a territory of another predator. But, it is not just the other predators that are warned by the urine. The smell of the urine also tells prey that their predator is near. This is the nature of urine powders. In simple words, squirrels are tricked into thinking that a predator is nearby and so they are deterred from drawing any closer. Squirrels are usually hunted by foxes in the wild and urine powders sold in garden stores are synthesized to have the distinct fox smell. However, one disadvantage of urine powder is that it washes away when it rains. So, every time it rains, you will have to re-apply the powder all over your garden again. But then again, this shouldn't be much of a problem because squirrels normally attack tomatoes during dry seasons, so when it rains, there shouldn't be squirrels and when it is dry, and then the powder wouldn't be washed away.

Bait Tomatoes

Nevertheless, the best way to stop squirrels from attacking your choicest tomatoes is to plant tomatoes that are intended for squirrel consumption only. You don't have to take much care of these tomatoes; you don't even have to pamper it with fertilizers and other stuff. You will just set it out there for the squirrel's satisfaction. You still need to protect your choicest tomatoes, but having unprotected tomatoes in some portions of your yard will give squirrels more reasons not to attack the other tomatoes. Consider it you donation to the hungry squirrels. That way, you will be peacefully coexisting with them.

Guard Dogs

Keeping a dog in the garden is also an excellent way to keep the squirrels out. However, you should not keep a pet dog for this sole purpose because if you do, the tendency is you will not be taking care of your dog enough because you will only view your dog as a necessary "tool" for squirrel control. That's not fair to the dog, so you might as well just consider borrowing your neighbour's dog every once and a while. Let the dog chase some squirrels in your garden especially if you are out for a couple of days.

General Damage Prevention and Control Techniques for Squirrels

2011-07-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Squirrels can be quite hassling to have around the house. They sure are cute and cuddly and all but they can definitely cause property damage if given the opportunity to do so. And you wouldn't even know when that will happen. That's not all which makes squirrels annoying to have around. They also feed on human food and that makes no less than a common house rodent you would want to get rid off right away. Grains and other bits and morsels that fall of the dining table are among the most favorite food sources for any squirrels. Some species of squirrels may carry transmutable diseases and that may eventually become a complication to the members of the household. With all these hassles mentioned above about squirrels, it is imperative to make sure that you get rid of them once and for all.

There are many known methods and approaches on how to deal with pest squirrels inside the house. You have to be careful though. There are certain species of squirrels that are protected, like the fox squirrels and the flying squirrels. Both squirrels are considered endangered species and are not allowed to be exterminated. There are also some others that are exclusive in certain states or other places in the world which are deemed to be imperatively protected. Therefore, you are not allowed to kill or harm them in any way at all. You must check on them first through research so that you will be able to identify them right away and be able to prevent yourself from accidentally killing them. You can then just call the animal welfare hotline for them to get rid of the squirrels for you. The other squirrels however, are legally on your target range.

Excluding Vegetation, Crops and Plantations

Squirrels are known to damage majorly on vegetation as they dig and burrow themselves on the ground which does more than just aerating the soil. The topsoil could possibly erode causing an unstable foundation to the plants or vegetations on the surface. Also, squirrels do damage on certain trees, not only in the forest but also in the garden. Since their consumption in inclusive of fruits, you're fruit bearing tree in the backyard is also not safe. It is in danger of being inhibited from bearing fruits and as well as it growth if squirrels happen to infest on it. In order to prevent squirrels from doing so, you have to make sure first that these vegetations, crops and tree plantations are properly secured by garrisoning them.

The garrisoning process would entail you make use of metal wires or collar around them, of course relative to the size of your vegetation or plantation. Encircle the entire area such that squirrels could no longer come across the barriers. It is ideal to use metal wires for the barrier to ensure effectiveness in preventing the squirrels from ever entering. Wires are more effective than just mere collars because of its sharp edges which can often hurt or injure invading squirrels right away. That itself will prove to be a much more efficient deterrent. You may also install electrical upgrades on the wires. A low voltage induction will give the little critters a bit of a shock once they come in contact with the metal surface of the barrier. However, that's not practical, especially if you have children at home. The risk of mild electrocution may give away everyone that could possibly come in contact with the metal barriers.

