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uienia ,

A lot of US defaultism going on in this thread. Americans (and perhaps British) talking about the North American grey squirrel as the incarnation of all squirrels, when people elsewhere in the world would have very different experiences with their local native squirrels, who act quite differently to those.

squirrel ,
@squirrel@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

It’s not my fault.

bhamlin ,

I’ve got my eye on you…

lvxferre ,
@lvxferre@mander.xyz avatar

Since people already answered the question, here’s some unrequested tip:

If you want mammals to avoid bird feed, mix some of the hottest chili powder and/or pepper seeds that you find into the feed. The birds won’t care, they don’t get pepper burned, but squirrels (and you) do.

Picture related:

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623236d8ac23bb57bd352b40/6275bc853c392616d3343ed3_6239db6ec942e418f01402c0_Sayaca_Tanager_feeding_on_malagueta_peppers-940x590.jpeg

ContrarianTrail ,

I disagree with the premise. Not every boomer hates squirrels. Not even every boomer with a bird feeder.

LifeInMultipleChoice ,

I normally don’t care for broad strokes like this either, but his statement was that every boomer with a bird feeder hated them, so it wasn’t all boomers. (So I’d say still broad, but a bit better than what you responded as them saying)

That said, squirrels where I was from are much more scarce than they once were. The acorns are still around, but the animals… Slowly disappearing.

ContrarianTrail ,

The title talks about boomers in general. Only in the subtext is it specified to mean the ones with birdfeeders.

itsgroundhogdayagain , (edited )

The squirells empty the bird feeders much faster than the birds would so the boomer then has to refill it sooner. Rinse and repeat until they constantly talk about the squirrels.
My parents bought my grandfather a slingshot for his squirrel problem/hatred and the dude took off part of his own thumbnail and had to go to an urgent care.

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I admit I laughed at the end.

corroded ,

A lot of boomers are really particular about well-manicured yards, pristine gardens, etc. Squirrels do not help with this.

I love seeing little divots where our squirrels bury nuts. If they eat some of our plants, then I put a cage around it or plant new ones. Seeing the little guys play and eat the food we put out for them far outweighs any minor landscaping problems they cause.

hate2bme ,

My momma is 62 and loves her squirrels as well as her birds

OhStopYellingAtMe ,
@OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world avatar

My dad is a boomer and back when I was in high school he had a pet squirrel. It would sit on his shoulder while he worked. Eat walnuts out of his shirt pocket.

InSamsara ,

Not a boomer, but squirrels are pretty much just tree rats that make loud noises, could be the cause.

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

They are of the order rodentia, but so are capybara and everyone loves those. So I think you’re incorrect.

ContrarianTrail ,

Loud noises? The only noise I’ve heard a squirrel make is the “Tsk, tsk, tsk” -sound while agressively staring me down and whipping their tail and it’s not by any means loud.

InSamsara ,

The squirrels where I live are noisy as hell, they chirp nonstop

DMBFFF ,
@DMBFFF@lemmy.world avatar

Some boomer have gardens.

AFKBRBChocolate ,

We don’t? Boomer with bird feeder who loves squirrels.

I don’t think it’s age related.

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

You’re one of the good ones.

ThePowerOfGeek ,
@ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world avatar

I’m a Gen-Xer who hates birds and squirrels equally. So I guess I’m your antithesis?

Though I don’t hate any of them to the point of harming any of them. That would be too much effort.

Skua ,

There's a delightful little red squirrel sanctuary near me run by a couple who I would guess to be in the boomer generation. The wife fell ill and wound up almost permanently bedridden, so they moved to a house that would be easier for her and which also had some attached land they could use. The husband turned it into ideal squirrel territory and set up feeders by the window so that the squirrels would come visit his wife while she was stuck in bed

SkyNTP ,

Non-boomer here, I hate squirrels.

If you try to grow your own vegetables, you too will come to hate squirrels. I promise. Ageism need not apply to squirrel hate or vegetable enthusiasm.

uienia ,

Depends on where you live. I only have the Eurasian red squirrel in my country, and they are definitely not a nuisance to any vegetable planting plans.

TerkErJerbs ,

Not a boomer and I don’t hate squirrels but one day I walked out onto the porch to have my morning coffee and a smoke and the fattest fuckin squirrel I’ve ever seen in my life was sitting there at eye level in the bird feeder staring back at me too satiated (or smug, I couldn’t tell) to move after having eaten all the feed for several days straight. I was refilling it daily which is unusual but I never thought I’d meet the culprit in this way.

It’s a thing.

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Did you nod at each other, in acknowledgment?

TerkErJerbs ,

Basically. If I remember it right I just had my smoke and went inside and later when it had waddled back to whence it came, I hung the feeder in a different place. The squirrel was well fattened for winter. The birds not so much.

RisingSwell ,

Squirrels eat the bird food meant for the birds and are extremely hard to stop

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Why are the squirrels second class citizens to the birds? Is there a bird food shortage?

RisingSwell ,

No, it’s just a bird feeder not a squirrel feeder. At least until the squirrels manage to change the signage, which they probably could if they tried hard enough.

