Pesky squirrel

[maple flats]

A few days ago, I opened the sugarhouse and found a squirrel in there. I opened the double doors on one end and was able to scare it out. Thinking it may have gotten in the day before when I was working there and left the door open as I worked outside, I just kept the door closed that day. The next morning it was back inside. This time I again opened the double doors and tried to scare him out, rather than using the doors he climbed up the end wall truss (and trapezoid window mullion) and exited right at the peak under the rounded ridge cap on my steel roof. Never having had issues in the 11 years since I built the sugarhouse, I didn't realize a squirrel could fit thru there. At that I cut a board and filled the gap, on both gables.
Then yesterday I was again working in the sugarhouse (doing some wiring) and I kept hearing a gurgle sound every few minutes. I haven't found it yet but my guess is that the squirrel chewed thru one of the filter press hoses. I'll have to carefully inspect and replace or repair as needed. I suspect the one that runs from the filter press to pump syrup to a bbl or the canner. It had been flushed with clean water but was still setting full to soak before I did the final rinse. I've gotten to dislike those critters that I formerly thought were cute creatures.

[BreezyHill]

Sorry but you will need to have a zero tolerance for these animals. 22 is the best choice. He now has a sweet tooth as will his buddies.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

5 gallon bucket with a coffee can on a dowel so it can spin up high. Smear sim peanut butter on the coffee can then fill the bottom with about 6 in of water. Give them a board to run up on a side. They will jump to the can it spins and they can only swim for so long. Works good for mice too.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I will second the bucket trick. I rebuilt my camp last year into a 4 season home and had to get rid of the mice. I used 6-7 1 gal buckets for a month with Peanut butter just smeared on the inside and I caught 30-40 mice. What is so nice about the water drowning trick is you can catch many in the same bucket and they aren't splattered in half by a snap trap.

For the squirrels - a .22 is nice, but a 20 gauge never misses. I also once thought they were cute. After hundred of squirrel repairs, I have no love and zero tolerance. Plus mice and squirrels are infested with lyme disease carrying ticks that nobody likes. They will never go away cause you block off an entrance. They are crafty and have time on their hands. Get rid of them or the problem will continue.

[maple flats]

Thanks, I'll set a couple of those traps. For a squirrel is 6" really deep enough? They are taller than that on their hind legs. Then there is likely an issue on the other end, if the squirrel can swim and reach the top of the pail I'd think they could get out.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

More water might be better they can't chew plastic and tread water so measure up your competition and set your water depth.

[maple flats]

So far the squirrel hasn't returned. I'm on hold for now. If a squirrel gets in again I'll use the bucket trap idea. I think I have some 6 gal buckets, so I could have deeper water and still have enough height above the water to prevent one from being able to reach the top and escape.

[Clarkfield Farms]

Tree rats. That really is exactly what they are. If their noses weren't pushed in, and if their tails were hairless and they couldn't jump and spring about, would there really be a difference? I had to replace half my tubing last year, and it was CLEAN -- some was brand new!!! - because of skwerlz and deer; yeah, deer, the other rodent with longer legs and renewable headgear. :) Skwerlz (name deliberately misspelled out of sheer disrespect!) take black walnuts from my neighbors 11 trees and plug up the plumbing vents on my roof, and plug up the downspouts of my house's gutters. It is a pain... finally got them out of the attic, but that took years to do it right not to mention the expense and frustration.

Those bucket traps really do work. In winter, use windshield washer fluid or antifreeze or whatever other stuff that you can use around the sugarhouse that won't freeze. The miscreants will perish far more quickly and you don't need to be concerned about the pail's contents becoming solid.

Red or gray, Dave? Our problem is the grays, the reds are even worse.

Cute? Yeah, I used to look at them that way. And years ago the deer were a lot less common and were a thrill to see. Now whenever I see them my stomach turns, knowing that if my garden is in they'll be destroying it. 92-acres of orchard here, about 200+ trees per acre, and virtually every tree suffers at least some damage from them every winter; some trees are destroyed by them each winter. I harvested 3 deer and I can't count how many skwerlz last year, naturally didn't put a dent in their numbers. Oh well, they taste fine... and it's about the only way I get any of my garden back! :)

Good luck to you, Dave -- and one other thing, I used those balsam-scented pouches that you recommended, and the mice and skwerlz had a lot of fun with them. Chewed them to pieces and emptied the contents! It was worth a shot, though. Maybe next time I'll just open the pouches and mix the contents with, um, some other stuff that might affect their ability to maintain an above-room-temperature body temperature within a few hours of eating it.:mrgreen:

[maple flats]

It was a grey squirrel. So far I have had no more. I will put in a bucket trap if I see evidence of another squirrel. The only nut trees on my land or near me are a few beech, but squirrels really like maple seeds too so the lack of nuts doesn't lead them to other's land.

[Daves Maple Farm]

Had bird feeder..squirrel kept destroying, moved feeder and suspended from fine cable between trees.no problem for one week. Looked out
back door to see squirrel going upside down hand over hand across cable to attack bird feeder...next day waited with double barrel 12 ga
loaded with number six...BIG BANG BANG..no more **** squirrel, no more cable and no more bird feeder! Problem solved...slept very well that night!

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Sorry but you will need to have a zero tolerance for these animals. 22 is the best choice. He now has a sweet tooth as will his buddies.

Living in The Peoples Republic of New York can you still own fire arms?

[maple flats]

Yes we can (and do) but they put every thing they can think of to stop it in our way, and most are unconstitutional. Enough said!