Squirrels!!!

[madpiano]

I found that shooting squirrels is pretty difficult. They move so fast and rarely sit still for any length of time. We ended up getting life traps and then killing them. We chose drowning, as rodents breathe so fast that it is pretty instant, but apparently this isn't allowed and deemed cruel (a rodent drowns in less than 30 seconds!). We were supposed to hit it over the head or shoot it through the brain in the cage (good luck with a frantically moving squirrel). Of course the cages need to be monitored at all times - we checked every 15 minutes and never left the trap out unattended.
Also I wouldn't kill them during breeding season - I hate the tree rats, but I can't be cruel and let the babies starve.

[boundtothesoil]

Does anyone know the best way to get rid of squirrels,

Go onto amazon, key in squirrel trap, look for the one with the most posaitive reviews, buy it (probably costs £10-15). PLace on ground where you have seen squirrels roaming. Bait it with a few unsalted peanuts in a foil cup, plus one or two at the mouth of the trap to tempt the little blighters in. Then sit back and wait. Wear thick gloves when handling the cage containing a squirrel. Your biggest problem is how to dispatch the creatures. If you don't have a gun, then you may have problems. Google for legal methods of killing. The most appealing and qucik of the illegal methods may be drowning.

I had a squirrel problem last year, followed my own advice and now I don't have a problem!

[Piggle]

Just be careful, they have razor sharp teeth as I found out to my peril when a "rescue" one decided to chew through my knuckle.

The woman who "rescued" them (abandoned babies.... I'm not condoning it btw) said to it, and I quote. ...... " oh Cyril don' t be naughty " and detached it from my hand. It then proceeded to flash it's n**ts at me in a provocative manner. Little swine , I had to get a tetinus.

Fortunately karma intervened as it snuffed it a few months later , can't say I was sorry. Although in hindsight I'm wondering whether it had some terrible disease which it's passed onto me or whether I have some terrible disease I passed onto it

[Aberdeenplotter]

Be worried if you have this overpowering temptation to climb trees and raid bird tables for food. Otherwise, I think you can relax

[Piggle]

I did have a craving for hazel nuts!