Are you allowed to shoot a squirrel on your property?

[CTyankee]

As a Literacy Volunteer I had a student from China ask me that. I said I didn't know except that having a gun in the first place is more the question. I then explained gun control laws in New Haven.

I asked her why she asked. She said she thought squirrels were vermin or something. I said most people here kinda like squirrels, think they're cute. But I guess they are rodents with lots more fur so I can see how someone from China would look at them differently.

Cultures differ. They're funny that way...

[Renew Deal]

1. I doubt you can fire a gun in New Haven

[CTyankee]

2. Well, yes, I would think so.

We also have deer very close to my house because I am 3 blocks away from t he Yale Golf Course. I doubt, even with a permit, you could shoot one of the deer who live in the environs of the Golf Course. They would probably be regulated by laws related to hunting game. But squirrels aren't usually thought of as game.

interesting question.

[GGJohn]

3. If you're in a city, probably not.

Most cities have laws against firing a gun within city limits unless it's in defense of yourself or others.

[madinmaryland]

38. I had a friend up in Terryville, CT who used shoot squirrels

and other small varmits on his property. I doubt he could do it in New Haven or Waterbury.

[Xyzse]

4. Squirrels are cute until they nibble on your roof, sidings and run around within the underside

Of the roof, in between the rafters and all of that.

Then, you might consider getting a BB gun and pinging them now and then.
However, a super soaker with fox urine, as smelly as it is, works apparently as a deterrent.

[Marie Marie]

13. Tree Rats with bushy tails.

They drain me of bird seed, break my feeders and are generally destructive rodents. I love animals but anything in the rodent family just gives me the willys.

[Art_from_Ark]

14. What about hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs?

[Marie Marie]

23. Love rabbits - hamsters and guinea pigs, not so much.

Rabbits aren't rodents but you made me look that up.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

35. Wait.... 'super soaker with fox urine'

Locked and loaded; good thing I stocked up on fox urine before the whole rapture/zombie apocalypse thing!

[Xyzse]

36. Exactly!

[mysuzuki2]

5. I like squirrels.

When I was a kid in Minn., several family members were hunters and squirrel showed up in the stewpot more than once. I don't remember what they tasted like, but I do remember eating it without complaint. But if you really want to be rid of them, or at least control their numbers, get a large dog. They do not come into my yard anymore as much after I got my golden retriever Dexie. Word soon got around in the squirrel community that he would catch and kill them.

[hunter]

6. Our dogs do not allow squirrels on our property.

They haven't caught one yet, but they do catch rats.

[Brother Buzz]

7. SQUIRREL!!!

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. There was a back yard squirrel that drove our beagle

nuts. One day the squirrel was sitting on a branch above our dog, Bromley. Bromley was howling like crazy. Then he ran away and came inside. I petted his back and it was wet. The squirrel had peed on him!

[Kali]

8. cultures do differ

I can shoot them here where I am. they are cute, a few years ago I had a baby I raised and kept for a pet, but at the same time when they get too thick they are very destructive and steal a lot of pecans and fruit, and domestic animal feed. they destroy wood and can wreck vacant a room or house in a short while if they aren't noticed.

trapping works better than shooting.

I am reminded of a Fat Freddy's Cat cartoon where there is a large ugly urban rat eating out of a trash can and he says "What? I used to be a cute lil squoil before all the hair fell out of my tail"

[Major Nikon]

21. Brings back fond memories

[Mendocino]

34. Sometimes

referred to as F. Frederick Skitty. I heard about an animated claymation Freak Brothers movie, but it seems to be stalled.

[grntuscarora]

10. Can't shoot 'em where I live,

but I sometimes dream about it when the gluttons eat all the birdseed from my feeder. Seriously, our squirrels are the size of groundhogs!

I would never really shoot one, live and let live, but I really prefer chipmunks. They're cute, small, and don't steal all the sunflower seeds.

[CTyankee]

11. I would never shoot or harm a squirrel. I was really asking about regulations about shooting them.

I thought my Chinese student's question was interesting. That is: do we usually have regulations in cities regarding killing squirrels. That was really it.

[ohheckyeah]

19. They steal

strawberries, though. But I love chipmunks - they're so damn cute.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. I've perfected squirrel-proof chipmunk feeders for my back yard.

