So... There was a squirrel that wouldn't leave my basement

MikeGoob · November 20, 2017, 05:03 PM

I tried everything: Traps were licked clean of peanut butter 2 times without springing. We chased it around the basement with poles to try to 'shoo' it out the doors or windows and no luck. I considered rat traps or glue traps but was not sure how to keep a squirrel from making a mess if wounded.

In the end, after 3 days we had friends bring a terrier type dog to chase it around and corner it good. And I decided to shoot it with an SR22 (my only .22)

The backdrop seemed safe, relatively soft pine 1x4 boards (bed slats) and dispatched him. My wife was concerned about ricochet in our cinderblock/cement basement. I thought there was little to no risk of that with lead HP .22 ---BUT online searching says .22 DOES ricochet more than others.

Could I have done things better? We are leaving out of town for thanksgiving and I did not want this guy having the run of the place alone...

--edit to add, the trap was a proper squirrel trap that I rented from a lawn & garden place. This squirrel just seemed to know how to lick and not trigger it...!

Art Eatman · November 20, 2017, 05:10 PM

.22? If there is a next time, use the #12 rat shot and don't worry about a clean kill.

Mothballs discourage little critters, from mice to skunks. If there is an exit, the aroma of camphor will make them leave.

Grant D · November 20, 2017, 05:14 PM

I would have used rat shot in my 38 special.

444 · November 20, 2017, 05:21 PM

That is a great story. Novel approach with the dog. I would have never thought of that.

I would have used an air gun. Without seeing what the shot consisted of, I will have to say that I would have been very hesitant about firing a .22LR in the basement. But, it sounds like it worked and nothing was damaged and no one was hurt; so, great solution.

I remember hearing a bunch of noise in the basement when I was a kid. I went to see what was going on and my dad was shooting at a squirrel in the basement with my Daisy BB gun. It was running around on the plumbing pipes all over the ceiling. It was hillarious. He killed it and then since I was standing there laughing at him, he turned and told me to get rid of the body

Doyle · November 20, 2017, 05:59 PM

Sounds like a really good excuse to buy a pellet gun. I killed a ton of squirrels with my Crossman when I was a kid.

MikeGoob · November 20, 2017, 08:31 PM

Thanks for the replies---I'm surprised at people recommending shot--I would think round steel bbs bounce around and ricochet far more than expanding lead?

Art Eatman · November 20, 2017, 09:06 PM

In the .22, the tiny #12s are lead. Probably lead in all the "snake" loads for revolvers.

HiBC · November 20, 2017, 09:08 PM

Those 22 rat shot would work . I wouldn't worry to much about ricochet. Wear glasses.I would not use the centerfire ones.
A CCI brand "CB Long " would be near silent and adequate. In my experience,quite accurate.There was a "wax bullet" era,of shooting wax plugs driven by a primer.CCI/Speer MIGHT still make plastic bullets/cartridge cases to be primer driven.Pretty accurate and they would roll a squirrel,I think.

But the real reason for my reply...as a school custodian I have some mousetrap experience. I'm talking the wood Victor traps with metal triggers,not the yellow plastic.

You are right.Its incredible how those boogers can lick all the peanut butter off.
It was a Caddy Shack thing.

Here is what you do.Smoosh a raisin into that little doohickey on the trigger paddle. Then put your peanut butter on. They can't lick that raisin off,and they won't leave it! Whack!!
I've had less luck with the glue traps,but they work. Done right,they are more PC than a whack trap in a 1st grade class or the teacher lounge.Those mice twitch a bit sometimes. Kids go home "Mommy,Mommy,there was a RAT in my class today and it kicked and rolled around and the teacher screamed and blood came out his nose then his tail wiggled and he died."
The Principal really did not like the phone calls.
The trick is they make a box about 2 in tall you put the glue trap in and close the lid.There are little doors in the end to let the mouse in.The drama stays in the box.
I suppose you could use a bigger box and put in 2 or 3 glue traps.
The box prevents mess.