Electrical poles are also a major target for squirrels and they could do a lot of damage to them. Not only to the wood parts of the power poles (if ever there are) but also to the wirings themselves. They may potentially die because of electrocution, but the fixing you would have to do afterward is truly hassling and potentially expensive.

One way to deal with squirrels that go through the wires is to enclose the wires with plastic tubes or pipes. Make sure the diameter of the tubes or pipes are wide enough to make a round surface. This will disable squirrels from travelling through the wires as they could just slip off the round surface of the pipe or tubes. You have to ask professional assistance though in installing these plastic pipes into your electrical wirings.

Modifying the Habitat

Modifying the habitat would definitely entail a lot of cutting and trimming in your part. This will prevent squirrels from thriving nearby your area. If you somehow be able to curtail their access, or curb their resources then they may get discouraged to ever get anywhere near your house.

One way to do that is to trim high growing tree limbs that cross over the rooftop areas. If you trim these trees' limbs, it would prevent squirrels from using them as bridge to crossover your roof and thus entering your house. Make sure the trims are long enough for squirrels not to be able to jump across anymore.

For squirrels that cause problem to bird feeders, garden plants, you may consider providing these squirrels alternative food resources. This can be done by planting another food resource far from your house. For example, you may choose to plant and acorn tree of some distance to your garden proper. This way, squirrels will get deviated from their direction to your house and direct themselves on that acorn tree. Diversion would prove to be quite handy if they are placed on the right location so make sure that you have been able to identify already the waypoints of the squirrels and plant the acorn tree along that path.

This would also work for high value vegetations and crops. It would definitely help to plant tree orchards along the squirrel highway to block them.

Repellents

There are many variations of repellents that you can use in order to keep the squirrels away from your house. One of it is naphthalene balls or moth balls which are very commonly used by a lot of people to keep the squirrels away. However, these balls cause distress to humans as a side-effect. It would help to place a cat instead. Ro-pel and Capsaicin are taste repellents used on grains and seeds to discourage squirrels from eating anything in your house.

How to Keep Squirrels from Eating Flowers?

2011-07-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

There's no question about squirrels being cute, but surely a gardener will not be able to notice that as he or she sees the lovely petunias and tulips in the garden being devoured by these furry critters. Squirrels begin to become terrible pests when they invade gardens and feed on flowers that gardeners keep either for money or for personal pleasure. As pests, gardeners constantly look for newer and more efficient ways to exterminate them or at least to drive them out of the garden.

Two of the most common options employed by gardeners are the use of traps and the use of pepper sprays. However, because traps are not really that effective and pepper sprays also have issues with the health of the flowers in the garden, the need for other methods have become more and more pronounced over time. Moreover, the clamour of animal welfare protectors to spare the lives of squirrels have also contributed to the growing campaign of developing gentler and kinder ways to keep the squirrels from damaging flowers in the garden while not costing the gardener too much money.

One way of keeping pest squirrels from eating flowers is to eliminate their food sources anywhere near the garden. Of course, squirrels do not just find the garden by mere intuition. There has to be something that led them into the garden and in most cases these are leftovers and garbage which people recklessly dump around. For example, since it is so common for some families to conduct gatherings in the garden, a barbeque party perhaps, it is also not surprising that some leftovers from such parties are left just lying on the garden bed or someplace close. These things are very tempting invitations to squirrels to come in and invade a garden. Once there, they would find themselves in a place where everything would seem too edible and flowers often have tasty bulbs which squirrels happen to like so much. If you want to avoid seeing this scenario, you might as well be more conscious about your surrounding environment. It is not even enough for you to keep your own garden clean, you also have to look after what's around your garden. If squirrels happen to come close to your garden because of garbage left sitting there, they might come into your garden too.

Squirrels like to nibble on grills, so do not leave used grills sitting on the ground or better yet, just clean after your mess. Garbage cans have to kept covered because squirrels are easily attracted by smell and if you happened to dump food into your garbage can, squirrels might just come hopping into your garden and you do not want that to happen because your flowers will surely be the collateral damage. You also need to be particular about the food you feed your pets. Squirrels also eat pet food so be quick in cleaning after spilled pet food in the garden and be sure to empty pet food bowls when not in use. If you keep a bird for a pet, find a way to hang your bird feeders somewhere far from your flowers and make sure that it is not accessible to squirrels.

