We've got some sort of critter that has been digging for grubs in my lawn and everyone keeps telling me that it is a skunk. It has killed two large areas in my yard. I bought a couple of live traps a few weeks ago, and to date I've captured 6 animals. Two of the said animals, an opossum and a woodchuck, no longer process oxygen (my Henry .22 sped up their journey to meet their makers), but the other four were my neighbors' cats. One neighbor lives down the road to the east about 1000 feet, and the other lives next door about 500' to the west.
The neighbor to the west is really cool about his cat. I've caught him twice, and he said if he wandered over again to just get rid of them any way I see fit.
The other neighbor's cat hisses at me every time I look at it while it is caged in the trap. He, on the other hand says that his cat is just doing what members of the feline family do. He would like me to simply just keep calling him every time the cat is caught and he will walk over and get it. He says that if it does it too many more times, he'll load it up and take it for a ride farther out in the country and drop it off in front of someones home.
I'm not sure I like his form of problem resolution. I don't think that his pet should be on my property at all. I really hate it when I wake up in the morning to find a bag of garbage all ripped up and scattered out on my deck.
What do ya'll do in situations like that?
Capture and call?
Capture and poison with lead and keep my mouth shut?
Capture and drop off at animal control and have my tax dollars spent on having it euthanized?
I'm getting sick of them eating my bait(sardines).
And whoda thunk that an opossum would eat sardines? :o
I have that problem, as well, my solution is to water board them , that is hose them down in the trap till they sull up, then let them out. Seldom do they come back. Cats don't like my shower arrangement. Oh, and you got to be careful letting them out, they want blood.
SSS
Many more cats have walked on to this place in the last 50 years than have walked off. ::)
They do have to come from a long ways unless they are feral ones (which I normally just assume they are).
Had only one distant neighbor ever come looking for their cat, and she said it had been missing for over a year. ::)
Get a metal garbage can with a lid? That is a hard question. My neighbor,she LOVES cat called me and said my cat was going up to her place and beating up her cat. I told her I would speak to him about that. :D It just popped out so quick. If I could of seen her face.She is very nice person too.
I wonder too if one of those cheap air horns would work when you had them in the trap. I buy them from Dollar Tree for $1. Man those things are LOUD.
I use those same air horns on the telemarket callers when they try to sell me something over the phone. >:(
I'd try that water hose method. Like twice. If that doesn't work, I'd hang a note on them for the owner to read when the trespassing kitty returned home, wet. The note being something like, "Dear neighbor-this was the last warning." ;)
I never catch the same cat twice! Figure it out.
Yes, and I have had some stray cats around over the years as you all know, with kittens in toe. Posted photos once in awhile. The garbage thing was always a cat, always caught them in the act. I have crows and ravens year round here and they never touch it. They know that I toss scraps out. Or at least they don't seem to touch the bags. When there is a problem cat, I just stick the garbage out in the barrel with lid, solves that and kitty is usually gone for a few weeks. Even have had the garage door up while mowing and have them climb into the open garbage barrel in the garage. I don't hurt the cats, just chase them off. But I have lots of lawn diggers and they are skunks, I see them at it all the time. They usually come just before dark and have their fun. They don't bother me over the lawn, but cats, dogs and skunks like to all dirty in the garden. ;D :D :D Oh well. ::) I think I'll get out the hot dried Cayenne pepper this summer. :D
Talking about skunks, mom's uncle would catch 20 or more every fall on his lawn with canibear trap. :D
Quote from: martyinmi on April 18, 2013, 07:37:21 PM
We've got some sort of critter that has been digging for grubs in my lawn and everyone keeps telling me that it is a skunk. It has killed two large areas in my yard. I bought a couple of live traps a few weeks ago, and to date I've captured 6 animals. Two of the said animals, an opossum and a woodchuck, no longer process oxygen (my Henry .22 sped up their journey to meet their makers), but the other four were my neighbors' cats. One neighbor lives down the road to the east about 1000 feet, and the other lives next door about 500' to the west.
The neighbor to the west is really cool about his cat. I've caught him twice, and he said if he wandered over again to just get rid of them any way I see fit.
The other neighbor's cat hisses at me every time I look at it while it is caged in the trap. He, on the other hand says that his cat is just doing what members of the feline family do. He would like me to simply just keep calling him every time the cat is caught and he will walk over and get it. He says that if it does it too many more times, he'll load it up and take it for a ride farther out in the country and drop it off in front of someones home.
I'm not sure I like his form of problem resolution. I don't think that his pet should be on my property at all. I really hate it when I wake up in the morning to find a bag of garbage all ripped up and scattered out on my deck.
What do ya'll do in situations like that?
Capture and call?
Capture and poison with lead and keep my mouth shut?
Capture and drop off at animal control and have my tax dollars spent on having it euthanized?
