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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat
    Mendip's Avatar
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    Those damn squirrels!

    Mrs Mendip is not happy.

    She's got used to my dogs digging up her seed beds, running off with plant pots containing seedlings and digging up newly planted papaya saplings. She's not happy about it, but accepts it. And besides, next year I'm going to put a fence around her veggie area. Or maybe the year after... when I get time.

    But now she's really gone into one and I'm worried it's going to push her over the edge.

    She phoned me last night and couldn't stop talking about 'these bloody squirrels'.

    For a long time now we've had a family of squirrels living in a small copse of trees adjacent to our garden. I've never begrudged them the occasional banana, mango or papaya,. I like to see them running around and if they're prepared to run the gauntlet of four dogs then I think they deserve the occasional treat. Mrs Mendip doesn't see it that way.

    Papaya seems to be their favourite...



    Jackfruit are also fair game...



    And we get so many mangoes I don't mind seeing this most mornings...



    I must admit, it does get slightly annoying when these squirrels just half eat everything, then move on to something else. But the chickens get the benefit of all the leftovers, so there's no waste.

    But what has really now got Mrs Mendip's goat, and she's really unhappy... the squirrels have moved on to her pride and joy, her lime trees. I never realised that squirrels ate limes, but maybe in the absence of anything nicer they'll eat what they can get - we've got no papayas or mangoes at the moment.

    My wife has spent a lot of time developing the lime trees and we get a good crop almost year round... There must be about ten trees in all around the garden.





    But now, every morning my wife has been finding five or six half-eaten limes scattered around the base of each tree. She also usually manages to see the back end of a squirrel and it's bushy tail as it scarpers over the wall. But too fast for a photo it seems.





    I find it hard to blame the squirrels to be honest. Our area is getting more and more developed, the trees are disappearing and these guys are just trying to survive as their habitat disappears. But, try explaining that to Mrs Mendip!

    Does anyone have any ideas for protecting her limes against these squirrels?

    I don't want to harm the buggers, just keep my wife happy. I've suggested to leave a couple of bananas out each night to fill them up so they can leave the limes alone. But Mrs Mendip's response wasn't really that polite.

    I've seen fruit tree nets on Lazada designed to keep birds away, but my feeling is the squirrels would just chew through them?

    Any ideas?

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    we had 6 a week ago after our fruit,got a rat trap cage,put a bit of banana insde[problem solved] take for a ride then drop them off near a building site.
    aroy B.B.Q.

  4. #4
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    The squirrels would make for good tucker for the monitor lizards.

  5. #5
    I'm in Jail

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    Why not get her to make up a spray of Garlic & Chilli, spray it over them and see if the buggers like their limes spiced up

  6. #6
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    We've got our first and only lime atm, planted the tree only six months ago. The Thai wife would turn into an unrelenting murderess if something damages it. Hard enough for her to cope with the vege garden pests.

  7. #7
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    I saw a video where the world's hottest chilis were tested to see if rats would be repelled. It didn't work.


  8. #8
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    ^^^ Problem is, as they're Thai squirrels they will probably like garlic and chilli on the limes. I don't want to attract more.

    Many years ago, in a previous life, I discovered how intolerant my then Thai girlfriend was to mustard. She could take limitless amounts of chilli, but a tiny smear of Colemans mustard hidden under the ham in a sandwich had her snorting like a horse. I found this strange as I can take mustard an inch thick on a ham sandwich but a small amount of chilli will get me going.

    Maybe a mustard spray on the limes would work?

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by BoganInParasite View Post
    We've got our first and only lime atm, planted the tree only six months ago. The Thai wife would turn into an unrelenting murderess if something damages it. Hard enough for her to cope with the vege garden pests.
    Yes, my wife gets almost childlike with pride at growing a few limes or mangoes in the garden and I fear the worst for these squirrels if I can't find a solution.

  10. #10
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by headhunter View Post
    we had 6 a week ago after our fruit,got a rat trap cage,put a bit of banana insde[problem solved] take for a ride then drop them off near a building site.
    aroy B.B.Q.
    HH, I think this may be a solution. It does seem a shame to get rid of them as, like I said, I enjoy seeing them running around. But I think the wife's solution will be a lot less humane if the limes keep getting eaten.

    Happynz - a last resort I think... my daughter would never speak to me again!
    Last edited by Mendip; 26-07-2019 at 01:42 PM.

  11. #11
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    Firstly, I see no direct evidence that the squirrels are to blame; has Somtamslap's Pa been spotted in the area?

