Seems the last two years we've had a bumper crop of tree rats .
In addition to chewing on the lead flashing on the roof they seem to have developed a taste for PVC plastics . That's the conduit for the 220 volt line that goes underground to the garage under the deck .
My solution was to wrap it in Bituthane / Ice and Water Shield in order to cover the holes they made and it seems the tree rats don't care for the flavor or texture of rubber adhesive.
Good enough . . . for now .
Then this morning we spotted one chewing on the PVC sleeves over the wooden posts of the fence around an old house slab that is our back patio .
So dissuasive measure is applied
On all posts .
Never had them before but red squirrels also seem to have made an appearance this year . The slinky trick was no obstacle for this little creep as he simply crawled up the pipe inside the slinky and made himself right at home on the bird feeder .
So I doubled up on the slinky and added a big dome in this case a repurposed aluminum disc sled from the 1970s . That seems to have done the trick . . . for now .
If this continues much longer more drastic measures may be in order .
I resorted to a "squirrinator" this summer. 13 so far and I've made a dent. When I shoot one, the rest hear the report and get crafty and sly and I spend way too much time sitting out in 90+° weather so for now, some whole corn in the trap and I spend the day in (semi) comfort. The acorns will be ripe (enough for them) in a month or so and they will retreat to the woods.
ReplyDeleteMike, that was what I was going to suggest. Of course taking that family portrait, I would followed with #7 birdshot...
ReplyDeleteHey Kevin , I generally don't mind the squirrels feeding on the droppings of the bird feeder , but these guys are getting a bit out of control . 7/8ths oz of # 7 shot would do the job. Trouble is that though I am on good terms with my neighbor the cop , I am in a rather urban setting so a twelve gauge going off on the front corner of my property would get me in a bit of trouble . If I opt for the lead diet I need to use the Aguila Colibri 22s as those are about as loud as an air rifle especially out of a long barrel . My fear is a ricochet around here would likely land in someone's window . Wouldn't want that either .
DeleteHe just might be tired of all the squirrels and varmints too...
DeleteHe likely is but I just wouldn't want to push my luck . With my track record I'd likely make the local rag headlines if I pulled a bone headed move .
DeleteThey make a .177 caliber air rifle that comes with a scope that you can buy at Academy. Dialed in for about 60 feet, head shots are guaranteed, and no down range problems are created.
ReplyDeleteI do have an old Diana model 25 springer air rifle in 22 cal that does around 450 fps. It would probably do the job too .
DeleteAguila makes a powderless bullet. It's around 22 grains, IIRC. It's just the primer doing the shoving. It won't cycle an auto. It's so quiet I can hear the hammer fall,in a rifle. Pistol, it's not that quiet. It's got enough Oomph to bury the bullet in a 2X4 from twenty feet. My pellet gun is a lot louder than they are coming out of a rifle.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have some of those Aguila Colibris (Humingbird in Spanish) somewhere in my stash . They are very quiet out of my Stevens 66C . But as we are in a dense environment I'd still have to be extremely careful over whats downrange .
Delete