Latest from two journals...
Nut Growers and Squirrel control methods
By Calvin Kania, president Kania Industries, Inc, Kania Traps, British
Colombia, Canada info@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
regarded as an attractive, mis=1Fcievous animal with bright eyes
and a bushy tail, the grey squirrel or fox squirrel is a nuisance or
pest in many situations. However, nut growers, mar=1Fket gardens,
orchards and farms can suffer serious economic losses. It is a major
pest in woodlands and forests especially when it is an introduced
spe=1Fcies.
Both urban and rural residents of Vancouver Island are experiencing an
explosion in the population of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinemis).
The grey squirrel weighs approximately 275 g, has a body height of
approximately 25 cm and a tail length of approximate=1Fly 20 cm. On the
other hand the native western red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hud-sonicus)
is approximately half the size of the grey. The grey squirrels' sheer
size allows them to dominate and extir=1Fpate the red squirrels from
their tradi=1Ftional territory.
In rural areas such as the Sannich Peninsula where nut growers are
in=1Fundated with grey squirrels, farmers are facing massive nut crop
losses. The Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve in Duncan is facing a
different dilemma. Grey squirrels are damaging bird box=1Fes, killing
young birds, eating acorns and are impacting the overall ecologi=1Fcal
health of the site as well as nipping off the new shoots of the Garry
oak trees when they sprout. This is having a devastating impact on the
Garry oak (Quercus garryana) population, which is already Red Listed
by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.
Especially in early summer, grey squirrels can strip the bark from the
base, stem or crowns of trees. If they remove the bark all the way
around=E2=80=94 called ring-barking or girdling=E2=80=94the upper part of
th=
e tree or
branch will die. Where smaller patches of bark are chewed off, callus
tissue may eventu=1Fally heal the wound but often infection has set in
and the timber value of the wood plummets.
Bark-stripping occurs mainly from Ma}- to August. Broadleaf trees are
more vulnerable than conifers and trees aged 10-40 years are
particularly sus=1Fceptible. Hazelnuts, walnuts, beech, sycamore and oak
are the most vulner=1Fable common species. Surprisingly, grey squirrels
seldom debark trees in their native woodland habitat in north=1Feastern
North America.
Grey squirrels can potentially breed nearly all year=E2=80=94and climate
warming will facilitate the reproductive poten=1Ftial of this alien
species. A run of mild winters and good seed on most crops of nuts and
oaks mean grey squirrels can breed for most of the year, boost=1Fing
their populations still further. Grey squirrel stocks reach a far
higher den=1Fsity than reds.
At present the only means of pre=1Fventing unacceptable damage by grey
squirrels is to reduce their numbers by shooting, trapping or using
toxic bait in special hoppers.
KANIA TRAP 2000
This trap effectively catches and kills squirrels instantly while
posing very little risk to non-target wildlife or pets. In trials on
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, no non-target wild=1Flife (birds or
mammals) or domes=1Ftic cats have been caught in this trap. The Kania
Trap 2000 is considered by wildlife control officers and wildlife
managers as the safest setting trap and most humane killing trap on
the market today. It is the easiest trap to set and install and
squirrels cannot resist peek=1Fing inside. Once the firing spring goes
off, there is no handling of a distraught captured squirrel or
relocation such as with a live trap.
Kania Trap 2000 should be secured to the tree trunk where the
squirrels have been observed at 5 to 7 feet above the ground to
prevent access by young children. Placing traps on the ground is
effective as well, but only if non-target species are not prevalent in
the area, e.g.: house cats, dogs, and rac=1Fcoons.
The best bait to use is un-shelled peanuts, hazelnuts (filberts),
walnuts or other nuts native to your region. Peanut butter is also
excellent bait, but it should be checked often as it has a tendency to
become rancid with time. For trapping opossum, fruit or corn is also
good bait.
Compared to other control methods, the Kania Trap 2000 has several
advantages including capture efficiency, spe=1Fcies specificity,
humaneness and safety.
=EF=BF=BC
Kama Trap 2000
LIVE TRAPS
Live traps, whether they are the multi-catch or single-catch types are
very good control methods on a nut farm or in a woodland situation.
Baited with corn, peanuts or the native nut crop they are highly
visible from up in the tree canopy and squirrels can sel=1Fdom refuse a
free meal. If live traps are used where the public has access,
however, they may be damaged or sto=1Flen. As a countermeasure, they can
be disguised with a little vegetation, but if the public find them
hard to spot, so will the squirrels, which is not what you want.
