It's a Jungle Right Here...........

[SemperFiGuy]

So----I live in Omaha between W. Center and Pacific.   Around 120th Street.   Not the Heart of Town, but not out in the country, either.

In recent times the following critters have been seen in my back yard:

Red fox
Red Squirrels  [by the squadron]
Rabbits    [see immediately above]
Occasional Black Squirrels  [variant of red squirrel]
Woodchucks
Possums
Raccoons
Voles
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels
40+ Documented Varieties of Wild Birds

Right now I have a family of Sharp-Shinned Hawks [2 adults; 2 youngsters] back there that are eating all the songbirds and whatever else they can find.   Kind of a massacre.  Or a Gorging Orgy.   Whatever.   They don't even pay attention to me any more.   Oh, yes.....they will each eat Old Hotdogs, Brats, and refrigerator meat spoilage when left out.   So much for the idea of  Noble Wild Winged Hunting Machines.

The irony is that I've gone squirrel hunting, come home tired and fretful and empty-handed, and seen more squirrels in my back yard than in the field.

Last year by May I had Hav-a-harted 12 possum, 1 raccoon, and one Very Angry Housecat, minus collar and ID tag.   Took 'em all to Boys Town and released them.   Except the cat.

Formerly took 'em to Omaha Humane Society, but found that OHS takes 'em right back to your neighborhood and releases them.   Lady told me, "Well.....we don't want to stress them by taking them out of their habitat."   My, my, my....how sweet!!

I know of a case where someone .177ed a total of 68 squirrels in two months in a local backyard.   Made no difference.   The other squirrels on the perimeter just came piling in to fill the vacuum.   Like emptying the ocean with a thimble.

So--what's the point of all this??    Let's hunt in our back yards.

Saves gas.   Saves SUV wear and tear.  Saves time......   Probably saves money, too.

Anybody got pheasants??

sfg

[FarmerRick]

So----I live in Omaha between W. Center and Pacific.   Around 120th Street.   Not the Heart of Town, but not out in the country, either.

In recent times the following critters have been seen in my back yard:

Red fox
Red Squirrels  [by the squadron]
Rabbits    [see immediately above]
Occasional Black Squirrels  [variant of red squirrel]
Woodchucks
Possums
Raccoons
Voles
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels
40+ Documented Varieties of Wild Birds

Right now I have a family of Sharp-Shinned Hawks [2 adults; 2 youngsters] back there that are eating all the songbirds and whatever else they can find.   Kind of a massacre.  Or a Gorging Orgy.   Whatever.   They don't even pay attention to me any more.   Oh, yes.....they will each eat Old Hotdogs, Brats, and refrigerator meat spoilage when left out.   So much for the idea of  Noble Wild Winged Hunting Machines.

The irony is that I've gone squirrel hunting, come home tired and fretful and empty-handed, and seen more squirrels in my back yard than in the field.

Last year by May I had Hav-a-harted 12 possum, 1 raccoon, and one Very Angry Housecat, minus collar and ID tag.   Took 'em all to Boys Town and released them.   Except the cat.

Formerly took 'em to Omaha Humane Society, but found that OHS takes 'em right back to your neighborhood and releases them.   Lady told me, "Well.....we don't want to stress them by taking them out of their habitat."   My, my, my....how sweet!!

I know of a case where someone .177ed a total of 68 squirrels in two months in a local backyard.   Made no difference.   The other squirrels on the perimeter just came piling in to fill the vacuum.   Like emptying the ocean with a thimble.

So--what's the point of all this??    Let's hunt in our back yards.

Saves gas.   Saves SUV wear and tear.  Saves time......   Probably saves money, too.

Anybody got pheasants??

sfg

No pheasants, but I've hit at least 6 doves on my way to work since Independence Day.   


Woodchucks, never seen them around here until we moved back from Montana in 2001. Now they're all over.
Rabbits, not as plentiful as the last couple years and the dumb cats would rather watch them than chase them.
Red Fox, see one now and then but not many.
Squirrels, hardly any near us but not many nut-bearing trees here either.
Possums, thinned them out a bit last year(10 or so)
Raccoons, plenty thick with them... shot 4 out of a mulberry tree by the corn crib within 5 minutes about a month
ago.
Voles, had a few but not so bad this year.
Ground Squirrels, have a family or 2 on the edge of my lane. Plan on trying to pop a few this weekend.
Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Ravens are very plentiful.