I'm getting sick of them eating my bait(sardines).
And whoda thunk that an opossum would eat sardines? :o
easy, put your garbage in a can where it belongs and when your grubs are gone so won't the skunks be, grubs will kill the grass, their eating the roots :D :D :D ;D ;)
Marty ,Marty ,Marty .Now you know full well you cannot reason with a cat .A cat is a cat they do what they want when they want .A dog most times you can reason with ,a cat never .
Now just how much harm can a cat do in the yard besides poo poo in the flower bed or pee on your truck tires if it's a Tom .
A dog however can dig a hole that looks like the makings of another Panama canal in a given amount of time .A car looses interest in such business .
Just squirt the cat with a hose .Stupid as the appear they get the message after a while .
We have a garbage can a few feet from the deck, but there times when the weather is nasty that we don't take the time to put it in. Tonight is a good example, as it is pouring rain with wind gusts up to 40 mph.
And really, should I have to secure my garbage on my deck? Shouldn't the cat owner keep his/her animal at home?
My yard has had grubs in it forever and the grass has not died. Where the critter has dug it up it looks like I hit it with a tiller-and it is now dead.
I just shined my flashlight out the window and a pair of orange eyes reflected back at me from the larger of the two traps. Not sure what it is, but it appears as if Mother Nature will give an all natural water boarding to whatever critter it might be 8)
When I catch a cat in a live trap I just kick the trap a few times. They will do laps around the top of the trap. :D Open the door and they are gone like a shot. I have never caught the same cat twice.
Here's a sure fire way to handle the cat situation. Catch him in your live trap, but be gentle and remove cat from trap. Hold by the tail with one hand, with the other hand hook finger and thumb over the head right behind the ears. Jerk smartly. Then, and this important, toss the cat over the nearest fence. He won't come back.
you sound like my dad, every thing has to be trapped and shot :( animals don't know to stay out of your yard.
live and let live :)
I don't like the neighbor solving your problem by simply taking the cat out and abandoning it. That is just plain cruel, the animal now becomes prey and quite possibly someone else's headache. Not much you can do, cat's are fiercely independent and go about on their own terms. The garden hose works very well as long as you catch them in the act, lead poisoning should be a last resort. Piney, I couldn't bring myself to use your method.
I guy I used to work with only had a dog and hated cats - messing up his flower beds. He hated his neighbor and especially their cats. He got tired of trapping them and taking them down to the animal shelter. So he had his property declared a bird sanctuary - that gave him the right to shoot them. :(
Here in FL, they do the dumbest thing. They trap feral cats, neuter them, and the release them back into the wild! Why would you do this? Cats are not a native species, and they wreak havoc on small animals. Sorry, but cats do not belong in the environment.
Right now, I'm having a lot of trouble with stray dogs, pitbulls, specifically. I'm building a house in rural SC, and there were two of them lounging in the dining room the other day. I wasn't able to scare them off, so I waited until they left, and then boarded up the doorways. I've had 5 separate stray dogs around this week alone. For my own safety, I'm going to have to start carrying.
Quote from: pineywoods on April 18, 2013, 10:01:52 PM
Here's a sure fire way to handle the cat situation. Catch him in your live trap, but be gentle and remove cat from trap. Hold by the tail with one hand, with the other hand hook finger and thumb over the head right behind the ears. Jerk smartly. Then, and this important, toss the cat over the nearest fence. He won't come back.
Thats cold
Quote from: martyinmi on April 18, 2013, 09:56:29 PM
We have a garbage can a few feet from the deck, but there times when the weather is nasty that we don't take the time to put it in. Tonight is a good example, as it is pouring rain with wind gusts up to 40 mph.
And really, should I have to secure my garbage on my deck? Shouldn't the cat owner keep his/her animal at home?
My yard has had grubs in it forever and the grass has not died. Where the critter has dug it up it looks like I hit it with a tiller-and it is now dead.
I just shined my flashlight out the window and a pair of orange eyes reflected back at me from the larger of the two traps. Not sure what it is, but it appears as if Mother Nature will give an all natural water boarding to whatever critter it might be 8)
You can leave your garbage out but what are you going to do when he shows up
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/bear_2011_025.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/bear_2011_030.JPG)
:D :D :D :D :D :D
and you can spend some money and get some grub killer at the farm store and be done with all of this :D :D :D :D :D :D ;)
I'm glad my Wife doesn't read this ,we have 10 cats and she loves them all like her kids ;D
She would hate you all for being mean to cats!!
Peter-Are those pics of suspects in bird feeder thefts? I'm not the biggest nature-lover when it comes to bears(or cats!),but have figured out if you leave nothing outside to attract them,you don't have to spend hours cleaning up their messes and plotting their demise. Our town has mandatory trash sorting for recycling,so we sort at home-milk crates for glass,cans,plastics,etc. We rinse out tin cans and plastic so they don't smell.Regular garbage goes in a covered container in the kitchen until dump day. Meat and fish wrappers go in the freezer until dump day-no smell! Works for us,and I spend less time avoiding problems with animals!