MikeGoob · November 20, 2017, 09:22 PM

This is the video that changed my mind about the glue traps. I didnt want the thing freaking out around my basement sticking to things...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI-n_zhBm1s

Rob228 · November 21, 2017, 07:22 AM

I had a co-worker find a mouse in a glue trap one night at work and he set it outside (this was at Camp Pendleton CA). About an hour later we found an owl with its feet glued together trying to eat the mouse. We threw a sweater over the owl and cleaned the glue off with hand sanitizer and it flew off no worse for the wear.

I actually had luck on ground squirrels in the same location with rat traps and peanut butter, but it would not fully kill them.

peterg7 · November 21, 2017, 08:45 AM

Don’t know if they still make them but the old man used to keep a box of .22Lr shot cartridges for small vermin.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MikeGoob · November 21, 2017, 08:56 AM

I'm honestly skeptical about the 22 shotshell for anything bigger than a mouse/snake/rat ... This review shows it bouncing back and barely breaking a water jug from a yard away...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWZxFX2g2o

Art Eatman · November 21, 2017, 10:56 AM

A glue strip with a dab of peanut butter in the center works well. Heck, add a raisin.

Close-range squirrel? Try a CB cap.

OzeanJaeger · November 21, 2017, 10:59 AM

My wife would FREAK if I shot any firearm in the house that wasn't at a two legged intruder, period, end of story.

If I lived alone I'd probably have a bullet trap in my basement!

rodwhaincamo · November 21, 2017, 12:02 PM

I'd like to see those shot shells fired into gel to get a true understanding of what it's capable
of. Penetrating two sides of plastic and barely scratching the jug behind it doesn't sound very powerful. However he was also using a handgun. A rifle would certainly increase the velocity.

#12 shot isn't very impressive but then I suppose holes in their little head would work.

I'd also have looked for CB caps. No powder just the primer to sling the bullet. But still good for little critters like that.

GeauxTide · November 21, 2017, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Sounds like a really good excuse to buy a pellet gun. I killed a ton of squirrels with my Crossman when I was a kid.

I bought a .20 Caliber Sheridan Blue Streak in the 80s and have dispatched lots of squirrels and chipmunks at 25-50 feet off the deck. Squirrels love green tomatoes, so I have to pop one or two and they leave them alone. It only takes one chipmunk and they move out. Since Benjamin bought Sheridan, the 22 is the only option.

Lohman446 · November 21, 2017, 12:58 PM

My dad still has some shot shells for his .44 magnum. Before I was born in one of the old farm houses there was a rat issue in the basement. He said they worked well.

MikeGoob · November 21, 2017, 04:11 PM

Quote:

My wife would FREAK if I shot any firearm in the house that wasn't at a two legged intruder, period, end of story.

If I lived alone I'd probably have a bullet trap in my basement!

We spent a few days trying it her way before I got permission to try it my way

peterg7 · November 21, 2017, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeGoob

I'm honestly skeptical about the 22 shotshell for anything bigger than a mouse/snake/rat ... This review shows it bouncing back and barely breaking a water jug from a yard away...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWZxFX2g2o

That must be a modern version. the one I remember had a brass crimp, don’t know shot size but it killed mice-chipmunks, maybe Red squirrels up close.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JWT · November 21, 2017, 05:22 PM

Nothing smaller than a 12 ga. With 00buckshot.. those critters are dangerous when wounded...

Snub357 · November 21, 2017, 05:35 PM

Had them come down my chimney a few years ago, while I was away for a week. what I came home to was NOT pretty. I hate squirrels since that incident. Since then I've had to kill only one that got into the house through a basement window, and he was dispatched with an arrow.

Pahoo · November 21, 2017, 08:07 PM

The last time I had a situation like this, I wore a heavy long sleeve shirt, leather glove and a hand dip-net. It got pretty busy but thankfully, he got tired before I did and managed to catch him and take him outside. I don't want to do that again. I have also used a small HavaHeart trap. ....

