At war with the squirrels

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Nan_S said:
No patent currently in existence or applied for. Like I said, just give me credit on the patent application, so that I can skim royalties if the eventual sales and quit working.

Before applying for a patent you have to make sure the contraption will zap squirrels, but protect birdies, bunnies, bats, neighborhood dogs, small children, and the occasional monitor lizard. Well, maybe you can leave off the bunnies… They can be pretty destructive pests by themselves.

I’m thinking a webcam and facial recognition software could to produce a backup external trip mechanism, ensuring the wires are active only for the selected pests.

[This is starting to sound like a Rube Goldberg project.]

And I take it back about protecting montor lizards. Seems the Fish and Wildlife Service has designated them non-native invasive species, and there is a standing “kill on sight” order.
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I may have to contact someone to do an environmental study on the cause and effect of loosing a couple bunnies and monitor lizards. Then there’s the cost of squirrel recognition software and now royalties have been mentioned. That usually means lawyers. The price of a high grade can of pellets is starting to sound pretty good again
 
Nan_S said:
No patent currently in existence or applied for. Like I said, just give me credit on the patent application, so that I can skim royalties if the eventual sales and quit working.

Before applying for a patent you have to make sure the contraption will zap squirrels, but protect birdies, bunnies, bats, neighborhood dogs, small children, and the occasional monitor lizard. Well, maybe you can leave off the bunnies… They can be pretty destructive pests by themselves.

I’m thinking a webcam and facial recognition software could to produce a backup external trip mechanism, ensuring the wires are active only for the selected pests.

[This is starting to sound like a Rube Goldberg project.]

And I take it back about protecting montor lizards. Seems the Fish and Wildlife Service has designated them non-native invasive species, and there is a standing “kill on sight” order.
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This could mean an environmental study on the cause and effect of loosing a couple bunnies and lizards. Then there’s the cost of a camera and squirrel recognition software, not to mention the royalties. That usually means lawyers and they are expensive. I’d also better get liability insurance for the small child in our neighborhood who resembles a squirrel because software is problematic. I don’t know Nan, the price of a high quality can of pellets is starting to sound pretty good. 😉
 
I haven’t read all the replies as this is a long thread, but I would like to add a thought that spontaneously came to me:
Be careful not to start “liking” the killing, as you seem to have turned it into some kind of game? I think that would not be good for your own spirituality?
 
Kathrin said:
I haven’t read all the replies as this is a long thread, but I would like to add a thought that spontaneously came to me:
Be careful not to start “liking” the killing, as you seem to have turned it into some kind of game? I think that would not be good for your own spirituality?
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You probably should read the whole thread…I’m an avid sport hunter who believes that you clean and eat what you kill, but I hunt for enjoyment. I do like it. As for the tree rats, they started the game by damaging my property so I’m happy to play with them…
 
This thread is really too long for me to want to read it all, i apologize, but this would take too much time Please do understand.
Just tell me, has this question been raised before int he thread, whetehr or not it is moral to hunt for joy? I think it is a very valid question.
 
Kathrin said:
This thread is really too long for me to want to read it all, i apologize, but this would take too much time Please do understand.
Just tell me, has this question been raised before int he thread, whetehr or not it is moral to hunt for joy? I think it is a very valid question.
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I think you are misunderstanding the tone of this thread. 🤷
 
Kathrin said:
This thread is really too long for me to want to read it all, i apologize, but this would take too much time Please do understand.
Just tell me, has this question been raised before int he thread, whetehr or not it is moral to hunt for joy? I think it is a very valid question.
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Kathrin, that’s why most hunters hunt and fisherman fish…for the “joy”. If we did it to feed our families we’d soon go broke but that’s a whole different thread that you should start for an answer. It’ll be a lot longer and less fun than this one and I can truthfully tell you that my parish priest hunts for “joy”. For the joy of being outdoors and the satisfaction of making a good shot. Now, back to the serious stuff…
 
