[Arid_gardener] antelope squirrels

[Dick Gross]

Julie, in a San Diego home a hundred years ago, I had a 70 foot canyon behind a house I built. When I irrigated a plant at the back of my house, water would appear at the canyon bottom via a network of squirrel holes but the bastards ate to the ground everything I planted. I was tempted to use chemical dererrent but, in desperation, I ran a 1 inch bird netting  crude fence about 2 feet high all across the canyon lip. It stopped them in their tracks. They did not like getting their claws tangled in the plastic, I surmised at least.  In two or three years, they disappeared completely for reasons I never completely fathomed. I never found one of them ensnarled in the netting, by the way.

You would have to figure out how to mount the netting on the top of the wall. Maybe just anchoring it at the top with brick, or construction glue and letting the rest dangle down the outside with spacers, perhaps to keep it out away from the brick so they can't get a footing.

You will have to sort of engineer it on the spot to find the best mounting. 

The netting is cheap, and easy to apply and dispose of. Any old stick pounded in the ground works for a stake. Anyway, that worked for me. You could use construction glue to mount  to the wall 1 inch redwood stakes  upon which to mount the netting.  My squirrels were the ordinary ground, burrowing variety , however. I don't think I have ever seen an antelope squirrel. Let me know what works.

Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer
University of Arizona Maricopa County Cooperative Extension.

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Julie Barnhill 
  To: arid_gardener at CALS.arizona.edu 
  Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 10:56 PM
  Subject: [Arid_gardener] antelope squirrels


  How can we control antelope squirrels?  We have moved out into the desert about 8 miles north of Surprise.  The squirrels scale the block wall and eat every thing we plant.  The dogs have managed to catch a few of them, but they are everywhere.  We can keep the rabbits out and are putting up some barbed wire in the front to keep the cows out, but the squirrels have me baffled and rather irritated.  ;-))  They eat cacti that are covered in thorns, young trees, and think the veggies are just for them.  Cayenne pepper helps some. 

  Any help is greatly appreciated.

  Julie

  Life is about how we spend the dash between the beginning and ending of our lives.  Spend your dash wisely, make a difference on this earth.  Simpletruths.com


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