# What could be doing this?



## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

I am sure they are spruce trees, 3 of them along our property line. I understood when we bought the place it was an easement or something and that Consumers owned these trees and a bunch of cedars. Not sure if one or all of them are doing this. But I never seen so many on the ground before. It carpets the neighbors yard beneath the trees. 

They look fine, but most years there is only 20 or 30 laying around throughout the year and I pick em up with the dog do-do. Not now, there are thousands from the past 2 months and they're still coming. I haven't talked to the neighbor since Friday, when 2 of the trees suddenly have red ribbons on them. I think they are taking them down. They both lean towards their house so that is probably wise if something is attacking them. One is huge and has at least a 7° lean and is probably 50 foot tall.


----------



## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

Squirrels.

L & O


----------



## Team Camo (Mar 11, 2014)

Not quite so sure on squirrels. I noticed that earlier in the winter with snow on the ground the tops of the pines behind my house. Thousands of clips. Not sure if these pictures will turn out just went back and took a couple.


----------



## Ronnie D (Dec 8, 2020)

I saw the same "clippings" in a couple of spots in Waterloo area yesterday when i was taking town treestands. I could see fresh marks that looked like chewing and i thought red squirrels too, never remember seeing piles like that either.


----------



## MisterTom (Sep 13, 2018)

Yup, squirrels.


----------



## Big Frank 25 (Feb 21, 2002)

Red squirrel injury to spruce trees in winter - Gardening in Michigan (msu.edu)


----------



## Bucket-Back (Feb 8, 2004)

I cut my last spruce down last fall, but yeah squirrels ate the crap out of them.


----------



## textox (Jan 30, 2020)

Red Squirrels,one of the reasons you can shoot them without a hunting licence...


----------



## wpmisport (Feb 9, 2010)

Red squirrels can do a lot of damage. This is another good reason to have a pellet gun.

Squirrels also will tear apart the young green white pine cones to eat the insides.


----------



## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

The red squirrels used to pile the cones off of the spruce trees at my son's place. Not anymore has he keeps his 17 by the back door.

I do not see many red squirrels from my blind behind his house. It might be because I have a resident redtail hawk living back there. It loves to feed on the deer carcases I put on the brush pile.


----------



## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Yeah makes sense, just started to see red squirrel around here about a year and a half ago. First we've seen this though. Don't see fox squirrels as much either, but I sure can hear them reds!


----------



## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

textox said:


> Red Squirrels,one of the reasons you can shoot them without a hunting licence...


Damn city ordinances!


----------



## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

Oldgrandman said:


> Damn city ordinances!


Rat traps baited with corn. Cover with milk crate. Cover top and 4 sides 1/2 down with cardboard so that cardinals can not see the kernel of corn. Chipmunk & red squirrel problem 
will be taken care of eventually.

L & O


----------



## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Could make this an activity, chillin' on the deck with nothing particular going on.......I know my neighbors won't care, LOL!








Liver and Onions said:


> Rat traps baited with corn. Cover with milk crate. Cover top and 4 sides 1/2 down with cardboard so that cardinals can not see the kernel of corn. Chipmunk & red squirrel problem
> will be taken care of eventually.
> 
> L & O


----------



## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Oldgrandman said:


> Yeah makes sense, just started to see red squirrel around here about a year and a half ago. First we've seen this though. Don't see fox squirrels as much either, but I sure can hear them reds!


You want to start seeing Fox, Black and Greys, you need to shoot the reds. The reds bite the balls on the others to chase them off.


----------



## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Always wondered if that was true. But one thing is for certain.....bitten balls or not, the reds definitely do not get along with the others! Natures racists I guess. Any time I have seen the species together, the reds were ALWAYS after the other. I know this from hunting, only been recently that the reds showed up around here.



Ranger Ray said:


> You want to start seeing Fox, Black and Greys, you need to shoot the reds. The reds bite the balls on the others to chase them off.


----------



## Sharkbait11 (Apr 7, 2017)

Ranger Ray said:


> You want to start seeing Fox, Black and Greys, you need to shoot the reds. The reds bite the balls on the others to chase them off.


Hey thats my go to power move as well...touche red squirrels touche


----------



## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Not sure if true or not. But it's a good story. 

As a kid, my father had us go on a red squirrel killing spree. The whole neighborhood was in on it. Wouldn't be unusual to see a neighbor or I running through others yards, blasting away at the poor things (Try that today. LOL). We had no Fox, greys or blacks at the start, and my dad believed it was because the ball biting. After 3 years, we started to get Fox's first. We did witness red squirrels chasing the Fox's with a vengeance. Well until we popped up and saved the Fox squirrels. At about 5 years, there were very few reds, and tons of the others. So I don't know if they really bite the balls of the others, but killing them does allow the others to populate, where they had a hard time before.


----------



## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I've been feeding squirrels at our cabin all winter. We have Blacks, Grays, a couple Grays that are fairly brown (like a Fox) and some Red Squirrels that come around. I've never seen the Red Squirrels try to bite the balls of any other squirrels. That just sounds like something I'd tell a young kid. lol But they sure don't mingle with the others, either. All the other squirrels co-exist for the most part.


----------



## ReallyBigFish (May 8, 2014)

Red squirrels are a rat with a fluffy tail. Kill all of them.


----------