Apart from simple cleaning, you also have to protect your flowers somehow. Squirrels attack freshly planted flower bulbs because these are much easier to dig. So, if you want to protect your young bulbs, all that you have to do is to make a wire-mesh cage around each flower bulb. The process might be a little painstaking but it is worth it if what’s at stake is the safety of your flowers, right? Anyway, you just have to cut 5 half an inch squares from a hardwire mesh sheet and make a box out of the squares. Leave one face of the box open and cover the bulb with the box with the open-face down. Make sure that you leave enough space for the flower stems to freely grow. To keep the boxed wire mesh in place, you just have to weigh it down with some decorative rocks or broken potteries.

For added protection you can also plant strong-scented herbs in your garden. Squirrels do not like the smell of Oregano and Rosemary so growing them with your flowers will definitely drive the squirrels away. If you do not want to grow these herbs in a flower garden, you can improvise by packing these herbs in bags made from thin fabric like cheesecloth. You can place the bags around the flowers which you can no longer protect with the wire mesh boxes. This method is also safe because it does not harm your pets if they accidentally bump into one of these bags, unlike what happens when you use chemical repellents. Moreover, these bags are also not harmful to the squirrels themselves, so you can be sure that you are harming nobody.

If you do not have time to prepare those herb bags and want to devote all your time to your flowers, you can also buy blood meal from a gardening store and use it to repel squirrels in your garden. Blood meal has this offensive smell that squirrels cannot stand. All that you need to do is sprinkle blood meal around your flowers and your flowers will be safe. However, there are some people who also find the smell of blood meal offensive, so if you can find time, just go with the herb bag.

When it comes to squirrel control, you have to remember that the most basic of methods still applies. Wild squirrels will never have the chance to feed on your petunias and tulips if you have done your job in securing your garden in the first place. Of course, effective commercial squirrel control products might just come out in the market someday, but as of the time being, focus on the simple tips provided in this article and you will see that squirrels are not that difficult to control after all.

Dos and Don'ts to Squirrel Control

2011-07-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

Most people would think that once you are able to get some valuable procedural information in the internet, everything is alright and you can use them right away already. However, that's not necessarily true at all as there can be quite a number of anomalous information that is present in the web; information that are not only unreliable but could endanger anyone who wishes to apply them. The facts about squirrel control are also a problematic area in the information dissemination in the internet. Most people would talk about certain particular squirrel control methods and say they are totally effective, but in truth they are actually not. These people are often those types that hinge their site publication on purely profiteering, which is also absolutely wrong, and most ignorant internet users wouldn't be able to tell the difference at all. Everything then becomes dangerous since this ignorant users wouldn't think twice first in applying all the things they have read through the internet.

Don't allow yourself to become one of the ignorant readers of information in the internet. Especially concerning pest squirrel control, there are a lot of things published in the web that tells the wrong information about the controlling them. There are certain tips in squirrel control that are ineffective but are still being published by some site authors and misleadingly saying that they are actually the best squirrel control methods on earth. One would truly have to be very careful with such information. In order to prevent such kind of things from happening, it would be wise to think first before applying any method or whatsoever that you find in the internet. By thinking, it means contemplating things considerable before you get on to it. It also requires you to think outside of the box and be critical about it. That is a reader's best weapon against any false or misleading information. To use one's logic and criticality is the most important thing to do whenever one would be reading something as freely
interactive as the internet.

In order to further improve one's critical thinking about things concerning squirrel control in the internet, it's also handy to read on certain web contents that talk about the assessment of the dos and don'ts about squirrel control. Then you can let your mind work afterward and evaluating whether you have read the right stuff or not.

Believe it or not, there are also certain myths concerning pest squirrel control and a lot of people are still employing them despite inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Traditional beliefs would often indirectly compel people to think about something to really work. However, the outputs of their efforts would definitely tell them about how wrong they are in what they believe. Unfortunately, even that wouldn't be enough for some. They would still think that they might be missing something that's why the process didn't work at the first place. Therefore, repeating the same failure over and over again without learning at all.

This article will now talk about the certain myths and truths about squirrel control and some tips as well on how to effective perform the control method. Hopefully, you will be able to discern for yourself, which methods are of true use to you and which one are basically just gibberish and shouldn't be followed, lest applied at all. It would also help if you are have read through other websites that talk about the same stuff so that you would be able cross examine the facts and see which one is dominantly discussed. That way you will be able to distinguish which ones are the commonly believed facts.

