Fast Action Squirrel Trapping

With the local squirrel population at a high point in its natural cycle and limited natural food available this fall, I had a feeling that trapping may be a bit easier than in the past couple of seasons. Still, we went into this week with cautious optimism. Squirrel trapping, much like fishing involves skill and a little luck. My initial hunch was proven true with the first three days of trapping being stellar.

Despite rain on  Monday and Tuesday, we have now captured 7 total squirrels and placed 5 fresh collars on individuals. Honestly, we should have placed 6 but I was duped by one squirrel who made a quick U-turn and sprang form the handling cone before I could get it secured. Moments like these are humbling with 27 scrutinous teenagers looking on. Tuesday proved to be a banner day with all four traps producing a capture, a first in our program.

Preparing to measure the hind foot length of a T.A. Squirrel, 10/3/18

Wednesday had the potential for another great day with all four traps again triggered but only two captured squirrels. As you can imagine, squirrels are clever creatures who often attempt to reach in from the side of the trap to get at the bait without entering. Often they hit the tripper and shut the trap preventing them from being able to enter at all. It can be frustrating to make our rounds and find multiple traps closed but empty. In an effort to combat this, we brush the traps in with branches to make it a little more difficult for the squirrels to reach the bait from the side. The "brushing-in" of traps also serves to make the squirrels feel more secure entering the trap. In years past we have found that bare traps sitting out in the open capture fewer squirrels than ones draped in branches.

Placing a collar on a T.A. squirrel, 10/3/18. Notice the orange beads used for individual identification. 

One of the squirrels captured on Wednesday was our first recapture of the year. A male that had been captured and collared in the same location the day before. At the time of this writing, we have fitted 5 squirrels with yellow collars, each with a different bead color for individual identification later on.

The moment a newly collared squirrel is released, 10/3/18. 

Special thanks to Hannah Kirk for sharing her great photos documenting squirrel handling procedures and my daughter, Scarlett, for sharing her beads for the good of science.