[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello,

This squirrel season I've not seen but one. I shot it.

Even in Wabash Town, where they usually thrive, they're not near as thick as previous years.

Been hearing the coyotes pretty close, but I've heard that before and it didn't really affect the squirrel population. (The rabbit population was a different story).

I almost wonder if there was a decrease in town and the woodland critters migrated that way for scraps.

Still plenty of deer, to the point I'm thinking of popping one or a few this year to thin the home herd.

Just the squirrels, and to a point, chipmunks, have disappeared.

I'm hoping for a light dusting of snow here soon so I can track with more certainty.

It's been unseasonably warm. It's near December and still reaching into the 60s some days, so I doubt it's a food issue. Good yield from the apple tree this year too. Plenty for the squirrel, deer, and whatever else.

Figure I'll start spreading food in a clearing to see what I can come up with. Help everything through the winter, too. As I teach part-time, I can come up with all sorts of stale biscuits and such from students who work at fast-food joints. The fat content and carbs should help all the critters through the winter.

But I'm off on a tangent.

Anyone know what's happening with the squirrels? Is this countywide, Indiana-wide, or nationwide?

I'd be interested in hearing from folks in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky as well as Indiana.

Thanks!

Josh

[JonM]

Lots of squirrels and chippers here but i dont shoot em and neither do my neighbors.

My wife tried to get rid of the chippers but after a few years of failure i finally convinced her to just bribe them off by spreading seed in her flower beds every few days. On chppers bribery works better than brute force

[cswann1]

I haven't squirrel hunted in a long time so I couldn't say for sure.
It could be that you have a very healthy population of hawks and such in your area. I would image that they'd prey on young squirrels.

[WDbeej]

Squirrel population seems about the same here, near where the black squirrels of Kent roam. Many years ago some european black squirrels escaped from Kent State University and have been thriving. Got some near my home and the closer you get to Kent, the more you see.

[lonyaeger]

TONS of squirrels down this way.

[HotFudge]

It may be because of hawks. I've noticed there's alot less in my hunting area this year. Beech and Hickories had a good year, and the weather has been good, but this is also the first year that a chickenhawk has been roosting in the area.

[winds-of-change]

Originally Posted by JonM

Lots of squirrels and chippers here but i dont shoot em and neither do my neighbors.

My wife tried to get rid of the chippers but after a few years of failure i finally convinced her to just bribe them off by spreading seed in her flower beds every few days. On chppers bribery works better than brute force

We have squirrels all over the place, too.

What's a chipper?

[dunerunner]

They have been pretty scarce here too, where there used to be hoards! The neighbor feeds raw peanuts to the birds (the shells end up in my rain gutters) and that usually draws the rodents, but they have been conspicuously missing the past two years.

[orangello]

Plenty of squirrels down here, though i haven't been out in the woods much this year and none hunting.

Originally Posted by JonM

On chppers bribery works better than brute force

My lil black rodenticidal kitty would disagree.

[ACRhino]

I only see them when I don't have my shotgun lol.