High Frequency Sound Emitters

Such pest control devices were developed sometime around the 80's and 90's. What the device actually does is it produces high frequency sound waves and such waves are believed to jam or disrupt the senses of the rodent pests. It gained popularity to many users that time because of their initial results. However, later on the people realized that the effects of the device are quite temporal. The disruption of the senses in the critters eventually wears off and the pests are then back to business. Later, technical research has discovered that the device don't really work at all in preventing rodent pests, like squirrels and rats because the pests have a certain sense of coping mechanism that enables them to get around through the noise. Plus the fact are not solely dependent thus not very sensitive to their sense of hearing. This renders the device utterly useless. Although, the device was later found out to work in smaller pests like bugs and certain insects because they have antennas that sensitively pick up wave signals.

Chemical Treatment

Chemical treatment has gained enormous popularity to many household owners sometime around the 90's because of its undeniable effectiveness and efficiency in dealing with house pests like squirrels. However, the commercialized forms of the chemicals which target regular homeowner users are not safe at all. Reports about chemical side-effects to inexperienced users are growing rampant and therefore deemed not safe for household use. Chemical treatments may prove to be very effective and safe if they are applied by experienced hands. If chemical treatments are executed by hired professional services, then it is just absolutely okay as these people are already trained the right way and they know precisely what to do to use the chemicals safely. They can also employ certain devices that can deter the toxins of the chemicals to prevent any ill effects to the people and animals around.

Moth Balls

Some people think that moth balls are actually very effective squirrel deterrent and if a squirrel smells the balls from a distance, they wouldn't feel invited at home anymore. However, these are "moth balls" we're talking about and the name implies that is should only be used for moths and insects alike. When you use them on rodents like squirrels they could only have little effects or so. Remember that squirrels are more intellectual animals than bugs and they could just conveniently push the balls away until they couldn't smell them anymore.

Damages Caused by Squirrels to Forestry

2011-07-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

It is really difficult to say whether the presence of squirrels in woodlands and in some plantations is good or bad. To some extent, squirrels play a very significant role in the overall composition and structure of forests because of their foraging behaviour. As they consume seeds and bulbs, they enhance the natural abilities of plants to germinate and regenerate. However, seed consumption can also lead to reduced regeneration of some plant species. The problem is that squirrels do not sort out which trees will benefit from them and which trees will not. As a result, squirrels can do both things making it quite difficult, really, to assess which of these two is more important.

Moreover, it was also found out that the Red squirrels that live in the forests of Alps consume at least nine different kinds of fungi during summer. The research also revealed that the same squirrels do the same during autumn but not in the other seasons. During these two seasons, Red squirrels have been observed to depend on sub-surface fungi called hypogenous as their primary food source. This dependence makes Red squirrels significant agents of fungi spore dispersal which is also beneficial to a lot of forests. Nevertheless, this does not take away the fact that squirrels can also do major damages to the same forests that they help.

For example, the most dreaded behaviour of squirrels that really convinced authorities in many parts in Europe to officially declare them as pests is debarking. Squirrels are known to strip tree barks in many orchards and forests across Europe. The primary suspects are the Red and the Grey squirrels, although some experts suggest that Ground squirrels might be part of the crime too. Debarking can kill trees no matter how big these trees are. According to some studies, even very big trees can wither to death if a ring of bark has been removed from its trunk. Squirrels nibble around horizontal tree branches and trunks to get the internal tissues of the trees which are hidden under the bark.

This tissue is called the phloem which is very rich in nutrients. Apart from the phloem, squirrels are also interested of the xylem part of the underside of the barks. These are tubular cells forming between the bark and the interior of the tree which carry the water and the minerals throughout the tree. Experts suspect that squirrels do so in order to get moisture during the hot seasons, however, the fact that squirrels also debark trees during rainy seasons sort of weakened this suspension. If you have checked my article about debarking, you will know that until this day, experts are still clueless why squirrels strip off barks from trees.

