grey squirel

[triciaj]

What is the legal position - am I allowed to exterminate grey squirels? They chase my wild birds from my garden and stuff thenselves on my bird food. They can get into the socalled squirel proof feeder. They dig up my lawn and chew the buds from my saplings. My neighbour tells me they are part of the ecosystem and that I should welcome them to my garden. She says the law prevents me from killing them and if I have a problem I must contact the council - they are not interested.
Tricij

[vole-woman]

A lot of councils do come out and help remove squirrels, so I'm not sure why yours won't. Please don't try and do the job yourself, but contact a reputable pest controller who will do the job humanely.

Personally I'm entirely with your neighbour on this, though. I have squirrels in my garden and they're just nice to watch. I can't imagine wanting to exterminate them.

[Beekeeper]

triciaj

Welcome to Wab and just to add to your post, grey squirrels are classed as vermin and you can legally shoot them if you wish, i hate the things, apart from stripping bark from trees, especially saplings, they also raid birds nests and destroy the eggs, that is aside from what they are doing in your garden.

Introduced by man they are also responsible indirectly for the demise of our native Red Squirel which is a true squirel, (the Grey is really just a tree rat).

Ian

[vole-woman]

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

triciaj
they also raid birds nests and destroy the eggs, that is aside from what they are doing in your garden.

Then again, so do woodpeckers, rats, hedgehogs (if they can reach), corvids etc.

[Jez]

You shouldn't have many problems with squirrels if you constantly provide for them as you do with the birds. Atm we are using grounded peanuts whole peanuts in a squirrel feeder and occassionaly bourbon biscuits. The little ones are becoming more confident around us and are a joy to watch them nibbling on chocolate biccys.

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Then again, so do woodpeckers, rats, hedgehogs (if they can reach), corvids etc.

I do appreciate that vole-woman but our birds are having a tough time as it is and anything that can help out has to be worthwhile, if that means killing a grey squirrel once in a while then so be it.

Ian

[Jez]

Blue tit numbers have been down due to the lack of caterpillars over the last few years because the wet summers. Gold finch and Siskin have seen numbers go up in UK gardens along with wood pidgeons. If provide squirrels with a good supply of food then eggs are less likely to be harmed and the birds can feed their chicks as well. This is certainly the case in our garden!

[vole-woman]

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

I do appreciate that vole-woman but our birds are having a tough time as it is and anything that can help out has to be worthwhile, if that means killing a grey squirrel once in a while then so be it.

Ian

Yes, there are loads of other factors affecting garden birds - some positively and some negatively.

As I'm sure you know, I have no problem personally with genuine pest animals being humanely killed if they're causing real problems. But I was getting the impression these squirrels were under threat just because they were just a mild irritation - she never mentioned her nests (if she has any). And I thought that was a shame.

[vole-woman]

Also, lots of bird species chase other birds off the feeders for a minute or two while they feed - by that logic you should be thinking of exterminating robins and jackdaws and starlings and wood pigeons and blackbirds. The most agrressive visitor we ever had, one which cleared the garden completely for a whole morning, was a fieldfare.

If a squirrel's using a feeder, it will eat its fill and then go, leaving the way clear for the birds. I feed both with no conflict of interest food-wise.

[triciaj]

I did not go into details in my first post as I was asking what to do with too many squirrels. Just as I a had posted my first letter a squirrel had stuffed its belley so much as to get stuck in the 'squirre' proof' feeder and s/he is no small fluffy animal but a scratcthing fury!! It has not been put off by its brush with death as I am sure I have seen the same one back again.
Anyway I don't really have an issue with the squirrel eating the food per say as I could put out more every time they gorge themselves or knock down or get stuck in my feeders. That would however cost me a lot more money as well as the hazard to releasing them! But I would do it if I thought it was what was right. But my view is if the squirrels are very well fed then their birth rate is bound to go up and as I already have too many, as does the uk from what I have read, that does not help the overall problem. My real problem is they do take birds eggs as I saw them, at least twice, distroy my blackbirds' nests and take the eggs. They constanty check out the bird boxes and roosting baskets. When they are about the birds are less obvious and there is a lot more distress from the blackbirds. As you maybe can tell I spend a great deal of my day watching through my frence window and monitor all that goes on so I am very sure about the effect of the squirrels on my patch.