Squirrel eyes

In fur trapping, we frequently look for locations with eye appeal. But what about ADC trapping for squirrels, how important is it for them?

They're mistakenly called bird feeders and they certainly have eye appeal.

yeah it is call entry points.

That may be, but what about eye appeal in the cage?

You could try an ear of corn.

My cousins use an ear of corn and they catch squirrels like crazy to train their dogs.

I haven't found that eye appeal, or even bait for that matter, is much help with 110s slapped over the entry point.

hahha good one!

Yeah, love those in places that I can use them.

Have to get some ladders and ridge hooks to get around the house to determine the entry points. Then it is just a matter of setting up the entries found on your inspections.

Okay, I've obviously miscommunicated....is eye appeal, at/in the trap important for squirrels?

No, you aren't listening. If u do what Bob is telling u, then u don't need bait...

22Mag, I think eye appeal helps when cage trapping but should be used in combination with smell and taste.

Use the odor of a food lure to bring them close to the cage and then the sight of a familiar food in the cage will help to bring them in. A little taste just outside the cage, a little more half way into the cage and a larger amount just behind the pan.

Play to all three senses.

Not all jobs can be forced contrary to popular belief. And as a matter of fact I only force maybe half my jobs at all, but that is me, and may not be right for every one. Each their own so to speak. I will be going over the reasons I don't, based on habitats and behavior in certain phases that squirrels go through, in Oct at the WCT in Kentucky.

But as to the way the first question asked, the entry points on a building is the eye appeal for location, Every time the animal goes in and out of the building, it is at that hole, or if other animals are looking on the building, they will go to the hole, although he meant to ask about eye appeal in and around the trap to pull the squirrel into the trap. As SGS stated taste and smell for cages is very important. and if the bait does its job or the lure trail, eye appeal is not thought of, yet in a sense the way I bait my traps there will be eye appeal, meaning I give alittle bait out front of the trap, some just inside then on the pan and behind, so when the animal tastes the bait and likes it then see's the bait inside the eye appeal is there. also many using the seeds and nuts are doing the same, as the nut is smell, taste and eye appeal. If a bait and or lure is not a taste smell type Then I believe eye appeal is a great added pull inside the trap. The reason is a non taste bait or lure needs to be placed in the back of the trap, as per most of the trap line baits and lures that is used for foot traps, Meaning, catch the animal before it gets to the bait. With cages there is a negative with the trap, for example, fox will circle the cage trap and not go in yet will not hesitate to dive into a brush pile. so the negative of a cage, can be turned to a positive by placing a eye appeal in the back of the cage trap many times.

do you ever find that they sometimes don't want the food and an alternative source of eye appeal is needed? Maybe their hunger isn't driving their response to the cage so-to-speak?? Of course a good bait can evoke a curiosity response too i assume edpecially since it is different.

22mag, it's almost like you guys on this site are prophetic. I really don't recall ever having this problem with squirrels. But I do now that you mentioned it. They even let me know it by leaving their pine cone clippings on my well baited cages!

P.S. Don't tell me to bait with pine cones; I already tried and those pine trees just will not fit in any cages that I own!

Cage trap with slice of apple in a firebox has eye appeal, the scent of apple, and moisture. So 3 things working to get a squirrel that can't get out of the chimney and is hiding somewhere - up there. Our older Pennsylvania stone chimney offers many hiding places.

Here is a non-standard squirrel job I had multiple times over the years. The customer says REMOVE ALL SQUIRRELS I don't care how much it costs. A squirrel pogrom.

Around here we call that a population reduction job. lol

Very popular.

I look at it this way, most of the time our animals are not hungry. sure in bad weather, or in the example that Phil gave, the animals will not have the food at hand, and will eat because of hunger. But most are well fed, with the spring summer and fall food is everywhere.

I bring the dogs in at night and put down a bowl of dry dog food. They take a few nipples and go lay down, Few mins later, Now I take the scraps from dinner and go over put it in the bowl and the dogs can't eat if fast enough.

Back in the mid 80's I was playing with making baits and lures. I sat and thought about the example I just gave. and a light bulb came on. The next 2 baits I made was for squirrels, (What else would I be thinking about LOL) and was based on eye appeal, smell and taste. Got ur done and No Moes. I found that the Idea worked. For cages I want a bait that is not really a food, but that something that an animal would like to have. Like me, A hot chocolate chip cookie with nuts, and a glass of ICE COLD milk, I have to have it if I smell or see it.

With cages, the cage is a eye attractor but it is also a negative. so by placing a taste that the animal would like to have, different than what they are use to, will a lot of the times take the mind off the negative and place on a want to have it. A can of sardines or cat food in the back of a trap for 3 days in 90 degrees may not be a great want to have, to a coon, so they will go to the side take a big smell and say ok curiosity is done. The eye appeal of the can may be enough to bring the coon back around to go in, then again maybe not. as with squirrels, I believe their eyes and ears are used first then smell. again look at a bird feeder hanging in the tree. when filled the squirrels can wait to get to it, but if it goes empty then they could care less and work the ground, fill it and they are all over it again.

Sigh, for the umpteenth time I will once more relate the sad story of my entering Ron Jones bait kitchen back in the 80's, to find his precious children scarfing down his latest squirrel bait concoctions. If he were to try that today on his grandchildren, a New Jersey child services SWAT team would nullify his redneck posterior.

Hey them boys turned out ok. They may be somewhat crazy like doing things with bungee cords and skies, pro rodeo and what have ya, but alittle squirrel bait will never hurt any one. I wouldn't do it with my coon baits though.