[NAFEX] Squirrel control with Peanut Butter

Kevin Moore aleguy33 at yahoo.com
Wed May 20 10:51:46 EDT 2009


No squirrels don't share. If you plant enough to feed both the local population and yourself, the squirrel population will explode and you'll be faced with an even larger population. I still maintain the best squirrel control is to buy a large stew pot and keep it filled. They eat your food. you might as well benifit from it one way or another.




________________________________
From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman at murraystate.edu>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9:44:21 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with Peanut Butter

Incorrect recipe.  No water - that would activate the PoP and defeat 
the purpose.
Just purchase some cheap peanut butter and mix in PoP until you get 
it to a 'stiff dough' consistency.  Fashion into little peanut-sized 
bonbons and distribute them to spots where the bushy-tailed tree 
rats(or the naked-tailed types) can access them.  I always caution 
folks to make certain that they're not accessible to pets or small 
children, though I have doubts about them causing any problems in 
dogs or humans, which do have the capability of vomiting.
I've used them with success when squirrels were raiding my nursery 
beds/pots, digging up seednuts or even 1-2 yr-old seedlings to get at 
the remaining acorn/pecan/hickory nut.  Only saw one dead squirrel, 
but the bonbons disappeared, depredation ceased immediately - and I 
didn't see any active squirrels for a long time.

The NAFEX member and long-time nutgrower who initially tipped me off 
to PB/PoP bonbons suggested that the PoP 'turned to concrete' in the 
squirrels' GI tract.  After discussions with our toxicologist, I 
don't think that is the case - more likely they're succumbing to 
derangement of their plasma Calcium:Phosphorus ratio - causing 
convulsions or disruption of normal cardiac function, or heat/gas(or 
both) are produced when the PoP encounters gastric acids, resulting 
in gastric rupture, shock and death.
One positive aspect to the PB/PoP bonbons is that there should be no 
worry about 'secondary poisoning' of predators/scavengers which might 
capture affected squirrels or find and eat those that have died as a 
result of consuming PB/PoP bonbons.  Secondary poisoning of 
non-target predators/scavengers is a significant concern when dealing 
with the anticoagulant-type rodent baits(warfarin, diphacinone, 
brodifacoum, etc.)

The soft-hearted bunny-hugger types typically rail against the 
thought of these vermin 'suffering', but they also protest drowning 
those captured in live traps.  The typical argument is to 'plant 
enough to share' or live-trap and relocate the pests.
Well, squirrels don't share - they'll strip an entire tree of unripe 
peaches, etc., taking one bite, and moving on to the next.
Wildlife biologists strongly recommend against relocation of most 
wildlife species - particulary those that are not endangered(like 
squirrels, deer, raccoons, etc.) - by relocating problem animals, 
you're potentially pushing the population at the release site over 
the natural carrying capacity, possibly introducing new 
diseases/parasites into the environment/population at the release 
site, and the relocated animal is frequently at a disadvantage with 
regard to competing for available food, nest sites, mates, etc., and 
may die a much more protracted death due to disease/starvation than 
the more rapid

Lucky


At 09:23 AM 5/20/2009, you wrote:
>There was a message string a few years ago that someone suggested you
>try peanut butter with Plaster of Paris.  Mix PofP with water to make
>the balls, then cover with Peanut butter.  When the rodents eat the
>PofP, according to one source, they die from an extreme overdose of
>calcium ions which causes heart failure.  Walmart and Home Depot can
>supply you the PofP.
>
>Search google for more info.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
>[mailto:nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ernest Plutko
>Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9:52 AM
>To: nafex at lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with tangletrap (was fox urine)
>
>Peanut butter is great squirrel bait.
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: scott at cs.jhu.edu
>To: nafex at lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with tangletrap (was fox urine)
>Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 09:37:29 -0400
>
> >Alan, I was thinking of trying tangletrap this year and noticed your
> >
> >mention of it.  My peach trees are in a location where I can't
> >reliably shoot the squirrels and they have gotten most of my peaches
> >
> >for the last several years (note that I am clearing out squirrels
> >year-
> >round with my pellet gun, and I have only seen one (now-dead)
> >squirrel
> >in the last two weeks in my yard, but surely a bunch will descend
> >once
> >the peaches start to ripen).  If the tangletrap even slowed them down
> >
> >a bit I would call that a victory.  My peach trees are all closely-
> >planted and about 8' tall; my plan was to put the tangletrap on the
> >main trunks of all of the trees.  Good plan?
> >
> >I have a whole pile of squirrel traps (three different brands, Kania,
> >
> >tube, and Havahart) and I have not been able to reliably get the
> >squirrels in the traps as opposed to munching on the peaches.  I even
> >
> >bought some "professional" squirrel bait to try but they still went
> >after the peaches instead.
> >
> >Scott
> >
> >
> >
> >> Alan Haigh writes:
> >> Fox urine is one of many squirrel repellents I've wasted money on.
> >
> >> I found
> >> it rather repulsive but my squirrels aren't so squeamish.  They
> >like
> >> their
> >> green peaches and pears spicy too, so you can forget pepper.  I've
> >
> >> found
> >> them quite repelled by buck-shot and moderately repelled by tangle
> >
> >> trap and
> >> netting, but not reliably so.
>
>
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