Grey squirrel management

[Baldbloke]

Can I ask where you got the info the wild cats eat pine martens?

That wasn’t me! 🤣 it was Stere on post 61. My post and his post seems to have been mixed up with me quoting his. I’d never been to Wales until late last year for a weeks holiday and never knew about the importation of black squirrels from CZ. 

A wild cat or even a big feral cat would come off second best with the Pine Martins around here. I’d never assume a Martin being potential prey for a cat. The incisors on a squashed one on the road below me were about 2/3” long. No cat is going to take on a machine like that!

 

The ones we generally see around here are around 2 foot long and 8-10” at the shoulder. However, as I mentioned earlier, my wife and I saw one crossing the road in front of us in daylight that was considerably bigger and we suspect had been fed by the people whose garden it had just vacated. It was the size of a mongoose.

[roys]

Been watching red squirrels on my feeders all week, this morning the grey came along that my neighbour first reported back in April, only seen It fleetingly over the last few months. Had my BSA Ultra .22 handy, grey squirrel no more, I don’t take any pleasure in shooting anything that is not for the pot but I’m afraid it had to go in the name of vermin control and to aid the red survival.

[Tippin Alaybye]

Taste nice to be honest

[Guest Gimlet]

Always eat my squirrels if they're clean shot. Stuff cavity with thyme and a bay leaf, wrap in bacon or pancetta, truss up and pan fry then finish in the oven for ten minutes. Lovely. 

 

You do need one each...

[AngrySquirrel]

On 17/04/2021 at 12:07, Squirrely said:

Many thanks to all of you who have replied. My son and I would be happy to travel say a 60 mile radius from Loughborough, Leics. To date we have cleared greys from a five acre wood (22 in three visits), a wood 150m x 200m (48 over approximately 8 visits), and an 8 acre wood (10 one visit). Apparently, squirrels make good eating and are seen as a delicacy in London restaurants. In my previous life, I have carried out squirrel dissections and there seems little meat on them. Currently, I freeze them and they are drip fed to a pet fox but maybe as a community we should try them. There are no secrets to our methods of control, we shoot with short range silencered guns and low noise ammunition. The combination is very effective and any passer by would not recognise the noise. We have not received a single complaint despite shooting near houses. If any of the Forum members would like us to lend a hand with control we'd be delighted to help. As mentioned in my previous post, we do this control for free. You might consider making a donation to the Red Squirrel Survival Trust which initiated my interest in the removal of the greys. You can contact me on [email protected]  

Funny Grey Squirrels seem to have a large dislike to a Theoben rapid 12 .20

[saintsman54]

On 21/04/2021 at 21:25, drinksloe said:

 

I can imagine they will if they got the chance esp if PM was sick injured or old.

Wouldn't be an easy meal for them. Vicious sods

Most predators will eat anything they can and since they both lie in the same habitat.

PM are far more common in many parts of Scotland than made out.

 

There is evidence of PM predating on wildcat dens, young kittens, infact 1 wildcat charity stopped putting artificial nest/den boxes up for wildcats as they thought were getting too much predation in the man made boxes.

Most predators never pass up an easy meal no matter how rare the meal is.

 

 

Is it not Woburn that has the 'black' grey squirrels?

You are right, Woburn have a population of Black Squirrels that are mutated Greys. 

[saintsman54]

I know this is a little off topic from the original thread, but I'm involved with the UK Squirrel Accord who are supporting the Contraceptive Drug research, so i thought people may be interested to hear more. The idea is that making GS infertile rather than shooting/trapping, will be more effective at a landscape scale, compared to killing squirrels and their neighbours filling the population vacuum. 

 

The project is in year 3 of 5, currently they have got the feeder sorted so it will only deliver to GS and nothing else, they have also undertaken modelling to understand what density the feeders need to be deployed at to be efficient, finally they are still working on the actual drug, but have found 3 possibilities with 1 being especially good. Over the next two years they will be undertaking more trials of the drugs, then looking at field trails and registration of the drug. 

 

If you want any more info, check out the UKSA website - 

UK Squirrel Accord

SQUIRRELACCORD.UK

 

 

     

[Stere]

Quote

The greys are the main reason I strongly resist putting any native broadleaves in on any of my planting sites. 

 

Do you have  a list of what useful  species of trees they don't  like to eat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GarethM]

19 minutes ago, Stere said:

Do you have  a list of what useful  species of trees they don't like to eat?

Just shoot the bloody things and plant native.

 

Is a cart backwards argument to not plant native because of a non native pest.

[Stere]

Well that would be nice in an ideal world but seems like pissing in the wind esp with  the atittude of most  landowners.