Squirrel Travel Distance & Calls

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SkwirrelBeware

SkwirrelBeware

Member
Jan 6, 2022
51
4
NC, United States
20220130_164033.1643579107.jpg
In my mind, I drempt 20 squirrels would be fighting over peanuts at my feeder this morning. Not so much. The birds like the unshelled peanuts, too. I had more bird action at the feeder than squirrels.

One nutter was climbing the tree trunk, smoked him. The other was up in a limb. I thought I had bad shot placement, and went to put a kill shot on him as soon as I could, but when I got to him, DOA. These were approximately 30 yd shots. 

Again, I'm impressed with this cheap break barrel. Gamo Black Knight. UTG Bug Buster. 10.5g Crosman Dome.

1. How far will squirrels travel to forage for food?

2. If I rub 2 quarters together, what kind of squirrel call is this imitating? Anyone use this with continued success?

3. What are some inexpensive commercially made squirrel callers? Name or brands?

4. Do phone apps that imitate sounds work? I can see myself putting a bluetooth speaker near the feeder to help draw them in. Name of app?

Thank you all for your advice.
 
I guess it depends on the type, but ive found squirrels like to stay local and don’t migrate much, so I spare a female or two to keep the numbers going. Tried an app that had call and it seemed to spook one in place, sat there barking and making the tail twitch like an unwelcome squirrel was near or warning other squirrels of danger. Kept still enough for the shot. 
 
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20220130_164033.1643579107.jpg
In my mind, I drempt 20 squirrels would be fighting over peanuts at my feeder this morning. Not so much. The birds like the unshelled peanuts, too. I had more bird action at the feeder than squirrels.

One nutter was climbing the tree trunk, smoked him. The other was up in a limb. I thought I had bad shot placement, and went to put a kill shot on him as soon as I could, but when I got to him, DOA. These were approximately 30 yd shots. 

Again, I'm impressed with this cheap break barrel. Gamo Black Knight. UTG Bug Buster. 10.5g Crosman Dome.

1. How far will squirrels travel to forage for food?

2. If I rub 2 quarters together, what kind of squirrel call is this imitating? Anyone use this with continued success?

3. What are some inexpensive commercially made squirrel callers? Name or brands?

4. Do phone apps that imitate sounds work? I can see myself putting a bluetooth speaker near the feeder to help draw them in. Name of app?

Thank you all for your advice.
Click to expand...

Good shootin with your springer. I like the photo. Can we see the gun?


Tried that quarter trick a few times on some of these country gray squirrels around here. I didn’t notice it do thing. I have read and heard that it is supposed to mimic the sound of a squirrel cutting and eating nuts or mast. I have heard that it can draw a squirrel out by tricking it into thinking another squirrel was raiding it’s stash. The times I tried there were no squirrels visible to me and I was either beneath or around oak and hickory trees or a cache of buried acorns. I didn’t see any come. 


As for calls, the only one I’ve had any luck with is when I mimic a squirrel distress call with my mouth. I’ve flushed a couple out of trees, one from a nest, one from an oak, and another out of a cedar tree that I’d previously lost while stalking. When they come out after hearing a distress call, they run. I mean they book! They will run through the canopy, up and down tree trunks, and across the forest floor. I haven’t tried any other calls or callers. I’m not too convinced that many are effective. I’ve watched a number of videos and few, if any, of those things look like they draw out squirrels. Some appear to make them sit still out of curiosity, but the callers in videos I’ve watched seem to work best in squirrel rich environments where the shooter already knows where the squirrels are. 
 
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from what ive observed squirrels systematically learn and expand their range and it gets roughly limited by territorial boundaries of other squirrels .. i think what alot of inexperienced noobs to hunting and other general parasites to everything good for life on the planet fail to comprehend is animals are living beings w9th limited numbers, and if theyre indiscriminately killed, especially using methods to draw every last one in there wont be any more breeding and can be completely wiped out of an area .. just because you can doesnt mean you should .. its just like the neighbor thats uber manly with his husky chainsaw cutting down every effin tree on his property lol .. effin brilliance ..using your noggin is wise all im sayin ...
 
