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I don't like to dispatch anything in the spring either. Hate to think of babies starving somewhere. But if an animal is acting sick or rabid... BOOM. As for ground hogs (we call them woodchucks here), unfortunately, you can't tell if they're male or female before you take the shot. My dog usually gets them anyway, but we sometimes help her out. Our property is over run with them and the woodchuck rabies is on the rise.
We have very few rabbits left here, thanks to the coyotes, and I don't shoot or let the dog go after them. Even though they're girdling all of my apple trees.
That 'possum would actually be kind of cute, if I didn't already know what a vicious beast he can be. The hole on the birdhouse is too big. All sorts of bird killing critters will fit in there.
I shot 3 coons that were staggering across my yard one summer and had to watch a 4th get away because I couldn't shoot him near the street. I've never tried a bow on them (and probably wouldn't), I used a .22. For coyotes, we got a .243, but that was mainly because we always saw them from 2-300 yards across the field and it was usually windy there.
I never liked to shoot stuff I wasn't going to eat, but after a pack of coyotes approached within about 20 yards of our campfire two weekends in a row, we decided they needed to learn a little fear of humans. The male was challenge barking, trying to get our dog to come out. Her first instict was to RUN. My husband and I both tackled her because we knew they'd tear her to bits if she ran. I've found fawn legs and deer with their hind ends and ribs chewed out on our property way too many times. If I see a coyote and get a shot, it's going to die.
The last coon I shot was staggering toward my husband, who was washing his truck (tunes blaring) with his back to the coon. He was oblivious until he heard the shot from the kitchen window. I suppose the morally superior thing would've been to let the coon attack him and just get him some rabies shots after.
It just baffles me what a LaLa Land some people live in. They can call their Bambi syndrome "education", I call it "memorizing an agenda" and lack of actual experience with wildlife. It's easy to pretend you're above killing anything when you're never faced with the need - when you can buy your food at the store and don't have to worry about overpopulation causing your kids to be attacked by rabid animals in your own yard. I think the only thing that will cure these people is if something ever happens to widely disrupt our Just In Time delivery system for a while and the nanny government is unable to get them any food. When they have to hear their kids cry from hunger, I think they'll be eating feral cats and whatever else they can get their hands on. Read up on the famine in Russia some time. People only worry about their superior morals until they get real hungry.
Just take the bird house down with a long pole and place it next to an open can of catfood dog food. The possom will come out before long and you can reclaim the birdhouse. Before rehanging it use some sheet metal to close up the hole to the smaller size required for the species of bird you are wanting to attract.
Being a birdhouse landlord required property upkeep and the eviction of unwelcome tentants.
It's time for me to make new houses....the wife is after me to make some...
Be Free, Tar up them trees. Some places like Clarks Grains Stors may have a pine tar made for trees. Then get as many more or less square kitty litter buckets somehow. With wood strapping in the form of a yard stick you can drill 2 holes near the top of the bucket and 2 pairs of holes in the center of the stick, The whole length of the stick about 15 inches maybe, and with peanut butter the mice can play walk the plank. Oh yeah you need water.
Now that ain't quite all there is to it. You need a fer sheet rock screws to screw a block on the outside of the bucket, so the stick sits flat on the rebound.
The balance point is delicate too. Once you get that trap up and running, place that in the orchard, and end that problem. I made 3 of these traps and i was loosing work time with victor traps. I don't have time to set and bait 12 traps a day. And nylon zip ties are what hold the stick to the bucket, They don';t get pulled up near to tight so the stick can tip into the bucket and when the mouse goes swimming the stick falls back in place for the next customer.
I even made a little sign that says 25 cents for a ride and fun in the pool. So far I get no hard coin from the mice.
That 'possum would actually be kind of cute, if I didn't already know what a vicious beast he can be. The hole on the birdhouse is too big. All sorts of bird killing critters will fit in there.
I shot 3 coons that were staggering across my yard one summer and had to watch a 4th get away because I couldn't shoot him near the street. I've never tried a bow on them (and probably wouldn't), I used a .22. For coyotes, we got a .243, but that was mainly because we always saw them from 2-300 yards across the field and it was usually windy there.
I never liked to shoot stuff I wasn't going to eat, but after a pack of coyotes approached within about 20 yards of our campfire two weekends in a row, we decided they needed to learn a little fear of humans. The male was challenge barking, trying to get our dog to come out. Her first instict was to RUN. My husband and I both tackled her because we knew they'd tear her to bits if she ran. I've found fawn legs and deer with their hind ends and ribs chewed out on our property way too many times. If I see a coyote and get a shot, it's going to die.
