NDR: Summer of the Rodents

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

Well-known member
Supporter
It's been a tough year here for those of us who don't like critters with buck teeth.

We lost a family of foxes that was denning under the barn when the mother was hit by a car. We got two of the three kits in a Hav-a-hart and delivered to the local rehabilitator.

In the absence of our favorite cute predators, a family of wood chucks moved into their den--two removed via Hav-a-hart quickly, but at least one was left and whacking my garden hard while avoiding my best baiting efforts.

To give an idea of how much damage it was doing in the garden, my wife, who came close to tears at the young one I trapped, came in one night and said, "It's out behind the barn--why don't you go shoot it." Done, with a single 22 round to the head.

Most recently, a porcupine has been chewing everything in sight. The only real damage was the seat frames on one of my old canoes. It got careless today, wandered across the front yard about noon, and then posed with a railroad-tie wall for a backstop that gave it no view of my coming out the back door. I almost felt guilty when I stepped out of his blind spot at a range of about 12 feet, but, with visions of damaged ash seat frames in my head, I let him have it with a #8 target load from the partridge gun.

I'm pretty sure the red squirrels have found their way back into the crawl space, too. I swear I heard scampering behind the closet wall last week. It may be time to break out some rat traps and spray foam to seal up the gap they've found.

Does declaring war on the local rodents make me one of those crotchety old men I used to laugh at?
 
must be the year for it-

in a normal year- i shoot one - maybe two woodchucks in the back yard (in the yard not out in the fields) so far this year its up to six

and a red squirrel off the roof where he had made a hole in the fascia board - that's a new one here
 
Yep, its one of those summers. We have been fighting squirrels which are raiding our porch for rabbit and dog food. I've killed one so far and the other has been scarce. This winter I will borrow a pellet rifle again and take out a bunch. That seems to solve the problem for a year or so.
Most winters I end up putting Deacon in the attic because of squirrels taking up residence. It works really well, especially since they usually head outside to get water and don't die in the attic.
 
Please tell me you ate the porcupine. I heard they are absolutley delicious. I have only seen one once and i think the ford transit i used to drive for work would have lost.

If you arn't a crochety old man after last winter you have a younger soul than i do
 
Same here in Cambridge, NY. Rabbits, wood chucks and deer--rodents of a different kind. So 15 years without issues, then WCs. WCs tore through all my beans in a half hour many years ago--I have basically been able to keep them out since. The deer showed up five years ago. Really aggressive this year, tore through the deer netting in July, and their tastes have developed--five years ago, they were only interested in the chard, and string beans. Last year and this year they went after the potato flowers, tomato flowers, and then the beans and chard. I was able to deter them by putting deer netting directly over the plants with some success, and of course repairing the deer fencing.

Regrettably, lead poisoning is not possible in the Village. I have found that while the pellet gun is effective on Mr. Rabbit; useless if not cruel for WCs--tried that--finished one with a blow on the head with a shovel. Needless to say not good on the deer.


Back to the drawing board, likely a better and more expensive and higher fence is in order.
 
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