On May 8, 2:37*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2009-05-08 10:09:26 +0100, Judith in France
said:



On May 7, 6:35*pm, "BAC" wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in messagenews:7b4
...
On May 7, 9:40 am, "Ophelia" wrote:

Sheila wrote:
"Bill Smith" wrote in message
news:suilven- Can anyone suggest a low-cost deterrent which will not
harm the
squirrels but would allow the other birds (Most of which seem to
prefer peanuts to wild bird seed) to feed on the peanuts?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Bill.

Hold me back! (speaking from Formby, one home of the beautiful
endangered red squirrel....) Fetch ma gun!!

Heh, nothing wrong with squirrel casserole. You need a few though

I had heard, on this ng many years ago about eating squirrel but I was
never sure if it was a joke or not. *My neighbour tells me she has
eaten squirrel. *Seriously, have you eaten squirrel and what does it
taste like if you have?

Do they have grey squirrels in your part of France, or has your neighbour
perhaps been eating red squirrels? Red squirrels used to be eaten in the
UK,
before they became rare and protected, and loads of grey squirrels are ea
ten
in their native USA, as well as quite a few now in the UK.

I have seen red squirrels but rarely, plenty of grey. *I often listen
to the stories of my very elderly farmer neighbour; they would eat
anything, just to survive, nothing was wasted. *She recalls that
during the last War, they would have starved in the Auvergne without
the help of the British who dropped food, by air, *into remote areas.
It would appear that any and all food was commandeered by the
Germans. *Today she won't even speak to anyone living in Vichy which
is not too far North from here. *Sorry, I digressed, one thing lead to
another; as it does!

Judith

Judith

And today is Liberation Day in France, isn't it? *Tomorrow in the CIs. *
Are they celebrating all over or do different areas have different
dates for that?
--
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

It wasa Bank Holiday yesterday, I wonder if they are celebrating with
gusto in Vichy?

Judith

On 2009-05-09 09:58:52 +0100, Judith in France
said:

On May 8, 2:37*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2009-05-08 10:09:26 +0100, Judith in France
said:



On May 7, 6:35*pm, "BAC" wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in messagenews:
7b4
...
On May 7, 9:40 am, "Ophelia" wrote:

Sheila wrote:
"Bill Smith" wrote in message
news:suilven- Can anyone suggest a low-cost deterrent which will no
t
harm the
squirrels but would allow the other birds (Most of which seem to
prefer peanuts to wild bird seed) to feed on the peanuts?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Bill.

Hold me back! (speaking from Formby, one home of the beautiful
endangered red squirrel....) Fetch ma gun!!

Heh, nothing wrong with squirrel casserole. You need a few though

I had heard, on this ng many years ago about eating squirrel but I was
never sure if it was a joke or not. *My neighbour tells me she has
eaten squirrel. *Seriously, have you eaten squirrel and what does it
taste like if you have?

Do they have grey squirrels in your part of France, or has your neighb
our
perhaps been eating red squirrels? Red squirrels used to be eaten in t
he
UK,
before they became rare and protected, and loads of grey squirrels are
ea
ten
in their native USA, as well as quite a few now in the UK.

I have seen red squirrels but rarely, plenty of grey. *I often listen
to the stories of my very elderly farmer neighbour; they would eat
anything, just to survive, nothing was wasted. *She recalls that
during the last War, they would have starved in the Auvergne without
the help of the British who dropped food, by air, *into remote areas.
It would appear that any and all food was commandeered by the
Germans. *Today she won't even speak to anyone living in Vichy which
is not too far North from here. *Sorry, I digressed, one thing lead t
o
another; as it does!

Judith

Judith

And today is Liberation Day in France, isn't it? *Tomorrow in the CIs.
*
Are they celebrating all over or do different areas have different
dates for that?
--
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

It wasa Bank Holiday yesterday, I wonder if they are celebrating with
gusto in Vichy?

Judith

Yes, 8th May in France is what I meant.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon

In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

---snnip---

Can anyone suggest a low-cost deterrent which will not harm the
squirrels but would allow the other birds (Most of which seem to prefer
peanuts to wild bird seed) to feed on the peanuts?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Bill.

Many thanks for all sensible suggestions (as another poster has
remarked, shooting/eating squirrels doesn't quite match the "without
harming the squirrels" original brief!).

Tried the chilli-coated peanuts. At first, one squirrel wolfed down a
couple of inches at one evening sitting, so increased the chilli dosage
next morning and it seems to have worked - squirrels appear but don't go
to the feeder with the chilli-ed nuts. Will persevere. As posters said,
seems to have no adverse effect whatever on the birds.

FAO RJBL: You're lucky to have such abstemious squirrels. A 500 gram bag
of peanuts at £1 lasts barely a day max, and this pensioner finds that
cost rather steep. despite the undoubted entertainment of the beasts'
antics!

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?

Regards,

Bill

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people might
(unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK :-)

BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people might
(unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK :-)

I thought we already had them?



