Grey Squirrels 1 .....Insects 1

Dan Salter · #1 (**permalink**) 24-03-2007, 08:31 PM

Ok i have been fighting a losing battle with the gang of grey squirrels in our country garden...i have as many as 4 at a time on one birdtable eating every seed and nut in sight and now actually knawing through timber...

Before we moved here i bought two lovely wooden slate roof seed and nut feeders which they empty and destroy daily..

So ...some metal caged squirrel proof feeders ( yeah right) are being purchased and rather than bin them, the two wooden feeders will have the glass or wire mesh removed and im going to knock up a couple of insect "homes" by filling the voids with cut pieces of bamboo and stems of hemlock etc....i dont see why it wont work as well as the ready made ones?

Dan

hope the local ladybirds use it to hide from my thousands of harlequins that have moved in

almostnormal · #2 (**permalink**) 24-03-2007, 08:46 PM

they should work. we usually advise farmers to use bamboo garden canes to make the hidey holes because it's sturdier and lasts longer, and more bugs seem to use them (although this is anecdotal at best)

Dan Salter · #3 (**permalink**) 24-03-2007, 08:52 PM

Hmm ok...but they cost money lol i only have a handful of small size bamboo....i was gonna use the hemlock for larger holes but i may go get some varied size bamboo tomorrow instead.

almostnormal · #4 (**permalink**) 24-03-2007, 08:58 PM

hemlock works well, you just have to replace it more often. one of my farmers started off using it because he has it on his land, but he got sick of changing it and swapped to bamboo and dowels.

Dan Salter · #5 (**permalink**) 25-03-2007, 11:23 PM

Ok a hefty £60 spent today ( mums money) on squirrel proof EVERYTHING !...( we hope) and that includes a high pole that you can screw into the base of the metal/glass multi port seed feeder too...( into the bottom if you get me) ..it looks squirrel proof but they are clever little ****

two more round caged squirrel proof nut feeders, A Squirrel proof (ish) fat ball feeder....and for the little grey one and his many chums they now have their own squirrel feeder ( lift the top get your nuts) which im sure they will destroy or exploit

bird table wash cleaned, scrubed then re stained dark oak ( water based and yes i left it until it was properly dry before putting back out)

and we also bought a potato sack size bag of nuts and got fatballs and seed etc.....

Should keep them going a little while longer now hopefully the feeders are not being emptied daily by the grey ones.

The old wooden slate roof feeders so exploited by the grey ones have been recycled and given a clean and one is now a bamboo packed insect house the other a hemlock stalk packed insect house hanging off each end of my shed !

So all in all a good day.....finished setting it all up at about 6pm so no sign of mr squirrel or the birds but instead a huge red Fox came sniffing round the new feeders and ate any odd peanuts that had dropped to the ground !

Garden Carpet · #6 (**permalink**) 26-03-2007, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Ok a hefty £60 spent today ( mums money) on squirrel proof EVERYTHING !...( we hope) and that includes a high pole that you can screw into the base of the metal/glass multi port seed feeder too...( into the bottom if you get me) ..it looks squirrel proof but they are clever little ****

two more round caged squirrel proof nut feeders, A Squirrel proof (ish) fat ball feeder....and for the little grey one and his many chums they now have their own squirrel feeder ( lift the top get your nuts) which im sure they will destroy or exploit

bird table wash cleaned, scrubed then re stained dark oak ( water based and yes i left it until it was properly dry before putting back out)

and we also bought a potato sack size bag of nuts and got fatballs and seed etc.....

Should keep them going a little while longer now hopefully the feeders are not being emptied daily by the grey ones.

The old wooden slate roof feeders so exploited by the grey ones have been recycled and given a clean and one is now a bamboo packed insect house the other a hemlock stalk packed insect house hanging off each end of my shed !

So all in all a good day.....finished setting it all up at about 6pm so no sign of mr squirrel or the birds but instead a huge red Fox came sniffing round the new feeders and ate any odd peanuts that had dropped to the ground !

That all sounds really interesting Dan, hope the little grey furry things appreciate all this effort on their behalf. Will you be taking pictures of all these feeding stations and insect houses?

jaki

Dan Salter · #7 (**permalink**) 26-03-2007, 10:03 AM

Oh the non native North American grey Squirrell you mean?....that little grey Alien?

No no.....All this was done so the native birds can get some food for once !

Gill Catton · #8 (**permalink**) 26-03-2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

Hmm ok...but they cost money lol i only have a handful of small size bamboo....i was gonna use the hemlock for larger holes but i may go get some varied size bamboo tomorrow instead.

Just don't use fresh hemlock (admittedly difficult at this time of year - just worth mentioning it in case anyone trys this in the summer) - it's poisonous! I assume this poisonousness is not held in the dead stems, but perhaps err on the side of the friendlier Hogweed......... I think hogweed is perhaps sturdier anyway....

Dan Salter · #9 (**permalink**) 26-03-2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Just don't use fresh hemlock (admittedly difficult at this time of year - just worth mentioning it in case anyone trys this in the summer) - it's poisonous! I assume this poisonousness is not held in the dead stems, but perhaps err on the side of the friendlier Hogweed......... I think hogweed is perhaps sturdier anyway....

To be honest its old and dead and brown and i dont know the difference so it could well be hogweed? i only ate a small piece promise miss.