dear hunters, i have a squirrel problem i need to eliminate. i live in town on a fairly big lot with lots of trees in surrounding neighbors yards. their squirrels that they feed are getting in my attic and running around up there and chewing. i bought a stoeger mod x10 with a scope and am sighting it in and practicing. here are my questions: is it illegal to bait squirrels in my yard? any suggestions for bait? don't say use one-bite-the squirrel literally threw it out of the attic into the yard. when is the best time to hunt them, early or late? they are really fast too. i have bird hunted with a shotgun but never squirrel hunted.

I use my Gamo pellet gun. Patch the holes where they are getting into your attic.

Wouldn't recommend discharging a firearm within city limits... Try a pest control professional.

If you are within city limits call animal control for recommendations.

Yep discharging a firearm in the city is illegal blah blah,if they catch you doing it. I have the same problem and pest control people came out set live traps caught a blue jay,no squirrels and charged me anyway. Plug all holes in your attic and start bustin em. Also killing a game animal with a air gun is illegal. I've heard from a friend those big T Rex rat traps work as well. Good luck I hate tree rats unless they're beside mash taters and covered with gravy.

Get some rat traps and screw them to the side of the house right next to where the little so & so's are getting in. Add a smear of peanut butter.
Put a can of corn in the gravy and make some fresh biscuits, preferably from scratch.

Set off a bug Bomb in the attic, fix holes, buy a gamo.

Get some rat traps and screw them to the side of the house right next to where the little so & so's are getting in. Add a smear of peanut butter.

This works well, I have lots of problems in the deer pens with these little dudes. Problem they learn the traps over time, so bait nonset traps every other week.

Now, I shoot a little 10-22 with a silencer, an sub ammo. Thats the good stuff.

As everyone else mentioned-exclusion is, or should be, your first step. find out where, and how, they are getting into your attic and seal them out. One method that really seems to work is to stuff larger holes with steel wool, then take a can of the foam insulation with a straw, put the straw into the center of the steel wool after you've stuffed it in the hole, then inject it with the spray foam insulation. Once it sets up and hardens it can't be chewed through by the vermin.

Another thing to think about-if squirrels can get in-so can mice & rats. That is why you want to find the holes and plug them all up.

Now onto dispatching them... Here is what a friend of mine did. He made a bullet stop out of a cardboard box filled with sand. In front of this box, he put a small ceramic dish that he put the "bait" into. Then, using the CB .22 cal. short bullets he could safely shoot them off the side of the dish. If the bullet passed through the squirrel, there was a bullet stop directly behind the dish. According to him 50% of the time the bullet passed through the squirrel, and the other half the time it did not. Cb's are quiet. Like pellet gun quiet. They are also accurate. Do not do this if you live in the city though as no matter how safe you are, it is still illegal.

Love them CB rounds, I've been buying the CB Match Grade at Academy. Basically its the same size as a LR but with the powder and bullet of the short. It cycles through my pump much better. I'd say more quiet than a pellet rifle. I have a gamo and my go to "city" gun is the CB rounds. My dad went to war with the squirrels in his pecan trees in Plano years ago. It was more entertainment for him than keeping the critters from stealing pecans.

Pellet rifles are probably illegal when shooting squirrels in the city limits. I wouldn't want any misuse of "firearms" charges against me when time to renew my CHL or hunting license.

Get some live traps after you've patched the entry holes as explained by Kawabuggy.

Once you have them in a live trap, you have many options:

1. Haul them out of the city limits (if it doesn't cost too much in gas) and shoot them there.

2. Drop the trap in a tub of water squirrel & all.

3. Put the trap/squirrel in a trash bag & put it over a vehicle exhaust.

4. Put on some gloves and rattle the heck out of the tree rat. It may not kill him, but it will relieve some of the frustration you have experienced over the damage they did. Then see steps 1-3.

Good Luck.

I've had the same issue you have. What worked for me was the large racoon size traps. I smeared peanut butter all over the trip mechanism, and put a variety of nuts pushed down into the peanut butter. I caught probably 5 or 6 this way. Put the trap in the area where they are, or next to the hole where they will come out.
Also from my experience, a pellet gun doesn't work as well as a 22 short does. (a high end pellet gun might, but the one you pump up 15 times isn't enough to kill one.) A 22 short will go in, but not have an exit wound. A 22 LR will normally have an exit. But, I wouldn't recommend using it if you are in the city, but ....