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| I'm thinking of planting some nut trees. We do have some wild life, like squirrels, rabbits, even ground hogs. So what nut tree I should consider in this kind of environment? If the squirrels get the nuts before they drop, then there is no hope. I'm thinking about chestnut, where squirrels get them after the nuts drop. How about hazelnut and pecan? The walnut trees are out. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| chestnuts. but you have to pick them within a one or two days window, when the burrs are just cracking but not open yet. If you miss the window even once you will train the squirrels forever. wear heavy boots and drag burrs on the ground, they will open. Then store in hardware cloth lined box. one year I made the window, picked them but I did not want to store for the winter just yet, too busy with other things. I stored them just for just 3 or 4 days in a trash can in the garage, when I went to put them in long term storage they were all gone with a hole at the bottom (squirrels). buy a chinese hybrid, of course. |
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- Posted by franktank232 z5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 22:07
| Didn't know such a thing existed. I have an attached garage....walked out the other day and here is a squirrel in the back of the garage (the door was open from the kids) eating sunflower seeds from a sunflower head i had cut the day before. They either have amazing eyesight or smell or both. |
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| All this is relative. From what read, the wild ones will get the walnut and pecan at the tree. But they will only get the chestnuts when the nuts drop to the ground. So I'm thinking if I collect the nuts everyday, I should get some nuts. We have a couple of mature black walnut trees. Sometimes I saw some nuts on my lawn. But this year, the lawn has been clean. So, give up on nut trees? |
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- Posted by milehighgirl CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B (My Page) on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 0:11
| They have an amazing sense of smell. I trap mine with peanut butter. Once I just laid the spoon on the top of the fence for a moment and later they would stop mid-stride and start sniffing around. I have been interested in Hazelberts from St. Lawrence. Anyone have experience with Hazelberts vs. squirrels? |
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/pgnuts.html
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- Posted by harvestman 6 (My Page) on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 7:22
| Hungry squirrels will free chestnuts from the burrs, often knocking the whole thing off trees. I use my trees to lure them and shoot them while their attention is on these nuts. They rarely wait for the nuts to fall to the ground on their own on my property. Isolated trees can be baffled from squirrels or you can dig shallow holes under and near the trees and fill with leaves and the squirrels will harvest and store the nuts for you. At some point the trees become so productive that there actually is enough for everyone, but this will take about 30 years. |
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| I think the only nut tree that would be safe from squirrels would be one that had a dog tied to it's base. And then only if it's canopy wasn't close to anything else. |
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