In article ,
"Jay Casey" wrote:
"Katra" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Jay Casey" wrote:
"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 09 Aug 2004 00:59:01 GMT, "Jay Casey"
wrote:
I have a family of 4-5 black squirrels that are damaging our flower
beds,
There are "tree squirrels" and "ground squirrels" in Austin. The type
of squirrel that has a predominately black fore-front and does not
inhabit trees is a Rock Squirrel. It is about the same size as the
Fox Squirrel - a type of tree squirrel. Rock Squirrels are really
only big ground squirrels and are more closely related to the littler
ground squirrels that dig holes and used to be common at Zilker Park.
You can probably discourage them by removing or interfering with their
habitat - removing piles of loose rocks, closing underground voids in
rocks, etc.. If you do catch and release them make sure you are
matching this type of habitat in which to release them.
Rock Squirrels on the easternmost edge of their range here in Austin
and I would recommend a little more tolerance of their presence and
damage than the ubiquitous Fox Squirrel.
Rusty Mase
Rusty,
You described these squirrels perfectly as if you have seen them in our
yard.
Most of them indeed have black fore-front, while few are mostly black.
They do live in a hole under a huge boulder.
My wife whose flower garden and pots have been damaged wants them out.
I want to keep them in our yard but off her flowers.
I even toyed with building a squirrel gauntlet/Olympics (as seen on TV)
in our backyard for entertainment. (Of course, it was shot down.)
If I feed & water them, would they stay off her flowers,
or will they be unable to overcome their appetite for her beautiful
flowers?
Since I have not seen any hint that they may invade our house (and does
not
appear to be in their nature to do so based on your description),
I wish I could find a way to keep them around.
It all depends, however, on their ability to stay away from my wife's
flowers.
Are they actually eating the flowers or digging up the bulbs?
If they are just going after the bulbs and rhizomes, there IS a way to
keep them from being able to dig them up. :-)
Let me know and I'll post more.....
K.
--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...
,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ude=0&user id
=katra
Found a good deal on Havahart trap at the Tractor Supply. Thanks.
They had the best price ( by more than $10).
Cool. :-)
Tractor supply has a lot of neat stuff.
Yes, they are actually eating the flowers (in the garden and pots)
and digging/turning pot soil (not bulbs).
Hmmmm... What I was going to suggest was chicken wire. The 1" mesh.
You can plant bulbs, seeds, etc. in the ground and then cover the soil
with chicken wire, then with a little mulch to make it invisible. The
flowers and stuff come up thru the wire, and the wire under the mulch
prevents any animals digging up the bulbs.
This also helps to prevent dogs and cats from digging up your garden.
For protecting the above ground plants if they are eating flowers, a low
hotwire setup can drive off just about anything.
K.
--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...
,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra