Yes we have this which started on the day Russia attacked Ukraine
https://forum.over50schat.com/t/ukraine-attacked/89405
I agree. Eradicate them. I don’t know what the best method could be used. Poisson or shooting or something else… What ever there will conscience objectors.
Good that your health got better!!.
I don’t see how they could be poisoned, Besoeker, because how would you stop other creatures eating the bait too?
Also, any wildlife that decided to eat the dead squirrel, would probably also be poisoned too.
This is what happened with slug pellets, and carelessly placed mouse/rat bait. It also kills the Owls, hedgehogs, and other animals that feed off the carcass.
[quote=“Mups, post:56, topic:92335”]
I don’t see how they could be poisoned, Besoeker, because how would you stop other creatures eating the bait too?[/quote]
Yes, that’s a fair point. Maybe contraceptives is the way to go. Just seems a bit extreme. How yould administer it? And what would be the cost? I dunno…
Do the squirrels have any natural enemies? Other than man of course. Perhaps we could introduce something that would catch and eat grey squirrels. Or better still, give them a virus that only affects them. We are pretty good at developing viruses…
Not a bad thought…
I remember that being said about rabbits as well, Omah, remember the horror that was Myxomatosis? Myxoma virus was the first virus intentionally introduced into the wild with the purpose of eradicating a vertebrate pest, namely the European rabbit in Australia and Europe
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Exactly my thoughts Tabby, and we have moved since then…
Bet Squirrels are unaffected by Covid.
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Welcome back BigBen, it’s good to see you back with us.
Yes, Covid 19 was developed just for humans Spitty, but viruses can be made to order these days…
Welcome back Ben
And it’s still around it’s horrible seeing the poor rabbits with this desease .
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The Contraceptive idea sounds good, if they can make it available only to the grey squirrels and it works.
They’ve tried culling for years - I’ve met the “Grey Squirrel Patrol” men out in the woods with their guns in an area of The Dales where they have been re-establishing a red squirrel population. They were telling me that soon as they start getting numbers down, they get more squirrels moving in from other areas and they breed so prolifically, they can quickly re-build their population numbers.
Contraceptives sound a good way to reduce the numbers and keep them down - they can still cull in sensitive areas too, where it’s needed, to protect the few places where red squirrel populations are being re-established and areas where young trees are planted.
The article says the contraceptives the scientists have formulated so far are only short-acting, so it sounds like it is not the whole solution yet.
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How do they stop the red squirrels eating it ?
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The article says they use a “weight plate” in front of the bait box, so only the heavier grey squirrels can access the bait.
ETA
Apologies - that is the solution they are working on - I don’t think they have done it.
“The scientists are also exploring special feeders to be used in areas where there are both red and grey squirrels. These will be triggered by a plate which weighs the animals and only lets the heavier greys get access to the bait.”
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Mrs Fox had a pet Rabbit, bulging eyes, bad teeth, hair loss and smelly feet, but the rabbit was quite handsome and fluffy…
Very good point if I may say so!
they label it for" grey squibbers only"
Times have moved on, myxomatosis is no longer effective as a rabbit control and various strains of the calicivirus are used to try to control rabbits. Calicivirus was first released in the late 1990s.
Its release was an interesting experiment. The virus was still undergoing testing on an island off SA when some farmers released it on the mainland so there was no option but release it nationwide. I remember it happening but it is hard to find references to it now.
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