The last coon I shot was staggering toward my husband, who was washing his truck (tunes blaring) with his back to the coon. He was oblivious until he heard the shot from the kitchen window. I suppose the morally superior thing would've been to let the coon attack him and just get him some rabies shots after.
It just baffles me what a LaLa Land some people live in. They can call their Bambi syndrome "education", I call it "memorizing an agenda" and lack of actual experience with wildlife. It's easy to pretend you're above killing anything when you're never faced with the need - when you can buy your food at the store and don't have to worry about overpopulation causing your kids to be attacked by rabid animals in your own yard. I think the only thing that will cure these people is if something ever happens to widely disrupt our Just In Time delivery system for a while and the nanny government is unable to get them any food. When they have to hear their kids cry from hunger, I think they'll be eating feral cats and whatever else they can get their hands on. Read up on the famine in Russia some time. People only worry about their superior morals until they get real hungry.
Ahhh my faith in humanity is restored! To know that there are still folks out there, sides us, who realize that wild animals are NOT straight out of Disney's latest animated movie is comforting. I, also, favor a .243 for yotes, but have been known to use whatever is handy from .22 to 12 ga.
Location: The Raider Nation._ Our band kicks brass
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Instead of walking the plank, it's easier to just put a can on an axle across the top of the bucket. The mice jump to the peanut butter, the can spins, and it's ready for the next one.
opossums are nasty buggers. They have a nice set of choppers and are quite...industrious.. My son has a Gamo .177 , nice and quiet, and very effective, that works great on pests of the size in question. Were that our bird house, we would be going up a ladder to fish out a body with a pointed pellet lodged in the brain case.My boys Gamo ran about 180 bucks, came with a decent scope and mounts (he swapped for a Berska red dot) and slings a .177 out at 1200 fps.
Ahhh my faith in humanity is restored! To know that there are still folks out there, sides us, who realize that wild animals are NOT straight out of Disney's latest animated movie is comforting.
I'm a country girl. I wasn't conditioned to Disney, I grew up watching Dad butcher our yearly meat.
Mac - thanks for the advise. I'll save it for my next orchard. This one happens to be in NY (where I'm visiting) so no sense in doing it here. I'll be back in the Shire soon.
opossums are nasty buggers. They have a nice set of choppers and are quite...industrious.. My son has a Gamo .177 , nice and quiet, and very effective, that works great on pests of the size in question. Were that our bird house, we would be going up a ladder to fish out a body with a pointed pellet lodged in the brain case.My boys Gamo ran about 180 bucks, came with a decent scope and mounts (he swapped for a Berska red dot) and slings a .177 out at 1200 fps.
That is near or in .22 LR power with virtually no noise. BTW, I agree about possums being nasty! You corner one in a crawlspace along with raccoons and they get nasty. Hisses and aggression are common, not to mention possible rabies and who knows what else. Nasty-nasty creatures and they defiantly will bite when cornered. If I see a dead one on the road I always seem to run over it and pulverize all of its bones with 7,680 pounds + passengers. That is if I didn't hit it myself. They are everywhere around here!
That is near or in .22 LR power with virtually no noise. BTW, I agree about possums being nasty! You corner one in a crawlspace along with raccoons and they get nasty. Hisses and aggression are common, not to mention possible rabies and who knows what else. Nasty-nasty creatures and they defiantly will bite when cornered. If I see a dead one on the road I always seem to run over it and pulverize all of its bones with 7,680 pounds + passengers. That is if I didn't hit it myself. They are everywhere around here!
.22 CB's are good for closer in work about the house as well. They don't make any more noise than an air rifle and thump with authority. We have possums here, but not in profusion. Badgers are more common, and are pretty nasty in their own right. Like that needed sayin'. I have a couple buddies who favor the .17 HMR for badger control at middle distance, but a head shot is desirable, no matter what one uses, unless it's a .12 ga at inside 10 yards with #4 3 inch mags. You do NOT want a badger getting inside your defensive space.
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That's why I had to move to New Hampster. 
. My son has a Gamo .177 , nice and quiet, and very effective, that works great on pests of the size in question. Were that our bird house, we would be going up a ladder to fish out a body with a pointed pellet lodged in the brain case.My boys Gamo ran about 180 bucks, came with a decent scope and mounts (he swapped for a Berska red dot
.
You corner one in a crawlspace along with raccoons and they get nasty. Hisses and aggression are common, not to mention possible rabies and who knows what else. Nasty-nasty creatures and they defiantly will bite when cornered. If I see a dead one on the road I always seem to run over it and pulverize all of its bones with 7,680 pounds + passengers. That is if I didn't hit it myself. They are everywhere around here!