Mike
Shooting or otherwise killing neighbor's animals can get to be a dicey situation. My dad got into this spot many years ago and it ended with the neighbors trying to hunt down and kill our dog when it got loose. Not a good situation. I agree that having stray animals making a mess on your property is incredibly annoying, but I don't know how you're going to get past the unsecured garbage issue. You have to figure that a cat doesn't really grasp the concept of property lines, but he does understand the smell of dinner. You're essentially baiting him onto your property, like it or not. Even if you get rid of this one you'll end up with more of them soon after. I'd recommend changing your bait to something the cats won't like. Skunks and raccoons love raspberry jam, marshmallows, and sunflower seeds, but cats won't touch it.
Woodandtractors, yes we like ALL the wild life in the yard, we sometimes leave the bird feeders out so the bears come around, in 30+ years no bad ones, just have to smarter then the wild life, I have bees too and have away to keep them out of the hives
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/22511/DSCN2783.JPG)
the out side is all dug up from the bears trying to get in :D :D
we have no dogs so we have deer bears moose all kind of things in the yard, Ann and I love it
If the cats don't get into your unsecured garbage then racoons, skunks, opossums, crows, mice, rats, squirrels, etc will. Simply solution is to put the garbage in the can.
We get skunks digging in the yard here every year, and racoons just getting into stuff!
When we hear them or see them (we spotlight the yard), it's Mag Light & 12 gauge time!
I just get close enough to a skunk to get him to move to the far side of the yard and that's where he meets his maker!
Coons just get it where ever they are!
The only cat we ever had problems with was a huge tom-cat (about 12 years ago) that liked spraying around the garage and the house, we finally caught him and we took him inside the trap to my brothers farm and put a castration band on him and let him go. Then he had no reason to wander! ;D
why kill things? that just pithes me off when i hear stories about senseless killings.
live and let live!!
If we let live without culling out animals, we would be over-run with them.
Big snakes in the everglades, wild pigs, Canada geese, are just some of the real potential nuisances that are either here or on the horizon for big problems.
Can't cull out people, but that is another future "big" problem facing a small world. IMO
Hope we don't follow the PETA people and quit culling animals when it is needed.
Some terrorists want to cull most of us, and they make no bones about going in that very direction.
Depends really. As beenthere and others suggest, sometimes you have to use some biological control methods. Where I live, I live just fine with them around: cats, foxes, skunks, moose...whatever. Others might find it over whelming. With a lot of those smaller critters they are always on the watch for rabies around here, although rarely a case. Then there was a time made over a moose that frequented a fellows back yard a lot. They warned of TB and other stuff that started with cattle to begin with.
It sounds like most people here might be dog people. If your dog, who more than likely doesnt know the property line, was to be baited, trapped and killed, how would you feel? I know it's just a cat, but your dog is also just a dog...
Now I'm not against killing a problem animal. I've killed a few cats, Im waiting on my distant neighbors dogs to show up when im around so i can kill her, and I kill hogs for a living. But seriously, how much harm can a single pet cat cause??
Kill the grubs, and the skunk will disapear
I agree. ;)
I live on a farm and town people drop cats at the end of the driveway every year because too many kids want a kitten and when it gets bigger they drop them in the country. I once caught people doing it and asked if I could bring any unwanted junk to their house and got a dumb look. Around here if you don't "get rid of" cats they will take over the out buildings.
I've had to make sure I have good doors on my out buildings just the keep the coons and ground hogs out, but cats would be another reason. No way to keep squirrels out. If there ain't a way in, they'll make one.
I'm thinking that quite a few of you folks are missing the point I'm trying to illustrate here.
I never have nor ever will kill a family pet. I am not baiting cats. My garbage is typically secure in one of my trash cans 95% of the time. That is not the issue, OK?
The task that I am trying to accomplish is ridding my property of unwanted animals that are destroying it.
Nothing more....Nothing less!
I can not catch skunks if my traps are occupied by cats.
Case in point was the HUGE orange tiger cat that I just returned to yet another neighbor a few minutes ago smiley_furious
I'm just looking for suggestions on how to politely inform my good neighbors that they need to keep their beloved family pets off my property and out of my garbage. In the last four years I've disposed of at least five cats that have been killed on my road. All but one were turned into home heat and domestic hot water by means on my gasifier.
I can assure all that I will catch and destroy the critters responsible for damaging my property. They will either be coyote and crow bait, or home heat if my OWB is still in use when I finally get them.
Peter- I can PROMISE you that if that bear comes onto my property and tears up garbage on my deck, or worse yet damages my Kamado grill, or even sets off my live traps, he most assuredly will die. I have eaten bear before and I like it!
