OT: Squirrels

[mikershoein]

We got a lot more of everything (including foxes) after the mild winter - but especially bears. Bears and cubs were all over the Hudson Valley. In my photo group, there were bear pics every day. Bears on decks, in pools, in trees, in cars - everywhere.

So cute, until he eats your face off

great pic

 

[BigWill]

Hollywood Idiot/ican calls for POLICE when she sees young neighbor with assault weapon.

Turns out it was a bee bee gun and he was shooting at those darn rats with busy tails.

As Mary Anne calls them, which made me pay almost 200 bucks for a special bird feeder stand that they can't climb, nor can deer reach either.

 

[RUaMoose]

Squirrels are tree rodents, and you know what they say....
The only Good Rodent ......

Three years back they we're getting into my attic. They were tearing up the insulation up there and causing havoc. Squirrels get into your house it's no joke. Finally when we were selling the house the inspector found where the little bastards we're getting in. It was a little hole obscured by the gutter on the opposite side of the house from where they were doing all the damage. I had some, let us say, less than humane traps all ready to go right before entry point was found. Glad I didn't have to deploy

 

[MrsScrew]

I loathe squirrels. A number of years ago I lived in a townhome development that was very wooded. Friggin squirrels were everywhere. It was bad enough when they ate the pumpkins at Halloween but then they nested in my car engine and ate thru the wires.. Twice. Ended up costing me over $2000 when it was all said and done.

 

[RocktheRac]

I prefer groundhogs. I leave out my not eaten watermelon and they quite enjoy.

 

[ashokan]

That shot is radness.

Those bears are amazing climbers

 

[JRZEER]

I prob spelled it wrong, who gives AF

But, there are so many more of them this September , alive and roadkill everywhere

Mild winter last year and so many less vehicles on the roads last Spring has equalled an overflow of the critters.

Same with deer. My neighborhood is under siege by big hungry does and her fawns.

 

[RUDiddy777]

We got a lot more of everything (including foxes) after the mild winter - but especially bears. Bears and cubs were all over the Hudson Valley. In my photo group, there were bear pics every day. Bears on decks, in pools, in trees, in cars - everywhere.

That’s awesome!

 

[knightfan7]

I loathe squirrels. A number of years ago I lived in a townhome development that was very wooded. Friggin squirrels were everywhere. It was bad enough when they ate the pumpkins at Halloween but then they nested in my car engine and ate thru the wires.. Twice. Ended up costing me over $2000 when it was all said and done.

When my son was at Monmouth U, he went to start his car one morning......nothing. Tried to get it jumped....nothing. He called me at work in Oceanport and I arranged to have it towed to a local repair shop.

Turned out to be the same thing Mrs. The mechanic said it had happened before with cars parked in that particular lot. I don't remember what it cost me but it was pretty damned expensive.

 

[patk89]

I loathe squirrels. A number of years ago I lived in a townhome development that was very wooded. Friggin squirrels were everywhere. It was bad enough when they ate the pumpkins at Halloween but then they nested in my car engine and ate thru the wires.. Twice. Ended up costing me over $2000 when it was all said and done.

They have already attacked the pumpkin I put on the front step last week. Probably payback as I did my share of damage to their population with my Sheridan pellet gun as a kid. We are fans of the rabbit family that visit our back yard frequently, they are almost tame.

 

[RUDutch]

A coyote started following my wife and I during a walk at dusk a few weeks ago. At least the squirrels and chipmunks run away from you.

 

[mikershoein]

Same with deer. My neighborhood is under siege by big hungry does and her fawns.

I hate deer. from afar, cute. Up close, dumb as shit and they will trash the front end of your car.

And lets not forget the Lyme disease that deer ticks carry. Only person that hates deer more than me is Darryl Hall.

Yes, that Darryl Hall from Hall and Oates. I heard him on an interview he takes no pity on them and kills on site when legally possible in Saratoga NY. His wife contracted Lyme disease from a deer tick and he hasn't forgiven them

 

[beaced]

We just had this conversation the other night and everyone laughed at me.. There are sooooo many squirrels. I saw one carrying a whole slice of pizza last month.
They're preparing. They know something is coming..and I don't mean winter.
I saw a couple darker ones as well. Looked creepy.

They ARE preparing. For a CATostrophy. THIS is the time of the year that ALL of the CATS get together for the Great Squirrel Hunt.

 

[RU Golfer]

Nutty weather sparks a squirrel boom

If you’ve noticed more squirrels around lately, you’re not nuts.

www.timesunion.com

.

 

[RuSnp]

I prob spelled it wrong, who gives AF

But, there are so many more of them this September , alive and roadkill everywhere

Mild winter last year and so many less vehicles on the roads last Spring has equalled an overflow of the critters.

I for one welcome our new rodent overlords.

 

[batts]

My brother owes a debt of gratitude to squirrels who broke into his attic. He called a pest control contractor to remove them. While in the attic, the contractor noticed a carpenter ant colony which was starting to gnaw away on one of his support beams.

 

[Kbee3]

Same with deer. My neighborhood is under siege by big hungry does and her fawns.

One of things I miss least about my job (since retiring) was the awful amount of dead deer that would be along rte. 80 pretty much daily during the ride home..
Not many squirrels.

