I remove squirrels year around when I see them by shooting. This year that has not been sufficient. I believe a squirrel has been cutting the fruit spurs and buds off my franken pear. They prefer the varieties that are more precious so the Asian pears have been decimated. I ordered a 110 conibear trap on amazon last night.
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.22 Shot Shells work well and we just found .22 Magnum shot shells. I also have successfully used Rat Traps. However, we’re battling red squirrels, so perhaps the rat traps aren’t large enough for grey squirrels. Haven’t seen a single one at the bird feeders this winter, but I’m confident they’ll be back…
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I have this problem with packrats. They like the spurs and whole shoots too. I’ve had them remove almost all the spur wood from trees more than once. Just sayin’ if you’re not seeing the squirrels actually do it.
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Could this be a solution?
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You shoot squirrels with a gun. Did I read that correctly? That’s pretty disturbing… Glad tho you are finding other methods of protecting your trees. I take it you don’t live in any kind of neighbourhood and you have some land??
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Those conibears seem like they can catch all sorts of other things like small cats etc, I never wanted to try them for that reason. Let us know how it goes for you.
I have been using tube traps and Kania traps, and this year I am going to add some squirrelinator traps to the mix. I have a problem with the birds taking all the feed off the tube and Kania traps but if I rotate what type(s) I am using I am hoping the birds won’t catch on. Also the squirrelinator I am hoping with the bait in the middle will not be so easy for the birds to get.
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Yes I shoot squirrels with a gun. No I live in a very rural area, still you should always be aware of your target and what is behind it. Squirrels are generally on the trunk of one of my large yard trees providing a good backstop for a 22 caliber rifle. I also use a 12 gauge shotgun which is very safe to shoot into the air as it has a very limited range
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Yes that could be a problem, I was thinking of trying to bait it with something that would target rodents and mount it on the tree trunk
It is possible, I have a healthy population of feral cats that should control that . Chipmunks also crossed my mind as a possibility. I do know that squirrels eat buds this time of year here but in all fairness I have never seen them cut the branches off and hoard them
I just did a google search of this and looked at the “images” tab. I couldn’t help but laugh. Those things can hold a lot of squirrels!
Thats what I’m hoping for 
I have not yet started trapping so I have a lot of work to do and if I can catch 4-5 at a time that will let me clear things out a whole lot faster!
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If you have one squirrel you have ten. I had a live trap in my veggie garden for rabbits and the darned blue jays and grackles kept getting caught.
Go get them Jason!
Tony
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Up to 9 squirrels caught & permanently dispensed with my squirrelinator. It is nice to look out on the yard and not see any. Caught another yesterday afternoon. Made some field mods to mine. I don’t have a gun, but very happy for good people that do. Can’t set (or release) the trigger on large traps so this is perfect for me. Once caught, I cover the trap with a small tarp and stealthily carry it back to the water basin. Hoping my neighbors are not squirrel sympathizers as I had one live trap intentionally damaged beyond use.
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Have you caught multiple squirrels or just one at a time.
I caught 2 in the trap about 6 weeks ago, but since then it has been one at a time. The population is noticably reduced. It’s so much easier than anything else I’ve used which means, in my world, I’m more likely to be consistent setting it up anytime I see one appear.
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I set my 110 today , I hung it in a couple of nails on the trunk of the tree and baited it with mini marshmallows dipped in peanut butter. I set it too light the first time and accidentally tripped it while tacking the chain to the tree. Peanut butter and marshmallows shot clear out of sight , lol.
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I’ve gotten 3 so far in the squirrelinator traps. Right now one just got in and two are nearby, we will see if I get multiples. So far all are singles. I bought four traps since I have a lot of squirrels. I am really appreciating how the birds can’t eat all the bait on the squirrinator traps, its a big problem with the tube and Kania traps for me.
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