On 12/16/10 10:13 AM, EVP MAN wrote:
The rabbits and squirrels are causing quite a bit of damage on my
property. I live in central PA and decided to call the PA game
commission office to see what could be done. Since I live in a city,
discharging any kind of firearm is out of the question. I was told by
the game commission that YES as the property owner I do have the right
to protect my property from damage these critters are causing. I'll
relocate them about 15 miles from my house on state game land. Since I
never done any trapping, I could use any and all advice I can get,
especially as to what types of baits to use during the cold winter
months here in PA. I'll be using a 24"x7"x7" LIVE trap!
Thanks in advance 
Rich
I have no rabbits in my back yard. I've seen a few in front, but I do
not worry about damage to my front landscape.
Squirrels are quite another problem. They got all my pineapple guavas
and half my loquats this year. Early in July, my wife and I visited our
daughter in Canada for two weeks. When we left, my peaches were just
starting to color; they were still quite hard. When we returned, there
was not one peach on our tree or on the ground.
I use a medium-size Hav-a-Hart trap. I bait it with a mix of peanut
butter, raisins, and chopped pecans. (Someone with a pecan tree less
than a half mile away said that the squirrels stripped his tree bare of
nuts.) When I catch a squirrel, I take the trap to a national park
about 5 miles away, across 10 lanes of freeway. There are hungry
coyotes, owls, and hawks in the park.
The problem is that something -- perhaps overly smart squirrels -- often
steals the bait. I tried wrapping 1/4-inch wire mesh around the
outside, but something tore or chewed through it. I've had some success
with lining the inside of the trap with the wire mesh. Just the same, I
had to re-bait the trap today. Hav-a-Hart says they now make their
traps with the grid of wires having smaller spaces.
For rabbits, the medium-size trap might be too small; but for squirrels,
the large-size trap might be too big. See http://www.havahart.com/
for the different trap sizes, suggestions for baits, and other ways to
control varmints.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary