# red squirrels and chipmunks



## wpmisport (Feb 9, 2010)

They seem to have really increased in recent years. I know that I am not the only one noticing this. I will get rid of about 20 each year now. I have used different methods but now using a pellet gun. I am good with the bigger squirrels running around but the these little critters will destroy anything. What is the reason that there are so many now?


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## bobberbill (Apr 5, 2011)

No predators that can get to them..


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## B.Jarvinen (Jul 12, 2014)

Plenty of predators for those critters.

I heard once upon a time that Mange will cycle through the Red Squirrel population, creating peaks and valleys in their total numbers.

I would like to learn more about that, and Red Squirrels in general. I have been wondering which University might have the Wildlife Biology Professor that is the known nationwide expert on Red Squirrels, and would like to read some college textbook level material on them.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

No red squirrels here.
A couple chipmunks.
Between the nesting pair of hawks close by each spring ,and the neighbors cats rodents have to be sharp.
Second season in a row of low acorn production has the mice down in numbers. A decade low this winter.
Squirrels manage a couple survivors each year. Watched a hawk land on a squrrel nest hard a year or two back checking for squirrel.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

A dog proof **** trap works really good for chippies. A little corn or peanuts dropped inside and I get one or two per day pretty much all summer. Don't know where they keep coming from but they aren't staying here.


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## birdhntr (Jan 25, 2014)

When they become a problem which they always do.Get a 5 gallon bucket,fill it 2/3 with water,add a couple scoops of sunflower seeds,scatter some seeds around, and either put a board for a ramp or place it where against something they can climb!.I have been over run by them before.damages to home,crawl space,brick pavers,and the damage my dogs do trying to get them.First day I set the trap I got 33 chipmunks, and 2 red squirrels by the time I came home.


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## garyrodbender (Feb 2, 2001)

I used to get 10-12 each year,that was my most efficient way of getting rid of them as well. Keep up the good work,thats a schit-load of chipmunks


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## bobberbill (Apr 5, 2011)

Pellet gun. Not as foolproof as the suicide bucket, but good for trigger control.


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## neazor91 (Aug 4, 2008)

Rat traps with a glob of peanut butter on the pan works just fine for both.


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## Thirty pointer (Jan 1, 2015)

neazor91 said:


> Rat traps with a glob of peanut butter on the pan works just fine for both.


I put a piece of hardware cloth on the pan and fill with sunflower seeds you can use it over and over again .


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## birdhntr (Jan 25, 2014)

garyrodbender said:


> I used to get 10-12 each year,that was my most efficient way of getting rid of them as well. Keep up the good work,thats a schit-load of chipmunks


That year was crazy.The year of the lemmings lol.They have spikes in population.There was a lot of dogs on my street but no cats back then.The dogs would destroy my back yard going after them.gutters,siding corner posts,and then chewed all off my abs parts and such under my new truck.Pellet gun wasn't working as there was so many.I kept finding a little yellow spot next to my glass nut jar and didn't give it much thought.Then one day the dogs wanted under the stove.pulled the drawer out and wham the lab nailed it and down the hatch whole in seconds.Then I realized why they wanted them so bad.It was food to them two dogs.lol


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

my wife and I usually shoot about a hundred a year from around the bird feeder and flower beds. As someone stated it is great trigger practice, we use a marlin 22 mag. If you can head shoot chipmunks and red squirrels at 30 yards deer are easy.


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## garyrodbender (Feb 2, 2001)

For sure,I really like to shoot them too .
I have a custom volquartsen ruger 10-22 that is very very accurate


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## Perferator (Oct 18, 2003)

If not for an accurate airgun the red squirrels would overrun us here on the lake. When the first of March when we had 30deg temps they came filing out of the woods. I have shot approx 40 and now down to 1-4 each week. We could use a pine marten or two.


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## Perferator (Oct 18, 2003)

garyrodbender said:


> For sure,I really like to shoot them too .
> I have a custom volquartsen ruger 10-22 that is very very accurate


I have the 10-22 with Clerke 16” heavy barrel and Hogue OM stock. Sure is a lot of fun and good for marksmanship skills.


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## martini77 (Jan 13, 2009)

chippies are dumb, if you find the hole they are coming out of (mine is a particular spot under the deck), just set an unbaited rat trap outside the hole and they just walk across it and whack! I also use the bucket for mice in the garage. I use a bottle top with seeds in it and float that.


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## BigW (Dec 29, 2016)

I read that if you can stalk squirrels successfully, you've got what it takes for deer hunting. So I did what my parents did for me. I gave my teenager a pocket full of. 22 shorts and a single shot. 22 with directions of make all red squirrels and chipmunks go away. I can't get him to take out the trash, but he'll spend 40 minutes sneaking up on a squirrel. 3 points for a head shot 1 point for body. He finished last season with 58 points.


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## feedinggrounds (Jul 21, 2009)

BigW said:


> I read that if you can stalk squirrels successfully, you've got what it takes for deer hunting. So I did what my parents did for me. I gave my teenager a pocket full of. 22 shorts and a single shot. 22 with directions of make all red squirrels and chipmunks go away. I can't get him to take out the trash, but he'll spend 40 minutes sneaking up on a squirrel. 3 points for a head shot 1 point for body. He finished last season with 58 points.


I love your program!! I paid my grandson $1 a chipmunk, after a week I wanted to renegotiate and he was not having it. Little Dude had some victor rat traps under the firewood pallets along with the .22 shot shells. I may have paid for some chipmunks twice I think....


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

I used to have great success using live traps baited with sunflower seed around the birdfeeder but it is surprising how small a trap a skunk will fit into. I no linger use the live trap. FM


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## K. Trout (Nov 17, 2008)

I never had an issue with chippies or red squirrels until I popped the hood on my new month old truck and found they had pulled some of the hood insulation out probably for nesting material and then it was all out war. I went out and bought a pellet gun and a half dozen rat traps. I harvested 17 that summer.


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## Perferator (Oct 18, 2003)

Forest Meister said:


> I used to have great success using live traps baited with sunflower seed around the birdfeeder but it is surprising how small a trap a skunk will fit into. I no linger use the live trap. FM


That awkward moment you peek at the live trap with childlike Christmas morning excitement only to see the dreaded black and white.


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