Evil Ground Squirrels!

grow_my_own said:

My biggest problem is that I can't use any chemicals to kill them, so the grain with warfarin & blue dye wouldn't be acceptable in this case (it's a 100% organic farm-to-fork garden). However, I have discovered that the population seems to have gone down since I started invading their little tunnels with my shovel and with basil and onions. They do NOT like the onions! They have stopped stealing tomatoes & haven't touched the melons in about a week, which is one of the tell-tales that there are less of them now. Another friend suggested making a garlic/hot pepper "tea" and pouring it down into their tunnels. I'll have to get pictures of this garden and show you guys... it was really a quite spectacular garden until the stupid ground squirrels moved in.

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In 1921 a Canadian Veterinary Pathologist found that cattle ingesting mouldy silage made from sweet clover that functioned as a potent anticoagulant and many had died from eating it. The identity of the anticoagulant substance in sweet clover was a mystery untill 1940. Through degradation experiments at University of Wisconsin, the scientists established that the anticoagulant was 3,3'-methylenebis (4-hydroxyconmrim) which they later named dicoumarol. They confirmed their results by synthasizing it and proving that it was chemically identical to the naturally occuring agent. Dicoumarol was a product of the plant molecule coumarin, which is now known to be present in many plants and produces the notably sweet smell of freshly cut grass or hay and plants like sweet grass. The plants' high content of coumarin is responsible for the origainal common name of "sweet grass". This chemical is also present notably in woodruff, and in lower levels in licorice, lavender and various other species. However, coumarins themselves do not influence clotting as warfarin - like action, but must first be metabolized by various fungi into compounds such as 4-hydroxycoumarin, then further in the presence of naturally occuring formaldehyde into dicoumarol. in order to have any anticoagulant properties. Fungal attack of the damaged and dying clover stalks explained the presence of the anticoagulant in spoiled clover silages. Dicoumaropl is considered to be a fermentation product and a mycotoxin. Today it is used as a rat / mouse killer and in lower doses as a blood thinner for human use known as coumadin and Warfarin as a trade name. So as you can see that Coumadin and the brand name Warfarin, is a perfectly natural chemical . Whether it is produced by the plant + fungi + naturally occuring formaldehyde or synthasized ... chemically it is IDENTICAL. Blue dyes come from plant extracts and/ or clays. So, what is the issue here ?

Love, love, love this site. I am learning more and more every day. Thanks, bobm!

@bobm

Your knowledge on this subject is over the top.

but I still wouldn't use the poison on my garden either

There is a trap there, but they are kind of tight on the budget & bought one lousy trap for an infestation of 20+ squirrels. We have yet to catch even so much as a single critter in that trap. The onions and basil have worked better than the stinkin' trap. Last time I was out there, only saw 2 squirrels, whereas a month ago, there were easily 20+.

Bob, you actually got it backwards regarding the warfarin/Coumadin thing. Coumadin is the trade name... warfarin is the generic name. I am a retired medical language specialist and spent 30 years as a medical documentation transcriptionist and editor. One can describe how a chemical is made in any number of ways... every "chemical" has its origins in something from nature that was processed by man... makes it no less a chemical... warfarin/Coumadin is a toxic substance that cannot be used in a farm-to-fork garden.

One can describe how a chemical is made in any number of ways... every "chemical" has its origins in something from nature that was processed by man... makes it no less a chemical... warfarin/Coumadin is a toxic substance that cannot be used in a farm-to-fork garden.[/QUOTE]
Using this logic ... everything on Earth is a chemical ! So, since a man / woman worked the soil, planted the seed, used a hoe or his/ her hands to weed, then used his/ her hands to harvest the plant, applied "organic" / " natural" items for pest/ weed control ... how can one consume the crop from a farm - to -fork enterprise since it then becomes man / woman processed / made ? So, to be truly purist "organic " one would have to graze in the wild without one using one's hands ? Coumadin/ Warfarin is a blood thinner. There are many approved as "organic" , " natural" products that are just as toxic if not more so than the so called " man made chemicals". Splitting hairs ?

most garden pests don't like onions. so that could help explain why it seems to be helping drive them away!

Have to tell a Gypsy joke here.
A man walked into a soda joint planning to get a pop. He watched customer after customer order H2O, take a long chug, and let out with an AH-H-H-H-H-H! He decided it must be something special so when his turn came up he said to the server, "I'll have a H2O too." He took a long chug and he died. . .
.
.
. because H2O2 is Hydrogen peroxide.

Chickie'sMomaInNH said:

most garden pests don't like onions. so that could help explain why it seems to be helping drive them away!

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So, what part / type of the onion and every method does one use as a pest deterant ???

@grow_my_own how long ago were those raised beds created? I did the same thing when I lived in CA, and never had any trouble with the ground squirrels until they had been in place for about 15 years when suddenly, the ground squirrels were there. I remember watching an onion slowly disappear as it was drawn down into the squirrel's run. Turned out, the hardware cloth had finally decayed enough that the lil buggers were able to get through.