Squirrels are already eating pecans

    This summer we have been using catch traps to collect anything that falls from the tree in an effort to discover the causes for mid-season nut drop. During this past week, we've collect a large amount of shell fragments (photo at right). These shell fragments are created by squirrels feasting on pecans that have just recently started to fill their kernels.
    If you are seeing a lot of squirrel damage in your pecan grove at this time of year, shooting the varmints is about your only option. We have been running conibear traps all summer long with good success. However, once the new crop enters the dough stage, our success at trapping squirrels goes way down.  It seems that the squirrels prefer the new "green" nuts to the old crop nuts we use to bait the traps.
    It time for a 22 caliber rifle and a steady aim.