Eastern Grey Squirrel, the new terror.

[Queen K]

And because you put it in a quote, Type-0 can't even edit it out unless you do too. Nice.

[Bestside]

And because you put it in a quote, Type-0 can't even edit it out unless you do too. Nice.

And you thought I was talking about Type-O?

[Ken7]

SQUIRRLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

SQUIRRLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No intent to change topic as one might suggest, although if you read the posts you might realize the topic yes is squirrels and it is the new TERROR.

Many appear to be in terror which makes me laugh.

My point was as you missed it, they are harmless unless into your attic. My preference was squirrles over rats. Why you have to try and jump at me I just don't know....get a life! You know who I'm speaking of, your like a sh-trat!

[grammafreddy]

your like a sh-trat!

Is that like a packrat?

Don't panic - this one is dead. But I'll take squirrels over packrats ANY day!

[Ken7]

Don't panic - this one is dead. But I'll take squirrels over packrats ANY day!

I'd answer that but...its only Squrrels here or some will go nuts. I'd hate to be accused of changing the topic.

PS- pack rat or roof rat yes you can smell them in a wood pile( Dirty )

[Bestside]

SQUIRRLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

SQUIRRLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No intent to change topic as one might suggest, although if you read the posts you might realize the topic yes is squirrels and it is the new TERROR.

Many appear to be in terror which makes me laugh.

My point was as you missed it, they are harmless unless into your attic. My preference was squirrles over rats. Why you have to try and jump at me I just don't know....get a life! You know who I'm speaking of, your like a sh-trat!

Wow.. you don't have to call me a "sh-t"...
You sure get "yours" in a knot over what (or who?) you prefer living in your attic...
You should suite it... rent it to someone with a cat...

Have you been around a blog much? "Jump at you"? LOL

[Type_O]

Well, there you go... some people have such a nice way telling others "how to" do something... like how to get rid of grey squirrels.

Well, read. I'm pretty sure raw peanuts would have the same effect on red squirrels, don't know about quails/magpies other Okanagan wildlife - but it's a proven poison for grey/black squirrels.

Would be great if it worked on packrats.

[Ken7]

Seems that perhaps some researchers need additional funding to continue their project.
They state that the habitat in BC is not suitable for the Eastern Grey....that they can not survive in our pine/cedar/spruce forests and therefore will take over everyone's homes....huh...guess someone forgot to tell the squirrels in Stanley Park that they are not allowed to survive in that area.

I believe you are right. Do they believe the squirrels packed lunch before moving west and they will starve when they run out??

I also wonder have they mistaken these squirrles for the Western Greys??

Anyway,eastern gray squirrels diet consistes of tree bark, berries, many types of seeds and acorns, walnuts, and other nuts, and some types of fungi found in the forests, including fly agaric mushrooms.

[DaveC]

And...where exactly are you finding the hyperbole in my post?????

"And...here we go again with the wildlife hysterics."

The post describing why the grey squirrels represent a problem hardly qualifies as "hysterics".

[janalta]

The Grey Squirrels are, like any invasive species, bad news for our indigenous animals. They are aggressive, breed like rats, and will kill any and all songbirds, Red Squirrels, and native plant species.
We'll need to do something right away to take care of these little buggers before they cause a lot of damage and wipe out our native species. Yeah, yeah, they are cute and fuzzy, but think about Purple Loosestrife or knapweed or milfoil...

You don't find statements like these a little hysterical?

[Type_O]

There is an article in the FORUM section of National Geographic Magazine, March 1996 claiming that raw peanuts are dangerous and possibly fatal if fed to squirrels.

No Raw Peanuts, Please!

Don't feed raw peanuts to squirrels and other animals because it can seriously hurt them. That advice comes from fellow backyarder and Eastern Washington University history professor James K. Kieswetter, Ph.D., of Medical Lake, who found out the hard way.

"I had been feeding raw peanuts to my backyard squirrels when I noticed they were beginning to look pretty ratty," Kieswetter says.

A friend who works in the human nutrition field told him that raw peanuts and other legumes contain a trypsin inhibitor or substance that inhibits or prevents the pancreas from producing trypsin, an enzyme essential for the absorption of protein by the intestine. With the help of a veterinarian friend. Kieswetter reviewed animal nutrition literature and discovered similar problems.
While the exact relationship between the trypsin inhibitor and malnutrition in rodents is not fully understood, the detrimental effects have been documented since 1917. Squirrels fed a steady diet of raw peanuts, soybeans. other legumes, and sweet potatoes could easily develop severe malnutrition.

WDFW Urban Wildlife Biologist Patricia Thompson also reports that there are mycotoxins in raw peanuts that can cause liver, kidney, and brain diseases which unfortunately are seen in many birds.

If you want to feed peanuts, Kieswetter found, the solution is to roast them. According to the Washington State Cooperative Extension Service, roasting hulled raw peanuts for 20 to 30 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring them frequently, will destroy the trypsin inhibitor and render them suitable for feed. If that sounds like a lot of work, buy roasted peanuts but be sure they aren't salted. (Salted nuts of any kind should never be fed to wild animals.)
Kieswetter has become an information crusader about the dangers of raw peanuts, alerting several local backyard feed suppliers about the problem. He recently noticed an article in National Geographic advocating the feeding of raw peanuts to squirrels and wrote the magazine to set the record straight; his letter was printed in the March 1996 edition.

[steven lloyd]

[Woodenhead]

squirrels = terrorists

[GordonH]

Osama bin Squirrel

[Ken7]

I think we have all given squirrels peanuts.

However, where would you purchase raw peanuts?? Cooking supplies possibly, most peanuts are roasted in the shell or seasoned. I don't believe we would eat them raw....

I know the squirrels loved the salt of the seasoned and they usually ate half the shelled peanut and then horded the rest of them.

Not sure how true it is, although my father said squirrels have poor memory. That is why the stash everywhere, then in winter months they might stumble across a stash of pine cones or peanuts.