Woodchucks,opossum, skunks, and coyotes will receive the same fate....however I will not consume them! ;D
I've ate woodchuck before and the taste sorta reminds me of what dead skunk might taste like smiley_smelly_skunk
Go gettum Marty fudd-smiley
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do I say. The neighbors don't like their pets too well if they are free ranging and warned 2, 3 ,4 or more times about their cat. ::)
Hey Marti
I have the perfect sign for you that we just made a few weeks ago on the CNC. winds up it is becoming one of our best sellers. Have already sold 6 of them for $9.95 each. Winds up there are more people that dont like cats than i would have ever thought, including myself. I am definitely a dog person. Put one of these up and maybe the neighbors will think twice about letting their cats roam free :rifle:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21313/pens_and_Signs_016.jpg)
BBL,
I'll be needin' one of those signs! :D
Already sent you a pm ;)
Ground hog AKA woodchuck is not bad if it's prepaired correctly .Cat on the other hand might not be so good .
Now on the digging business cats are not equipted to such prolific excavaters as canines .They have retractable claws just about worthless for any amount of digging other than to bury their business in the soft soil of a flower bed .
Leave a little scrap of food lay out of the garbage can liberelly marinated with hot sauce . Especialy fish because of the nature of a cat they can't resist it .They will gobble it down but about a day later it will fire them up when they expell it .Cats are slow learners but they'll figure it out given enough treatments .
I had a big ole tom by the name of George who thought he was a lion .George liked to raid the hot peppers from my ex wifes cooking .Growled and hissed but ate them any ways .About a day later in his kitty litter box more growling and hissing .He was so stupid he bit is own butt as it was on fire from the peppers .
Al_Smith
I think we have a picture of George the Tom Cat after an unfortunate encounter with a batch of hot peppers:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21313/cat_on_toilet.jpg)
Busy beaver,that made me laugh out loud.
Quote from: red oaks lumber on April 19, 2013, 12:39:20 PM
why kill things? that just pithes me off when i hear stories about senseless killings.
live and let live!!
ROL;
I don't have a problem letting the critters live, but they are not going to do so at my expense!
Last summer we had a skunk that dug his way under the addition on the house and all through the day and night as long as it stayed there, it would emit it's foul odor and we'd smell it all through the house. The smell would even wake us up at night.
I finally had it "right up to here" with this, day in and day out and then went out one day and tore the skirting from around the addition and the perpetrator finally left, but I saw him before he cleared my yard! Guess what! fudd-smiley
A huge percent of "lost" cats are never found. I dispose of feral cats promptly and without apology. I also live very rural. The cats I catch are not a family pet that is lost. We have four cats (2 barn and 2 house). For the rest of them, the first time is the last time they enter the trap.
My yellow lab (dog) trotted through the log yard this week with a dead tom cat in his jaws. For a labrador retriever to catch and kill a mature Tom, that takes some doing. Not really behavior I want to encourage. He sure looked proud of his catch. We had seen it the night before so I knew it was around. He found it first.
I used to be "live and let live." I have decided that I do not feel bad swatting mosquitos, killing rats/mice or "putting down" feral animals.
KD
my neighbors cat got stuck up my tree I tried to help with my ladder but cat climbed higher . . . lol
lots of talk of Bobcat Hybrid feral cats in the Pocono Mountains
I could never figure out why or how a cat can figure out how to climb a tree but be so stupid it can't climb down .However if you toss a cat in a pond even though they hate water they can swim as well as a dog .
Now George the wonder cat never sat on the commode to do his business but he would pee in the sink and turn the water on .He never turned it off though .
The cat was a dunce .Once he ate the babys fooler --whole .Of course it came out whole too .Boy oh boy did he growl then ,bit his butt too .
Had the baby on the bassenett to change his diaper .Little boy ,cold air ,they pee--with great pressure .Hit the cat between the eyes ,cat bit the dog,dog peed on the floor .I laughed ,ex wife laughed ,little baby giggled ,cat was still mad .
The things we talk about. ::)
I agree SD.
Sounds like there has never been, nor will there ever be a dull moment in the Smith castle-no matter which queen sits at the throne! :D :D
QuoteI could never figure out why or how a cat can figure out how to climb a tree but be so stupid it can't climb down .
We never see a dead cat in a tree, so guess they can climb down. ;D
Al, that is funny. :D :D
I could go on for days about George the wonder cat .That thing was so little when I got him he didn't know how to drink from a saucer .Had to shove his little tiny nose in it .
I used to put that little kitten in my shirt and take him in a resteraunt which really annoyed my ex wife .When he got bigger he'd occasionally have sip of beer with me .He wasn't really too fond of it though .I'd get him wacked out on cat nip and was he a hoot .Had old George for about 18 years all 22 pounds of him .
