Squirrel Problem, or NOT

I kill every squirrel that lets me point crosshairs on it. Otherwise they destroy property and steal fruit from our trees. They're the reason I got into airguns as an adult.

Me, too. They destroy my bird feeders. Day before yesterday I killed three in my yard. The neighborhood cats harvest them for me. I have a neighbor, who last year, planted tomatoes plants and the squirrels enjoyed them. I offered to let her borrow one of my scoped springers, but she didn't want to kill them - go figure.
 
The only ones that get a pass are the ones I don’t see. I have a boulder retaining wall in my yard. My landscaper said something was digging out the dirt between the boulders which would de-stabilize the wall and require heavy equipment and lots of money to repair. I put out my deercam by the wall and-squirrels! When the landscaper said that, my wife was there too. She said if I did not use my airguns to take care of the problem, I did not need any more of them. It turned me into an old version of Rambo. I killed 23 over the next two months. I always could, but even moreso now, can buy any and as many air and other guns and accessories as I desire.
 
Wow , Sounds like the squirrels can be a big problem, Thanks for the heads up and I will keep an eye out,,, If they get in my Motorcycle garage (all Tin) or miss with my Homing pigeons they will be easy targets , But for now they are cute and fun to watch, 

Mike


Oh they definitely have a place and purpose. I like mine with dumplings. Keep them away from your bike for sure.

YMMV
 
Interesting read, glad you all shared.

I've been passing judgment on folks on this forum who post about killing so many "problem" squirrels and chipmunks. I have never had problems with either nor do I know of anyone who has and my wife I find great joy watching the infrequent visitors to our yard. I suspected "problem" was just an adjective people attached to justify killing another animal for sport with an air gun.

I am a hunter (not with an air gun) and fisherman but we enjoy watching wildlife and we practice live-and-let-live (especially in the forests) unless game is to become table fare.

HOWEVER....it seems these cute little fury critters CAN be a problem and require controlling in some circumstances.

Thanks all for sharing some eye opening posts.
 
Most wild animals will become a nuisance if population is not controlled. I leave a few in the yard alone and get asked why. Well they are tasty and if I run out meat otherwise I can start restocking close to home. If they get brave and start messing with things I’ll change strategy.

Grew up farming and that’s how we did our cow and pigs once a year. Keep them close and well fed so they fill the freezers when it’s time. I do miss the old way but now we do it a different way. We buy half a cow and a whole pig from our processor once a year to go with everything I bring home from the woods. Haven’t starved yet. 
 
Interesting read, glad you all shared.

I've been passing judgment on folks on this forum who post about killing so many "problem" squirrels and chipmunks. I have never had problems with either nor do I know of anyone who has and my wife I find great joy watching the infrequent visitors to our yard. I suspected "problem" was just an adjective people attached to justify killing another animal for sport with an air gun.

I am a hunter (not with an air gun) and fisherman but we enjoy watching wildlife and we practice live-and-let-live (especially in the forests) unless game is to become table fare.

HOWEVER....it seems these cute little fury critters CAN be a problem and require controlling in some circumstances.

Thanks all for sharing some eye opening posts.

I didnt have any issues with squirrels in my yard for the first 5 years or so. Then something happened and their numbers increased greatly. Around that same time their destructive tendencies became obvious to me and my squirrel loving neighbors. The battle to keep their numbers in check is ongoing. Not sure why their numbers increased so quickly. I live in a town and there is no developing going on within a few miles. I am guessing just a good breeding year for them. We have experienced the same issue one year with skunks, but their number quickly declined to normal.
 
Red squirrels ate a $2000 wire harness, walked all over a white van with their black walnut stained paws (causing permanent staining), chewed through all the garage soffits, destroyed some plastic garbage cans, chewed all the weatherstripping around the garage doors, are 2 shop vac hoses, chewed through a waterline and several garden hoses, tore open several bags of birdseed, and caused general destruction and mayhem. Yes no squirrels get a pass. Got 17 in 2019, 13 last year, and 3 so far this year. Don't even get me started on chipmunks. I have had them break into the house and run around the kitchen.
 
Interesting read, glad you all shared.

I've been passing judgment on folks on this forum who post about killing so many "problem" squirrels and chipmunks. I have never had problems with either nor do I know of anyone who has and my wife I find great joy watching the infrequent visitors to our yard. I suspected "problem" was just an adjective people attached to justify killing another animal for sport with an air gun.

I am a hunter (not with an air gun) and fisherman but we enjoy watching wildlife and we practice live-and-let-live (especially in the forests) unless game is to become table fare.

HOWEVER....it seems these cute little fury critters CAN be a problem and require controlling in some circumstances.

Thanks all for sharing some eye opening posts.

"Infrequent Visitors" is probably the objective wording. They seem to create problems when the population gets to some magical point. A few, will usually stay where they should and not cause more than some mischief. Bird feeders are a favorite for them. Get the population high and they become "gangsta". Not sure if bored, nesting/breeding competition, or just spreading out and we are in the way.

A few is rarely a problem, but at some point, they will invade everything.
 
In the summer I fish in season , catch and release always. I have everything from mink to fox in my yard, never once shooting at them. 

in August I was shooting an apple from 15 yards and split it in half, when I was loading, I shoot springers , a fox ran up and grabbed half the Apple looked at me and took off. Swear to it. Not out to kill any thing just squirrels.
 
In the summer I fish in season , catch and release always. I have everything from mink to fox in my yard, never once shooting at them. 

in August I was shooting an apple from 15 yards and split it in half, when I was loading, I shoot springers , a fox ran up and grabbed half the Apple looked at me and took off. Swear to it. Not out to kill any thing just squirrels.




you should widen your kill list to rodents as whole. 
 
Small rodents are one of the main food sources for small predators... I like seeing foxes on my property so to that end I leave them squirrels alone. Riley my pup keeps them from getting to close to the house. When I moved in twenty years ago I went to war on the squirrels. But in the end I could only kill so many. As pests I have no problems eliminating them, if they’re passing through I let them be.
 
I've eliminated most from around my home but I still see some coming from a stand of woods about 150 yards away and crossing a road to get to the bird feeders. I grew up hunting and fishing myself but this isn't a "game management" issue, it is a pest issue. I have a hole in a storage building from them trying to get in and I've seem them sitting on the vehicles. If they would leave the buildings, cars, and feeders alone I wouldn't care about them being in the yard. But they never do. So all get shot.