General Chat

Hi Daff - St Mary's Churchyard down the village is full of grey squirrels - they are all over the place there - they've been nibbling the fruit and nuts on the wreath I put on Lawrence's stone!! I just love watching them and always take the opportunity to walk through the churchyard when I'm down there

Hi daff weve' had plenty this year as useall in Peterborough they have been digging all my plant pots and hiding nuts in them and all around the garden to its quite funny to watch them as half the time they forget where they have hidden them lol Jean

Daff - I know all about 'em - just not sure if it's safe for me to say it these days ...

Greys are a variety of blacks.

Greys and blacks are aggressive and will take over squirrel habitat from reds. You have greys only because some wealthy Victorian nincompoop imported a pair and released them into the wild in England.

Where I grew up, in London, Ontario, the central downtown park - Victoria Park, actually ;) - was full of red squirrels. They are now gone.

I used to have loads of both black and grey in my backyard in the downtown area where I now live. I've never seen a red here. The population has declined since the huge soft maple in the next yard over was executed to make way for a townhouse development five years ago -- this year I have two blacks and one grey who climb the wall to my second-floor office window daily for whatever I have to give them. And the blacks, at least, have taken up residence in the space behind the knee-wall in my third floor bedroom, and kick up quite a fuss regularly. We're just hoping they don't dine on the wiring until we can afford to do something about them.

The blacks are also hostile to the greys, and usually win any battle over food and territory, even though they tend to be smaller. (Reds are smaller again, as I recall.)

I understand that in parts of England there are bounties on blacks, to try to preserve the red population.

Not much one can do personally to protect the reds, I guess, except try to give them special attention for feeding and such if they're around. It would be a shame to see your reds go the way of ours.

I first noticed the trees in Gloucester when I lived there, 5 or 6 years ago it started, I think... mine were a bit ropey when I moved here to Newport 4 years last Sept, but as it was September that was sort of ok, but although they start really well the following Spring, within weeks they are all brown and shrivelled... and the moth larvae attacks other things as well, it's a blinking nuisance.... and at first I thought it might have been us that brought it in, but it wasn't according to the tree surgeon (drools a bit)

but it isn't just the moth... it seems there are another two diseases.. one is fungal... and they believe that each on their own, a healthy tree might recover from, but not all three together. For one of them, there is no cure... although they think the tree might grow out of it eventually... for the others, the cure is so drastic that people would have to be moved out, and it would destroy the surrounding flora and fauna, so no can do there on trees 150 years + old!

I could weep sometimes!

Love

Daff xxx

The numerous grey squirrels here have chewed through the string of two half-coconuts and made off with them! Only put them up on Monday!
I will not bother to buy any more.

Yes Daff, most of our horse chestnuts are bare by June, have been for the last three years. Some damn moth larvae eating them.

Not to mention Harlequin ladybirds, which have somehow got here in their millions....and threatening our own various species of native ladybirds.

Oh dear Mayfield... I am sorry but I am laughing here at the image of half a dozen grey squirrels furtively trundling wheelbarrows full of sunflowers, lolol

Jean, I think I need to protect my young Rowan, don't I? They do run up and down that fence, you see.....