George made a terrible mistake once .Christmas day 1969 I was deploying outbound for 3 months on patrol from Rota Spain .Every time George saw my sea bag laying on the floor he knew I was going away .The cat got pizzed and that's exactly what he did on my sea bag .
George went to the vets and when he got back his title was no longer Tom .Caponed or not he was over two ,he already had the urge .While it slowed him down he could still do his Tomly duties .However dumb as he was he never again made the mistake of peeing on anything ever again .He probabely thought in his little cat brain the next time it might be his head . ;D
Ever seen a dog wacked out on cat nip? We grow it and give some to the cat on "his" post. Some got on the floor and the dog lapped it up. They was both out of it. :D
Our dogs have no interest in it but the cat goes on a real trip without leaving the house. Karen once left the bag on the counter. Only did that once. :D
I grew some in the flower bed .It looks a little like a mint plant .
Aha,a light bulb just went off and the cure for young Marty's problems .Plant a row of cat nip near the property lines .The cats will get so ingrossed in it they'll forget all about the garbage .Merely a simple solution from a simple mind in a manner of speaking . ;D
Hmm though now I wonder if cat nip causes the felines to get the munchies . ???
I live far off the road. There is a stray tom cat that is fighting with our other cat. The stray come here, eats the cat food, and fights. After our cat got two bad infections, two trips to the Vet ($300), my patience is growing thin. Cats don't listen.
Well sometimes it seems the cats' gonads cause him bad behavior problems .Removal of same given enough time will cure the problem .Now of course you have to first catch the offending Tom before the transition can occur which the cat won't want any part of .
They say heavy padded welding gloves and two pairs of Carharts will fend off the almost certain outburst of the cat who gets stuffed into an old boot which will hold him during the operation .I think a boot is good for perhaps two or three proceedures before one tunnels right out the toe and makes the great escape .This information courtesy of my deceased uncle once the greatest cat neuterer in Knox county Ohio .
A Chinese restaurant about a mile down the road was closed down after they were caught baiting their dumpster for cats. smiley_chinese
Ten years later and now the neighborhood is over run with feral cats.
Again perhaps a less harsh method could be conived as to not resort to the swift cut of a razor blade .
If you could keep the resident cat away from the bait perhaps a nice mixture of laced cat chow could convince the offensive feline to dine else where .
Say week out well fermented sardines laced with hot sauce and powdered exlax ,lots of it .That cat will be spewing fire for three days afterwards .It might take a few treatments but in enough time even with a pea sized cat brain it should sink in .I'd kind of wait until things are nice and green because he's apt to set the yard on fire getting rid of the volcano within .
I helped castrate a cat one time and believe me DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME.I had no idea that one sweet little tom cat could do so much damage to a couple of grown men in such a short time.That thing bit through 3 feed sacks and deep into the palm of my hand.And my assistant Roger was screaming like a banshee when those claws went into his leg.It's been 20 years but that episode is still fresh on my mind.
if someone was holding you down in a feed sack and trying to nut ya you gonna just lay there? :(
Quote from: Texas Ranger on April 18, 2013, 07:58:03 PM
I have that problem, as well, my solution is to water board them
Well, that didn't work. Caught one early Friday night and soaked it bad, then got up early Saturday and repeated the process. I didn't think I'd ever see that animal again. WRONG!!!
The Dan_G thing was in the trap again this morning!!
I'm losing my patience :snowball:
Man, that cat is either very stubborn or very stupid.
---or not enough water ---
After warerboarding roll the square cage a few times before release.
Quote from: trapper on April 21, 2013, 05:26:46 PM
After warerboarding roll the square cage a few times before release.
--about 20 miles down the road ---
We have 2 cats,one is 12 years old and one a little over a year. He is some smart. Does not get on the furniture,meows to go out,no matter the weather,snow or rain,does not scratch on the couch. He would catch on quick with the water. Now the young one,I think I have him off the furniture,it's been a hard year for him and me. You would have to just about drown her to teach her.
Quote from: slider on April 21, 2013, 12:22:39 PM
I helped castrate a cat one time and believe me DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME.I had no idea that one sweet little tom cat could do so much damage to a couple of grown men in such a short time.That thing bit through 3 feed sacks and deep into the palm of my hand.And my assistant Roger was screaming like a banshee when those claws went into his leg.It's been 20 years but that episode is still fresh on my mind.
As a kid, I filled in for my brother working for a vet with a small (and large) animal practice.
When we did the male cats, we would put them head first into a zipper overshoe and zip it up. They did fuss some but not until after zipped up.
But tried that with a Siamese cat and had one wild tiger on our hands. No way goin in that boot head first.
The alternative to the boot was to pull a leg by the paw out through the cage, and give them a shot to put them to sleep (always this way to spay a female cat). But this Siamese fought like hells fury (until finally asleep). He lost and loosened a few teeth chewing on the cage rods before sleep came.