The food is in a gallon pickle jar and I make it myself. The holes in the feeder are protected by flanged washers and are too small for the squirrels and just right for the chipmunks. The squirrels hate me. I'm thinking about selling them online and at local flea markets.

[trof]

12. I'm not, but I do.

It's against the law to fire a gun in the city limits of my town.
I use low velocity .22 cartridges that don't make much noise.
Squirrels have chewed the insulation of my ignition wires TWICE.
Not covered by insurance and cost BIG BUCKS to re-wire.
I hate squirrels.

[CTyankee]

16. Can you get a repellent you can spray on them?

[trof]

18. Never gotten that close. They also got into the attic and walls.

$800 to get them out and squirrel-proof the house.

They also chew PVC rooftop plumbing stacks to shreds.
And plastic mail boxes, hoses, etc.

[CTyankee]

22. I didn't mean a spray on the squirrels. I meant a spray to put on what the

squirrel wants to get. Sorry, this is not my day to be clear...

[BlueJazz]

15. I have a few of the little guys. Don't mind them at all. I put food out for them in the morning..

...and they usually leave other things along.

[Chan790]

17. In CT? Unclear, but does require you to have a small game permit.

you have to abide by all permitted hunting laws...which means abiding by all laws and regulations.
http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2700&q=556896&deepNav_GID=1633#TOP
(Somehow I doubt there is any place in New Haven not within 500ft. of a residential dwelling.)

Daily bag-limit for grey squirrel is 8, with a season limit of 40. (I disapprove of hunting but I'm a town conservation commissioner so I have to know these things.) http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=2700&Q=556902#SGAME

[CTyankee]

26. I used to walk on the Yale Golf Course and there is a stretch that no houses are on...

you have to go a ways. In the winter Yale opens the Golf Course to walkers. It is peaceful and nice. However, once I was there and realized that there was no one else in case I got attacked or had a sudden heart attack. I got very afraid and beat it out of there. It was just a little too quiet...

[ohheckyeah]

20. I find squirrels

to be amusing most of the time. We live out in the country and they usually leave everything alone except what the birds drop from the feeder.

You can shoot them where I live but we never have.

[edbermac]

24. Only if they shoot first.

[Kaleva]

25. If you can expose yourself on your property, then you can get away with shooting squirrels

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. Do either, or both, as long as the neighbors don't complain.

I don't think my neighbors would care if I shot a squirrel.

Anything else might offend their sense of aesthetics (and rightly so)

(I suppose in Finland, it's normal to run naked out of the sauna and shoot a moose, and invite the neighbors to dinner)

[Kaleva]

29. I would dive into the nearest snowbank

Running naked in winter 1/4 mile to the pond was something I wouldn't do even on my most drunkest nights.

[LisaL]

28. I don't know if you are allowed to shoot a squirrel on your property.

But you can tell her that if she aims at squirrel but hits her neighbor she is going to be in trouble.

[KentuckyWoman]

30. Around here squirrels are food.

A lot of deep poverty in Appalachia. Most everyone around here supplements with whatever meat they can catch. I'd expect the Chinese way of thought to be about the same.

City people have no business shooting a gun in town. Here it's illegal, even BB guns. But a mile outside of town is fair game. Country people aren't likely to shoot the neighbor's windows out or accidentally kill a toddler in the crib next door.

[RebelOne]

31. Here in Georgia you may need a permit.

From the GA DNR website:

In some situations squirrels can become a nuisance. They are notorious for robbing bird feeders. They also get into houses, especially attics. Trapping or shooting squirrels are effective nuisance management strategies. Contact a Wildlife Resources Division Game Management office to see if a permit is required.

[REP]

32. I shot a badly injured and dying skunk in my yard a few months ago

If she hadn't been so badly injured, I would've taken her to a wildlife rehab, but it was obvious the only thing I could do for her was to put an end to her suffering. We're on good terms with the local skunks, and I think she came to us for help. I'm sorry that that was the only thing I could do for her.

[MosheFeingold]

37. Law

You can probably shoot the squirrel, but you can't discharge a firearm in the city limits. A bit of a quandary.

I tend to leave wildlife alone, but squirrels are rodents, so their teeth never stop growing. They have to gnaw on things, and seem to like to the jacket of insulated wiring in attics quite a bit. Many fires and deaths are attributable to it.

I've had to place traps in my attic for that reason when I lived in an older home.

I think they make more humane ones now, but the ones I had were little more than specialty rat traps and rather fatal.