TW you are absolutely right... they brought in some horrendous stuff... and we are still doing it now... the blight that is currently decimating Horse Chestnuts came into this country from overseas somewhere, and it is spreading like wildfire... many trees are dying, I have lost one of the three here, and the other two definitely have it now, so they might be for the chop as well. My garden is planned around the shade they give, as well!

~~~ to Hoff... yes, I do hope they are not wiped out... it would be such a shame.

Love

Daff xxxx

We had goats which would gnaw tree bark and had to wire their trunks to protect them. If trees are gnawed all the way round they will die, so squirrels and young trees are a no-no.

I know ours has a fancy for sunflower seeds, we planted about a dozen sunflowers at the end of the garden so we could let them go to seed for the birds.
Last autumn, I looked out of the window and saw the squirrel rustling around amongst them. Ah bless him he’s having a few seeds I thought, later that day we found every one had been neatly decapitated, and no sign of the heads at all; he must have had a wheelbarrow!

I reckon the area may be inundated with sunflowers this year!

Regards,
Mayfield.

We have lots of Red squirrels not to far from where we live

Down by the River here, it is full of Himalayan Balsom, a beautiful flower but so invasive it's even choking out the natural reeds and sedges that should be there. (it stinks too!) Insects love it, but it's taking over here. The only places it hasn't reached yet are the Japanese Knotweed patches. Can't win! lol

There is talk of leaving controlled patches of Japanise Knotweed, as it is so beneficial to insects as shelter in the winter, which in turn will benefit birds, so there are some good things come out of it.

Those Victorian gardners have got a lot to answer for though.

I know, Teresa... there have been so many things introduced to this country which have then destroyed or are in the process of destroying, our native flora and fauna... bluebells, Knotweed, terrapins, squirrels, etc

But I just couldn't hurt a squirrel.... well, unless it was hurting one of my cats or something... I know they can be quite vicious.

There has been a successful scheme somewhere in UK, where they are encircling the habitat of the red squirrel, which is smaller, shyer and gentler than the brash and argumentative grey, with vegetation distasteful to the grey.... and reds are doing well there... Off to google again!, lol

Love

Daff xxx

It is true what Merlin said. Not because they are vermin, but because they are an introduced species, not really native, and post a significant threat to native red squirrels.

So it is illegal to release them again for that reason, just the same as it is illegal to put an american crayfish back in our rivers (even though its actually illegal to fish for crayfish without a permit too). Again, they pose a huge threat to our native crayfish with disease and displacement.

However...if I managed to catch a squirrel, I could not be cruel to it. There are no red squirrels in this part of the country.

Some time ago we heard a commotion outside when we went to look, our neighbours were all standing and looking at a huge squirrel just hanging on the wall beneath the roof , by the time I rushed to get my camera he had shot right across the back of the houses and over a wall and gone....now we are nowhere near country or trees at least not many, and on a very busy main road, We wondered if it had been in the roof somewhere, I know they do go in roof spaces and are very difficult to remove, just hope it didnt have a family.....never seenit since, but sad I missed the photo.....

Jean x

TW, so it does look as though they *lie low* or semi hibernate when the weather is really bad..... which would account for not seeing them for a while.

Aw Merlin..... I know they are a bleeping nuisance at times... but they still look cute, and they make me smile, well, most of the time they do, lol

I know, Island.... but I still think they are cute... well, I like to watch them... we have one who is rather clumsy, and how he has survived I do not know!!

When we first moved here a few years ago there was evidence to suggest that they had used our loft as a winter drey... there were 4 old dreys there... I had to get permission to have the branches of two of the Horse Chestnuts cut back... they were actually just tipping in under the eaves, and this was how the squirrels were getting in. There was evidence to suggest they had been perilously close to chewing the wiring!

When all was done, Mr Rentokil man sealed up, and came back every couple of weeks to check there were no squirrels trapped up there... he was going to release, not kill them. There were none, though, and all has been well since.

Except with my nutty neighbour, who decided that I had a vendetta against trees, and was out to murder them all!! lol But that, as they say, is a different thread!!

Love

Daff xxx

Yes, they,re Vermin,and if caught it is illegal to free them they should be killed.**M**.

I often walk in the woods near me and there are loads of squirrels in there, but during the freeze, when all the snow was about, I didn't see one single squirrel, so I suppose they had holed themselves up somewhere.

Last week they were about again, and even wondering around in the communal car park in our flats, which I've never seen them do before, so I suppose they were foraging.

Hiya Sarah.... thank you for that.... oh, and of course they go go for all the young bulbs and shoots, don't they? I remember discussing this with Jac one year!

Right... I shall feed them!! Keep them well fed and maybe they will stay away from my bulbs, lolol

Love

Daff xxx

Thanks Hoff.... that answers part of my question then... they don't actually hibernate, but they go semi-dormant during a very bad spell.

I have two huge Horse Chestnut trees at the side of me.... and during the winter, the squirrels would come looking for the conkers they'd *hidden* in the tubs and hanging baskets, lolol They haven't done that this year... well, until now... that is why I collected the conkers, so they had a good stock of them... the trees are now diseased, and not producing as many conkers , and they are smaller, so I had anticipated a bit of a famine, lol! Glad I did!

Julie Ann, I got my little granddaughter to help collect them, she loved it!

Love

Daff xxx

'My' Squirrels have been about this winter in all but the coldest weather. I put food out for them as well as the birds and have at least one feeder that they can't get at - it's inside a metal cage. One young squirrel did try to get in there in the summer and got stuck, twice.

I've seen them in previous years gnawing at the bark on the young oak trees beyond our fence and believe that they can damage the tree in doing this although none of those I've seen them gnawing have died as yet.

Anyway this thread as remind me that i need to go and top up the feeders to keep them from attacking my spring bulbs that are just starting to shoot.