Not sure the procedure nowaday.
We try to keep the cat numbers in check around the farm, tom cats go first. More always show up when people get tired of them and leave them at the farm gate for a " better life on the farm" HA! if they only knew....
Dogs. Why people would think that just leaving for someone else to take care of would make it ok. Ever try to call a strange dog off from chasing your cattle? Only one way to do it, don't want to but I have to because someone left me a pet they dont want anymore.
If the problem cannot be solved it must be removed.
My bride just bought a brand new car last Monday,
Yesterday afternoon we were looking it over when we noticed some paw prints on the hood.
As it stands right now, I have her permission to take them out by any means necessary! ;)
I'm thinkin' I'll give Steven Segal and Arnold Schwarzenegger a call :snowball:
google Skydiving Cat
Her new car sits outside?
whats next? bird craps on the car, you gonna start shooting them too?
Quote from: red oaks lumber on April 22, 2013, 12:49:54 PM
whats next? bird craps on the car, you gonna start shooting them too?
Absolutely!
We have boatloads of Starlings and Grackles in our trees that we try to keep in check.
If you hit them squarely enough, even a Daisy Red Rider will bring them down.
Usually use my daughters old Benjamin Sheridan though.
I've gotten rid of probably a dozen or so this year already. 8)
If they'd eat the grubs in my yard to keep out the skunks, I'd allow them to live and we'd all live in perfect harmony.
Great, now I've got that old Coca Cola jingle in my brain!
Starlings I wouldn't miss, they are a nuisance. But grackles, I've never had troubles with. They nest in the back yard in the spruces. All I see them doing is picking bugs off the lawn. ::)
The species of Grackles we have here are called "Purple Breasted Grackles" according to my dad.
They are just as noisy as a Starling and they poop on everything. :snowball:
its a real shame when people have no reguard for other living creatures.
That's just the common grackle, there is a purple and a bronze subspecies. Ours are bronze up here. The purple subspecies has a blue tail, they are in the SE. You sure it's not a brewer's blackbird? With purple gloss on head and neck, greenish gloss on body and wings?
Kill them all :D :D :D :D :D :D :D air_plane fudd-smiley dadgum you, Charlie! taz-smiley soldier-smiley smiley_furious boxingsmiley no_no smiley_bull_stomp smiley_deadheader alligator smiley_turkey_hide Violin_smiley smiley_argue01 smiley_furious3 smiley_horserider smiley_alcoholic_01 bat_smailey smiley_smash smiley_thumbsdown smiley_whip whiteflag_smiley whiteflag_smiley
we use to take the cats by the back feet and put turpentine on there buts how thay would run never came back
:D
I have a beaver issue out in the back forty... I'll take out the dam three times, after that beaver is open season, I can't spend all my evenings takin' a dam out.
We also live at the end of a Cul de Sac, even though we are quite far from any aglomeration, we get new cats around the barn every couple of months, where they come from beats me, we try to keep a few around the barn , but we can't be having all of them that people throw out after the kitten grows up some of them are real cute and cuddly, those get a second home, some are just wackos.... Those if cornered will go through a window if theres one to escape out of... Surely can't or would not even dream of finding a new home for them and they are not welcomed here. :snowball:
Starlings were introduced into the U.S. in 1890 when 60 birds were released in New York's Central Park.
The goal at that time was to bring every bird ever mentioned in Shakespearean literature into the United States.
That was a copy and paste but boy oh boy did those people ever mess up by doing that .
Get a 22 single shot Marty .Load it full of bird shot and get the birds to feed the cats you can't seem to get rid of .Not to worry the first good wind will blow the feathers away .Maybe over on the neighbors from wence the cats came .
i stop and help turtles get off the road. let me guess you guys swerve to run them over.
Wrong, don't do that. ::)
::) ::) ::)
I will swerve to avoid them, but I won't be getting out to help them.
Guess that being raised in the country and having to deal with animals, wild, feral and drop offs and raising them some as food we may see things in a different perspective. Culling the herd is needed at times. they can't all be left to themselves.
Marti
Your sign shipped today. Look forward to see it posted at your place with a pic on the forum
Fred
Thanks Fred!
You can bet I'll display it proudly 8)
If the turtles have any size to them, we eat 'em.
SD, I think that is what the birds are.
I'll wack one tomorrow and take a picture of it ;)
Uncle Al, the cats around here will not eat a Starling, especially when there are fresh sardines in my live traps! :D
I've swerved to avoid squirrels which is kind of stupid .We seldom have a turtle on the road as the box turtles are in the southern portion of the state .
We have snappers the kind that can lop off a finger .Those BTW are pretty tastey if you fix them right . ;) Do not however point a finger at them because they are really fond of fingers .
