I HATE THEM.

I used to have a huge garden that was nothing but an oasis for the ground squirrels. I was lucky to even get one piece of fruit off each tree every year. As much as I love wildlife, I learned how to kill ground squirrels.

Perhaps the California ground squirrel.

Read what UC Davis has to say about California ground squirrel.

Fascinating problem. We use one of the poisons UC mentions. We drop the pellets in the hole as described on some websites.

CA Kate, how do you kill them?

albert_135, that was one of the pages I read right after I started this thread. Very good info.

I couldn't find pellets anywhere so I guess chopped up rat poison blocks will have to do.

A friend just told me about using dry ice. I'll do some reading on that.

And an acquaintance was talking about the method they used around their summer house: they filled tiny water balloons with antifreeze and dropped them in the holes. I thought antifreeze would have a terrible taste, she tells me it's sweet. Who knew!

We got the pellets from a farm and ranch supply store. They Were specifically labeled for ground squirrel I seem to recall. This late in the year they may be storing the pellets rather than eating them so one won't see results quickly.

Edit to add; the pellets may be unavailable in some California locations because of a rare fox. I think the UC Davis article discussed this.

I got both the pellets and the smoke-bombs from the County Ag office.

The smoke-bombs are literally a large firecraker-looking tube that you light, throw in the hole and quickly fill-in the opening with dirt so the smoke doesn't come out. The smoke is laced with some poison. This is very effective because the dead body/ies stay in the ground. This can only be used when there is no chance of a fire hazard. And, I'm not sure how this would work with the equipment above.

You have to be super careful with the pellets so that no other animal gets them. I guess tossing them in the hole might work - unless the squirrels shove them out. I had special containers that were a long, upside-down T-shaped tube; you put the pellets in the top so the pellets stayed in the middle of the tube; the squirrel/rat can get to the pellets from either end of the bottom. This can be used any time of year.

Albert, you are correct in that the pellets will be stored this time of year and eaten in the winter. So, no immediate kill, but, no babies in the spring.

Or, you can get yourself a dog that loves to kill squirrels. Rosie would catch the squirrel and literally shake it to death. She and DH had a squirrel 'thing'. She would catch and kill them and line them up on the back patio waiting for DH to come home from work and praise her for her efforts; and, no one was allowed to touch those squirrels until he had done so.

Then there is a rifle. DH's method of choice.

All of which were used to even just keep the critters under control.

Not keen on poison because Raptors or Coyotes that eat a poisoned squirrel can likewise die. I use squirrel tube trap baited with p-nut butter.

All hail Rosie! What breed was she?

I agree with Hoovb. The most recent mountain lion found dead in socal was believed to be from rat poison from eating dead carcasses. It's a horrible death. The poison makes them thirsty and they bloat up.

I flood their holes and they leave my property. Haven't had one in 5 years. Plenty of wild land behind me. And I make it difficult to get in.

Rosie was a cross-breed - Boarder Collie and Auzzie sheep dog.

That is the advantage of killing them in their tunnel/home, no one can get to them. I preferred the smoke-bombs, but late winter and spring are the only times you can use them in most of CA.

gobluedjm, It's hard to get that hose out to the acreage. ;-)

I couldn't get pellets (now I know why) so I got the blocks, which I broke up into pellet size bits and dropped them in their burrows. One of the poison pieces was still visible from a few feet away. 15 minutes later I checked the burrow and all poison pieces had disappeared. I dropped some more and a few hours later they also disappeared. The poison was inside the burrow under that city equipment you see in the second photo I posted.

So far I've dropped two blocks worth. I will chop up another two and see what happens.

I think the squirrels may be eating it rather than storing it. It is still rather warm around here.

The article on the UC Davis site says they must feed on the pellets for 5 or so days. I thought this type of poison would kill them in just a few hours.

This time of year there is enough readily available food that they probably won’t eat the bait, but rather store it for winter.

CA Kate,

Yesterday we found a squirrel munching on the morning glory stems :(. Today I saw it about to leave its burrow (hole under the city water equipment) and shortly after it was again trying to get to the morning glory but it froze when it saw me sitting next to it :).

I decided to make peace with it (for now) and try leaving a bowl of water next to the plant, in case the little bugger is eating it because of thirst (I know, I'm being naïve...).

A friend of mine years ago was very frustrated with all of the gophers on his property. He dug down and broke the seal that they make to protect their tunnels and poured gasoline down. Let it sit awhile, then lit it! KAWOOOOOOOMPH! His whole yard was like it was rototilled!

Definately NOT recomended! ;) Nancy

Well... Leaving water next to the plant did not stop the little buggers from munching on the morning glory stems and leaves. Evidently, they find the plant very tasty. So I guess it's bye-bye to the MG because there is no way I will ever win this war. With a California oak orchard near our property, we will always have squirrels I guess.