Squirrels - vermin from Hell

robinpla

Today a squirrel uprooted another bonsai of mine, but also managed to debark it. I feel defenseless against this vermin from hell. Please someone, HELP!! Will the tree recover from the removed bark?

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GB_Bonsai

looks bad. if there is a solid line of bark to the apex it will probably survive.

my advice: identify the rascal and shoot to kill.

sorry to the animal lovers that feel this is cruel treatment. I love animals too.

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Glider

It's only cruel if you act with the intent of causing suffering.

In this country, American Grey squirrels are considered vermin. They have killed off most of our native reds because they carry the squirrel pox virus which the reds have no immunity against. They are also highly territorial and 30% larger than reds. They breed prolifically and in enclosed woodland (like the woods near me) quickly overpopulate, and thren spread out into gardens, digging in pots, chewing bulbs and young shoots, taking eggs and baby birds and so-on.

I had a really bad problem with squirrels here. This area of North London is overrun with them. I started out with humane intent, but there is a catch. The less drastic measures such as sonic pest deterrents don't work because squirrels have a hearing range similar to humans. Pepper powders and chemical deterrents are also less effective on squirrels.

The generally accepted most effective way of dealing with squirrels is live trapping. However, the catch is that in the UK, if you trap a squirrel and release it elsewhere, you will have committed an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside act (1981) and the Imported Destructive Animals Act (1933) (releasing destructive vermin into the wild). Therefore, once you have trapped it, you are obliged to kill it (humanely).

My personal view is that having a squirrel trapped in a cage until you can get home to deal with it, especially in an area where there are cats, would probably result in more suffering than shooting them cleanly. So, I got myself a good air rifle (Air Arms TX200HC .22) and after a year, I no longer have a squirrel problem.

As long as you use the right tool for the job, i.e. a proper air rifle with sufficient power like an Air Arms or Weihrauch (.22 not .177), rather than some underpowered backyard 'plinker', and you know how to use it properly, there is no suffering involved.

Squirrels are highly intelligent and determined animals. If they have found a source of food, or things to gnaw on, they won't go away. I tried all kinds of deterrents before resorting to shooting. Ultimately, it's shown to be the only effective method of control. I now consider my rifle as much a part of my bonsai tool kit as my azalea shears, and my trees have suffered no damage for nearly a year now.

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Experience is knowledge gained immediately after it was needed.

bisjoe

True. They will be back. You may end up having to place your trees in a cage
to protect them. Here they have become very active running around the yard but generally stay away from my bonsai because they are in the fenced backyard where the dogs spend a lot of time.

Glider

Dogs are a good deterrent, particularly terriers (natural ratters). The squirrels around here have been known to mob cats though.

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Experience is knowledge gained immediately after it was needed.

cray13

My dog's kennel is about 20 feet from my bonsai area and she goes crazy everytime she sees a squirrel. I guess she's seems vicious enough that the squirrels keep their distance.

I've also heard that moth balls will also deter most rodents. Fortunately I've haven't suffered any damage yet.

Sorry about your tree.

lehket

Yikes, your squirrels are more sinister than mine, apparently. I've had them dig holes in the soil and knock over an occasional tree in a lightweight pot, but they've never torn into a trunk like that.

Of course, we feed our squirrels. We put corn and peanuts out for them in the front yard, partly in an effort to keep them away from our bird feeders, although squirrel-proof feeders are much more successful in that regard. At any rate, I have a feeling that they mostly see my bonsai (which are in back of the house) as a nifty place to bury acorns rather than as a food source.

I'm not into shooting things myself, although I suppose that's an option. But I do have to wonder if shooting the culprit wouldn't just open up a niche for another culprit to move in rather than actually solving the problem.

Anyway, I'd suggest putting out some food for them and seeing if that reduces the damage. I don't know that it will, but it might. Maybe they're gnawing on your trees because real food is scarce?

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NJF

And I thought I had it bad. Recently I have spent most evenings on returning home from work replacing moss on many of my bonsai. Sometimes this has been thrown 3 to 4 feet. I suspected it was birds.

It was in fact one bird, a rather young Black bird, very healthy looking with a bright orange beak. I had been getting increasingly mad until I caught the little blighter red handed. He popped up over the fence chirped at me and followed me round the garden for about five minutes chirping all the time, then went straight to one of my bonsai and off with the moss. I couldn't help but laugh.

Any how the moral of the story. You are not going to stop wild life doing what they do best, that is forage for food, to ultimately survive. So what I would suggest is provide alternative food for them. For squirrels, nuts, Black birds love raisons and apple. Hopefully if you provide them with enough irresistible food to fill them up, they won't even look twice at our bonsai as a source of nourishment.

As bonsaists we all appreciate nature, that should extend to the animals in our gardens and yards too. A Bee or wasp may sting you, but it will probably pollenate the the blossom on your crab apple bonsai first, which will in turn provide a superb display of miniature apples in autumn. Also don't forget, without squirrels there wouldn't be so many Oak trees, they don't remember where they buried all the acorns. And finally birds eat berries along with the seed which in turn is deposited with a small amount of organic fertilizer to help the seed germinate.

I'm devastated for you robinpla, that looked like a nice tree too, but try nuts before shooting the little blighters. A nut feeder in a tree at the other end of your garden may just work.

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The second best time is now.

BarbaraM

Now I am curious. Some critter has recently been entering the open window of my greenhouse, taking some bits of moss and leaving portions of acorns. I think it is either a squirrel or a jay. Yesterday I needed potting soil from a bag behind the greenhouse. The soil was stuffed with acorns that are rooting. Nothing has been seriously damaged...yet. I might screen the window before the critter starts planting in my bonsai pots.

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"What I like about bonsai is that it has a beginning but no end. A bud today becomes a branch tomorrow. It is like searching for the rainbw's end; the farther it is pursued, the farther away it is." John Naka