I left the trap too long and the water got rancid. Who knows what the squirrels excreted while drowning and the noon temps here are over 100 degrees. The seeds that were still floating were moldy. It stunk.

In the first few days of setting the trap I got 5 squirrels. At least one had eluded me. I didn't know if it was smart enough to not enter the trap after watching the other 5 die or if the trap just was too stinky to jump into.

Yesterday I dumped the stank-water, cleaned the bucket, moved it to a new area under the pear tree where the last squirrel was most active and re-baited it. Today I caught maybe the last one. I will continue to keep the trap baited and clean for a week or so just to make sure the whole colony has been exterminated.

Just wanted to follow up and let everyone know that the trap needs to be cleaned periodically. And the squirrels aren't smart enough to learn.

Could you give a brief explanation of your setup. Some of us were too turned off by the earlier thread to catch the details.

Thank you!!

The Fruitnut

I guess since the "pro squirrel torture" conversation is starting back, there should be room for the opposite view. I can't really properly represent the many people that don't think squirrels should ever be killed, but, since some of you guys tried hard to run the people with that view off, I guess I should at least put a word in for them. Many people think this "bucket of death" is not only unnecessary but also inhumane.

If you post extremely controversial viewpoints in the forum or add to those types of conversations, you surely can't expect only those that agree to respond.

I reposted the "bucket of death" because it was an experiment and there were updates for anyone that was interested. I didn’t give it that name. I was skeptical of the idea at first but the speed and efficiency of the trap is impressive.

Lychee’s original post was asking for help in getting rid of squirrels. Lot’s of ideas were presented. Whether they were good or bad ideas was left open to the reader. If you think death is not an option and you have an alternative method for ridding a property of squirrels then please feel free to post it here. There is always room for an opposite view and no one should ever feel discouraged from expressing theirs. That’s the beauty of the Garden Web Forums.

However, hijacking someone else’s thread with dozen’s of off-topic posts and changing it from a rodent problem to global warming issue is a different matter. There are many problems facing people of every culture. We can’t solve them all on one squirrely thread in one "Fruit and Orchard" forum.
Gay marriage, abortion, the death penalty, unjustified wars, ethnic cleansing, genocide, etc. These are all minor issues. In my humble opinion I think the people of the world need to rise up and unite in an effort to undo the damage caused by one group of people. A group of people that are seeking to destroy our world, our countries, and yes, even our gardens.

Squirrel Lovers.

So as a public service for the benefit off all humanity I am contributing the following Q&A section. It contains FAQ about squirrel lovers. It is a culmination of years of dedicated research. It’s a hobby of mine, no need to reply and thank me.

Q: What do you get when you offer a squirrel lover a penny for his thoughts?
A: Change.
Q: How do you confuse a squirrel lover?
A: You don't. They're born that way.
Q: Why is it good to have a squirrel lover as a passenger?
A: You can park in the handicap zone.
Q: What's the difference between Elvis and a smart squirrel lover?
A: Elvis has been sighted.
Q: How do you keep a squirrel lover busy?
A: Write 'Please turn over' on both sides of a piece of paper.
Q: How do you keep a squirrel lover busy all day?
A: Put him in a round room and tell him to wait in the corner.
Q: What is the definition of gross ignorance?
A: 144 squirrel lovers.
Q: What is foreplay for a squirrel lover?
A: Thirty minutes of begging.
Q: What is the squirrel lover doing when he holds his hands tightly over his ears?
A: Trying to hold onto a thought.
Q: Why did the squirrel lover have blisters on his lips?
A: From trying to blow out light bulbs.
Q: Why do squirrel lovers work seven days a week?
A: So you don't have to retrain them on Monday.
Q: What the difference between a squirrel lover and the rear end of a horse?
A: I don't know either.
Q: How many squirrel lovers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They prefer to live in the dark.
Q: Why do so many squirrel lovers live in L.A.?
A: It’s the only city that is easy enough for them to spell.
Q: What do you call a squirrel lover with an IQ of 15?
A: Gifted.
Q: What do you call a squirrel lover with an IQ of 50?
A: A foursome
Q: What's five miles long and has an IQ of 200?
A: A squirrel lover’s parade.
Q: What is it called when a squirrel lover blows in another squirrel lover’s ear?
A: Data transfer.
Q: What's the difference between a squirrel lover and a sack of manure?
A: The sack.
Q: How do you plant dope?
A: Bury a squirrel lover.
Q: How do you stop a squirrel lover from drowning?
A: Take your foot off the back of his head.
Q: What's the difference between a dead deer in the road and a dead squirrel lover in the road?
A: The dead deer has skid marks in front of it.
Q: Do you remember the squirrel lover on the Jetsons? No?
A: The future looks pretty good!
Q: How is a squirrel lover different from a real squirrel?
A: Some people actually like real squirrels.
Q: What do you call a basement full of squirrel lovers?
A: A whine cellar.
Q: How do you keep a squirrel lover out of your backyard?
A: Hang one out front.
Q: What do you call 5 squirrel lovers hanging from a tree?
A: Gardener’s Wind chimes.
Q: How do you get a squirrel lover out of a tree?
A: Cut the rope.
Q: How do you get a one-armed squirrel lover out of a tree?
A: Wave to him.
Q: Why are squirrel lovers always buried 12 feet deep?
A: Deep down they're good people.
A squirrel lover died and a friend went around collecting for a fund for his funeral. A woman was asked to donate ten dollars.
"Ten dollars?" she said. "It only takes ten dollars to bury a squirrel lover? Here's a hundred - go bury 10 of them!"