--
Kay

"K" wrote in message
...
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people might
(unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK :-)

I thought we already had them?

Eradicated in Britain in the 1980s IIRC. Now in zoos only over here.

K wrote:
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article
, Bill
Smith wrote:
snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in
Lot/Correze, and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage
his riverbank, and recently they've found several recipes for
ragondin stew etc. Have you tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people
might (unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK
:-)

I thought we already had them?

I am told there are a lot along the Norfolk Broads. They originally escaped
from a wildlife park and have now bred. They do a lot of damage to the
river bank

"K" wrote in message
...
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people might
(unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK :-)

I thought we already had them?



Officially, they were eradicated from East Anglia in 1989. But reports of
sightings persist in Broadland ...

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
K wrote:
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article
, Bill
Smith wrote:
snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in
Lot/Correze, and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage
his riverbank, and recently they've found several recipes for
ragondin stew etc. Have you tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people
might (unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK
:-)

I thought we already had them?

I am told there are a lot along the Norfolk Broads. They originally
escaped from a wildlife park and have now bred. They do a lot of damage
to the river bank

There *used* to be a lot along the Broads & Fens. Eradicated in the late 80s

wafflycat wrote:
"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
K wrote:
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article
, Bill
Smith wrote:
snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in
Lot/Correze, and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage
his riverbank, and recently they've found several recipes for
ragondin stew etc. Have you tried this delicacy?


Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people
might (unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK
:-)

I thought we already had them?

I am told there are a lot along the Norfolk Broads. They originally
escaped from a wildlife park and have now bred. They do a lot of
damage to the river bank

There *used* to be a lot along the Broads & Fens. Eradicated in the
late 80s

Ok

On May 11, 1:15*am, Bill Smith wrote:
In article ,
*Bill Smith wrote:

---snnip---

Can anyone suggest a low-cost deterrent which will not harm the
squirrels but would allow the other birds (Most of which seem to prefer
peanuts to wild bird seed) to feed on the peanuts?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Bill.

Many thanks for all sensible suggestions (as another poster has
remarked, shooting/eating squirrels doesn't quite match the "without
harming the squirrels" original brief!).

Tried the chilli-coated peanuts. At first, one squirrel wolfed down a
couple of inches at one evening sitting, so increased the chilli dosage
next morning and it seems to have worked - squirrels appear but don't go
to the feeder with the chilli-ed nuts. Will persevere. As posters said,
seems to have no adverse effect whatever on the birds.

FAO RJBL: You're lucky to have such abstemious squirrels. A 500 gram bag
of peanuts at £1 lasts barely a day max, and this pensioner finds that
cost rather steep. despite the undoubted entertainment of the beasts'
antics!

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?

Regards,

Bill

I live in Auvergne. No I haven't tried coypu although we have seen
the holes in riverbanks here. When I lived in Norfolk, it was usual
to see coypu frequently on the Broads.

Judith

On May 12, 8:11*am, "Ophelia" wrote:
K wrote:
BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article
, Bill
Smith wrote:
snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in
Lot/Correze, and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage
his riverbank, and recently they've found several recipes for
ragondin stew etc. Have you tried this delicacy?

Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people
might (unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK
:-)

I thought we already had them?

I am told there are a lot along the Norfolk Broads. *They originally escaped
from a wildlife park and have now bred. *They do a lot of damage to the
river bank

They are quite often seen on the river banks, and from a boat you can
see the damage they do as they burrow into the bank.

Judith

On May 12, 9:46*am, "BAC" wrote:
"K" wrote in message

...



BAC writes

"Bill Smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Smith wrote:

snip

FAO Judith in France: Which part? We have French friends in Lot/Correze,
and the husband shoots ragondin (coypu) which damage his riverbank, and
recently they've found several recipes for ragondin stew etc. Have you
tried this delicacy?

Careful - if ragondin stew were to become fashionable, some people might
(unofficially of course) reintroduce a few coypu into the UK :-)

I thought we already had them?

Officially, they were eradicated from East Anglia in 1989. But reports of
sightings persist in Broadland ...

They have been seen, it seems whatever measures are taken, a few
survive and continue to breed.

Judith

Ah, just covered my grass seed in chilli powder to stop the pigeons eating it!!!/

Sorry, folks, the squirrels seem to have acquired a taste for chilli-ed
(+paprika +cayenne+ground white pepper) peanuts!

Watched one for 10-15 minutes yesterday, eating as normal (hungrily).
Only difference was he went straight to the water dish and drank lots
after his meal!

This morning, very similar performance, but this time two more squirrels
who couldn't access the peanut feeder because of Squirrel #1 leapt on
any he/she caused to fall onto the ground below the feeder.

Dog-collar arrangement would be hard to fix to pole (about 1" diameter),
and fishing line sounds great but wouldn't fit our house construction &
house/garden/driveway layout, so still looking for non-lethal ideas!

Regards,

Bill