Critters ...

[brav65]

That's pretty cool. We have the big cat's around here and 10 ft might be a little too close for continued good health. They say the old ones are the ones to watch out for as they can no longer catch their normal prey. I guess that's when old geezer goes on the menu. Mike

This guy is a youngster. He hangs out in the backyard on a daily basis. A couple weeks ago he pulled out a landscape light and took it into the desert, never to be seen again. I was oiling some wood furniture with music playing and he sat and watched me all afternoon.

 

[uncle harry]

That's pretty cool. We have the big cat's around here and 10 ft might be a little too close for continued good health. They say the old ones are the ones to watch out for as they can no longer catch their normal prey. I guess that's when old geezer goes on the menu. Mike

Come on Dude, old geezer is redundant. It's bad enough just to be a geezer !

 

[RJSakowski]

You too....I especially appreciate the groundhogs that burrowed next one of the poles in my shed. They lowered the pole twice now & I have to jack up the header again. The coons, on the other hand, like to invade the crawl space under my 1888 farm house. Time to eradicate again.

We have shoot groundhog on sight policy here. The first year my British wife was here, she thought the young groundhogs sliding down the gravel pile was cute but when they ate her entire crop of green beans, I got a call at work to"come home and shoot them, NOW!". Ever since, the .22 is always loaded and ready for action.

I haven't had a problem with poles sinking but my 19th century granary foundation was undermined by them to the point where it must be completely rebuilt.

Bob

 

[uncle harry]

We have shoot groundhog on sight policy here. The first year my British wife was here, she thought the young groundhogs sliding down the gravel pile was cute but when they ate her entire crop of green beans, I got a call at work to"come home and shoot them, NOW!". Ever since, the .22 is always loaded and ready for action.

I haven't had a problem with poles sinking but my 19th century granary foundation was undermined by them to the point where it must be completely rebuilt.

We have a firearms rule in our Township. However, although I only have slightly less than 4 acres, most of it is grandfathered as agricultural. Farmers are allowed to eradicate varmits under those terms. I have a failed bladder water tank that I can plasma cut a nice rectangular opening into that will accept my live trap. Here is a case of pita & pita. One is a pain & it takes the most authority.
EDIT/add: It just occurred to me that the spring-fired pellet guns are not classified as firearms.
Hmmmmmmm...hee..hee !

 

[RJSakowski]

Harry, out here in the wilds of southwestern Wisconsin, no problem with firearms, the exception being shooting at night or just before gun deer season. I have live trapped in the past. I called the DNR about transporting to some uninhabited area (like the state park) and was told that I had to release them where I caught them. As it turns out, groundhogs are protected, except for the provision you cited. I released them but not before injecting them with 40 grains of lead. Since those early days, I had dispensed with the live trap and gone directly to the lead injection.

Bob

 

[brav65]

Growing up on the farm in NH we had woodchucks and porcupines both of which were kill on site critters. On day I was trimming weeds along the fence line and a woodchuck popped up right in front of me. I grabbed a stick and sent it to the great prairie in the sky. Then 3 little ones came out as well. I felt bad about dispatching them, but our cows would break their legs stepping in their holes. It had to be done.

One summer the town fathers announced a $2 bounty on porcupines so my brother and I (age 7) decided to make some cash. The next town meeting we walked in with two bags filled with porcupines. The town fathers changed the proof of kill from whole carcass to nose after they had to get rid of 15 dead porcupines

 

[silence dogood]

One evening after my wife got done doing the dishes, she opened the back kitchen door, threw out the water, then closed the door. Unbeknown to her, a skunk was directly in the path of the dishwater. Checking later (by the smell), we discover that was one angry skunk since it went around in circles and let loose all that it had. However, I suspect that same skunk found a way to get us back. I was driving down the road in my ford econoliner van and just missed hitting a(that?) skunk. Unfortunately, it let loose one on it's way. The miasma hit my radiator. Yep, it took a while to get rid of that fragrance. Mark

 

[nobog]

They're out there:

 

[RJSakowski]

One evening after my wife got done doing the dishes, she opened the back kitchen door, threw out the water, then closed the door. Unbeknown to her, a skunk was directly in the path of the dishwater. Checking later (by the smell), we discover that was one angry skunk since it went around in circles and let loose all that it had. However, I suspect that same skunk found a way to get us back. I was driving down the road in my ford econoliner van and just missed hitting a(that?) skunk. Unfortunately, it let loose one on it's way. The miasma hit my radiator. Yep, it took a while to get rid of that fragrance. Mark

I've had a few close encounters as well. When I was eighteen, I was coming home late one night in my '58 Buick Roadmaster. A skunk suddenly appeared squarely in front of me. With no chance to avoid it, I floored the the accelerator, hoping that my transit time was less than the skunk's reflex time. It worked. I carried home no olfactory evidence of the incident. It was laying in the road the next morning when I went to work. Unfortunately, it was also in front of my godfather's home.

Bob

 

[RJSakowski]

Growing up on the farm in NH we had woodchucks and porcupines both of which were kill on site critters. On day I was trimming weeds along the fence line and a woodchuck popped up right in front of me. I grabbed a stick and sent it to the great prairie in the sky.

beav65, I'm impressed! I have a hard time getting within .22 range of them.

+1 on the holes. I nearly lost a finger once when mowing hay and the sickle got clogged with a mixture of ground hog mound and hay. In cleaning out the clog, the bar dropped and the blade went through my finger. Fortunately, missed the bone. Back then, they weren't as clever with reconstructive surgery as they are now. The holes weren't good for horses either.

Bob