Apart from debarking, squirrels are also known to cause defoliation. Trees lose a significant amount of leaves and branches because of squirrel activities. Although defoliation is not always seen as a problem, a research conducted in 1934 by a professor in the Yale University revealed that a pack of squirrels can attack a single tree at a time. The amount of disturbance experience by the tree is enough to cause its unproductivity, or worse, its death. It was observed that squirrels can cut off at least four branches in a minute. At this rate, it can be calculated that a pair of squirrels can cut 517 little branches or twigs off the tree. The number grows even bigger when he considered the amount of leaves that a tree can lose. The pair can knock off 2685 leaves in one day! In a few days, the tree will no longer have enough leaves for photosynthesis and end up withering. Moreover, under normal circumstances, defoliation is highest during summer and unfortunately, it is also during summer that squirrels become more active.

The professor concluded his research with a suggestion. According to him, in most cases, squirrels begin to damage forestry because of water shortage. That is, they are looking for ways to extract water from other sources, which in their case, happens to be the trees. The professor thinks that combating water shortage can greatly increase the chances of the trees of being spared by squirrels. Nevertheless, he still thinks that the harms that result from the defoliation caused by squirrels simply equal the benefits that the entire forest gets from defoliation. Thus, as far as the entire forest is concerned, defoliation is not really a big problem after all.

To date, because of their official status as pests, people are actually allowed to hunt squirrels in the wild. In fact, squirrel hunting events are even sponsored by governments across Europe. Every year, thousands of squirrels die in the hands of hunters. Unfortunately, although the motive of squirrel hunting is actually good, after years of being a tradition, it has been brutally abused by many hunters too. Many squirrel-welfare organizations claim that squirrel population is fast declining these past few years and if this trend continues, squirrels might become extinct in the next few decades. However, their clamour for squirrel protection is left unheard these days because of the consensus that when left alone, squirrels will only cause more damage that what they have already caused.

We can't really say which of the two advocacies is right when we are not particularly involved in either of them. To an ordinary gardener whose tomatoes are regularly eaten by squirrels and to the owners of multi-million tree orchards or crop plantations, squirrels are undoubtedly pests that deserve to be exterminated. However, to an animal rights activist, squirrels are but innocent victims of human activities like deforestations and mining. These two opposing views continue to collide against each other and in the end; we are the final judges as to which of these views should prevail. But as of this moment, it is pretty clear what the winning side is. We really don't know until this trend will last but as of the time being, the only thing that animal rights fighters can do is to continue fighting.

Squirrel Exterminator

2010-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Humane Ways To Get Rid Of Squirrels Without A Squirrel Exterminator

If you are on this page, reading this very article, then I am certain that you have come to understand how painful it can be when squirrels infest your home and you sure are looking for ways to get rid of these once adorable critters without the assistance of a squirrel exterminator. There was a time when you found these animals absolutely adorable but now it is you who has to deal with cleaning after these critters, having to bear with the foul shit smell that comes out of the ventilation, get a vent cleaning company to clean it all out.

The next problem that you are most probably facing is that, these critters are again slowly finding their way into your home and that is scaring the living day lights out of you because have you already learnt about things the hard way when they took abode in your ventilation. You are also possibly thinking of getting a squirrel exterminator this time, but again, you are having second thoughts because it just sounds very cruel.

So what can you do? You can’t just live with them and the problems they are going to create once again now can you?

I know these questions have been raking you for so long that you have now decided to find a way to get rid of them once in for all, but in a more humane fashion. One of the best things that you can find in the market would be a very effective squirrel repellent. The only problem is that most of these repellents are usually chemical based and can create a lot of after-effects. You could possibly face respiratory problems, have your plants killed with the intensity of the chemical composition found in these repellents or perhaps even kill your pets if they accidentally lick it after it is sprayed on the plants. You can also make your own repellent, but where is the time to sit and make the repellent and surely where is the time to sit and spray it every day when the rain starts pouring?

Many people would say that the best way to get these animals not to enter your house would be to plug all their entry points with a whole lot of steel wool. The only problem with such wool is that, if they are not handled carefully, they can definitely harm you. In the worst case scenario, if the wool is not covered with plywood on both sides, the squirrel might try entering your house through the steel wool, get itself mangled and die. You would again be left with the smell of rotting flesh and then cleaning it would be yet another hassle.

