Why do you pest? Or not?

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I have several high dollar Bosai tree's that were imported from Japan and a couple of species of birds threaten their safety and so I take them out every time I see one. 2 years ago a curved bill Thrasher dug up the roots on a 100 year old Japanese Black Pine on a 103 degree day when I was at work and the tree died because of root exposure. That was a $20,000 tree. I also kill ground squirrels because of the unwanted digging, nesting, and damage to things around my yard and house. Skunks get got too because they like to destroy my grass. I also have raccoons too but they don't bother anything and just pass through, so I leave them alone.
 
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I have four 15+ years old walnut trees in my backyards. 2-3 years ago all were chewed up. Also my wife's SUV engine wires I could never fix it 100% so traded it in with a serious loss.
So I got two stray kittens and trained them to guard my property in the morning until I wake up. And I am letting them that game ones on the ground.

dazy onguard.JPG


The followup pictures may be too aggressive for some viewers so I will skip those details. Brutal :cool:
 
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bigHUN said:
I have four 15+ years old walnut trees in my backyards. 2-3 years ago all were chewed up. Also my wife's SUV engine wires I could never fix it 100% so traded it in with a serious loss.
So I got two stray kittens and trained them to guard my property in the morning until I wake up. And I am letting them that game ones on the ground.

View attachment 286023

The followup pictures may be too aggressive for some viewers so I will skip those details. Brutal :cool:
Click to expand...
Cats hunt “everyday“… good move.
 
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I'm following this thread, it's a peculiar topic to start a thread on.

I am in full agreement with many of the posts, as they describe precisely WHY I PEST. The posts cover all the reasons for any kind of pesting very well, a truly exhaustive list. 😉




🤔 I have also found it peculiar that no-one has stated HERE what I see stated elsewhere....
To quote some recent posts:
▪ "The only good thing about rodents is that they are fun to shoot at." (by mm)

▪ "My favorite is whacking a rat in the back yard. I love it when the shot is so powerful that the rat gets knocked back and almost pinned." (by so)
▪ "There IS a very satisfying "pop" when slugs hit their intended target." (by g5)

▪ While kp is scurrying out to shoot the rat that just rang the dinger (he has his NV scope linked to his home wifi) — his wife and his kids put his rat kills on the big screen TV — to watch them live.

Just a few examples.....



🔷 So, help me out here for a sec:
I have gathered from this thread that the majority of us here spends four-digit dollar amounts on gear —
"to protect the song birds" and
"to help the farmers" and
because we want "to keep the pecan trees nice."

Yupp.
I always knew that we are a bunch of do-gooders and boy-scouts who simply upgraded our childhood Red Riders by factor 10 (or 30) for humanitarian reasons.
Completely convincing.
Rousingly reasonable.
That's me, man. To the T.

😉 Matthias
 
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dizzums said:
i dont kid myself about killing things 'for the good of the earth' .. thats bs, and a mental disorder that shows psychotic tendencies ... i'll waste something in a heartbeat destroying my own property or after my own animals though ...
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True… to a point. The pest I’ve killed at the farm were in the act of stealing feed. Otherwise, I don’t pick winners and losers in nature. I let Mother Nature sort that out…
 
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I live in a very rural area with National Forest behind me and a National Wildlife Refuge in front. I have a garden as well as acreage with fruit trees, nut trees, and fish ponds. In three years with an air rifle I have eradicated Agkistrodon Pisciverous ( the cotton mouth water moccasin) on my property. That makes my property safer for pets and people and it makes the fish ponds more productive. When we kept chickens I battled rats, coons, river otters, bobcats and snakes of all types principally with an air rifle. As long as I have a garden I will keep an air rifle by the back door.
 
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I used to have a ton of red squirrels. I had to shoot some occasionally when I would hear them running on my roof. Now I have a hawk. Still have reds but not enough to warrant shooting them. Gray squirrels, and I have around 6, have never caused a problem for the 30 years I have lived here. I have a red fox so when rabbits start to get abundant, they quickly disappear except for the parts of them I find that the fox didn’t eat. I have up to 10 flying squirrels that I enjoy watching at night. They cause no problems In all the years I’ve lived here either. I’m sure with all the critters I have, I could rationalize, justify or make up an excuse as to why I would have to kill them. But I have killed so many things all over the country in my life that I might be getting a little soft once I took the time to actually watch and study things instead of just blasting it. Now on the flip side, I know we have some serious ratters on this forum. I’m a mouser. I have never been so challenged by something so insignificant. My first mouse woodpile is 39 yards and the second is 60 yards. When you are knocking off mice at 60 with your slug gun consistently, you know your tune is solid. The nice thing about mice is I don’t have to jump through hoops with the game commission like I have to with raccoons and skunks. I used to work with a deputy game warden. When guys at work bitched about all the pests they had he would always say one thing. Get rid of your feeders and the problem will go away. So when I read topics similar to this I always think, how many of these guys pest problems are self induced.
 
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i live in a very rural area on a farm.. plenty of acreage.. critters everywhere. i could shoot something daily if i wanted to... i don't unless something is causing damage or trying or insists on get in my chicken coop/run. bird feeders are pretty much coon proof but once in a while one is a thinker and figures out how to get a meal. that's fine once but not twice.. deer like the feeders once in awhile but love the garden... cayenne pepper always curves their appetite for my garden. squirrels are never a issue.. well they will sneak in the blackberries once in a blue moon.. as long as i get my jelly and a cobbler or two that's ok. but when hunting season comes in those furry little tasties are in deep poo! a starling will never get a pass..i just plain like shooting them.
 
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I live in a heavily populated urban city. And our family is one of the few here who has chickens in the backyard. The rats have been coming and pooping everywhere and eating chicken food. At nights, i go into my garage, lights off, audiobook on, airgun ready. I’m having ao much fun nightly, while friends and family go out to nice trendy places.

We sometimes get squirrels and opposums, but I dont shoot them. Because my wife like them. I only shoot rats, but after killing about 20 rats now, they are not coming by much. My purpose was to reduce rats, but now… i want them back. Come back my live targets!! My fun is reduced.
 
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