Shadow ,
@Shadow@lemmy.ca avatar

Squirrels are an invasive species, they chew wires and mess with stuff.

Birds are pretty, sound nice, and eat bugs. They also poop on everyone’s stuff, but somehow it’s good luck if you get shit on.

wesker OP ,
@wesker@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

They have managed to invade my heart.

partial_accumen ,

Squirrels are an invasive species, they’re not native to North America.

Just how many tens of millions of years do a species need to exist in a place before you consider it native to that land?

“The earliest known North American squirrel fossil dates back to the late Eocene epoch, about 34 million years ago.” source

technocat ,

Don’t forget the obviously non-invasive european starling and european house sparrow common at feeders. /s

Shadow ,
@Shadow@lemmy.ca avatar

Only about 300 years, from your own link you kindly provided:

When European settlers first arrived in North America, they brought with them a number of animals that were not native to the continent. One of these animals was the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), which was introduced to England in the early 1600s as a curiosity.

The eastern gray squirrel quickly became popular in England, where it was kept as a pet and admired for its agility and intelligence. In the late 1700s, a group of eastern gray squirrels was introduced to New York City’s Central Park, where they quickly established a population.

Over the next few decades, the eastern gray squirrel spread rapidly across North America, aided by its adaptability and ability to thrive in a variety of habitats. Today, the eastern gray squirrel is one of the most common squirrels in North America, and it can be found in every state except for Alaska and Hawaii.

partial_accumen ,

Only about 300 years, from your own link you kindly provided:

I think you need to read that carefully again. Squirrels have been in North America for millions of years before Europeans arrived. The part you quoted was where Europeans took a specific species of squirrel found in North America, the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), back with them to England.

The rest of that quoted piece talks about that specific species of North American squirrel’s spread around other parts of North American.

Shadow ,
@Shadow@lemmy.ca avatar

Yeah you’re right, I totally read it backwards. 🤦

For us, they are invasive though: www2.gov.bc.ca/…/easterngreysquirrel_alert.pdf

partial_accumen ,

No worries!

Skua ,

North American grey squirrels are an invasive species... in Europe. They seem to be able to outcompete the native red squirrels here

partial_accumen ,

@Shadow said “they’re not native to North America.” which is incorrect. North America squirrels may be invasive on other continents but certainly not in North America.

Skua ,

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you by any means. I just thought it was kinda funny that they had the direction of the invasiveness of that particular animal backwards

Shadow ,
@Shadow@lemmy.ca avatar

Yeah I caught that and edited it before I thought anyone saw it.

chemicalwonka ,
@chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Humans are an invasive species, especially if you are a descendant of an English settler and not a native american indian

toasteecup ,

Truthfully they were also invasive. We’re only native to Africa

Lauchs ,

Birds are super good for the environment, take a quick google!

Squirrels on the other hand, are an invasive species in much of the world.

In my home province squirrels make it pretty hard for some of our local trees etc.

uienia ,

A particular species of squirrels. I think people in this thread fail to make clear that this is exclusively about the North American grey squirrel. The Eurasian red squirrel is not invasive anywhere, And I strongly doubt anyone have any problem with having them in their bird feeder, since they are solitary and relatively shy creatures.

KittenBiscuits ,

Squirrels can clean out a feeder pretty quickly. Not as fast as deer can, but much faster than the birds.

So it’s a pain in the ass to go fill it back up, and it costs money. A person gets a bird feeder because they want to watch birds. There are cheaper ways to feed squirrels, if you like squirrels.

Both squirrels and birds can build nests in your home. Squirrels can chew their way into your attic, then you risk them chewing through wires. Birds nest in your dryer vent or bathroom vent. A nest in the dryer vent is a fire hazard. And they can introduce bird mites into your home. It’s like having a bed bug infestation except you can’t see them, their bites are hella itchy, and at least they can be dealt with by multiple rounds of thorough vacuuming. Ask me how I know.

I used to love to keep a bird feeder and watch the bird party on a snowy day. But I wasn’t out to feed the deer, and the mite problem erased any lingering feelings about feeding birds.

Anissem ,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

They make a bird feeder called ‘Squirrel Buster’ which is fairly squirrel proof. I still put out food for them though, squirrels gotta eat too.

osaerisxero ,

This. I found the squirrels to leave the bird feeders and the garden alone if you leave them a danegeld of raw peanuts and maybe strap an ear of corn to the tree.

Anissem ,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

I buy in shell peanuts for wildlife and the squirrels love them. They bury them all round the property which is fun to watch. On Nextdoor I occasionally find posts from people trying to figure out where all these peanut shells are coming from in my neighborhood.

TheWilliamist ,

You sometimes have to be careful with corn… I picked up some cheap bird food with corn in it, the squirrels got into it and buried kernels all around the yard. My wife just about went crazy yanking corn sprouts out of our and the neighbors yard! 😄

SpaceNoodle ,

Free corn tho

Aggravationstation ,

🎵 Oh strap an ear of corn, to the old oak tree… 🎵

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