Reading this thread reminds me of my recently departed Crazy Aunt. She loved cats, and fed all the stray ones in the area. Finally, some of her neighbors took action, and trapped out 34 of them, leaving her with less than a half dozen. When she started to notice the population decreasing, they blamed it on a smallish 4' gator that was seen infrequently.
There you go Marty... if you can borrow a guard gator and tie him up in your yard, might keep them strays scared off. :D
Marty, give Mooseherder a shout, his neighbour has a few in his pond that he would willingly let you have for the takin' smiley_thumbsup
House cat= Gator=Supper. Recycling at it's finest.
Quote from: WH_Conley on April 23, 2013, 12:55:03 AM
House cat= Gator=Supper. Recycling at it's finest.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Turned inside out, they make great warm slippers for those cold winter nights ;D
Quote from: red oaks lumber on April 22, 2013, 06:23:58 PM
its a real shame when people have no reguard for other living creatures.
Let's start with the people who have no regard for human life, first. I think that's a bigger issue.
Possible devices to help Marti control the cat population on his property by returning them to point of origin, usually the neighbors house!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21313/cap_sling_shot.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21313/cat_a_pult_gun.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21313/cat-a-pult.jpg)
With the right bait, this might work on most any small animal!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo
:D :D
Looks like a "flying squirrel". ( and it's a drink)
Did the same one come back for more rides, or not your rig?
Hey.....now your getting on my level. 8)
Funny Beenthere! :D
48 hours without a live capture :-\
And I don't have any new dig marks in my yard. I rolled most of it yesterday, so I'd have been able to tell.
Will Opossum and Woodchucks eat grubs?
We've assumed all along that the filthy vermin digging up the yard was a skunk, but we've not seen nor have we smelled one.
I guess I've learned through this little endeavor of mine that sardines appear to be about the best form of generic bait to catch small furry rodents, like cats, chucks, and opossum. ;)
If I'm going to catch that larger bruin rodent that Peter showed the picture of I'll definitely need a bigger trap and a bigger container of sardines :D
Is there anything a possum won't eat?
Quote from: clww on April 23, 2013, 09:12:57 PM
Is there anything a possum won't eat?
smiley_ignore
Good question about a wood chuck eating grubs. I have no idea. BUT I do know a wood chuck will not go too far from it's hole or a place to run,hide. We mow the fields like a lawn now,when ever it needs it. No more woodchucks in the fields. Now they are in the woods and the stone walls.
The usual culprit of digging in the yard is squirrels .I doubt seriously if a ground hog is the perpitrater nor a cat for that matter .Let the grass grow a tad bit longer than normal and you'll never see them .
Here it sure aint the cats that dig up the lawn, it is a small rodent like a mouse with a long nose ... they burrow under the lawn just at the root height and make tunnels you can easily follow, the cats hunt these with a passion. ;)
In the fields you can see the fox hunt for them also ( the rodent not the cats )
Meadow Moles, and Star Nosed Moles!
They don't root up the ground like a skunk will, but they tunnel just under the grass and the dirt gets pushed up to the top.
Moles are harder to get rid of than skunks!
You had better hope that you never get armadillos. :-\
I caught this cat(first two pictures) this morning. After spraying it with the garden hose for a few seconds I let it go and it made a B-line for home. Now mind you this was the 4th(fourth) time I've caught this cat!
I got home from work about a half hour ago and guess what....catch number FIVE! The dumb thing was purring up a storm, all dried up and fluffy and just wanting love. I couldn't bring myself to hit it with the garden hose again, so I just took the cat, trap and all, and set it on it's owners picnic table.
It is to me one of Gods dumbest creatures, but it is also one of those creatures that are just so incredibly stupid that you can't help but like them :-[ I have a few humans in my life that fit that bill also :o
Man, I'm getting soft!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25594/Cats_002.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25594/Cats_003.JPG)
Here is a picture of my wife's cat with the new sign I just received in the mail from Busy Beaver Lumber. I love the sign. I'm not so sure that Scamper the cat appreciates it's not so subliminal message! :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25594/Cats_001.JPG)
Marty; Did you put your name on the boxtrap?
You've returned that cat to his home enough times now, it's only right that the cat owner returns your trap once in a while! ;D
stop baiting! if theres no food they will move on. far as the grubs they sell fertilizer that has a grub killer in it.that too will get rid of the digging. put the trap away.
cats cats cats, what can I say, my loves our 2 and I am ambivalent as they are a pain to me and a "child" to my missus.
Skunks visit every summer. I trap them in my Havahart and take them to my pond for scuba lessons which they fail every time.
Marty you'd just as well leave the cat alone .It's a cat you can't make it do anything. Cats will be cats that's all there is to that story .
Marty-That cat has got you trained to feed and bathe it!
Mike
Glad you like the sign Marti. Thank you for the business.