Be Safe !!!

rodwhaincamo · November 22, 2017, 10:36 AM

I've had a squirrel try to kill us. Mean little b@stard!

The wife was driving my truck and began to freak out. Everything seemed fine to me so I asked. We were going about 50 mph and she said she was on the brakes. She let off and it picked up more speed. Idiot me wondered about neutral which just sent the RPM's up and having the transmission berate me for having done that. So I told her I'd do it again and to have her turn off the ignition pulling over to the side, but that she'd really need to be heavy footed on the brakes as we'd lose power braking. Nothing I could think of fixed it so we had a friend with a trailer take it to the mechanic. A squirrel had eaten its way through the air filter and was storing nuts inside the intake. A piece of chewed nut was stuck in there creating this situation. Luckily they cleaned that all out for free but then we also had to replace the rotors/pads and air filter. I also cut a piece of chicken wire and stuffed it down into the fender so it couldn't make its way back in. Been thinking about a pellet gun since as I see them mocking me often enough.

Chainsaw. · November 22, 2017, 11:29 AM

How could you miss such a glaringly obvious choice? The answer, the US model M2 flame thrower, with a maximum range of 40 meters you could have taken care of rhe squirrel, dobe a lovely remodel and had a side dish for thanks giving!

TXAZ · November 22, 2017, 12:12 PM

This was fun, you can build your own machine gun to deal with rodents too.

I started with 2" PVC pipe as a safety housing / protective shroud.
I decided on very high speed .11 caliber (e-16) projectile with coaxial barrels pointing at each other to give them a 1-2 punch of billions of bullets when they walked between into the line of fire.

The machine gun was set to fire approximately a billion-billion bullets when the rat, mouse or squirrel walked into the line of fire.

Here's the machine gun from the outside:

Here's the coaxial (almost) aligned barrels inside the protective shroud:

Yep, it works. Smoked rodent for Thanksgiving.
Tasty.
Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

(P.S. Blueprints available, please don't tell the ATF I built a ultrafast coaxial machinegun)

November 20, 2017, 05:21 PM	#4
444 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2000 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,968	That is a great story. Novel approach with the dog. I would have never thought of that. I would have used an air gun. Without seeing what the shot consisted of, I will have to say that I would have been very hesitant about firing a .22LR in the basement. But, it sounds like it worked and nothing was damaged and no one was hurt; so, great solution. I remember hearing a bunch of noise in the basement when I was a kid. I went to see what was going on and my dad was shooting at a squirrel in the basement with my Daisy BB gun. It was running around on the plumbing pipes all over the ceiling. It was hillarious. He killed it and then since I was standing there laughing at him, he turned and told me to get rid of the body __________________ You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British Regulars fired and fled, How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard wall, Chasing the redcoats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.

November 21, 2017, 05:35 PM	#21
Snub357 Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2002 Posts: 484	Had them come down my chimney a few years ago, while I was away for a week. what I came home to was NOT pretty. I hate squirrels since that incident. Since then I've had to kill only one that got into the house through a basement window, and he was dispatched with an arrow. __________________ [Insert prattle here]

November 21, 2017, 08:07 PM	#22
Pahoo Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2006 Location: IOWA Posts: 8,783	great workout The last time I had a situation like this, I wore a heavy long sleeve shirt, leather glove and a hand dip-net. It got pretty busy but thankfully, he got tired before I did and managed to catch him and take him outside. I don't want to do that again. I have also used a small HavaHeart trap. .... Be Safe !!! __________________ 'Fundamental truths' are easy to recognize because they are verified daily through simple observation and thus, require no testing.

November 22, 2017, 11:29 AM	#24
Chainsaw. Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2015 Location: Issaquah WA. Its a dry rain. Posts: 1,774	How could you miss such a glaringly obvious choice? The answer, the US model M2 flame thrower, with a maximum range of 40 meters you could have taken care of rhe squirrel, dobe a lovely remodel and had a side dish for thanks giving! __________________ Just shoot the damn thing.