I'm not a "squirrel lover", but I'm wondering what this obsession you have with them and is all about. I guess most people find squirrels cute, at least until they eat those people's plants/fruit/electrical wiring. Maybe one or two of the posters in the original thread were "squirrel lovers", but you'd have to ask them about that.

My problem with your post is two fold. First, the method you use to address your squirrel problem is, in my opinion, a very poor one for multiple reasons. Secondly, and probably much more importantly, is that things about your posts are offensive to many people here on the forum. The things that have been brought up like global warming (I never did figure out why in the world that one was brought up)(and yes, I know you weren't the one that brought it up), the way you enjoy watching animals die, and the "squirrel lovers" jokes are probably not appropriate for this forum. They aren't related to fruit, orchards, or anything grown in orchards.

When things are brought up in a forum that are just plain wrong or personal, sometimes they have to be addressed. But introducing them into the forum in the first place is really not appropriate. The nature of these squirrel posts have become distractive and seem more and more to be here only to cause irritation or controversy.

The bucked of death works for mice too. Five gallon bucket, and some uncooked oats. I kinda prefer the snap trap myself. Something satisfying about not needing to check the trap, cause you can hear the snap. Except for when all 5 traps snap right after bed and then you've got to get up and re-set them all.

End Trans
d

#2 Who are you to tell me what is morally right, humane,etc?

#3 What is offensive is your trying to hijack the thread. We're here as fruit growers not moralist,
big brothers or preachers.
Respectfully,
Bonnan

Brandon, go back and read some of the posts in the other thread. They hate the squirrels because they ruin ENTIRE CROPS. They don't just take a little, or enough, they ruin the entire thing, every time, and most is left to rot. That's a waste, not killin and grillin a squirrel.

d

Glad you are making headway and thanks for the updates.

Hey, all, I picked three bushels of peaches off of ONE of my 12 peach trees yesterday. Lots of all kinds of good fruit this year, and the least damage in years, since almost all of the squirrels in my neighborhood have been removed a few miles down the road to the community college nature preserve. I'm very convinced that a constant trap and remove OR eliminate campaign will go a long way towards making a good garden. Deer, of course, are too big to trap, and illegal to kill in most areas most times of the year, so that's still a problem -- good fences around the trees are the best solution I've come up with.

I wonder what tastes better, a tree ripened peach or self-righteousness? I vote for the peach.

Dennis
SE Michigan

Brandon- the Survivors of Parental Incest Support Group forum you are looking for is on a different website.

This thread is for help and advice about killing things. Any advice on killing squirrels, gophers, mice, moles, chipmunks, deer, or bear is welcome here. Any non-gun ideas on how to kill ravens would also be welcome here.

But please don't turn my thread into a Brandon7 bashing forum. Brandon7 is a person with very strong morals, principles, values and opinions. His ideas are also welcome here. If you want to slam the guy start your own thread. I always enjoy a good sparring match, and he seems to be able to hold his own.

BTW, I forgot a couple things from a previous entry.

Q: How long does it take a female squirrel lover to take a dump?
A: Nine months.
Q: How do you get a squirrel lover to stab himself?
A: Hand him a knife and ask "Who’s special?"

"I actually don't have a problem killing nuisance squirrels, but nevertheless, a couple of you on here are real pricks"

DeGays,

I'm not familiar with homoculture, is that a compliment?