Friendly loveable Squirrels..

[Gramps46]

My Jeep Wrangler is famous at the auto shop I go to as the "squirrel Jeep" because it has been in 3 times to have the vapor line from the gas tank replaced after being chewed by squirrels.  Finally, I put shiny duct tape cover in tabasco sauce on it and that did the trick.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Yup sometimes you just gotta be smarter than the squirrels.

[1930fordpickup]

I read this up north on my phone and I had a good laugh. I don't post from my phone so I had to wait to get home and get the laundry started. 

I just spent a day with my brother using another day to clean 60 % of dads shed up north. The shed is 8 by 10 and there was 6 to 8 inches of chewed up pine cones, acorns and black walnut shells on any flat surface. Several nests were found and thankfully no live ones like in the spring when I was tossing a roll of carpet out the door.  There are no walnut trees up around his cabin but he had more than enough at home. You see they watched him go in the shed for the walnuts to toss out to feed them along with the ear corn. This place is a four-hour drive so he was not up there every weekend, but the squirrels are smart and figured out where he kept the goods. They just chewed a hole through the sheds wooded door and crawled in. So today we patched the holes in the door up before we left. Just praying they decide to stay out this winter. LOL

If you want to have some fun while feeding squirrels, pick up some polished Pecans. The ones you find around Christmas time. Sometimes they have a hard time cracking those open. I still like the little tree rats but as long as they are in the tree's they are good. 

[slusher]

Thanks Mike the story and pictures.  I use to feed them peanuts and walnuts in Chicago..

[espo]

Squirrels may be fun to watch, but these little tree rats can wreak havoc on your home and property and can have a nasty disposition doing it. 

[A modeler named mike]

33 minutes ago, espo said:

Squirrels may be fun to watch, but these little tree rats can wreak havoc on your home and property and can have a nasty disposition doing it. 

Very true.. But this is topic for Friendly loveable Squirrels not the mean nasty destructive ones.. ? just kidding. Maybe we should start a topic for those little devils..

[bobthehobbyguy]

Don't think it's that the squirrels are evil they are simply forging for food. If you feed them and establish that your home is a source for food then they are going to go there for food. The solution is to not feed them.

A while back the squirrels were tearing up the watering system in the summer becuase they were looking for water. He started putting out dishes of water and that solved the water problem.

If they are going after wiring then you have to find a way to discourage them.

 

 

[A modeler named mike]

32 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Don't think it's that the squirrels are evil they are simply forging for food. If you feed them and establish that your home is a source for food then they are going to go there for food. The solution is to not feed them.

A while back the squirrels were tearing up the watering system in the summer becuase they were looking for water. He started putting out dishes of water and that solved the water problem.

If they are going after wiring then you have to find a way to discourage them.

 

 

We have a bird bath that I replenish twice daily plus a small bowl underneath the bird bath for the smaller animals. So you could say my yard is a sanctuary for the wildlife that live in the woods behind us. When I go out the back door the squirrels come running. Never had a problem with them damaging anything. Lucky I guess or they know not to bite the hand that feeds them..IDK. This past July I had the night visitor pictured who I wasn't about to tangle with. I was starting to walk out the door when he was at the water bowl lapping it up, about 4 feet away. I've only seen him that one time...Thankfully... I read that the peanuts smell will draw them. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Funny skunk story. My sister and had two cats. I was insider the house and one of the cats was also. The screen door had opening for the cats to go in and out. It was later in the afternoon and I here the cat grow. I look outside and shunk is coming towards the screen. I run over and closed the slider. There was a bowl of cat food on the patio and it was often a buffet for all of the wildlife at night.

I got the impression that the cat was saying you can eat the food but you aren't coming into my house.

Edited October 31, 2023 by bobthehobbyguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Funny skunk story. My sister and had two cats...

Funny raccoon story: I woke up in the middle of the night with my cat Spooky pawing at my face, which she never did. She jumped down on the floor, went towards the hall, stopped and looked back at me like Lassie saying "come quick!! Timmy's fallen in the well".