Hence, it would be in the best interest of you and the squirrels that you find squirrel traps to get rid of these critters in the most humane fashion. There are many squirrel traps that are available in the market, but just make certain that you do not get the ones that look like a spring-action mouse trap because it could definitely be the worst end for any squirrel.

This is what squirrel control is all about ladies and gentlemen.

Apart from these horrible squirrel traps, you can definitely find ones that are box shaped and are easy to use. There are ones that have a trap door and ones that have trap doors and notch sticks. Depending upon your budget and the one that you like, it would be best to get couple of these traps. You would also have to ensure that these traps are not too big since a trapped squirrel would invariably try to escape and would move around a lot, thus hurting itself. Once you trap a squirrel, you can always take them to a nearby forest or reserve and set them free.

Once these critters find a way in to their natural habitat, you would not have to worry anymore because they would invariably start their life all over again and that too without interfering in yours. All, you would have to do now is look for a good squirrel trap or perhaps make your own and be rid of these creatures for ever – without employing an inhumane squirrel exterminator.

Cheers,
Edgar Squiritto
Squirrel Pest Control Guide

Squirrel Proofing

2010-09-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

Prevent Squirrels From Building A Nest In Your House

Squirrels sure are those cute little furry creatures that look absolutely adorable until the time they take abode in your house. Once they build a nest in your house, there sure are a lot of problems that you need to worry about. If you have been thinking how best you can get rid of such adorable creatures or even prevent them from building a nest in your house, then you sure have come to the right place. Here you are going to find some really easy and cost effective methods that you can undertake to get rid of such creatures.

Before we look at some easy ways to prevent squirrels from taking abode in your house, we would first have to understand what we are up against. Once a squirrel takes abode in your house, you can be rest assured that you can face a lot of cleaning problems. Squirrels like all other rodents would not only nest in a secure place but would hoard its food in crevices on the walls, of some hole or another in your home - this would later lead to ant infestation.

Worse is the problem of cleaning squirrels droppings. Just like rats squirrels would go ahead and excrete in every single place. One fine day you can be rest assured to find all your vents clogged and the most putrid smell emanating from your ventilation.

You would also face the problems of having to deal with squirrels multiplying really fast. If it is a domesticated animal, then you can be assured that you can have them neutered to prevent these animals from multiplying, but if they are wild squirrels that are taking abode in your house then it sure can become a problem. More squirrels would translate to more squirrels droppings and more squirrels droppings would lead to more putrid smell through your ventilation.

Apart from increasing squirrel population and smell you would also have to worry about the various diseases these furry creatures carry. Be it while being alive or dead, these creatures are known to be a breeding spot for a lot of diseases. These animals are territorial and aggressive and are also known to carry rabies.

Hence to avoid all of the above mentioned problems, you could undertake one preventive measure to ensure that these animals do not build a nest and multiply in your house. First off, you would have to scan your entire house and find out if there are any entry ways for these animals. If there are any entry points then it is time that you have them closed. On the exterior side of the hole, you would use a thick plywood block or even heavy duty plaster to cover the hole. Next you would have to get a whole lot of steel wool that you can get in any hardware store and plug the holes with it. To make this preventive measure more effective, you can sprinkle a lot of paprika or cayenne pepper powder on the wool and then stuff it.

Once the stuffing is complete, you can then go ahead and cover the inner area of the wall with plywood and then apply plaster or putty before you go ahead and paint the wall. You would have to ensure that you take care of all the entry points in your house.

The above mentioned preventive tip surely can take care of squirrel proofing your house, but If your garden and your dumpster are being ransacked by these animals on a regular basis, then it is time that you did an extensive research to find out about various squirrel traps that you can build to capture these animals. Alternatively you could also look for repellents that repel squirrel.

You can either make them at home or perhaps buy them from a store easily. I always recommend making the repellent at home because you would not only be able to prevent the squirrels from entering your property but also ensure that they do not harm your plants. Most commercial repellents have a lot of chemicals that would not only harm your plants but would also harm your other pets at times.

Cheers,
Edgar Squiritto
Squirrel Pest Control Guide

Squirrel Infestation

2010-09-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Problems Posed By Squirrel Infestation?

Gone are the days when squirrels were looked at as those very cute, cuddly and adorable animals that had a chance of becoming a pet. People who had taken such animals as pets later came to find out about the mess they could create and also about the possible disease that they could spread. Such animals, when rubbed on the wrong side, were also known to become so vicious that they actually harmed many of their owners – both adults and children!

