garden virgin wrote:
First there was one, now there's four & they are making a right mess in the
garden & chasing away blackbirds from the garden who are doing a great job
in keeping insects & slugs under control. One of the blasted squirrel
attacked a wood pigeon, i saw a plume of feathers flying & the pigeon had a
nasty head wound. Are squirrels normally this aggressive?

Yes, they're at least as bad as c a t s (sorry!) at the right time of
the year. They will do for your garden birds, dig up your bulbs, and
jag up your lawn to plant/dig up hazelnuts, etc.


and is there any
way of controlling the squirrels(grey) short of shooting them! As far as i
know... these are not crack cocaine addicted squirrles like the ones
reported in the news but they are still a real menace!

Unfortunately, they are a real menace. I pity the chap who mentioned
the loft of his house. An air rifle is OK, but better is a Fenn trap
Mk IV, *in a suitable tunnel* (which you can make or buy) - mind your
fingers when setting these, and use the safety catch (make sure you
take the catch "off" after setting!!), and anchor the trap properly.


Any advice on how to keep them out of the garden would be greatly
appreciated, i'm tempted to catch/trap them & put collars with bells on
them, that way i'd know when they're around.

I don't think you can stop them. An alternative to a Fenn trap is a
live catch trap, made of sturdy wire... however, if you don't want to
kill the squirrel, you'll have to take it away and release it, which
is technically illegal, and possibly dangerous to yourself. Do not
try and touch, or get your fingers or other bits *anywhere near* a
squirrel that you think may still be alive to any degree.