paulie said:
Tree squirrels are denuding my mulberry. They go for the leaf buds which are coming out now (I'm in northern California). There are sometimes 6 squirrels at a time in the tree, usually early morning. They eat the buds, or break off a 5-inch twig and eat the buds from the twig. At the rate they're eating, I think the tree will be negatively impacted.
I've never seen squirrels do this before, certainly not to this tree. Is this common? Is there a way to discourage the rodents?
I have also had a squirrel problem for about 8 years running. My neighbors feed the stupid things. And the rats. Here are some suggestions.
Plan A: Havahart traps. I have 2. I don't know what your laws are, but here in Washington it is against the law to relocate an eastern grey squirrel. The eastern grey's eat the young of the native squirrels here. Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife has classified them as a nuisance. Don't relocate the problem. You catch it, you kill it. No problem, the easiet way is to throw the trap in a garbage can full of water. Come back in 5 minutes. Setting the trap: Drill two 1/8" holes on the trip plate 1/2" apart. Ziptie a peanut to it. If you don't ziptie it they will steal the peanut and about 95% of the others you put there. I paint the peanuts with peanut oil too, makes them smell really good. Sprinkle 8 or 10 sunflower seeds in front of the trap to attract them. Use an 18" piece of rebar to stake the trap in location. I'm about 98% successful this way.
Plan B: Sprinkle sunflower seeds in the area they frequent and have your pellet gun ready. I fire from in the spare bedroom out the window. This way my neighbors that feed them don't hear.
Plan C: My local ag shop has unprocessed castor oil for $32 a half gallon. Mix half and half with dishsoap, I use lemon scented Joy. Put it in your hose end sprayer and spray the bush. You will have to spray after every rain. The squirrels won't like the castor. The castor should last you many years. I use this on my lawn, makes the bugs taste bad and keeps the moles away.
Plan D: Hang rat poison out for the squirrels. I use Tomcat from Home Depot. Comes in small bricks with a hole through the center. I use stainless welding rod to hang it from small trees, shrubs about 2" off the ground. I also paint it with peanut or sunflower oil. Keep it off the ground because slugs and earwigs like it too.
Plan E: A 5 gallon bucket 3/4 full of water. Something bigger than a bucket would be even better. Tie a piece of uninsulated wire onto the handle of a table knife or drill a hole through the handle. Hang the knife from a tree branch directly above the bucket. Put some peanut butter on the knife. You can catch 6 or 8 squirrels a day this way.
Last note, squirrels learn just like any other animal. If they see their buddy in a trap, you may not catch the ones that learn. It's good to have several methods. I also use Victor snap traps too, the big ones for rats. I ziptie a peanut to them. With a snaptrap, it's good to use a piece of wire to tie the trap to something so the trap doesn't walk off. I use stainless wire tied to a piece of rebar.
Good luck!
One other thing to add. If you trap, keep your pellet gun handy. Many times if you catch a squirrel, it's mate will hang around for hours. Just like shooting ducks in a barrel.