This is just a prelude on what a domesticated squirrel could do to a person. Squirrels, both domesticated and wild, may seem to be very gentle and perhaps even harmless, but the ones that are wild could actually inflict more harm than the domesticated ones. Wild squirrels in a lot of ways are very territorial and very protective. They may seem to shy away from humans, but at the smell of food, they can become the most social animals ever. However, when they do not get what they want from you, then you would find the dark side of the squirrel raise its ugly head against you.

Flying squirrels are not only known for just flying from one tree to another, they are well known to find its food immaterial of where it is kept. These types of squirrels do not really pose that great a problem in the residential sub-urbs, but if the area is in the periphery of a forest or a natural reserve, then there is a very high possibility that they could add on to your otherwise long list of pest problems. With time, such squirrels multiply and then you would have to deal with some of the most harmful and gross squirrel infestation problems.

These critters if not treated by a vet, can carry a lot of diseases. Unlike humans, they do not have the common sense to know that there is a secluded place to do their excretion business. For these animals, like every other animal, the world is their toilet. When your house or neighbourhood is infested by these animals, you would have to be very careful about the diseases that can spread due to their excretory material.

Squirrels are not only known to carry a lot of disease inducing bacteria and virus in their claws and saliva but are also known to carry them in their excretion. Faeces and urine of both domestic and wild squirrels are known to carry some highly contagious diseases. Worse is the condition when these critters are not vaccinated since they are also known to be carriers of rabies. Apart from these, squirrels are also known to carry disease on their fur when alive.

When these animals die, it is a whole new story all together. Once dead, they may not harm you with their claws, saliva and their excretory material but they are known to become the breeding grounds for other insects. Maggots that feed on the rotting carcass of a squirrel would grow to become a house fly that later spreads disease in your own house. Dead squirrels can also lead to poisoning of a water source especially if the actual animal is poisoned. Worse could be the scenario if such a poisoned animal had to be eaten by your pets. In many cases, these pets also die of poisoning or perhaps spread some disease or another after eating the animal!

To ensure that you, your family and your pets are safe, it would be best to consider such adorable and cuddly squirrels as life threatening animals and be rid of them at the earliest. For your safety, it would be best if you could get rid of these animals in a safe manner and have them returned to their natural habitat.

No matter how badly your house is infested by squirrels, just stay away from poisoning these animals, or having them slaughtered by a trap. Choose a squirrel repellent that is one hundred percent natural or a trap that would capture them live and later can be set free in the wild. Given the fact that these animals can become vicious, it might seem like a good idea to have them killed but that is not going to be the answer to be rid of squirrel infestation.

Cheers,
Edgar Squiritto
Squirrel Pest Control Guide

Squirrel Evictor

2010-09-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Some Of The Best Squirrel Evictors That You Can Come Up With

If you had thought that squirrels were one of the most harmless and the cutest of all creatures and if you had left them into your house, I am certain that you sure are facing a lot of problems right now. Apart from the unknown problems that they can pose, these animals are well known for their vicious character that is known to have harmed a lot of humans. If you have unknowingly let these furry creatures into your house and not sure how best you can get rid of them then it is time that you read the following. Here, you are going to find out about some of the easy to procure squirrel evictors in the market or even find certain things in your home, that can help evict squirrels easily.

As for the very first item that you can get to evict squirrels from your house, you would have to pay a visit to the closest hardware or electrical store and locate a high intensity strobe light. These lights are some of the well known squirrel evictors in the market. The large sized probe lights sure are expensive but if you take the time to find smaller ones then you sure can find them at very cost effective rates. All you would have to do is place these lights in all the entry points to your home through which these animals gain access. The high intensity of the light would easily deter these animals since they are known to irritate their sight.

You could alternatively place a lot of moth balls mixed with paprika powder in the entry point. This would ensure that the squirrels’ nostrils are irritated to such an extent that they never come back into your house again. Also, make certain that you periodically fix all the cracks on the walls of your home so that these animals do not build a nest in the cracks or use the cracks to make tunnels in your walls and then build the nest. What you should do is stuff these cracks with a lot of steel wool and mix it with the same paprika powder, stuff it into the walls and then use plaster to cover the cracks.

