What to do with dead squirrel

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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Get a shovel and bury it a few feet down. Should decay in couple of weeks.

As for the rat problem, I recommend looking into some of the rat poison like DCON. Rats will eat it...as soon as they drink water, they're finished. The downside is you can't control where they die, but you can put the food somewhere only they'll find it.
I haven't detected a rat on the property for well over a year. Don't know why, I don't believe I've succeeded in denying them access. Maybe they're smart enough to sense that my house isn't a place they can thrive. Many rats have died here.

I'm leery of rat poison because I'm afraid a rat will die somewhere and start smelling, somewhere I can't find it. Or don't want to find it. One time I found out a rat was in my attic because it started smelling really bad. Not something I want to happen again.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: EGGO
You serious about not knowing what to do with it?

Do you live in the woods? My friend used to just target practice his pellet gun with the pesky squirrels in our backyard (we had a problem with them too). We just threw it in the woods in the back. Nature makes quick work of it. Very quick work.

A lot of people posting in this thread seem to either live in the woods or in less urban areas than I do. My lot is 40 x 100, and that's fairly typical. There's a park in the hills, but I'd have to drive up there, not something I want to do unless I have no realistic alternative.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: DrPizza
If it had been a fresh kill, I would have eaten it. No sense in letting a tasty squirrel go to waste. But, since it's not a fresh kill, into the garbage it goes. I'm not sure I'd even waste a bag on it, depending on how long until the garbage was picked up & how hot it was outside.

We're suddenly having a heat wave. It was 92 in my yard a few minutes ago at 6 PM!
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Originally posted by: DrPizza
If it had been a fresh kill, I would have eaten it. No sense in letting a tasty squirrel go to waste. But, since it's not a fresh kill, into the garbage it goes. I'm not sure I'd even waste a bag on it, depending on how long until the garbage was picked up & how hot it was outside.

AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

I have been eating less and less meat. I've boasted for years that I don't eat enough meat to keep a rat alive and it's probably true. It never occurred to me to eat that squirrel until people started posting it, over and over. Clearly, they're being serious.
 

Newfie

Senior member
Jun 15, 2005
817
0
76
Originally posted by: Muse
Originally posted by: Amused
You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, squirrel -kabobs, squirrel creole, squirrel gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple squirrel lemon squirrel, coconut squirrel, pepper squirrel, squirrel soup, squirrel stew, squirrel salad, squirrel and potatoes, squirrel burger, squirrel sandwich...

That- that's about it.

No squirrel pot pie? No squirrel mousse? No squirrel chiffon pie? :D

Squirrel Shake?
 

wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,695
1
0
put it in liquid nitrogen and then drop it from the top of the Campanile.

it'll shatter into many pieces. then crows will come down & eat the pieces.

problem solved.

or you could donate it to the East Bay Vivarium, they have freezers full
of frozen rats that they sell to people with reptile pets. They're in Berkeley,
down near the water.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: wwswimming
put it in liquid nitrogen and then drop it from the top of the Campanile.

it'll shatter into many pieces. then crows will come down & eat the pieces.

problem solved.

or you could donate it to the East Bay Vivarium, they have freezers full
of frozen rats that they sell to people with reptile pets. They're in Berkeley,
down near the water
.

I assume that would require me to deliver this frozen squirrel to the waterfront. I'm kind of busy... Not that I'm not a friend to all reptiles, I adore reptiles.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,173
10,636
126
Originally posted by: ganesh1


AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

Squirrel tastes good. I'm against trapping them because you don't want them in the garden. Find some other way of handling it, or deal with the crop loss. Leave the squirrels alone.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Originally posted by: ganesh1


AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

Squirrel tastes good. I'm against trapping them because you don't want them in the garden. Find some other way of handling it, or deal with the crop loss. Leave the squirrels alone.

I'm open to suggestions. The squirrels are very numerous around here. Like I say, they dented my crop last year, eating my winter squash. Someone suggested I get a slingshot. I may do that, but I'm a little afraid of a bad consequence to launching heavy projectiles here in a city's residential neighborhood.

Indeed my traps were hit ~20 times before a squirrel was killed. So far, no other animal has hit the traps and it's been about 2 days. This lends credence to the idea that it was just the squirrel that is now in my freezer. Come September and October, it will be another story. Like I say, I'm open to ideas/suggestions. I don't want to use poison if I can possibly help it. That seems more cruel than traps.
 

Alyx

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2007
1,181
0
0
We always threw away animals that we got in a trap. Double bag it and send it on its way. I doubt you've fixed the problem though, when there is one there is normally a hundred. My guess is the others just haven't figured out how to dig up and eat the seeds yet.

Its Berkeley, you guys have so many squirrels its scary.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,173
10,636
126
Originally posted by: Muse

I'm open to suggestions. The squirrels are very numerous around here. Like I say, they dented my crop last year, eating my winter squash. Someone suggested I get a slingshot. I may do that, but I'm a little afraid of a bad consequence to launching heavy projectiles here in a city's residential neighborhood.