 

[InGregITrust]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

 

[Big boy stan]

This guy set up an obstacle course for squirrels. Absolutely hilarious.

 

[charliem24]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

Must be moving up from the south, most squirrels in South Carolina are black, reversing the migration pattern

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

Skunks?

 

[MrsScrew]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

saw one this morning over on Harrison Street in Princeton.

 

[IMARUFAN]

It was a Chipmunk-feast for me this spring/summer.

I fished 3 chipmunks out of the bottom of my pool in just a 1 week period in June.

 

[DJ Spanky]

A coyote started following my wife and I during a walk at dusk a few weeks ago. At least the squirrels and chipmunks run away from you.

Well you should be worried if a cougar starts following you: that could be expensive!

 

[RUDutch]

Spanky, I also saw a coyote driving through William Paterson University. That's very close to where you live.

 

[ashokan]

 

[RUHotTrumpetMonkeyLove]

Not entirely unrelated. Any suggestions for keeping squirrels away from pumpkins this time of year? The past two years I've used a soapy water/hot sauce bath which has worked pretty well. Don't carve the pumpkins until a couple of days before Halloween. Then reapply the hot sauce around the holes in the pumpkin which actually give a jack-o-lantern a pretty ghoulish look.

 

[198hamilton]

They say coyote urine works. But I won't spend the money so I simply urinate around the pumpkins late at night. It doesn't work but it's liberating and very cave manesque to mark your territory

 

[JRZEER]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

They have been in Princeton for decades. They are technically a grey squirrel but have morphed into a black pelt. There was an urban myth that they escaped from a lab at the university and mated with the local squirrels but it’s not true. They actually have spread out to other parts of Mercer county and southern Middlesex and live in other centralized locations in the north east.

 

[InGregITrust]

They have been in Princeton for decades. They are technically a grey squirrel but have morphed into a black pelt. There was an urban myth that they escaped from a lab at the university and mated with the local squirrels but it’s not true. They actually have spread out to other parts of Mercer county and southern Middlesex and live in other centralized locations in the north east.

good info. I’m in highland park so I guess a few of them must have driven up route 27

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

They say coyote urine works. But I won't spend the money so I simply urinate around the pumpkins late at night. It doesn't work but it's liberating and very cave manesque to mark your territory

If that worked there wouldn't be any squirrels in Manasquan or Belmar 😃

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Spanky, I also saw a coyote driving through William Paterson University. That's very close to where you live.

What kind of car was it driving?

 

[ruready4somefootball]

I put in new landscaping , 15 boxwoods and Golden mops. Everyday a new attack by chipmunks, digging deep under them, and I'm guessing eating the roots and nesting. After reading about sonic devices and toxic products, I found an article about moth balls. I bought a box of them at Home Depot. I'd roll a couple down each hole, and push the mulch, dirt and rocks back down into the hole. The next day, there's be an exit hole, and another plant would have all the mulch dug away, and another deep tunnel. I'd roll 2 or 3 more moth balls down that hole , cover up and wait. After about 5 days, and 6 of my 15 plants were under siege,they gave up. I still see them all over our neighborhood and they are constantly around my block retaining wall, but it's been 5 months and not one plant has been touched and the moth balls didn't do any damage to the boxwoods and Golden Mop plants. They took great and are very healthy.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Timely topic for me. I saw two black squirrels in the neighborhood for the first time. Completely black, not a normal grey-ish brown color. I guess these guys are new to my neighborhood? or everywhere?

When I lived out in Michigan as a kid, we had as many black squirrels as grey squirrels. I never see them up here in north jersey though.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

When I lived out in Michigan as a kid, we had as many black squirrels as grey squirrels. I never see them up here in north jersey though.

Michigan is more diverse apparently

 

[m1ipabrams]

Those bears are amazing climbers

Got in an argument with my BIL last week about whether adult black bears can climb trees. He was like "only cubs can climb, so the best way to get away from a black bear is to get up into a tree". Wouldn't believe me that black bears of any size love to climb trees and are likely better at it then he would be.

 

[Kbee3]

Must be moving up from the south, most squirrels in South Carolina are black, reversing the migration pattern

I've never seen a black squirrel until this morning when leaving my doctor's office in Hasbrouck Heights.

 

[BigWill]

I prefer groundhogs. I leave out my not eaten watermelon and they quite enjoy.

Turns out that Chickens are like garbage disposals, Mary Anne puts out all the old watermelon rinds and other over ripe veggies.

"Al, Just don't feed me to Wu's pigs !" Deadwood.

 

[ashokan]

A coyote started following my wife and I during a walk at dusk a few weeks ago. At least the squirrels and chipmunks run away from you.

I was riding my bike in Harriman Park when I heard a pitter-patter behind me. I turned around and saw a coyote trailing me. But it had an injured paw and soon turned to go back into the woods. I went home to read about coyotes, and came across two local articles about coyotes bites, and one bite was to a bike rider. Just another thing to have to watch out for lol

 

[ashokan]

Got in an argument with my BIL last week about whether adult black bears can climb trees. He was like "only cubs can climb, so the best way to get away from a black bear is to get up into a tree". Wouldn't believe me that black bears of any size love to climb trees and are likely better at it then he would be.

A lot of Harriman hikers store their food in the trees thinking bears cant get at it. The bears correct them.