Before you think about evicting squirrels from your house, you would have to ensure that they do not gain access to your house. The best way with which these animals gain access into your house is through the thick branches from the trees that lead to your balcony, you windows or even directly to the attic. Remember that these animals are capable of jumping and clearing a distance of 5 feet very easily. Hence, always make it a point to keep the branches well trimmed at all times, so that these animals do not use them as launch pads to gain access into your house.

It would also be a very good idea to keep any kind of food items away from their access. Squirrels tend to go to a particular place or even build a nest only if the source of the food is somewhere close by. It would be a good idea to store bird seeds, processed dog foods and any other edible item in a very secure place. Once, these animals can’t get access to such food items they would start looking elsewhere and with time, even move their nests to other locations. Also make certain that you do not keep any wood piles in open areas since this would not only help squirrels move around but also give them another opportunity to build a nest.

Be sure to use squirrel repellents and squirrels traps that are available in the market to evict squirrels from your home. Once you capture a squirrel in the traps, all you would have to do is set them free in the wilderness so that they build a nest in the forest and move on with their lives. Repellents on the other hand would just ensure that these animals do not come to the place where they can smell the repellent which means, you would have to place quite a lot of them all over your garden and your house.

Cheers,
Edgar Squiritto
Squirrel Pest Control Guide

Squirrel Stopper

2010-09-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

Ideas To Protect Your Bird Feeder

It is with immense pride that we build our very own and our very first bird feeder. It is such a great feeling to watch birds actually take food and rest in the feeder that we made. Sadly, such beautiful creatures are put at peril when those cuddly critters the squirrels climb those heights to disturb the birds and take their food. This is not just the problem with the bird feeders that we make so carefully at home, but this particular problem also exists with bird feeders that can be bought in a store. This particular problem exists because there are no good squirrel busters placed in these feeders.

So you can now actually create an amazing bird feeder with an idea that could be the best squirrel stopper ever and that this particular contraption is made only to feed the little birdies and not the uninvited furry creatures.

To protect your bird feeder, you would first have to make certain that the feeder is not found anywhere where a squirrel lives or frequents. In most cases, your entire garden could be infested by these animals hence having a feeder anywhere in the garden can pose a problem to having a bird feeder erected. In such a case, you could actually have the feeder erected in the middle of the garden on a very high pole.

It would be best if the pole is retractable or one that can be fixed on top of each other. This would not only be a very good idea to stop the squirrels from entering the bird feeder, but it would also ensure that once the food is over in the feeder, you can retract the entire pole, place some more food in the feeder and then raise it back again.

When you place such feeder on top of a very high pole, you can be rest assured that the slipperiness of the pole does not allow the squirrel to climb on to the feeder. Even if the squirrel does try very hard, it may reach few feet above the ground but not the actual feeder itself. This would be one of the most effective ways to squirrel proof your bird feeder. Many people state that it looks quite nice to have the bird feeder hang off a tree. The problem with such ideas is that squirrels get an easy footing to launch themselves with the n number of branches that can be found on a tree. With the ropes actually holding the feeder, then can easily climb down the ropes and get the food from the feeder.

The best accompanying idea to go with the squirrel stopper in your bird feeder would be to dust a lot of paprika or jalapeno pepper powder on the poles before erecting the bird feeder. These ingredients from the kitchen are some of the best repellents that can keep squirrels away. The spiciness of the actual peppers would irritate these furry animals’ nostrils that they do not wish to climb on to it anymore. Just make certain that, during rainy days, you mix these powders in some water and spray them onto the pole.

One of the other ways to protect your bird feeder would be to take some of the urine of a predator and spray it at the bottom of the pole on which the feeder is placed. The best of urine would belong to both the canine and the feline family. Not that I am asking you to get the excretion of a tiger or a wolf. If you do get them, then it is good for you, else just be happy with that of a dog or a cats. You may find it hard to get the urine of cats, but you can actually take the used lumps from the cat litter pot and have it scattered around the pole. Once a squirrel gets the smell of a predator, you can be rest assured that they never come near the bird feeder again because they are always worried about the proximity of such predators. This idea would not only squirrel proof your bird feeder but would also repel and prevent these animals from coming into your garden ever again.

Cheers,
Edgar Squiritto
Squirrel Pest Control Guide