Surfeit of Squirrels

[Ferdinand]

I have been in the current place about 6 years. And this year we seem to have umpteen grey squirrels, to the exstent that bird feeding has been curtailed. I have just been watching one skittering over the conservatory whilst having breakfast. They are all over the roof, and I have not seen this before.

 

Our local (lots of) cats are not as efficient as I would hope; at our old place about a third of the cats over time would catch squirrels.

 

Here the setting is suburban and leafy, but relatively closely spaced houses.

 

I do have a squirrel trap or two, which we used occasionally at the old place.

 

I would like to assert a little control before we get any roof entry problems. I can do a certain amount of vegetation control, but the house is a converted bungalow with textured bricks, so that will be limited in impact. Can anyone suggest how to proceed?

 

I will be consulting the Council and/or a pro, but I understand that the currently approved control method is trap then shoot with an air gun, with care being taken to place traps such that other non-vermin animals do not get caught.

 

Cheers.

 

Ferdinand

Edited June 18, 2019 by Ferdinand

[scottishjohn]

bearing in mind the fact you now new a permit for an air rifle and they will want to know where it will be used

not a problem if you already have shot gun cert 

I would shoot the "tree rats"--but if there is no safe background to shoot, where stray slugs will go, --

 "keep on  trapping "

we only have the red ones here --but greys are getting closer and are top of  hit list --there is even a tel no  to ring if you see one .

not really sure why they bother as they are re introducing  pine martens --they are far worse at taking wee tweety birds nests and small mammals+ squirrels for lunch 

all vermin to me

[Alex C]

9 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

bearing in mind the fact you now new a permit for an air rifle and they will want to know where it will be used

not a problem if you already have shot gun cert 

I would shoot the "tree rats"--but if there is no safe background to shoot, where stray slugs will go, --

 "keep on  trapping "

we only have the red ones here --but greys are getting closer and are top of  hit list --there is even a tel no  to ring if you see one .

not really sure why they bother as they are re introducing  pine martens --they are far worse at taking wee tweety birds nests and small mammals+ squirrels for lunch 

all vermin to me

You do not need a permit for an air rifle (in England). The type of permit you need to shoot corvids and pigeons has changed but you still don't need a permit to shoot squirrels.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Alex C

[scottishjohn]

1 minute ago, Alex C said:

You do not need a permit for an air rifle. The type of permit you need to shoot corvids and pigeons has changed but you still don't need a permit to shoot squirrels.

think you need to check the gun laws --

sorry you are incorrect 

its not the act of shooting -but owning an air rifle that requires a cert

it so silly now that if you have land to use it on

you might as well go for a .17 or a .22 real rifle or a .410 with a sound moderator for around the house /farm vermin they are very quiet

[Jeremy Harris]

12 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

think you need to check the gun laws --

sorry you are incorrect 

its not the act of shooting -but owning an air rifle that requires a cert

it so silly now that if you have land to use it on

you might as well go for a .17 or a .22 real rifle or a .410 with a sound moderator for around the house /farm vermin they are very quiet

 

 

Best read up on the law, I think.  I own an air gun, perfectly legally, and there is no requirement to licence it.  The law is pretty clear, any air rifle with less than 12 ft lbs at the muzzle is not a firearm and does not require licensing.  The majority of air rifles sold in the UK are below this limit, specifically so that they remain free from licensing requirements.

[Ferdinand]

I am certainly *not* buying a .22 rifle for use in my 15m x 15m back garden, not least because I have roads both front and back so the area I can legally fire it from is a strip 3m deep through mainly inside the house !

 

(And - no - an air rifle below 12 lb ft or air pistol below 6 lb ft does not require a permit in England. The law was strictly a Scottish thing, which I put down to the same reasons as the alcohol pricing thing. Fire sprinklers coming soon.)

 

It would be more like a 5.5 lb ft air pistol to despatch the little blighters if I do not feel up to a sack and a priest.

 

Any advice on squirrels? ?

 

Cheers

 

F 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Gone West]

We have a grey squirrel that has suddenly appeared in the garden. There have never been grey squirrels around here because there is no woodland or significant trees other than orchards. It is being a pain chewing the bird feeders so I'll have to go into the loft and get my Weihrauch.

[Big Jimbo]

Squirrels. Squirrels. You wait till the Glis Glis reach you........They are on the march, and heading your way.