We are coming up with a bunch of new designs all the times.
Fred
Quote from: woodandtractors on April 24, 2013, 07:16:10 PM
Marty-That cat has got you trained to feed and bathe it!
Mike
:D :D :D
Quote from: woodandtractors on April 24, 2013, 07:16:10 PM
Marty-That cat has got you trained to feed and bathe it!
Mike
One smart cat :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Quote from: Peter Drouin on April 24, 2013, 08:42:24 PM
One smart cat :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
As well as a very pathetic trapper! :-[
Perhaps if I'd try to capture the cats I might actually catch the DanG skunks? 8)
You might try a mess of earthworms or nightcrawlers as bait. Doubt the cats would be interested in that, and I suspect skunks are not keen on sardines (as you are finding out :) )
Or some grubs ??
I finally read through this entire thread and at times had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
Quote from: clww on April 18, 2013, 08:18:02 PM
I use those same air horns on the telemarket callers when they try to sell me something over the phone. >:(
We do this exact same thing. My boys think it's the funniest thing ever.
I have 2 stock responses to telemarketers that work very well.
After asking them to repeat what company they are with, I either say:
1. "Well its about time you folks called me back. Where's the $600 you owe me? " or
2." My attorneys have advised me not to talk with you folks until our litigation is settled."
Either one causes them to immediately hang up or leaves them sputtering.
When I was a kid, I baited a trap with apples, and used to catch our cat all the time. She didn't eat apples; she was just curious about the trap, I guess.
Curious about the trap. ;D That reminded me of the trappings going on at work. They was having wood chunks problems. One of the guys put a trap out with no bait. In they would go. He caught quite a few that way.
I read this whole thread, never laughed so hard in my life, we had the same problem and the culprit was possums, I have no idea how many we've trapped over the years, we blamed the problem on cats too, but turned out they weren't the culprit at all.
Now how to solve your problem, let the government do it for you, around me we have a protected bird called the bald eagle that's making a comeback and apparently they really like cats, was wonding if anyone had issues with eagles eating cats, or should we teach eagles to respect private property too.
To degrub or deworm your backyard, use an electric worm rod and that should do the job, works great on stray cats too when you water the yard and all you have to do is plug it into an outlet, quite a show, seems cats are really sensative to electricity, but it won't kill them or cause long term damage either, but they tend to not come back either.
If some are having problems with cats, don't you have dog, ours uses cats for sport, especially strays and I'm not sure if I should retrain the dog to be kinder or strays to avoid the dog, somewhat perplexed on that issue myself.
Cowboy Bob just told me this past week, that a farmer friend of his had an eagle grab a barn cat and then drop it into the field. Poor kitty survived, but the vet had to give it stitches where the talons pierced it's back.
We used to have a white cat that would lay on the rug by the sliding door. We were drinking coffee sitting at the table when a red shouldered hawk slammed into the glass door trying to get the cat. The hawk hit the door so hard, it left a schmear. It was a toss up who was more shocked, the hawk, the cat, or us. :D
:D :D :D
Anyone who's against animal control or think to control the population is somehow cruel has never had small kids in their own yard when a rabies outbreak has taken place in strays, especially skunks. We used to have a lab dog when the kids were little that took pretty good care of all the kids looking over and out for them, he had all his shots but two rabid skunks went at him one afternoon just moments after the kids came in for dinner. I had to shoot one of them that had him by the throat and another off his belly that was latched onto him there, he recovered but it took a long time, we had to pen him up for a while during his recovery though just to be on the safe side.
We had the dnr involved on another incendent where the raccoons were so bad, one big old male raccoon took after my middle son and tore his face up pretty badly while he was doing chores, feeding cattle by throwing hay down and was attacked in the barn that time, the dnr trapped and shot about 3-4 dozen that time out of the buildings. My son at the time had to have stitches in his face over the ordeal and luckily the claw marks missed his eye's by just a fraction of an inch. Some were tested and came back with no rabies but had other problems, when push came to shove from the dnr officials and my wife, my son underwent rabies shots, something nobody who's ever done it will ever forget no matter how long they live.
We had at that time standing orders from the dnr official to shoot anything stray on site, and call later, when it came to kids and their safety even the dnr was on our side, they were very good about it and even provided traps and help to us. Incidentally when an animal attack happens and medical attention is required by the victim, the dnr are notified immediately by the medical staff and they take action, I was very impressed at the time what help and response we had from them. The dnr took care of the whole problem in weeks and checked back for years afterward to make sure it didn't happen again. And no they didn't practice catch and release on that ordeal, and I wasn't supposed to either.
I just shot a feral hog this afternoon that chased one of my neighbor's kids. Dadburn thing had no fear whatsoever.
---and now you can have a feral pork chop if you butchered it in a timely manner --- ;D
Left for his boys to do. I did ask that they save the tusks for me.