How perfectly camouflaged!
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Heck, I would be camouflaged in that picture. I can see the pixels.
@Chills Just trying to be funny . Not trying to be mean. Itās cool that you have an Owl.
I hope he sticks around for you.
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A flash makes him goā¦
Iām just at a loss as to how to encourage him to stick aroundā¦ (not just for picturesā¦lol) The city will fine me if they think Iām feeding miceā¦
(though Iām tempted to try and thin the numbers of starlings who dive bomb him constantlyā¦)
Scott
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Iāll admit that I have a couple of fake plastic Owls.
I also think that I said in another post that Tin foil pans hung up in the tree actually work against Blue-Jays. I wouldnāt have thought but it does.
Can you put up an owl box? Or do they already have a nest nearby?
(List updated with ideas from above posts and test resultsā¦)
TEST1 - Vensmile Ultrasonic Squirrel Repellent
Score - 0/10. Changed score to 0/10. Useless for squirrels. They are running around freely in the backyard and eating all the fruits. If you want to keep cats out, this works great but I want the cats in and squirrels out!!!_
TEST2 - Laundry Hamper / Popup hampers / tents / nets (For strawberries / blue berries)
Score - 5/10 - worked keeps squirrels out!!! But you have to hand pollinate or open periodically for bees to pollinate the strawberry flowersā¦ too much work. Good option for blueberries after fruit set.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20408017/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2N7Av4zM4gIVA8JkCh31BAsMEAQYBSABEgKS3fD_BwE
TEST3 - Orbit Enforcer Motion Activated Pest Deterrent Sprinkler
_Score - 1/10 May work if you have a large yard and you can tackle all the entry points but I couldnt find a way to use this in my small yard without getting myself sprayed!!! 1/10 as kids love it, great toy to keep them busy for hours!!! 
TEST4 - Wikomo Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, Solar Powered Waterproof Outdoor Animal Repellent with Ultrasonic Sound,Motion Sensor and Flashing Light for Cats, Dogs, Squirrels, (@Daemon2525 has tried something similar, does not work)
Score - 0/10 squirrels just ignored these and the flashing lights and sounds in the middle of the night is not fun. Family and neighbors were annoyed!
TEST5 - http://www.spark-away.com/ Decided not to try for now - Family and neighbors might get mad if I try this one!
TEST6 and remaining moved to posts belowā¦
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An alternative to a squirrel is a chipmunk.
An alternative to a racoon is a monkey.
Now to repel squirrels, get lots of hungry cats.
To repel racoons, stop eating so well! Cement instead of garden helps.
1 Like
Updated after a few weeks of useā¦
TEST6 - Bagging fruits
Have bagged fruits on 1 peach and 1 nectarine tree. Waiting to see what the squirrels do - will update results, Used 2 types of bags - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y4MLLXQ and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX5579M
The squirrels had fun with this one, they turned this bag ( ā https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y4MLLXQ) into a juice machine!!! Hilarious watching this one suck all the juice out if the peachā¦ I am hoping the other bag does better!
Score 4/10 for bagging fruits Bagged around 40 fruits. I was able to get more than half the harvest. Squirrels ripped out 2 of the Organza bags with fruit from the tree. Birds pecked 4 of these fruits thru the bags.
The second bag was better - no bird issues on these bags and the squirrels could not rip the bags out. But instead of taking the fruit away, they just sat on the branches and tried to eat thru the bags - Lost around 4 peaches this wayā¦ Half eaten peaches left inside the bags still on the tree!
What I really like about bagging fruit is - when it ripens the fruit falls into the bag undamaged - instead of on the ground! Perfect tree ripened fruit 
6 Likes
That was a perfect opportunity to shoot that squirrel, not to shoot a video of him 
ā¦ Seriously though, this squirrel is like a bear that ate human food, it will not leave your trees alone and will cause significant devastation to your cropsā¦ unless you eliminate it, by either killing or catching and releasing far from your homeā¦
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I have chickens. Raccoons and possums love fresh chicken. I keep a couple of traps set to catch them. Last year I caught a total of 35 varmints in the chicken barn of which most were raccoons. They do NOT get a second chance. I caught a raccoon yesterday. It is gone for good. Please note that getting rid of the problem animals was highly effective. I have caught one possum and one raccoon so far this year.
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What bait you use to catch possums?
Chicken feed works fairly well. a bit of peanut butter on a slice of bread works very well and has the advantage of attracting both possums and raccoons. It is important to know how to set a trap. Donāt just put the trap out in the open. Put it beside a building or beside a wall where the open end is accessible but the bait is not reachable from outside the cage. Stake the cage down or tie it in a way that a raccoon canāt turn the trap over to get the bait. I drive a piece of rebar through the cage top to bottom and deep enough in the ground to keep the cage stable.
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Rotten apples
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i use sardines. pour a line of the juices about 10ft from the trap to the door then put the can in.
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4 out of 5 times that I left a trap door open during the night, I got skunks!!
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i do get some skunks but also raccoons. i just release the skunks. they eat my junebug grubs out of my lawn. 
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Oh, I donāt mind skunks at all. I just wish raccoons and opossums were that dumb. Same skunks, sometimes.
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If youāve ever seen skunks come to a hive of honeybees at night and scratch on the boxā¦ā¦
and when the bees come out, they become dinner for the skunkā¦you aināt seen nothing.
Skunk feces of 100% honeybees are the evidence. Usually nearby.
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I canāt even think of a safe way to remove a trapped skunk without the risk of being sprayed.
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