November 22, 2017, 12:12 PM	#25
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	I built a small caliber minature machine gun to deal with rodents This was fun, you can build your own machine gun to deal with rodents too. I started with 2" PVC pipe as a safety housing / protective shroud. I decided on very high speed .11 caliber (e-16) projectile with coaxial barrels pointing at each other to give them a 1-2 punch of billions of bullets when they walked between into the line of fire. The machine gun was set to fire approximately a billion-billion bullets when the rat, mouse or squirrel walked into the line of fire. Here's the machine gun from the outside: Here's the coaxial (almost) aligned barrels inside the protective shroud: Yep, it works. Smoked rodent for Thanksgiving. Tasty. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. (P.S. Blueprints available, please don't tell the ATF I built a ultrafast coaxial machinegun) __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

November 20, 2017, 05:03 PM	#1
MikeGoob Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2006 Posts: 876	So... There was a squirrel that wouldn't leave my basement I tried everything: Traps were licked clean of peanut butter 2 times without springing. We chased it around the basement with poles to try to 'shoo' it out the doors or windows and no luck. I considered rat traps or glue traps but was not sure how to keep a squirrel from making a mess if wounded. In the end, after 3 days we had friends bring a terrier type dog to chase it around and corner it good. And I decided to shoot it with an SR22 (my only .22) The backdrop seemed safe, relatively soft pine 1x4 boards (bed slats) and dispatched him. My wife was concerned about ricochet in our cinderblock/cement basement. I thought there was little to no risk of that with lead HP .22 ---BUT online searching says .22 DOES ricochet more than others. Could I have done things better? We are leaving out of town for thanksgiving and I did not want this guy having the run of the place alone... --edit to add, the trap was a proper squirrel trap that I rented from a lawn & garden place. This squirrel just seemed to know how to lick and not trigger it...!

November 20, 2017, 05:10 PM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	.22? If there is a next time, use the #12 rat shot and don't worry about a clean kill. Mothballs discourage little critters, from mice to skunks. If there is an exit, the aroma of camphor will make them leave.

November 20, 2017, 05:14 PM	#3
Grant D Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2011 Location: Brazos County, Texas Posts: 1,038	I would have used rat shot in my 38 special.

November 20, 2017, 05:59 PM	#5
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Sounds like a really good excuse to buy a pellet gun. I killed a ton of squirrels with my Crossman when I was a kid.

November 20, 2017, 08:31 PM	#6
MikeGoob Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2006 Posts: 876	Thanks for the replies---I'm surprised at people recommending shot--I would think round steel bbs bounce around and ricochet far more than expanding lead?

November 20, 2017, 09:06 PM	#7
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	In the .22, the tiny #12s are lead. Probably lead in all the "snake" loads for revolvers.

November 20, 2017, 09:08 PM	#8
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,283	Those 22 rat shot would work . I wouldn't worry to much about ricochet. Wear glasses.I would not use the centerfire ones. A CCI brand "CB Long " would be near silent and adequate. In my experience,quite accurate.There was a "wax bullet" era,of shooting wax plugs driven by a primer.CCI/Speer MIGHT still make plastic bullets/cartridge cases to be primer driven.Pretty accurate and they would roll a squirrel,I think. But the real reason for my reply...as a school custodian I have some mousetrap experience. I'm talking the wood Victor traps with metal triggers,not the yellow plastic. You are right.Its incredible how those boogers can lick all the peanut butter off. It was a Caddy Shack thing. Here is what you do.Smoosh a raisin into that little doohickey on the trigger paddle. Then put your peanut butter on. They can't lick that raisin off,and they won't leave it! Whack!! I've had less luck with the glue traps,but they work. Done right,they are more PC than a whack trap in a 1st grade class or the teacher lounge.Those mice twitch a bit sometimes. Kids go home "Mommy,Mommy,there was a RAT in my class today and it kicked and rolled around and the teacher screamed and blood came out his nose then his tail wiggled and he died." The Principal really did not like the phone calls. The trick is they make a box about 2 in tall you put the glue trap in and close the lid.There are little doors in the end to let the mouse in.The drama stays in the box. I suppose you could use a bigger box and put in 2 or 3 glue traps. The box prevents mess.