My original post…
shipwrkd said:
We live in a suburban neighborhood with many beautiful oak trees and in those trees, many annoying and destructive squirrels. Used to think they were cute and enjoyed playing games with them and my bird feeders.Then they started to cause damage. Chewed their way into the attic and nested, damaged screens by crawling on them, gnawed the siding etc. My devout Catholic wife counted 16 of them in our 75 X 100 foot front yard a few years ago and for my birthday a couple weeks later, I received a pellet gun and war was declared. It’s not a just war because I have no chance of winning it. My neighbor and I have turned this into a competition in which the rules of engagement state we can’t shoot anything not in our own yard, so if one makes it to the fence, it belongs to him. He’s not Catholic, but I’m a better shot and together, we’re over two hundred confirmed kills. Do I need to confess this???
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Several questions have come up regarding the morality of sending some pesky and destructive rodents to their maker. After thinking about Nan’s “electrocution machine” I and Kathrin’s post worrying that I may be enjoying it too much, my conclusion is that I’ve been given too many ideas how to take care of my problem more efficiently and without even being on site. Where’s the joy in that? The end result is the same, a dead skwerl. But the new question would be " is it moral to enjoy killing a rodent"? I’ve already figured it’s not sinful to protect my property, but can I take joy doing it? Hope there are some moral theologists out there…or at least some hunters with tips. I’m sticking with the pellet gun! No need for patents. 😃
 
Get a pet mongoose or two. It will kill the squirrel. But then you will have a mongoose to deal with. Maybe get a few cobras, hoping that one will dispatch the mongoose… I’ll get back to you about what to do about the cobras.
 
epan said:
Get a pet mongoose or two. It will kill the squirrel. But then you will have a mongoose to deal with. Maybe get a few cobras, hoping that one will dispatch the mongoose… I’ll get back to you about what to do about the cobras.
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It seems that a quick, unsuspecting “TWACK” from a pellet would cause less pain and suffering then all the fur flying a mongoose would create and for some reason I have the feeling that you’d be willing to take the cobras off my hands…for a price. And I’ll bet that price would be more then the cost of a can of high quality pellets.
😃

TWACK…I love that sound. It’s even fun to type! TWACK Right out of a Batman comic book.
 
To get reide of squirrels: Get 3 or more cats and 2 or more pit bulls. The ones the cats don’t get the pit bulls will. Just keep an eye on the pit bulls, they may just go after the cats if bored. 😃

I am surprised this theard is still going. :confused:
 
tabycat said:
To get reide of squirrels: Get 3 or more cats and 2 or more pit bulls. The ones the cats don’t get the pit bulls will. Just keep an eye on the pit bulls, they may just go after the cats if bored. 😃

I am surprised this theard is still going. :confused:
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Hi taby, so am I, but I took a look at the game “first word last word” and it got boring fast. So, in keeping with the subject of Moral Theology, is it better to TWACK them, electrocute them or get an animal (cat, dog, mongoose or cobra?) to do the dirty work for ya. In the end, the result is the same…a dead bushy tailed rat.
 
Thank you for taking the time raising the moral issue again.
You know, part of what made me raise that question was: Sometimes in certain activities we get carried away, it can become like an addiction? I am not saying this is the case with you. Like for example with computer games, when the task is to “kill” a lot of “enemies”… I can imagine those kids (also adults 😉 ) just taking a lot of joy in shooting more and mroe and more… (a WHOLE other topic would be how it is in real war. Does this happen? With people?)
So with the squirrels… maybe I saw a danger there that out of the thrill of it somebody might start shooting more than necessary, or doing it for the wrong reason…? The question now is, IS it a wrong reason, to hunt out of joy? For me personally it is out of the question, I am also a vegetarian because I don’t want to eat animals as I don’t see it as necessary, but doesn’t the Bible teach us to not judge others’ moral views on eating (that is in Romans 14.3. But again, whiole other topic.). The question that remains is, is there a general moral boundary that should not be crossed?
Have you EVER talked to your priest about this? After all, in your original post you asked should pou confess this (what exactly? Making a game out of it? This would be exactly what I mean, and I really do not know the answer whether this is morally ok or not.)

