Well we don't have much problem with squirrels at our place. The country side is more open with patches of trees in areas that are not flat or for other reason that prohibit farmers from planting. We did have one bushy tail meet his doom last week. He was playing on the 3 phase transformer and puled down the switch fuse there by making himself the fuse (for a very short time). We heard a loud pop like a high power air rifle. Thought the neighbor was taking practice on the black birds or something. Later when the air compressor in the shop stalled when it tried to start up I knew there was a problem with the 3 phase transfer. My oldest son, Marcus, had already investigated the loud sound and found a scorched squirrel at the bottom of the power pole. The power co-op replaced the fuse in less than 45 min. and all was back to normal. Most of the critter problems we have are from moles and voles. They don't do to much damage except to new seedlings and the carrot patch. They like the earth worms that live in the areas where we heavy mulch and augment the soil with lots of organic material Like the garlic, raspberry and blueberry patches. We use to have a small Silky Terrier that would go nuts digging holes all over the yard (and sometimes in the garden, #@*!&%$) trying to get them. As far as I know he never got one, but sure made a lot of extra work for me doing all the backing filling. For squirrels, a high powered .177 cal. air rifle with scope works great. Very accurate and not to loud. Also works on the crows pulling up corn seedlings, black birds making nests in the gazebo and others eating my Pequin Chiles as fast as the ripen. Don't eat the birds but here are some good squirrel recipes. Squirrel, along with rabbit, is one of the most popular of small game, but it is much more varied when it comes to edibility. If the squirrels have been eating acorns, which can be judged by the area in which they are taken, they should be soaked in 1 tablespoon vinegar per quart of water overnight before cooking. Squirrels have scent glands in the small of the back as well as under all four legs. These, of course, should be removed. Do not remove all of the body fat; some should be left for flavor. A young squirrel's meat is pink to rosy in color while raw; it turns a darker red as the animal ages. If you think you have an old, tough animal, soak it in 3/4 cup salad oil with 1/4 cup lemon juice for 1 hour before cooking. Many people use squirrel to stretch upland game-bird recipes, and squirrel is frequently substituted in chicken recipes. Gray squirrels dress out at about 1/2 pound, fox squirrels around 3/4 pound. Some people tell the age of a squirrel by checking the underside of the tail in a good light. If there are two or three dark bands running the length of the fur on either side, it's a young one. Older squirrels have only one such band. Information Source: THE HUNTER'S GAME COOKBOOK by Jacqueline E. Knight (c) 1978 Published by Winchester Press, New York, NY { Exported from MasterCook Mac } Squirrel Barbecue In Pressure Cooker Recipe By: Joan Cone Serving Size: 4 Preparation Time: 0:00 Categories: Squirrel Wild Game Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method 4 Squirrels cut in half 1 teaspoon Dry mustard 1 teaspoon Chili powder 1/2 cup Water 1/4 cup Catsup 3 tablespoons Chopped onion 2 tablespoons Light molasses 2 tablespoons Lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon Oregano 1/2 teaspoon Salt Combine dry mustard and chili powder and sprinkle over squirrel pieces. Place squirrel halves in pressure cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over squirrels. Close cover securely and cook under 15 pounds pressure for 20 minutes. Cool cooker at once. Thicken liquid in cooker and serve over squirrels. Allow 1 squirrel per person ----- { Exported from MasterCook Mac } Squirrel Jambalaya Recipe By: Serving Size: 1 Preparation Time: 0:00 Categories: Wild Game Squirrel Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method 1 Squirrel, medium Salt and red pepper 3 tb Oil 2 Onions, large, chopped 3 Celery stalks, chopped 1 Garlic clove, chopped 1/4 Bell pepper, chopped 4 tb Parsley, chopped 2 c Uncooked rice, washed 1 1/2 c Water 2 tb Salt 1 te cayenne pepper Cut squirrel into serving pieces and season well. Saute in oil until brown; remove from skillet. Saute onions, celery, garlic, bell pepper and parsley in oil until wilted. Replace squirrel in skillet; cover and cook slowly about 20 minutes or until squirrel is tender. Add rice and water. Stir thoroughly. Add salt. Cook slowly about 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. Hugg's Note: Browning rice in hot oil, almost as one makes a roux but more golden, gives a distinctive taste and appearance to jambalaya. Tried and proven! Also for: Add more than 1 squirrel or use wildfowl, rabbit, nutria etc. ----- Enjoy the heat, Steve ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ Uncle Steve's HOT Stuff Anything & Everything about Chiles http://usHOTstuff.com/ The Chile Seed Ring http://webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=hotseed;list ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~