Deer, seen some fawn tracks a few weeks ago near the barn. Pretty thinned out in these parts.



They all go where the food is.

[NENick]

Everyone needs to swing by moeller arms and pickup a suppressed .22

[unfy]

Everyone needs to swing by moeller arms and pickup a suppressed .22

Oh if I didn't live in city limits

[Hank]

I  had to google search Vole. Funny I never heard of a vole but what a strange coincidence, that not long ago at all I believe I seen one at a friends house. I remember making the remark that it looked like a mouse on steroids
Plenty of wildlife around my place however in the 8 yrs. I have been here only seen one pheasant.

[metaldoc]

In my 'backyard'; rabbits, (unfortunately no jack rabbits anymore), squirrels, mostly reds, some grey and an occasional black, woodchucks, badgers, ground squirrels, beaver, mink, weasel, skunks, opossums and raccoons, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions (of course the NG&P says there aren't any), moles, voles, field mice, garter and bull snakes,  hawks, vultures and eagles, pheasants and quail, wild turkeys and deer, way too many birds to list.   Then there are the feral (and domestic) cats and wild dogs.

Probably missed something...

[NENick]

Then there are the feral (and domestic) cats

I'm so effing tired of my girlfriend's cats puking on anything and everything, using the litter box and walking on the table and counters... Someone please come hunting in my apartment and bring your suppressed .22, or a big rock.

[Mudinyeri]

My yard was overrun by rabbits.  They chewed all the very expensive perennials to the ground.  A combination of .177 and Labrador Retriever has reined in the population a bit.

[Hank]

I'm so effing tired of my girlfriend's cats puking on anything and everything, using the litter box and walking on the table and counters... Someone please come hunting in my apartment and bring your suppressed .22, or a big rock.

Consider yourself lucky! The two we have do all of the above, AND scratch on furniture, walls and even television sets (lucky none of the newer flat screens). I am thankful though that at least they use the litterbox, and yeah you know they been on a table when you see the cat litter trail up there. For the most part they stay off counters and kitchen table...they somewhat learned that was not a good thing after taking flight a couple times..if ya know what I mean?

[NENick]

Consider yourself lucky! The two we have do all of the above, AND scratch on furniture, walls and even television sets (lucky none of the newer flat screens). I am thankful though that at least they use the litterbox, and yeah you know they been on a table when you see the cat litter trail up there. For the most part they stay off counters and kitchen table...they somewhat learned that was not a good thing after taking flight a couple times..if ya know what I mean?

It gets worse. Her cats have figured out that they can get attention by beating on and screaming at the bedroom door at 0430 in the morning. They also chew on my things/equipment. I told her they they may get chucked off our balcony.

The final nail in the coffin is that the orange one isn't even nice. It bites and hisses whenever it wants. We pay its rent, buy it's food, and clean it's poop.

Of course she loves it though, so I'll be trapped until it dies (15 years from now).

[SemperFiGuy]

    I'm so effing tired of my girlfriend's cats puking on anything and everything, using the litter box and walking on the table and counters... Someone please come hunting in my apartment and bring your suppressed .22, or a big rock.

Consider yourself lucky! The two we have do all of the above, AND scratch on furniture, walls and even television sets (lucky none of the newer flat screens). I am thankful though that at least they use the litterbox, and yeah you know they been on a table when you see the cat litter trail up there. For the most part they stay off counters and kitchen table...they somewhat learned that was not a good thing after taking flight a couple times..if ya know what I mean?

Y'all might want to consider sending a PM to Forum Member feralcatkiller.


You could buy him lunch afterwards.    Or maybe a coupla boxes of his favorite shells.  He might even free lance.

Just a thought.

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[ILoveCats]

Have you watched "My Cat from Hell"?  I just discovered it while I was flipping around the tube a couple weeks ago.  I can't believe the way some of these cats act, but yours sound like real contenders for the show.  Maybe this guy can come save the day.

I'd love to be a special guest star on that show some day, but if I saw a cat acting like that the filming would be over in about one minute and a taser would be involved.

[ILoveCats]

Incidentally, Virginia recently allowed air rifles on private property so long as the shooter could safely contain the pellet / BB within his own property, or had the permission of the owner of the property onto which the pellet would land. 

It got some folks' panties in a bunch, but seems reasonable enough if you have to deal with squirrel or rabbit infestations.

http://virginiashootingsportsassociation.blogspot.com/2011/06/fairfax-county-frets-over-new-air-rifle.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2730511/posts