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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with Peanut Butter

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with Peanut Butter
  • Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 13:11:13 -0500

I'm in full agreement with Kevin on this matter.
Free-range squirrel is tasty and healthful!  And especially pleasurable when you know the rascals were going to be raiding your orchard.
Here's a TAMU site with some nice squirrel recipes(as well as some for acorn preparation, etc.)
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/recipes/squirrel.html

Lucky

At 09:51 AM 5/20/2009, you wrote:
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@murraystate.edu>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@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@lists.ibiblio.org
>[ mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ernest Plutko
>Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9:52 AM
>To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Squirrel control with tangletrap (was fox urine)
>
>Peanut butter is great squirrel bait.
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: scott@cs.jhu.edu
>To: nafex@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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