I followed her out to the kitchen where three juvenile raccoons were cavorting in the trash spilled all over the floor. Spooky calmly sat down, looked at me like "they're not MY friends, and I think YOU should deal with this".

Seeing me, the 3 raccoons took off all in different directions. I blocked the front door open and was able to chase two of them out, but the third one had run back to the bedrooms. I cornered it in the hall bathroom a couple of times, but couldn't get it to herd in the right direction.

I finally ended up getting the fireplace tongs, grabbing it by the neck, and dragging it outside.

Had to lock the cat door at dusk after that, and ol' Spook would get on the roof outside my bedroom window, hang her head down over the gutter, and meow to be let in if she stayed out after curfew.

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[A modeler named mike]

Both of your stories brings me to picture John Candy and Dan Aykroyd swatting at the bat flying around in their rental cabin in the Great Outdoors movie.. 

Since we're a little of topic which is fine by me.. How about have you ever had a Turkey fly right smack in to your house? I couldn't believe it either till I found it's feathers on the ground beneath the gaping hole on the side of my house. The impact was so hard it buckled the interior drywall out on the inside. Now I have to say the house is not built by normal standards. The exterior walls are normal 2×4 construction but it's covered with exterior grade drywall or fireboard than black felt over it with wooden lattice strips than asbestos siding. It was an experimental development project from the 70's. Anyways here's a couple of photos of the damage. BTW I never found the turkey only feathers.

[bobss396]

Last year I had 4 of them. One got creamed by a car out front, then one drowned in my pool. So I was down to 2. I had given them names. One was Shade since it could put the tail over its head when it rained. Another was Tippy Hedren since the tips of the ears were white.

All of a sudden this year, I have 3, a little one showed up. Now I have 5, 3 younger ones. I put out peanuts and sunflower seeds for them and the birds. I have around 15 Bluejays, which were close to being wiped out years back with pesticides. Some days I have 10 Mourning Doves in the mix. This past winter I have had a new bird, a Tufted Titmouse. Never had one in 36 years here.

Some of the squirrels are fairly tame, or used to me. I can get within a few feet of them and they don't run when I go outside to paint something. I had a damaged spot on my garage roof, a tree rubbed through the fascia and I had them in my garage... I fixed one side myself where the wood was bad, the rest was done when I had everything re-roofed in 2021 ($22,000 later...).

I figured a little food keeps them busy enough. I know some come from the property next door, I see them come across the garage roof in the mornings. I put out stale bread, dry cat food that my cat refuses to eat. I back up to a causeway on one side, dense woods on another side. So I have it all, fox, raccoons, rabbits, possums even a turkey now and then. I have seen deer come up the causeway from Fire Island or likely a park. 

In spring and this time of year, the sun is just right and I have birds flying into the front windows. Mostly they are stunned and take off, some break their necks. I picked up a Cat Bird one time, knocked out. So I sat down and held him until he collected him or herself. I got to study it close up, amazing colors on the under side.

Right on cue, one just bounced the dining room window...

I collect Bluejay feathers when I find them. I also have a spot where an owl must have molted around Xmas. No blood or anything, just an array of cool feathers. I saved some of those too.

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by bobss396

[bobthehobbyguy]

Back on to squirrels.  When I lived in silicon Valley I used to watch use the squirrels use the phone lines as pathways. They do the same thing here.

They are also fearless. When they want to go from the front yard to the back they run up one of the big trees, banzai onto to roof, run across the roof(they can be heavy footed), and then leap to a tree in the back.

[Mark]

If you like squirrels being squirrels, check out YouTube.  People build nesting boxes with cameras inside, and they seem to prefer using the boxes much of the time.  It's insane how small and helpless they are at birth, and how they grow so fast.  Ten weeks or so from birth, they're pretty much ready to set out on their own.  