Indeed my traps were hit ~20 times before a squirrel was killed. So far, no other animal has hit the traps and it's been about 2 days. This lends credence to the idea that it was just the squirrel that is now in my freezer. Come September and October, it will be another story. Like I say, I'm open to ideas/suggestions. I don't want to use poison if I can possibly help it. That seems more cruel than traps.

How about chicken wire around the more delicate crops, and try feeding the squirrels. Buy them corn and seeds, maybe they'll leave your garden alone(mostly)
 

db

Lifer
Dec 6, 1999
10,575
292
126
Try sprinkling red pepper on the ground over the seeds, as an experiment.
Or, put hot sauce on a seed and leave it on top of the ground for 'em to eat.

OR, day before trash, lay the dead squirrel in the garden with peppered seeds next to it.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Originally posted by: Muse

I'm open to suggestions. The squirrels are very numerous around here. Like I say, they dented my crop last year, eating my winter squash. Someone suggested I get a slingshot. I may do that, but I'm a little afraid of a bad consequence to launching heavy projectiles here in a city's residential neighborhood.

Indeed my traps were hit ~20 times before a squirrel was killed. So far, no other animal has hit the traps and it's been about 2 days. This lends credence to the idea that it was just the squirrel that is now in my freezer. Come September and October, it will be another story. Like I say, I'm open to ideas/suggestions. I don't want to use poison if I can possibly help it. That seems more cruel than traps.

How about chicken wire around the more delicate crops, and try feeding the squirrels. Buy them corn and seeds, maybe they'll leave your garden alone(mostly)
Yeah, maybe. Last fall I left a mess of squash seeds on the courtyard, admittedly concrete. They sat there for weeks and nothing touched them, nor bird nor squirrel. But there are so many squirrels here that if they discover a food source I would have to supply a whole lot of food to keep them sated. The downside, of course, is that my backyard would become a mecca for the critters. Risky, me thinks.

 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: Alyx
We always threw away animals that we got in a trap. Double bag it and send it on its way. I doubt you've fixed the problem though, when there is one there is normally a hundred. My guess is the others just haven't figured out how to dig up and eat the seeds yet.

Its Berkeley, you guys have so many squirrels its scary.
Spot on, it's true. Yep, the others haven't figured it out. Last year was the first that squirrels started attacking my ripening squash. I've grown them for several years without this kind of thing happening. Now, I'm afraid they'll remember the feast they had in October. But they seem to be so dumb they may not remember. Guess I'll have to play it by ear.

 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: db
Try sprinkling red pepper on the ground over the seeds, as an experiment.
Or, put hot sauce on a seed and leave it on top of the ground for 'em to eat.

OR, day before trash, lay the dead squirrel in the garden with peppered seeds next to it.

I like your m.o. Creative!
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,646
13,822
126
www.anyf.ca
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Originally posted by: Muse

I'm open to suggestions. The squirrels are very numerous around here. Like I say, they dented my crop last year, eating my winter squash. Someone suggested I get a slingshot. I may do that, but I'm a little afraid of a bad consequence to launching heavy projectiles here in a city's residential neighborhood.

Indeed my traps were hit ~20 times before a squirrel was killed. So far, no other animal has hit the traps and it's been about 2 days. This lends credence to the idea that it was just the squirrel that is now in my freezer. Come September and October, it will be another story. Like I say, I'm open to ideas/suggestions. I don't want to use poison if I can possibly help it. That seems more cruel than traps.

How about chicken wire around the more delicate crops, and try feeding the squirrels. Buy them corn and seeds, maybe they'll leave your garden alone(mostly)

This usually works. If they got their food, they have no reason to go further.

For plants, germinate them indoors then go plant them. When I was a kid I used to like planting seeds to watch the plants grow during the summer but the chipmunk kept getting at them so I just let them grow in doors then go plant them outside. The chipmunk would leave them alone and just grab the peanuts I put in the grass. A few years later I saw it dead on the road. :(
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Originally posted by: lxskllr
Originally posted by: Muse

I'm open to suggestions. The squirrels are very numerous around here. Like I say, they dented my crop last year, eating my winter squash. Someone suggested I get a slingshot. I may do that, but I'm a little afraid of a bad consequence to launching heavy projectiles here in a city's residential neighborhood.

Indeed my traps were hit ~20 times before a squirrel was killed. So far, no other animal has hit the traps and it's been about 2 days. This lends credence to the idea that it was just the squirrel that is now in my freezer. Come September and October, it will be another story. Like I say, I'm open to ideas/suggestions. I don't want to use poison if I can possibly help it. That seems more cruel than traps.

How about chicken wire around the more delicate crops, and try feeding the squirrels. Buy them corn and seeds, maybe they'll leave your garden alone(mostly)

This usually works. If they got their food, they have no reason to go further.