    Secondly, the blame clearly lies in the Mendip's lack of foresight; why don't you buy some mangoes or bananas and place them on a bird table close to the squirrels?

    Lastly, and this is the important one, is there any chance of seeing Mrs Mendip's goat? Just a snap or two for us goat lovers??
    Cycling should be banned!!!

  12. #12
    I'm in Jail

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    ^ but a tiny smear of Colemans mustard hidden under the ham in a sandwich had her snorting like a horse. I found this strange as I can take mustard an inch thick on a ham sandwich but a small amount of chilli will get me going.

    Maybe a mustard spray on the limes would work?
    Supersize it with wassabi

  13. #13
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    Get a cat - Let nature deal with things itself...

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Those damn squirrels!-2558281b-b146-46b1-b29b-e2f15cb1bbd8-jpeg

    22 pellet rifle
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Those damn squirrels!-2558281b-b146-46b1-b29b-e2f15cb1bbd8-jpeg  

  15. #15
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremia2 View Post
    Get a cat - Let nature deal with things itself...
    We have several neighbours' cats secretly buried in our garden after they took one risk too many with our dogs...

  16. #16
    กงเกวียนกำเกวียน HuangLao's Avatar
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    FFS, just leave the critters alone.
    They do what they do.

  17. #17
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    I quite often take 3 of our dogs out in the sidecar of the motorbike, I take them out into the paddy fields and let them run wide they love it.
    If they see me go near the bike they jump straight into the sidecar ready to go.

    Anyway a couple of weeks ago we were going down the road and one of them sees a squirrel run across the road in front of us so he jumps out the front does a somersault and I go over him with the sidecar wheel. Luckily he only got a little bit of skin taken off.

    Then when I get home I asked the Missus if they (Thais) eat the little bastards and she said no, when I asked why not she told me too much trouble as they are too small.
    Once again I just had to shake my head as I see them regularly eating rats and small birds. Maybe the squirrels are too hard to catch.

    Maybe if you don't want to kill them put some sort of barrier around the trunk of the trees so they can't climb up like they use on power poles.

    I fully empathise with your missus if I had the little bastards eating any of my fruit I would kill them without hesitation.

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    ^^ I don’t know about that. Every now and then there is a critter population explosion when they try and eat everything. Those damn squirrels got into my seedlings and made a mess of the project. Why? Nothing there they would eat! Dug up my bulbs, carried them over to their tree and licked the bone meal off them. Chew the bird feeders trying to get all the seeds out. Little shits!

  19. #19
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    Do your fruit and veg shopping at Big C you cheap bastard and leave nature be

    My Missus would have eaten all those squirrels by now.

    And I dread to think what would happen to the creature who fucked with her papaya salad

  20. #20
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Aww, misskit I can't believe your attitude.

    Cute little critters they are.

    Entertain me every breakfast time with their energy and amazing gymnastics.

    I guess headhunter has concluded none of those lovable rogues getting spit roasted at the building site are his son's reincarnation.

  21. #21
    Thailand Expat Pragmatic's Avatar
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    I say no to squirrel damage on your papaya. More like bird. Just cuz you see a squirrels tail doesn't make it the guilty party. Sorry.



  22. #22
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Eastern gray squirrels are pests in the garden when their numbers get up. I’ve deer that nibble the plants as well as an occasional turtle. I can share. The squirrels just destroy things.

  23. #23
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    Back in the UK the squirrels used to climb up our bird table pole and steal the nuts left for the birds. It was quite funny watching them trying to climb the pole with grease on it.

  24. #24
    A Cockless Wonder
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    Got the same deal goin on with the papayas in my garden.

    Those damn squirrels!-img_20190709_192355-jpg

    But the culprits are not squirrels - they are flying foxes/fruit bats.

    Those damn squirrels!-1500-jpg

    Managed to get there in time a week later.

    Those damn squirrels!-p7145048-jpg
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Those damn squirrels!-img_20190709_192355-jpg   Those damn squirrels!-1500-jpg   Those damn squirrels!-p7145048-jpg  

  25. #25
    Thailand Expat
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    ^ Bloody hell, sure that's not a pterodactyl? I thought they were extinct. Our dogs already go nuts watching the squirrels running along the wall - they would go ballistic if one of those things landed in a tree.

    There used to be a colony of bats (normal size) living in a palm tree just outside our garden and I used to enjoy watching them stream out at dusk and start flying around - must have been hundreds. Unfortunately a gang of builders from Surin killed the lot for food. Seemed like such a shame, they'd been in that tree for years.

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