[espo]

We live on the edge of the prairie just west of Kansas City. The building in the area is slowly overtaking the old farmlands. This brings with it a lot of wildlife that is slowly being dispersed. A few years ago, my wife was on her way to work in the early morning. She phoned me at work that she had hit a Turkey with her car. These Turkeys started to fly from the brush alongside the road and one only got to the altitude of the driver's side head light and then went over the hood and almost destroyed the radio antenna on her Jimmy. When I got home and inspected the damage it didn't look like anything was wrong with the composite headlight until I started cleaning some of the said Turkey off of the headlight. The light housing was in tack and still worked fine but would wobble around and I found that the mounting parts of the headlight all broken where they mounted to the body. This was about twenty years ago and even with my employee discount the housing cost me over a $100.00 back then. 

[JollySipper]

If you guys have bird feeders that you want the squirrels to leave alone........ You can mount a slinky, the old toy, to the bottom of the feeder. It will hang far enough that the squirrel will have to grab it when they climb the feeder. The slinky of course stretches, and down they go!

[bobss396]

19 hours ago, Mark said:

If you like squirrels being squirrels, check out YouTube.  People build nesting boxes with cameras inside, and they seem to prefer using the boxes much of the time.  It's insane how small and helpless they are at birth, and how they grow so fast.  Ten weeks or so from birth, they're pretty much ready to set out on their own.  

I had the new 3 this spring and they do grow fast. These are the most tame of the bunch. I can get within a few feet of them, have not tried to hand feed them so far. I'll put out nuts on the deck rail and they will come and get them. I was outside sorting out model parts a few weeks back, 2 were running past where I was sitting. I'm sure they knew I was there.

[A modeler named mike]

24 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

I had the new 3 this spring and they do grow fast. These are the most tame of the bunch. I can get within a few feet of them, have not tried to hand feed them so far. I'll put out nuts on the deck rail and they will come and get them. I was outside sorting out model parts a few weeks back, 2 were running past where I was sitting. I'm sure they knew I was there.

Hey Bob.. I'm sure they know you're there. They are pretty aware of their surroundings. They apparently do not see you as a threat. It may be because they associate you with the food. As for hand feeding, in my little experiences of hand feeding I use unshelled nuts and a variety helps. That way they can eat without stopping to crack open the nuts. I used walnuts and pecans. Everyone kept telling me I'm nuts for hand feeding them but I never felt like I was in harm's way. They are more frightened or cautious of us than we are of them and I think they would probably flee the area instead of bitting. Have fun with it, its a very rewarding feeling when one sits and feast out of your hand. Get pictures if you can.. 

[bobss396]

22 hours ago, A modeler named mike said:

Hey Bob.. I'm sure they know you're there. They are pretty aware of their surroundings. They apparently do not see you as a threat. It may be because they associate you with the food. As for hand feeding, in my little experiences of hand feeding I use unshelled nuts and a variety helps. That way they can eat without stopping to crack open the nuts. I used walnuts and pecans. Everyone kept telling me I'm nuts for hand feeding them but I never felt like I was in harm's way. They are more frightened or cautious of us than we are of them and I think they would probably flee the area instead of bitting. Have fun with it, its a very rewarding feeling when one sits and feast out of your hand. Get pictures if you can.. 

Thanks, I will work on them. So far I give them peanuts in the shell and some big sunflower seeds. Of course stale bread and they like fortune cookies.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Just in case you find your electrical system shredded   

       

this recipe for squirrel stew is sure to make you feel better about it.   

https://honest-food.net/squirrel-stew-recipe-paprika/

Edited November 12, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[doorsovdoon]

This one's friendly..?

[tbill]

[A modeler named mike]

1 minute ago, tbill said:

? I caught two of my little guys out back. I think I'll call them the Doobie Brothers. 

[Bronzekeg]

a guy in town has a pet one that he takes everywhere perched on his shoulder.

[Tom Geiger]

I had a squirrel who had his winter stash in a planter that’s part of my deck. When I’m on my computer I sit at the kitchen table with full view of him adding stuff to the planter.

We had a big oak tree that hung over our driveway. It dumped acorns and I had to sweep them up or my wife would slip on them. I had a Home Depot bucket about half full and had a thought.. I dumped them in the planter!  I can imagine my squirrel ? thought he hit the jackpot!