Neigborhood pest control

I am fortunate enough to live in an area where there is always the need for pest control. I am also fortunate because it isn't my house that the squirrels are chewing on.

The squirrels on my property pretty much keep to themselves and stick to raiding the birdfeeders which I've been allowing them to do. So long as I'm not going through a bag of seed every couple of days, I enjoy watching them perform their acrobatics at the feeders. My neighbors aren't so lucky and have had to perform numerous repairs to their houses caused by the squirrels chewing through the wood and getting into their walls or attics. Because of this, I have permission to control the population on several properties.

The owners of one of these houses were going out of town this weekend and had asked if I would be able to thin out the herd a little for them while they were gone. I went out at 6:00 am saturday and checked the area out as the sun rose. No squirrels spotted but the damage to the house was obvious. I used this time to deposit some unsalted peanuts in a few areas that would allow me a good shot from a concealed location and then returned to my honey-do list at home.

It typically takes the critters a good 24 hours before they will spot the peanuts but once they do, they lose their inhibitions and will spend more time on the ground eating than normal. This is very important at this location since there are other houses in the area and I do not want to make tree shots for fear of damaging someone else's property or even worse, the owners. I returned to this house at 9:00 am today (sunday) to check on the feed since this seems to be when the squirrels are most active. I brought along my Daisy 1000XS which I had sighted in on saturday in case I spotted anything.

The front and back yards are seperated by a row of hedges here. I planned on using this area for cover since it provides me with a good view of the baited areas and offers good concealment. With my upper body being the only exposed area, my boonie hat with veil are the only camo needed. Sure enough there was an adult male feeding at the peanuts closest to my position, approx. 25 yards out. An easy off-hand shot to the base of the skull dispatched him cleanly without so much as a twitch. I would have taken a picture to show the damage the CPL caused but I think it would have been a bit too graphic for the forums. This is the first squirrel I've killed that bled this much.

With any luck, the scent left behind will spook the remaining population for a while. I will probably go back this afternoon for another look but I doubt I will see any others.

Russ S.