• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Why kill squirrels?

WebSlave

WebSlave

Maybe seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Yeah, I'm sure some people think I am cruel and heartless killing the poor little squirrelies. And sometimes I second guess myself, especially over the winter months, and think perhaps we can all just get along here.

But then I see the damage these tree rats will do to my bamboo groves. Like today when Connie and I took a walk around the nature trail we have.

bamboo_damage_04182020_01.jpg



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Those bamboo shoots were about 2.5 to 3 ft tall, so the squirrel(s) had to climb up them to chew the tips like they did. I have actually seen them climb up a nearby pine tree, then leap over to a 20+ ft bamboo shoot and do the same thing. Which, of course, kills that shoot.

So this just strengthens my resolve to kill every one of them that I can. No remorse. I killed two of them a week or so ago in that bamboo grove, and I thought I had terminated the two causing damage up to that point. And it did seem to stop. But it looks like one or more enterprising tree rats have moved in to take up the slack, as the damage I see looks REAL fresh. Perhaps even just this morning. So back into the hunting blind seen in one of the pictures. And hope I am down there when the perpetrator(s) comes back to continue their feeding.

:AR15firin
 
So yeah, this is why I hate squirrels. This is my largest bamboo, by far, and they seem to have quite a taste for the new shoots when they come up. Matter of fact, they will actually climb up a nearby pine tree and then leap over to a 20+ foot tall shoot to chew out the top, killing it. So they leave me no choice but to kill them.

Sorry about the fogged picture at the last half. Had a rain storm come in early morning and it apparently got moisture inside the lens. But I had seen enough. On the morning of 04/21, I was in the blind waiting for this critter. And this morning he apparently brought along a friend. So both of them got a free ticket to Squirrel Heaven.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-1ZxTopIK8
 
Well this year they REALLY pissed me off.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLKiiDHktM

Well this year the squirrels decided that our tangerines were pretty tasty and didn't seem very interested in leaving any for us. Not sure if it was just one VERY hungry squirrel or a few of them. They sure seemed to vanish in a hurry, and the trees in that one grove were just about stripped bare of fruit before I set up the hunter's blind and sent one to the happy hunting grounds. Not sure if I got the perpetrator as I saw another one helping itself to one of the other trees after that. When one showed up around the bird feeders around the same time and I made hawk food out of him, I stopped the problem before the Poncan tangerines started to vanish.

Next year I will start earlier keeping an eye on things. Shouldn't be too bad, as it seems between me giving the hawks a taste of squirrel meat and my rifle shooting skills has pretty much wiped the squirrels out around here. Been weeks since I have seen one. I still see at least one hawk stopping by to check for an offering, though.

Oh yeah, the squirrels also stripped our pear trees of fruit this year too. Any of you squirrel huggers out there that want them, come and get them. You are welcome to every last one of them to hug all you want.
 
I, for the lack of a better word, enjoy shooting squirrels. They run rampant here and knock power out regularly.
 
Squirrels Squirrels Squirrels haha. So for the first yr I actually tried seating Squirrel. Honestly it was great! I had about a dozen or so I froze throughout the yr & jus last hunting season I made 2 Squirrel pies at camp. Followed a basic rabbit pie recipe & it turned out phenomenal. Well for Squirrel haha. I was impressed. So with a Lil extra time involved in killing them they do make a good meal if prepared properly. Good luck guys
Chris
 
chrisis697 said:
Squirrels Squirrels Squirrels haha. So for the first yr I actually tried seating Squirrel. Honestly it was great! I had about a dozen or so I froze throughout the yr & jus last hunting season I made 2 Squirrel pies at camp. Followed a basic rabbit pie recipe & it turned out phenomenal. Well for Squirrel haha. I was impressed. So with a Lil extra time involved in killing them they do make a good meal if prepared properly. Good luck guys
Chris
Click to expand...

Ah, but you ARE what you EAT. And since I have now given the hawks around here a taste of squirrel, it could be dangerous for me to become part squirrel. :hehe:

Besides that, good luck to you getting Connie to gut and skin a squirrel and then throw it into the frying pan. :rofl:
 
When I'm out deer hunting, I really enjoy the squirrels. They come right up to me in the tree stand.

In the yard, they're unwelcome and get removed. They dig up plants, and chew holes in the house so they can nest in the attic (true, and awful).
 
Socratic Monologue said:
When I'm out deer hunting, I really enjoy the squirrels. They come right up to me in the tree stand.

In the yard, they're unwelcome and get removed. They dig up plants, and chew holes in the house so they can nest in the attic (true, and awful).
Click to expand...

How do you remove the squirrels? I have tried live traps, but that only worked a single time for me. Word spread rapidly among the squirrel grapevine and to this day I never caught another one that way.
 
Yes, once in a great while I'll pick one up in a trap, but in summer they aren't hungry enough to go for bait, and in winter they keep to themselves in the woods.

I just hang out in the yard with a .22 rifle. The yard is large, and surrounded by woods, so the ones that are in the yard will often retreat to the trees along the edge and think themselves safe at that distance.
 
When I was a kid we used to use a box trap to catch them. My uncle had rabbits so he always had extra cages and we would catch the squirrels in the box trap and keep them in the rabbit cages until we had a half a dozen or so then we would dispatch them and eat them. Tasted mighty fine if I recall. I do remember once when my sister was about 5 years old we were having squirrel and she was really going to town until she asked what it was and my dad said squirrel. She spit it out and almost gagged. He probably should have said chicken.

I love watching squirrels but I do know how destructive they can be so I don't blame you. Smart little buggers too.
 
Well, I am hoping that one day they will become smart enough to realize that hanging around here is REAL unhealthy for them. I don't dislike killing them as much as I used to, and that makes me a wee bit uncomfortable. I don't think anyone should really become used to killing.

But I honestly do enjoy seeing a hawk enjoying the good meal I prepared for it. And it is amusing to note that the hawks seem to relate the sound of a gun shot to being a sort of dinner bell.
 
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