[soapstar]

From experience I wouldn't recommend an air pistol, these would cause more suffering to the animal and would never kill it unless it stood in front of you with its hands up. 12ft/lb air rifle is sufficient enough, even then you have to shoot the prey in the right place...

[Ferdinand]

4 minutes ago, soapstar said:

From experience I wouldn't recommend an air pistol, these would cause more suffering to the animal and would never kill it unless it stood in front of you with its hands up. 12ft/lb air rifle is sufficient enough, even then you have to shoot the prey in the right place...

 

An air pistol is for the despatch once it is in one end of a trap confined by trapping combs.

 

(Vid of dquirrel being despatched)

 

 

F

Edited June 18, 2019 by Ferdinand

[soapstar]

@Ferdinand Entirely your choice obviously but I had a few issues with a 5ft/lb pistol we had, didn't quite 'dispatch' efficiently...

[Ferdinand]

18 minutes ago, soapstar said:

@Ferdinand Entirely your choice obviously but I had a few issues with a 5ft/lb pistol we had, didn't quite 'dispatch' efficiently...

Thanks. Useful.

[Jeremy Harris]

My inclination would be to use an air rifle, rather than a pistol.  12 ft lbs close up will give a pretty clean and quick kill.

[PeterW]

Air pistols aren’t great in this situation. You need a clean shot and 9-12lb is probably the minimum you want. 

[Carrerahill]

1 hour ago, scottishjohn said:

bearing in mind the fact you now new a permit for an air rifle and they will want to know where it will be used

 

 

Only in Scotland.

 

 

[ToughButterCup]

46 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said:

[...] You wait till the Glis Glis reach you [...]

 

Brilliant! Lunch!

[Carrerahill]

1 hour ago, scottishjohn said:

think you need to check the gun laws --

sorry you are incorrect 

its not the act of shooting -but owning an air rifle that requires a cert

it so silly now that if you have land to use it on

you might as well go for a .17 or a .22 real rifle or a .410 with a sound moderator for around the house /farm vermin they are very quiet

Sorry, but it is yourself who is incorrect - you do not need a license for an air rifle in England/Wales (under 12ft lbs). 

[SteamyTea]

Is it covered in this:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/518193/Guidance_on_Firearms_Licensing_Law_April_2016_v20.pdf

Personally I would just make them all legal.

If you want to catch squirrels, a trap is probably better.

[Onoff]

Search "squirrel catapult" on YouTube.

[scottishjohn]

13 hours ago, JSHarris said:

 

 

Best read up on the law, I think.  I own an air gun, perfectly legally, and there is no requirement to licence it.  The law is pretty clear, any air rifle with less than 12 ft lbs at the muzzle is not a firearm and does not require licensing.  The majority of air rifles sold in the UK are below this limit, specifically so that they remain free from licensing requirements.

 just checked -- it is a sottish requirement

seems  it is different in england,very suprised at that 

 ALL air guns required licensing for last  few years  in scotland

over 12 ftlbs was always fire arms cert

so just make sure you don,t come over the border with one I  your car 

www.scotland.police.uk/.../air-weapon-licensing

[Roundtuit]

14 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

An air pistol is for the despatch once it is in one end of a trap confined by trapping combs.

 

At point-blank range, any half-decent air pistol should be plenty powerful enough, and probably reduces the risk of a ricochet.  A Fenn trap and cage will save you the trouble though.  Not sure what the point of live-catch traps are in a pest control situation...

[SteamyTea]

7 hours ago, Roundtuit said:

Not sure what the point of live-catch traps are in a pest control situation

https://news.sky.com/story/alabama-man-fed-meth-to-caged-attack-squirrel-11744502

[soapstar]

2 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

https://news.sky.com/story/alabama-man-fed-meth-to-caged-attack-squirrel-11744502

 

I think you may need more than an air gun to stop this squirrel ?

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, soapstar said:

I think you may need more than an air gun to stop this squirrel

Downers work a treat.

[Grendel]

10 hours ago, Roundtuit said:

 

At point-blank range, any half-decent air pistol should be plenty powerful enough, and probably reduces the risk of a ricochet.  A Fenn trap and cage will save you the trouble though.  Not sure what the point of live-catch traps are in a pest control situation...

Is it less messy when you catch them in the loft