Kitchen Garden Forum

I have been wondering what has been eating my beautiful lettuces over the last few days (apart from me). This morning I spotted the culprit - a squirrel. I knew that squirrels went for the fruit in my garden but I don't think they have shown any interest in lettuce before. Any suggestion for warding them off?

Martin.

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Hi Glory B,
I suppose if you used a shotgun in Bromley there would be an Armed Response Team surrounding you house in minutes so maybe you are right to make friends with them but I have got my doubts.
Squirrels get shot here as they are an absolute menace to just about everything growing.
It's no good saying Aaaaah every time you see them because you have now reaped the reward for feeding them. You must see them for what they are Tree Rats and nothing else. Call me hard hearted if you will but I'm afraid I shall just have to shoulder the burden

I find that letting the dog out usually helps.They move pretty quickly if they think they are going to be a snack
Seedling

Did you hear the story on Today this weekend that the RSPCA were prosecuting somebody for humanely trapping squirrels then releasing them a long way away? The end of the piece was that they could have legally shot them. They suffer lead poisoning in my garden too.

Seedling's option sounds the better though...that's if you have a dog of course.



Glory B

Would an air rifle kill a squirrel?

Yes, but make sure you are confident with it's handling, have set the sites correctly and are as accurate as possible.

Then watch what is behind the target in case you miss as an air rifle pellet can travel a fair distance and can easily injure a person.

HTH

Jerry

I rather feel that in Urban Areas that Humane Traps are decidedly safer for all concerned.
Here I can bang off to my hearts content but having said that I always really check that I do not have trespassers on the plot especially as they are normally children. I have a Green Lane disecting my plot and it is a private right of way but we do get several people especially 4x4 drivers for whom I have the perfect answer when I see them go down I drop 4 enormous chunks of rock and block their exit.
I always shoot away from the lane across my own land
because the Squirrels are always in the Hazel Hedging.
I'm afraid that Magpies get the same treatment as Squirrels as they too are a menace. This year I have shot over 40 and they still keep coming we seem to have a plague of them. Evil as they are I never shoot Jays. For the first time I have a pair of Ravens that nested this year and they have been a joy to observe. They raised 4 young and the noise was incredible. They have all flown successfully.
Have ended up with 14 pairs of Swallows which is 4 pairs more than last year. Most of them raised at least 3 broods last year and the last brood that flew the nest did so the day after the main flock went and they went immediately they had left the nest and really learned to fly on the long journey.

Yes an air rifle can kill squirrels but you must shoot through the head and probably shoot them again after you have felled them.

As you shoot the ruddy tree-rats think of the improvement in song-bird numbers with a depleted squirrel population. Next to the domestic cat they are the worst predatore of songbirds going.

When I was in my early teens I vaguely remember older lads shooting squirrels and taking their tales into the local town's post office to collect 6d a tail, was I dreaming?

If not I wish they would put a bounty on the grey squirrel and mink and magpies and pigeons and ...

Barney

yes, flippin' magpies are currently pestering the blackbirds and robins with infants in my garden. grrrr

Hi Barney,
You are quite right and just before the scheme ended it went up to a shilling a tail. Was nicknamed it 'Bob a Bob' and I used to earn my pocket money that way.

Err.. we shoot grey squirrels out of our bathroom window. I work on the principle that they give up when Lyndon appears with air rifle and little else.........

We don't get magpies but we do see others. Our cats don't touch any birds as they have been taught over 20 years to avoid them.

The dog's only interested in pidgeons, squirrels, rabbits and moles.