Please do not be angry at me for writing here, after all you did post this in the Moral Theology Forum so I don’t think the thread was meant to be just for joking etc?
Kathrin:shrug:
 
I actually had the chance to quickly talk to a priest today; he seemed to find it an interesting question also. He gave me the name of somebody who should know a lot about such things moral treachings about such topics, I assume). I am going to e-mail him, and I hope that will be ok with you 🙂

By the way, I think addiction was the wrong word I used. It is more like an instinct that is in humans… that is the word the priest used anyway, which makes sense.
 
FWIW, my 12 and 10 year old daughters are all set and ready to join you in the war.

They keep a bird feeder and squirrels are their enemy #1.

I recently mentioned how one of the dads in our parish goes squirrel hunting with his sons and they both got really excited.

I’ll be signing them up for the next hunter safety class ( they are both already decent shots with .22’s)

If they do well in the woods, I might look at a picking up a good pellet gun for use in the backyard ( which is 3 acres in a semi rural environment anyway). Can’t discharge firearms in the township limits (so the 22’s are out), but air guns are OK
 
Brendan said:
FWIW, my 12 and 10 year old daughters are all set and ready to join you in the war.

They keep a bird feeder and squirrels are their enemy #1.

I recently mentioned how one of the dads in our parish goes squirrel hunting with his sons and they both got really excited.

I’ll be signing them up for the next hunter safety class ( they are both already decent shots with .22’s)

If they do well in the woods, I might look at a picking up a good pellet gun for use in the backyard ( which is 3 acres in a semi rural environment anyway). Can’t discharge firearms in the township limits (so the 22’s are out), but air guns are OK
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Squirrels are great talkers. It all sounds like gibberish to me. But, maybe if you are patient, and listen closely…
 
I have neither the time nor the inclination to read all the posts. I’ll just add that I’ve been fending off a mouse jihad in my garage.

Wish I could share more, but in the interest of anonymity, I cannot, because I’ve shared my stories online with friends, under my real name.
 
Kathrin said:
Thank you for taking the time raising the moral issue again.
You know, part of what made me raise that question was: Sometimes in certain activities we get carried away, it can become like an addiction? I am not saying this is the case with you. Like for example with computer games, when the task is to “kill” a lot of “enemies”… I can imagine those kids (also adults 😉 ) just taking a lot of joy in shooting more and mroe and more… (a WHOLE other topic would be how it is in real war. Does this happen? With people?)
So with the squirrels… maybe I saw a danger there that out of the thrill of it somebody might start shooting more than necessary, or doing it for the wrong reason…? The question now is, IS it a wrong reason, to hunt out of joy? For me personally it is out of the question, I am also a vegetarian because I don’t want to eat animals as I don’t see it as necessary, but doesn’t the Bible teach us to not judge others’ moral views on eating (that is in Romans 14.3. But again, whiole other topic.). The question that remains is, is there a general moral boundary that should not be crossed?
Have you EVER talked to your priest about this? After all, in your original post you asked should pou confess this (what exactly? Making a game out of it? This would be exactly what I mean, and I really do not know the answer whether this is morally ok or not.)

Please do not be angry at me for writing here, after all you did post this in the Moral Theology Forum so I don’t think the thread was meant to be just for joking etc?
Kathrin:shrug:
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Well Kathrin, the only thing to confess would be hunting out of season and perhaps wanton waste because I don’t eat them…now for that moral boundary. If I lived in Texas
Texas Penal Code - Section 9.42. Deadly Force To Protect Property
§ 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect **land **or tangible, movable property:
(1)if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.41; and
(2)when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A)to prevent the other’s imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B)to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
(3)he reasonably believes that:
(A)the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
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If a man were chewing his way into my home, I’d be legally able to use deadly force against him. Are there more stringent laws for squirrels? For that matter, are squirrels better then fish? We certainly don’t fish for food. Yes , we eat them, but we fish for joy…and because we’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on boats, trailers, electronics, rods, reals…the list is endless.

I respect that your a vegetarian and I should tell you that there are room for ALL Gods creatures on this earth…right next to the mashed potato’s…And I could never be mad at anyone for responding to this thread. It has been WAY more fun then the “First word Last word” game that’s now over 800 posts.

Joke??? What joke??? 😃
 
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