A friend tried the electric traps for rats and it does work. It uses a converter to boost the voltage. Squirrels might be too large. Richard Wagner Vista, CA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Friday, December 30, 2005 4:20 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] REPLY: Moles and other Geophyte predators > Ernie O'Byrne and his authorities are indeed right about the Townsend's > mole eating bulbs. They eat plenty of tulips and crocuses here. > > My preferred mode of attack, other than the dogs (which catch them often > at > night), is the Giant Destroyer, which is a stinking smoke flare that you > light and shove down their runs. I don't know whether it kills them or > just > offends them, but they do depart for a while. The very name of the device > is satisfying, too. > > Of course, the territorial animals soon come back, their population always > replaced by new ones from the forests and fields. You could probably get > rid of them in an urban setting, however. > > In a catalog I see a battery-operated rat trap which is supposed to > electrocute the rats. I wonder if it would work for squirrels? Can a few > batteries really electrocute a small animal? It's $70, but I may invest in > one just to see. I noticed a squirrel streaking across the field the other > day and suspect it may be what's after my crocuses, though they're far > enough from trees that I didn't expect squirrels to approach them. (The > local squirrel species, the Douglas squirrel, named for David Douglas of > plant-hunting fame, is smaller than the European and eastern American > species.) So far my desperation maneuver of putting dishes of sunflower > seeds in the bulb frame has forestalled any more digging of crocuses, but > it's not a really good idea. > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon, USA > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php