November 20, 2017, 09:22 PM	#9
MikeGoob Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2006 Posts: 876	This is the video that changed my mind about the glue traps. I didnt want the thing freaking out around my basement sticking to things... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI-n_zhBm1s

November 21, 2017, 07:22 AM	#10
Rob228 Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2010 Location: Hampstead NC Posts: 1,450	I had a co-worker find a mouse in a glue trap one night at work and he set it outside (this was at Camp Pendleton CA). About an hour later we found an owl with its feet glued together trying to eat the mouse. We threw a sweater over the owl and cleaned the glue off with hand sanitizer and it flew off no worse for the wear. I actually had luck on ground squirrels in the same location with rat traps and peanut butter, but it would not fully kill them.

November 21, 2017, 08:45 AM	#11
peterg7 Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2017 Posts: 316	Don’t know if they still make them but the old man used to keep a box of .22Lr shot cartridges for small vermin. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

November 21, 2017, 08:56 AM	#12
MikeGoob Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2006 Posts: 876	I'm honestly skeptical about the 22 shotshell for anything bigger than a mouse/snake/rat ... This review shows it bouncing back and barely breaking a water jug from a yard away...? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWZxFX2g2o

November 21, 2017, 10:56 AM	#13
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	A glue strip with a dab of peanut butter in the center works well. Heck, add a raisin. Close-range squirrel? Try a CB cap.

November 21, 2017, 10:59 AM	#14
OzeanJaeger Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2014 Posts: 301	My wife would FREAK if I shot any firearm in the house that wasn't at a two legged intruder, period, end of story. If I lived alone I'd probably have a bullet trap in my basement!

November 21, 2017, 12:02 PM	#15
rodwhaincamo Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,246	I'd like to see those shot shells fired into gel to get a true understanding of what it's capable of. Penetrating two sides of plastic and barely scratching the jug behind it doesn't sound very powerful. However he was also using a handgun. A rifle would certainly increase the velocity. #12 shot isn't very impressive but then I suppose holes in their little head would work. I'd also have looked for CB caps. No powder just the primer to sling the bullet. But still good for little critters like that.

November 21, 2017, 12:58 PM	#17
Lohman446 Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2016 Posts: 2,192	My dad still has some shot shells for his .44 magnum. Before I was born in one of the old farm houses there was a rat issue in the basement. He said they worked well.

November 21, 2017, 05:22 PM	#20
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 3,888	Nothing smaller than a 12 ga. With 00buckshot.. those critters are dangerous when wounded...

November 22, 2017, 10:36 AM	#23
rodwhaincamo Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,246	I've had a squirrel try to kill us. Mean little b@stard! The wife was driving my truck and began to freak out. Everything seemed fine to me so I asked. We were going about 50 mph and she said she was on the brakes. She let off and it picked up more speed. Idiot me wondered about neutral which just sent the RPM's up and having the transmission berate me for having done that. So I told her I'd do it again and to have her turn off the ignition pulling over to the side, but that she'd really need to be heavy footed on the brakes as we'd lose power braking. Nothing I could think of fixed it so we had a friend with a trailer take it to the mechanic. A squirrel had eaten its way through the air filter and was storing nuts inside the intake. A piece of chewed nut was stuck in there creating this situation. Luckily they cleaned that all out for free but then we also had to replace the rotors/pads and air filter. I also cut a piece of chicken wire and stuffed it down into the fender so it couldn't make its way back in. Been thinking about a pellet gun since as I see them mocking me often enough.

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