The Big Rat Diary

[Johnny Appleseed]

Nicos - well, that link made me smile thank you

Who would know if you released it??

Alternatively ...this may be useful....

Squirrel Recipes

That's an option I hadn't considered to date .......

Now any recipes for ratatouille.............. :-)

[Johnny Appleseed]

It's divided our household

noooooo ignore that and release it, there will be some old granny who feeds it who will be most distressed when her squirrel doesn't come

Hi lynda - thanks for the post. The Wildlife Act requirement has divided our household. I can see why they are trying to support the return of the Red Squirrel which is why the Grey should be dispatched humanely.

I never dreamed that simply trying to catch a rat would involve me in facing the choice between dispatching a Grey Squirrel or breaking the law by releasing it back into the wild.

I would not think twice about dispatching a rat - but a squirrel I am not easy with. They visit our garden, they bury nuts in our lawn, borders and containers -I've never been bothered with them. We don't feed them - they are just there.

An interesting discussion point about the way we perceive wildlife.

My neighbour is happy to watch rats feeding on his birdtable. I want them dispatched but I am hesitant to dispatch any squirrel caught in the trap.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Thanks to everyone for their posts and input

The wide range of opinions and thoughts has been very useful and made meal time discussions in the Appleseed household very animated.

We may only know you by your screen names - but you have all been mentioned in our house over the last few days. Thank you all.

[Two_Sheds]

So, you're up early Johnny = staring a grey squirrel in the eye? Trying to tell it you're still undecided about its fate?

[Hilary B]

Who would know if you released it??

Alternatively ...this may be useful....

Squirrel Recipes

I have to admit that this would be my approach. I know squirrels look cute and fluffy, but they really aren't any nicer than rats. The biggest difference is that rats breed faster, and all year round, besides they grey tree-rats don't belong here, they are American immigrants<g>

[womble]

Sorry to hear about your predicament with the squirrel, just thought I would add something about the eradibait posted earlier.
I looked into it and searched for as many reports on it I could find. I wasn't impressed, a lot of people said it didn't seem to work. So in the end I didn't use it.

[Johnny Appleseed]

So, you're up early Johnny = staring a grey squirrel in the eye? Trying to tell it you're still undecided about its fate?

lol TwoSheds - no, not eyeballing a squirrel - my company decided I had to attend a Breakfast Meeting at 7am. I got there on time and all the others were up to a half an hour late.

Who was the mug to be Mr Punctual after all?

Grrrrrrrrr.

Both traps left alone today - no takers at all - apart from a big slug on the peanut butter YUK!

[Johnny Appleseed]

Day 7 - 31st October

Another Grey Squirrel took the peanut butter bait and got caught in the catch 'em alive trap today.

I'm checking the traps twice a day so it has happened since breakfast time.

No sign of the rat though

Perhaps the squirrels are putting them off?

Hugh showed how to prepare wild squirrel for the table in last nights episode of River Cottage Autumn (repeated Saturday) - not for the squeamish though.

[womble]

I saw that, didn't look like much meat on it, not sure if its worth the while. It would be interesting to try though.

Erm... hesitate to ask, but what are you doing with the bushy tailed rats?

[Johnny Appleseed]

Good question womble

Erm... hesitate to ask, but what are you doing with the bushy tailed rats?

After much discussion in the Appleseed household a split decision was taken to comply with the requirements of the Wildlife Act and not simply release the Grey Squirrels back into the wild.

My son and his friends made a great case for simply shaking "Tufty" out of the cage and pretending we had never caught any squirrels. There is at least one web site saying the same "drive at least 2 miles away and release them back into the wild" but after much discussion and consideration, that didn't happen..

The River Cottage Squirrel recipe is a step too far at the moment but I have kept the recipe.

The question in the Appleseed household currently under discussion is "Why not try the River Cottage recipe?"

We have after all bought Water Buffalo, ostrich, kangaroo, rabbit and crocodile meat in the past to try.

Is it just the thought of preparing something trapped in the domestic garden that is putting certain family members off the idea of squirrel as it's certainly not the idea of trying something different?

If said family members saw squirrel meat shrink wrapped in the supermarket would they be adverse to trying out?

It's really interesting that a rat in the compost heap has generated so much discussion in our household.

Very cold tonight - peanut butter bait probably frozen solid again
which could indicate ratty boy looking hard for food - unless my neighbours bird table is overflowing again.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Thanks Alice you are quite right

You might have to be patient Johnny. Rats are quite suspicious of new food sources.

No sign of the rat yet. Perhaps the sight of trapped squirrels put it off?

I'm still looking for signs of a nest or droppings in the shed and garden.

[Two_Sheds]

Snickers bars work a treat apparently - rats love peanuts and chocolate.
Like Hugh did, put the bait in the trap but don't set the trap, for a few days. They;re smart and they're suspicious. Get them used to eating from the trap safely before you set it.

Is it the same Squirrel that keeps coming back to your trap? Can you bring yourself to knock it on the head with a brick?

[Johnny Appleseed]

Thanks for the comments Two Sheds

Snickers bars work a treat apparently - rats love peanuts and chocolate.

Is it the same Squirrel that keeps coming back to your trap? Can you bring yourself to knock it on the head with a brick?

I will try the Snickers bar and see what happens. I really don't want to deal with any more squirrels.

I have caught two different squirrels. Both were dispatched humanely in accordance with the requirements of the Wildlife Act.

I wish I'd caught two rats - I would dispatch them without a second's hesitation or thought - unlike the squirrels which I didn't plan on dealing with at all.

[lynda66]

so what did you actually do with the squirrel? probably don't want to know

i have thought long and hard about the grey squirrel thing ...... if there was a plan to eradicate grey squirrels completely, and re-release red squirrels back then i would support it, but that is never going to happen, so as we aren't going to have reds in the garden, i'd rather have the greys than none at all ........ they are such funny little things when you get to know them.

but they are here now, and part of our wildlife.

[Johnny Appleseed]

so what did you actually do with the squirrel? probably don't want to know

i have thought long and hard about the grey squirrel thing ...... if there was a plan to eradicate grey squirrels completely, and re-release red squirrels back then i would support it, but that is never going to happen, so as we aren't going to have reds in the garden, i'd rather have the greys than none at all ........ they are such funny little things when you get to know them.

but they are here now, and part of our wildlife.

Hi lynda66 - it was very quick lynda, I promise - I made sure of that. A single shot in the right place with a .22 air rifle was all that was needed.

Had I not bought the new catch 'em alive trap which came with the explicit Grey Squirrel warning about not releasing them back into the wild - I would not have known and would have just shaken them out of the trap and let them go again.

I have nothing against squirrels - they are fun to watch - but I have no intention of breaking the law by letting them go again.

It has divided opinion in our family - and there are so many where we live killed by cars as well.......