For plants, germinate them indoors then go plant them. When I was a kid I used to like planting seeds to watch the plants grow during the summer but the chipmunk kept getting at them so I just let them grow in doors then go plant them outside. The chipmunk would leave them alone and just grab the peanuts I put in the grass. A few years later I saw it dead on the road. :(
The particular squash I'm growing rarely produce more than one squash/plant, the kabocha "Japanese pumpkin." Therefore I try to get as many seedlings as possible to survive in my ~ 6x10 foot plot. The plants far overgrow the soil bed, so chicken wire around the plot wouldn't be very practical. Besides the overgrowth onto the concrete patio, I erect pretty elaborate trellises with bamboo, but last year the squirrels were actually climbing the trellises as one point.

Last year I had over 60 squash. I hope to get more this year. That's a whole lot of seedlings to produce indoors. I think I'll get what I want, because I'm persistent. The birds seem to have stopped nipping off the tiny sprouts and that squirrel is gone and it seems that none of its cousins are into digging up seeds. I still have lots of seeds and will continue shoving them in the ground. I must have about 40 seedlings up now. Fortunately there's been a little heat wave, but it will be all over in a day or so.

 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Originally posted by: Muse
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Originally posted by: DrPizza
If it had been a fresh kill, I would have eaten it. No sense in letting a tasty squirrel go to waste. But, since it's not a fresh kill, into the garbage it goes. I'm not sure I'd even waste a bag on it, depending on how long until the garbage was picked up & how hot it was outside.

AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

I have been eating less and less meat. I've boasted for years that I don't eat enough meat to keep a rat alive and it's probably true. It never occurred to me to eat that squirrel until people started posting it, over and over. Clearly, they're being serious.

Very serious. If I cooked some for someone with our favorite recipe, and had them taste it, without telling them what it was, they would respond, "wow, this is really good! What is it? Some kind of chicken? Something made with pork?" If they have no clue, it's delicious.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,904
10,228
136
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: Muse
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Originally posted by: DrPizza
If it had been a fresh kill, I would have eaten it. No sense in letting a tasty squirrel go to waste. But, since it's not a fresh kill, into the garbage it goes. I'm not sure I'd even waste a bag on it, depending on how long until the garbage was picked up & how hot it was outside.

AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

I have been eating less and less meat. I've boasted for years that I don't eat enough meat to keep a rat alive and it's probably true. It never occurred to me to eat that squirrel until people started posting it, over and over. Clearly, they're being serious.

Very serious. If I cooked some for someone with our favorite recipe, and had them taste it, without telling them what it was, they would respond, "wow, this is really good! What is it? Some kind of chicken? Something made with pork?" If they have no clue, it's delicious.

Granted. By the time I had begun to even consider eating it, it was too late. Besides, I wasn't sure if it was safe to eat it. I know, this might be unrealistic, i.e. to think that the thing might be diseased or contaminated, but who knows, it ran wild in the city and who knows what it had eaten or been exposed to. Is that an unrealistic concern? I used to skin dive off Maui and ate what I caught routinely, but I had companions who had done so for decades, so I didn't give it a thought, but eating a squirrel in this circumstance had me wondering. Besides, I've never skinned and gutted a land animal.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,646
13,822
126
www.anyf.ca
Originally posted by: Muse
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: Muse
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Originally posted by: DrPizza
If it had been a fresh kill, I would have eaten it. No sense in letting a tasty squirrel go to waste. But, since it's not a fresh kill, into the garbage it goes. I'm not sure I'd even waste a bag on it, depending on how long until the garbage was picked up & how hot it was outside.

AHHH so grosssssssssssssssss...................

Ahh man i think i will have to puke!! But seriously how can anyone eat a squirrel. Think about it they are so cute !! Get a life people, Switch over to veggies they don't shout we you kill them or ooze blood only some starch..........

I have been eating less and less meat. I've boasted for years that I don't eat enough meat to keep a rat alive and it's probably true. It never occurred to me to eat that squirrel until people started posting it, over and over. Clearly, they're being serious.

Very serious. If I cooked some for someone with our favorite recipe, and had them taste it, without telling them what it was, they would respond, "wow, this is really good! What is it? Some kind of chicken? Something made with pork?" If they have no clue, it's delicious.

Granted. By the time I had begun to even consider eating it, it was too late. Besides, I wasn't sure if it was safe to eat it. I know, this might be unrealistic, i.e. to think that the thing might be diseased or contaminated, but who knows, it ran wild in the city and who knows what it had eaten or been exposed to. Is that an unrealistic concern? I used to skin dive off Maui and ate what I caught routinely, but I had companions who had done so for decades, so I didn't give it a thought, but eating a squirrel in this circumstance had me wondering. Besides, I've never skinned and gutted a land animal.

I see eating squirrel equivalent to eating dog or cat. They're more meant for companion animals then food, and not like you get much meat anyway in a squirrel. Enough to feed one person maybe? With fries and salad on the side maybe?

If I was stuck in the bush and there was nothing else to eat, I would think about it and maybe do it, but it would pretty much be a life or death situation. I'd probably eat tree sap or something. Plenty of food in the bush if you know where to look. ;) If it's winter then you have hours to live food or not, anyway.