Comments on: Poisoning Ground Squirrels — is it right?

By: Lisa Park

Lisa Park — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:12:05 +0000

I am an animal lover and that includes ground squirrels. As a horse owner, I recognize the danger that an over-population of ground squirrels can cause. There is an environmental solution to poisoning and it is much more effective than trapping. The Burrow Blocker machine (http://www.burrowblocker.com) fills the ground squirrel holes with a mixture of sand and water. There are no more hazardous holes and the ground squirrels are trapped inside or move on to find a new hole. It has worked great at my ranch and I don’t have to worry about my other animals or wildlife.

By: Land for Urban wildlife meeting « Bay Area Wildlife Blog

Land for Urban wildlife meeting « Bay Area Wildlife Blog — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:28:41 +0000

[...] http://www.ibabuzz.com/garybogue/2008/10/12/poisoning-ground-squirrels-is-it -right/#comments [...]

By: bhf

bhf — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:36:59 +0000

Make a difference. Join us this Weds., Dec. 3 at 7pm to discuss how we can make a difference and change the practice of poison first. The meeting will be in Pleasant Hill, 100 Gregory Lane. We will have a couple of presentations and a discussion on the subject. Write to me at contact@land4urbanwildlife.org for more details.

I look forward to a meeting a lot of new concerned citizens.
Bill

By: Jacquie Wood

Jacquie Wood — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:34:11 +0000

Humans have become so ignorant and arrogant that we as a species have the strange idea that we are somehow seperate from the rest of Creation. If one truly believes that All was created by Creator of All That Is, how does one reconcile erradicating what Creator decided was neccessary for our planet with our momentary inconvenience? In the history of our planet we are the “cancer”, the parasite consuming all the resources that were put in place by Creator to sustain life on this planet! As a species we are the most destructive, and the species with the greatest ability to stop the destruction/pollution of our planet and find long term solutions to the poisons in thought, belief, and attitude that have enslaved us as a species for so many centuries. Wake Up People! There is no natural law to prevent the extinction of humans, if we destroy our fellow creatures, plants, insects, fish, birds, (you name it) we will finally destroy ourselves. The laugh is….Life will go on just fine without humans…Creator will continue to create, the world will continue to spin….just without us!
Be Blessed with new solutions, new beliefs, new directions for our human inventiveness!

By: Lola Hutchinson

Lola Hutchinson — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:07:26 +0000

They were there before the homes, Let them be. besides they can be a lot of fun to watch.

By: Helene

Helene — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:40:43 +0000

Thank you Diane for you support of more wildlife freedom. I have found that my third and fourth story condo gives me a lot of wildlife next to it. This is because I live next to an oak grove which is next to Grayson Creek. We get all kinds of wildlife. I protect this area, which is part of the Association, by not allowing any killing or disturbance here. So far it has worked and there are no conflicts. We do not have ground squirrels here, though.

Our group has tried hard to get the Ag. Commissioner to fund a study to show that barriers and planting alterations could work. We were turned down and basically swept under the carpet. We did not have enough support at the time. Their point was that simply it would not work and even if it did, they felt the poisons were the best option. I can only think that there is a wall that is deep enough and tall enough to keep out any animal. Even if a ground squirrel did make around a wall, a simple live trap would work. The problem with live traps is that you cannot relocate the animal. But, if you leave enough space on the other side of the wall, then it would not be considered relocation to release it there. I am also equally sure there are plants that can resist ground squirrels or ones that they simply do not like.

I would like to see more habitat built, rather than complete exclusion, though. Leaving enough space for wildlife with a wildlife friendly barrier works best for me. Build-up the open space with natives and let the wildlife flourish. Next to my condo is a non-stop wildlife show.

You can help support our group by contacting the e-mail at bhf above.

By: Diana

Diana — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:14:06 +0000

Just another example of humans thinking they are so much more important than any other species on the planet (personally, I place homo sapiens in the same category as cockroaches or any other noxious pest). Poisons for ground-burrowing rodents are a short-term fix at best; toxic fumigants are a little more effective, plus they leave no poisonous residue in the animal’s body, but not for ground squirrels, since their runs can sometimes go to 26-28 feet below the surface, unlike gophers and moles, which stay closer to ground level.

There are three solutions to the ground-rodent “problem”: the first is physical barriers, gopher fencing, lining planting beds with hardware cloth before filling them with soil and plants. The second is removing the food source by re-landscaping/hardscaping (in the case of gophers and ground squirrels) or eliminating lawn grubs, a major food source for both moles and raccoons (yeah, I know, this involves a pesticide). The third solution is – DON’T MOVE INTO AN AREA WITH A LARGE WILDLIFE POPULATION!! Try a third-floor condo in the downtown area of a larger city, and quitcher bitchin’!

Personally, I think this planet would be a far, far better place with half as many humans and twice as many critters.

By: Glenda

Glenda — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:01:08 +0000

Good Day Gary! Thank you for running this article. We live next to Buchannan Airport, with our two dogs. Our dogs always look forward to walking in the field (on leash) and hope to snag a squirrel or two, but they never do and we would never let them. Anyway, lately we noticed an eerie quite in that field and now we know why. All the ground squirrels have been eradicated by mindless humans. A couple of cats have also been noticed lying dead by the wayside, presumably having eaten a dead or dying squirrel. So who was it that said this poison wouldn’t affect other animals like dogs, cats, birds etc. ? What are these people going to go after next ? Tree squirrels, ducks and geese, feral cats ?? May the Good Lord protect all our animals and birds, because the way the world is going today we may not have many left for future mankind.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:47:43 +0000

Great points Bhf! Green building is all the rage but includes little-to-nothing about making projects safe for birds and other wildlife, including concerns about birds flying into windows, lighting, use of pesticides and rodenticides, etc. Recently here in Novato an office development has been approved in a degraded area of open space, but it abuts lots of wildlife habitat. I sent comments to the city planning commission stating that the developer should have as a condition of approval NOT to use pesticides or rodenticides, that they must only use integrated pest management. The developer agreed to tdo this. So all of us can pay attention to what’s going in with our communties and write letters about projects requesting that these things be part of the conditions of approval. I think also that any homes built next to open space must require that no cats or dogs be allowed to run loose outdoors.

By: bhf

bhf — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:52:44 +0000

One solution may be to not let people live next to wildlife unless they sign a legal document saying that they know the wildlife is there and they are willing to live with them.

Also, new home should be built in a way that limits wildlife conflicts. To get to this point, we would need a lot more cooperation among the developers and polititions to find what is acceptable construction techniques.

Living with them means just that. Not destroying their habitat or natural ways. There are plenty of home within the city if anyone is afraid of wildlife.

One last point about the emotional outcry about diseases; When was the last time you heard about disease comming from the ground squirrels? Let’s not be emotional. Rather, let’s use real logic and just say that many of us live with the ground squirrels without conflict. Why can’t those who don’t like wildlife just find a home somewhere else? Would you live in a home next to a train station if the trains woke you up all night?