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These are some of my observations through the years as a wildlife biologist. Grey squirrels are sometimes mistakenly thought to be very aggressive, Gray squirrels are somewhat dominant butnot aggressively territorial. However they chase one another for a variety of reasons. The young chase their siblings and the other young squirrels like puppies and many young animals do. Squirrels obviously play case during mating season with the males attempting to breed. They chase others squirrels (food competition dominance) off a food source such as a feeder, buried food, etc. Female squirrels protect their nest from other squirrels. Male squirrels are especially known to kill and eat the young. Yep the fury little squirrel is mean. So when you see a squirrel playing chase it could be for a variety of reasons but not an aggressive territorial act.. Squirrels are not just nut eaters but include many other things in their diet. Few people realize that a squirrel's diet includes meat. They are known to raid bird nest and eat the eggs as well as the young birds.

Squirrels often share a nest (drey).

The lack of extreme territorial defensive fighting is one thing that allows the gray squirrels to proliferate and so many of them to occupy a small area. I can testify to that. My yard was/is a perfect example . As you reduce the population other squirrels will move in and homestead the vacated space from adjacent land. This is because gray squirrels can range from 1 acre to about 25 acres. Young squirrels when weaned are eventually run off by the female as she becomes pregnant again. This is a common phenomenon in wild animals.They then seek a home of their own and thus another reason you see squirrels moving in from adjacent areas. However most gray squirrels given they have sufficient food, etc. in an area may not move more than 100 yards and stay in the area daily. Thus you generally see the same squirrels daily in the same area. If sufficient resources are available in their current territory they usually tend to homestead it. Squirrels learn their territory and explore it for resources (food, water, etc.). They may move or widen their area if resources are depleted or in short supply. Generally they don't move far.

Squirrels usually raise two litters per year. Breeding can occur even in the winter especially in southern states. They usually have ~2-3 young at the time. The average life span in the wild is about 4-5 years. However in municipal areas they generally have less predators and no hunting. In the wild, because of high predation, the mortality rate is higher especially the first year. Thus squirrels generally live much longer in a municipal environment. For these reasons more survive to breed and the population exponentially expands in a municipal setting.. This is a big reason the squirrel population is so high in towns and cities.

Feeders are utilized to draw and concentrate squirrels into an area for effective pest control in the wild. Feeders are used as such in England for this reason to kill and reduce the numbers of grey squirrels, which is an invasive species (from North America) for them. Because feeders effectively draw both birds and squirrels to an area it is not advisable to place one in your yard if your goal is to eliminate squirrels that are causing damage to your property. It will only serve as another food source and thus as an additional draw for the squirrels. Just saying. It will hinder the goal of pest squirrel elimination in the yard. Food is generally not a limiting factor anyway. As previously stated, the feeders are used, as an example, in England to concentrate the squirrels for easier and more humane killing at a close given distance.

As for the squirrel calls, believe me, I like other AGN members have tried many through the years. I have in general observed that they are of no use and often tend to spook the squirrels where they will remain hidden. Thus I avoid the use of calls.Yep there is no shortage of YouTube videos and squirrel calls on the market. Calls are highly effective for some animals such as predators, ducks, and crows, but not for squirrels. Others many disagree. This is only an opinion on my part. Although, I sometimes use a hawk like sound that is somewhat effective to stop squirrels when they are running or moving. Freezing in place is an survival instinct of many animals. I have often observed many species freeze, such as quail are rabbit. I have killed countless rabbits while bow hunting using a hawk call to freeze them when they were running. LOL, I use a cracker jack whistle I got out of a box of cracker jacks when I was a kid. I keep it on a string tied around my neck.

Just another tidbit. Squirrels sometimes move or feed at night, both on the ground and in the trees.That is the reason you can know that one is in a certain tree when it becomes dark an go back to the same tree at daylight the next morning expecting the squirrel to move and it is observed in an adjacent tree but not the one you knew it to be in. Lordy, I have seen this often.


