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[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

On Aug 25, 2010, at 10:44 PM, Caren Kirk wrote:

 

I have to say I might have trouble killing off the local squirrel family, They're a special black variety, quite rare and I like that they are trying to keep the fatter, bossier greys away.  

On Aug 26, 2010, at 8:03 AM, Douglas Woodard wrote:

Caren, the black squirrels are a colour form of the grey.

Caren, if the black squirrels actually are different from the grey (you might research this a bit; some things originally thought to be just color variations are I think now thought to be separate species, others originally thought to be separate species may just be color variations) -- but if they actually are both different and rare, if I were you I would leave them alone, even at the sacrifice of the pears.

Another thing to consider: if this particular family of squirrels is a) keeping away other squirrels and b) only eating pears: if you finish this family off, the other squirrels will move in. The new squirrels may eat not only pears, but other things. You might wish you had the old ones back.

Do you have room to leave one pear tree for the squirrels, and plant another pear, protected by slippery tree shields and by netting or caging if necessary, so that you can have some pears?

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly

Fresh-market organic produce, small scale