We asked are neighbors nicely 2 times over the past 2 years to just to stop feeding peanuts , because the squirrels were becoming a problem and destroying our property. The neighbors have numerous bird feeders and fill them with peanuts which spill onto the ground so the squirrels can easily get them. It was costing us money to repair the damages the squirrells were causing to our property. We keep buying repellent but it only works until it rains So when we asked a 3rd time a couple weeks ago our neighbors replied "it wasn't their problem and to stop whining" . Of course my husband blew up and swore at them. Anyhow now they've sent us a letter stating we are harrassing them and since it is not illigal to feed squirrels in our comunnity, they plan to take legal action if we ask them again and to stay off their property. So I emailed our mayor to see if we could get an ordinance passed within reason to maybe put limits on feeders to stop the eccentrics from going overboard. He said it wasn't a popular ordinance in our community and none of our representatives would even consider it. He suggested moth balls to put in my garage. The squirrells are in the garden and on the roof. Time for a new mayor, I guess.

Wow, the flame wars are still going on. But, it sure makes for an interesting read. Been too busy at work to follow them for a while. I still pose my previous question from a few days ago -- Where is all of this moral outrage when the animal being killed isn't cute, fuzzy, and something that showed up in a Disney movie? Other than one poster, no one seems to care about moles, voles, squash borers, slugs, etc., but they are all 'God's creatures' are they not? Perhaps it's symptomatic of the society we live in -- would the media follow the daily ups and downs of Britney, Paris, Tom-Kat, or BrAngelina if they weren't the 'beautiful people?' I think the animal rights bleeding hearts are only concerned about the cute, fuzzy little critters. Despite the fact that one poster seems to think I'm some kind of psychopathic serial killer because I put out poison bait blocks for the voles, it seems to me that I and the vast majority of the rest of the posters on here recognize the need to control vermin species when they get out of hand. If we don't keep things like mice, voles, rats, etc., under control, we'll all end up living in filth and disease as happened during the Middle Ages. And, in the real world, the only practical way to do this is often to kill them. It doesn't mean it's 'fun,' but sometimes, 'a man's gotta do ....' And, it isn't based on some deep, dark psychological 'need' to harm animals, its based on a simple, pragmatic desire to protect all of our hard work and our financial investment. Trust me, been there, done that, I really did have a blue heron eat $500 worth of koi in an afternoon. No, I didn't kill it or shoot it, I strung fishline all across the pond, which was a pain in the butt, but it worked to deter the herons. Had that not worked, in that case, I would have been screwed, because herons are protected under the Migratory Bird Act of 1919, no exceptions that I know of allow them to be killed. I did lose many of hundreds of dollars worth of plants to voles in the past few years. Some of them were figs and other woody plants I was overwintering in a deep trench under mulch. When I dug them out in the spring, I LITERALLY had sawdust, nothing else was left. So, I now put out, carefully, in nooks and crannies where pets and desirable wild animals can't get them, LOTS of poison bait blocks. It's expensive, and frankly I wish I didn't have to, but it's better than the alternative of being overrun with voles. The poison bait keeps them to a low level, but doesn't totally eliminate them. I had a filthy mouse invade my house a few years back. I won't be a hypocrit myself and deny that I didn't get some little sense of satisfaction in hearing the mousetrap go 'snap' when I finally got the mouse that moved into my kitchen cupboards, but I hardly think that makes me a depraved Jeffrey Dahmer type serial killer. There's a big difference between people who are killing 'vermin' species for a legitimate economic or health reason, and between those mentally disturbed or sociopathic individuals who do torture animals, usually domestic animals, for some sick reason. I think the vast majority of us know the difference between a vole or squirrel and the neighbor's cat. And, I don't see how taking a little satisfaction in eliminating a serious pest problem which has been plaguing you makes someone a bad person. Now, when you take it to the level of George W. going after Saddam Hussein on contrived charges, just to show up or show off to his daddy, well, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax, starting a war, killing thousands of people, and sinking this country into a political and economic quagmire. When it rises to that level, then, I think you can legitimately ask questions about someone's psychological makeup and mental stability. But, those of us shooting a squirrel or two to save our fruit trees don't exactly rise to the George W. level. I apologize to any Neocons and Bush supporters out there, dont' want to turn this into a purely political debate,just had to vent a bit and make that analogy. By the way, for the squirrel huggers out there, are you aware of the fact that some communities BAN or LIMIT the feeding of squirrels and other wild animals and birds BECAUSE feeding them is a public health and safety issue? Roseville, Michigan is one such community, and there are others. And, while rare, squirrels CAN transmit rabies, among other diseases. Finally, a couple of other thoughts. Lobster -- yum! And, as someone named Dave pointed out above, I don't know WHY I'm wasting my time arguing this with someone who very well might be some 14 year old idealist who has never lived in the real world. Ah, the joys of the 'net. Allenwrench -- you might really enjoy this forum. Check it out, seems to be right up your alley, based upon all of your recent posts: http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/ Dennis SE Michigan Dennis SE Michigan Here is a link that might be useful: I Dig My Garden Forums

Interesting how each situation is a bit different. We have a partially wooded back yard and tons of squirrels, probably because my wife feeds them and the birds each morning. They rarely dig into the lawn, though. I don't like trapping because what happens if there are babies in the nest? My new neighbor is a fireworks fanatic and lit off a bunch of large fireworks when he first moved in. The next day about 5 of our regular squirrels had burn marks on them and one was maimed so bad he looked shell shocked and couldn't walk right. We let the guy know what happened and he stopped lighting fireworks in a wooded area. We had a family of foxes move in to a neighbor's yard a couple of years ago and while they do scare off the squirrels, they don't get rid of them. BTW, foxes will not attack anybody, dogs, etc. They just want to eat squirrels and chipmunks. Of course the wife is feeding the foxes now so they don't go after the squirrels. I disagree with doing that but she doesn't listen to me, lol. They got mange so we fed them a course of medicine, but other than that I think nature should be left alone.

I picked a whole cluster of Anna Russian 3 days ago because they were very low to the ground and quite exposed and I was worried that, if I left them on the vine, someone would try to taste them in the garden. I was watching the next few that were blushing.... This morning's garden inspection: I guess I'll get some stockings, or tulle. The ones picked 3 days ago are getting pretty red but still feel a day short of table ripe to me. Maybe I'll make pasta with fresh tomato sauce this eve. Would the pecked, pale one be worth using in a sauce like that, or should I just chuck it?