Squirrels hunt on sight more than scent.
These traps also need to be raised up on a platform; otherwise non-
targets can spoil the set. However, any non-target species caught can
be released unharmed. When setting live traps it always pays to pin or
tie them down to prevent foxes or other predators from carrying them
off with their catch.
The law requires live traps to be visited daily and then there is the
problem of killing the captured squir=1Frels. Shooting them in the trap
is one method. Immersing the trap in water and drowning the squirrel
is probably the most commonly used method of dispatch. However,
drowning is not considered humane by the SPCA or by-Veterinarians
Associations.
WARFARIN
Another popular control method used is warfarin mixed with grain and
dispensed from a hopper that only al=1Flow access to the grey squirrel.
While the anti -coagulant warfarin is effective there are drawbacks.
The hoppers have to be raised above ground level to avoid interference
from non-target species. Inevitably some small mammals and non-targets
feed on the mixed warfarin. Traces of warfarin have been found in non-
targets such as birds.
TUNNEL OR TUBE TRAP
Tunnel traps placed at the base of a tree are another method for
squirrel control. These are killing-type traps. As squirrels search
out a food source to see them through the coming winter, a tunnel,
baited with corn will prove very effective in luring the squirrel onto
the trigger plate of the trap. The tun=1Fnel trap is open on both ends.
Pre-bait-ing an area prior to setting the tunnel traps can greatly
increase your chance of success. All the squirrels in the area get
used to feeding in exactly the place you want them, and if you leave a
few tunnels without traps around the same spot, they will soon accept
them as part of the scenery.
It is always advisable to check with your state or provincial Fish and
Wildlife Department or the Department of Agriculture for legal
requirements of squirrel control.
Reference: The nutshell, Volume62, No1, pps 17 and 28
The Nutshell is the magazine of the North Nut Growers Association
http://www.icserv.com/nnga/
and....
GREY SQUIRREL RELEASE
Following re****ts that Natural England had sanc=1Ftioned the release of
257 grey squirrels, British members of the European Squirrel
Initiative (ESI) have raised questions in the House of Lords. In the
House of Commons, David MacLean has attracted cross party sup****t for
his Early Day Motion condemning Natural England's action. Those
interested in curbing this American pest, which also carries Squirrel
Pox and is fatal to our native red squirrel, should write to their MPs
to sup****t this Motion.
The ESI does re****t some good news in that areas in both ***bria and
Northumberland, where the grey squirrel has been eradicated, the red
has returned. Meanwhile, in a garden in Leeds it is under=1Fstood that a
squirrel from South East Asia, Callosci-urus prevosti, is living.
It is understood DEFRA has been informed and if any reader knows what
action has been taken please let us know.
GREY SQUIRREL ITEM SPARKS READERS' RESPONSE
Many readers were puzzled and outraged by English Nature's issue of
licenses to release grey squirrels. No satisfactory answer has been
forth=1Fcoming - see Logpile p.5. Ash Harding from Derby wrote of the
damage done by squirrels digging up gardens and allotments searching
for food as they have rapacious appetites and compete all too
sucessfully against native fauna. He records young swallows being
tipped out of their nests and even owls driven from their nesting
boxes, and holds them responsible for the decline of many other bird
species.
Along with other readers he calls for mass culling and so following
the article in Vol. 17 No.2, about culling as well as cooking, readers
may like to be reminded that humane traps that kill squirrels
instantly (Kania traps) are available from at least two suppliers for
about =C2=A350: Killgerm 01924 268420 and Anti-Pest Control Services 01752
266546.
WRITING TO YOUR MP
The address of your MP is their name, House of Commons, London, SW1A
OAA and if you do not know their name you can telephone House of
Commons 020 7219 4272 to get this.
You can also email them and find out their email address at
www.write-tothem=
..com
which site also allows you to find out the email address of every
representative from your local councillors to your MEP - all you have
to do is type in your postcode.
Useful note: if you really want to be a nuisance about a problem and
get some action send a letter. Sacks full of letters really shows the
strength of local feeling!
Reference: The Dendrologist Vol.17 no.6 pp 5 and 6 Available for
=C2=A37.50 for individuals and =C2=A310 for
organisations/businesses/librari=
es)
send to: Hon Tresurer, The Dendrologist, PO Box 341, Chesham, Bucks,
HP5 2RD
|