 
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from what ive observed squirrels systematically learn and expand their range and it gets roughly limited by territorial boundaries of other squirrels .. i think what alot of inexperienced noobs to hunting and other general parasites to everything good for life on the planet fail to comprehend is animals are living beings w9th limited numbers, and if theyre indiscriminately killed, especially using methods to draw every last one in there wont be any more breeding and can be completely wiped out of an area .. just because you can doesnt mean you should .. its just like the neighbor thats uber manly with his husky chainsaw cutting down every effin tree on his property lol .. effin brilliance ..using your noggin is wise all im sayin ...
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Exactly!

And then there won't be any eating every "effin" peach, plum, apple, pear, fig, and cherry from the fruit trees in my home orchard

In case you have not noticed, they do not share well

As far as wiping them out................

The odds on that are overwhelming

Each effin female bears 2 Efin litters annually.

Each producing an average of 5 EFIN pups; thus birthing 10 EFIN squirrels a year. 

Assume 1/2 of those get effed and the other half do the effing;; & do the math

Nothing indiscriminate about my P.O.A.

(There's an LOL in here somewhere...

I just know there is)

Ed




 
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Yes I agree 100%,

I believe the posters are posting and advocating the elimination of pest squirrels in their yard because of damage. Elimination and constantly keeping them pushed back from the dwelling is the most effective way. You just can't get one or two. See my previous post. The posters are not advocating the elimination and or indiscriminate shooting of squirrels in the wild. There are hunting seasons, bag limits, and other laws to preserve and protect the wild populations. Municipal populations, especially around dwellings are a different thing entirely. Just saying.

There are certainly many other things (which I won't go into here) that can and should be done to eliminate the squirrel damage problem at a dwelling but eliminating and keeping them pushed back along with the other measures is a huge part of the equation/solution.

I dealt with this issue throughout the years. It is one of the more common complaints that game wardens and biologist deal with. Severe population reduction sometimes becomes necessary in areas. Case in-point is the control of feral hogs and over populated deer which likewise can and often cause much environmental and crop damage. Population reduction by hunting is a part of the management. Sometimes it becomes necessary to have more liberal bag limits, extended hunting seasons, either sex, and in extreme cases no bag limits and no closed seasons. Even night hunting often becomes necessary to control the aforementioned hogs and deer. These issues may not be as prevalent in certain states but are of major concern in Alabama and other southern states. Drastic management measures then become necessary. Same with squirrel damage. 

Hope this helps clarify the point of some of the posters.
 
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Thank you all again. Yeah, tried a few squirrel call apps this morning. Placed a BT speaker near feeder. Ran thru multiple sound bites. Didn't see one squirrel.

Took only two shots this morning. Smoked one
1f426.svg
, missed his/her buddy. Slow morning.
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Don't feel too bad. For the last 3-4 years I have averaged nearly 1 a day on tree rats, but for the last month I have only shot 5 with another one that is a ?. So, maybe 6 for the entire month of January.

However, I believe in the last 3-4 years I have killed well over 1000 tree rats. Possibly closer to 1200-1500 in my very small backyard.

This lull is temporary. Come Spring, the temporary vacuum I have created will quickly be refilled and I will have plenty of targets once again along with more challenging targets such as chipmunks and rats.
 
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Thank you all again. Yeah, tried a few squirrel call apps this morning. Placed a BT speaker near feeder. Ran thru multiple sound bites. Didn't see one squirrel.

Took only two shots this morning. Smoked one
1f426.svg
, missed his/her buddy. Slow morning.
Click to expand...

Don't feel too bad. For the last 3-4 years I have averaged nearly 1 a day on tree rats, but for the last month I have only shot 5 with another one that is a ?. So, maybe 6 for the entire month of January.

However, I believe in the last 3-4 years I have killed well over 1000 tree rats. Possibly closer to 1200-1500 in my very small backyard.

This lull is temporary. Come Spring, the temporary vacuum I have created will quickly be refilled and I will have plenty of targets once again along with more challenging targets such as chipmunks and rats.
Click to expand...

True dat! 😁 Damn and I thought they were over populated in my yard. 😂 I haven't seen one in my yard for several days. That is a good start for keeping the limb rats out of my loft.
 
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