Smert' belkam (death to squirrels)

Early April is the time of year that my *big* bamboo grove starts putting out shoots. And I always look forward to seeing the new shoots come up and grow to their full height in just a few weeks.















But this season was proving to be a problem..........

Continued....

A lot of the new bamboo shoots were starting to show damage from something chewing on them. In some cases the shoots were attacked just as they barely started showing above the ground. In other cases the shoots could be well started, yet something would chew into the side, base, or the top, which would kill the shoot.















I was not happy......

I was pretty sure squirrels were to blame here, but just to be certain, I set out a game camera to make certain...











Yeah, caught them red handed.

So I hauled out the hunting blind I bought years ago, and set it up in the bamboo grove.

So I've been spending several hours a day, at various times of the day, standing (or rather sitting) guard on the bamboo grove.

The tally as of this moment is eight (8) confirmed kills, and five (5) pretty darn sure I got 'em, but couldn't find the dead body to confirm.












The last two pics were of a squirrel that I caught right in the act of chewing up a new shoot right in front of me. I have to be honest, I REALLY enjoyed that kill..

So right when I think I'm getting a handle on things, a new problem showed up...









I think I know what happened to those three (3) shoots....



To explain... I'm not completely heartless. I actually purchased two different spray products to try to dissuade the squirrels from chewing on the bamboo. One was advertised as a bonafide squirrel repellent 100 percent guaranteed to repel squirrels...

https://spray-n-growgardening.com/an...rfj1oobkcvc253

That ABSOLUTELY did not work!

So I tried another product that was supposed to repel ALL animals..

https://spray-n-growgardening.com/an...rfj1oobkcvc253

That seemed to be a bit more effective, but within a few days of application, it seemed to rapidly lose it's effectiveness. And later on I actually read some reviews where someone claimed that raccoons seemed to LOVE the stuff. So my guess is those above three shoots that were knocked over were done do by a raccoon. I actually found quite a few shoots where it was obvious that something had been digging around the base of the shoots, which I have never seen before. So my guess is that the "repellents" actually attracted this attention from one or more raccoons, and possibly a possum. So I really can't blame the raccoon for this. And I sure can't bring myself to shoot a raccoon.

So anyway, I didn't see any more squirrels this morning, but yesterday afternoon I did shoot a squirrel that had jumped from a pine tree to the top of a shoot that is around 10 ft. tall, and started to chew on the tip of the shoot. Luckily I was right there, when he jumped on the shoot, so he went to the promised land before inflicting any damage. I also saw another squirrel close by a little bit later, but that one ducked behind a pine tree and I never saw him again. So there is at least one more squirrel I need to remove.

I don't know what got into the squirrels this year. I have had minor problems with them in the past, but generally it was just one squirrel. If I could shoot that one, then the problem was over with for the season. This year, they have just gone berserk and have done extensive damage to the new shoots coming up.

Quite honestly, every year I start feeling bad about shooting the squirrels. I don't allow them to come near the house as they are quite destructive. They are "tree rats" in every sense of the word. And if they had never bothered the bamboo, I would be a WHOLE lot more tolerant of them even then. But all it takes is a season like this one to see the wholesale destruction they are inflicting on my bamboo, and it's "game on, suckers!" I lose absolutely all sense of regret killing them. And I can say with no hesitation whatsoever, when I get to actually shoot one caught with his pay in the cookie jar chewing on one of my bamboo shoots, killing the little SOB is quite satisfying.

You DO eat what you kill- right?

Originally Posted by Herpin Man

You DO eat what you kill- right?

No way! You are what you eat. And I'll be DAMNED if I want to become a squirrel myself.............

Apparently you don't even need a gun to kill them. You've got a great arm if you can throw a baseball from the camo tent and hit a squirrel.

Actually that is an eggshell. We throw all our kitchen compost around the plants. When the local seafood house gets live blue crabs, it is a bonanza down there when I dump the shells left over.

I kind of wish the squirrels would just lay there and rot, forming more compost to feed the bamboo. It would be fitting, I think, that the critters eating the bamboo give back in return. But alas, we have a pretty effective cleanup crew on the night shift that removes the carcasses. I guess that and the composting might explain the raccoons and possums patrolling the bamboo grove at night.

Speaking of that shot, it was a pretty tough one that I am proud of. I barely caught some motion while I was in the blind, and at first wasn't sure what it was. We have quite a few doves around here, and they can look a LOT like a squirrel at first glance. But after watching for a few moments, I saw the paws picking up material from the bamboo shoot, and KNEW it was a squirrel. First shot killed him instantly, but I fired a second, just to be certain I hadn't completely missed him and he would rather eat than run.

That Remington 597 in 17HMR is a VERY accurate rifle if I am up to the task of keeping it steady. That 17HMR cartridge is light and fast, plus it breaks up easily on even a minor impact if I miss and the projectile goes off into the woods. Almost like using a frangible round.

And before anyone asks, I live on 50 acres of HEAVILY wooded terrain.

You might possibly reconsider your stance on having a critter. I know you and Connie want to be free to travel, but there are boarding facilities at reasonable cost for dogs. I don't know how much financial damage the squirrels are doing, but it would be not too much trouble to tally up the costs of feeding, vet care and boarding fees for a dog and compare it to lost revenue from chewed up bamnoo culms.
A good dog especially one of the shepherd types can be trained to distinguish between a squirrel and other animals that you do not mind having around. Farmers have done that for ages, having dogs that will leave the chickens and horses alone, but attack the bobcats and other predators of farm livestock.
Many animal shelters have very reasonable costs and will even take a dog back if it does not work out for you.