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Rolfe

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Everything posted by Rolfe

  1. Rolfe
    Indeed a drop-gate net by the looks of it...........neither end of the hazel peg has been sharpened though so maybe it was somehow wedged into a gate or fence. The old fellow must have wanted it to be able to drop thats for sure. Rolfe.
  2. Rolfe
    Never put anything other than a fully grown experienced ferret in to try and bolt rats( if indeed you have to do it at all). They are a formidable opponent and a doe rat with young will give any ferret a pretty torrid time before either bolting or getting killed. I had a hob ferret many years ago that relished the task of ratting and big has he was he pretty badly bitten at times. Most ratting ferrets will eventually tire of the task as they can take an awful lot of punishment. As a one off job, like bolting a rat from a shed or pile of bin-bags etc, you should be ok, i often use mine for th
  3. Rolfe
    Try leaning your setting pegs slightly towards where the rabbits are hitting from this often helps if a lot of rabbits are hitting at one point in the web..........as they often do at the major rabbit run points. This is usually where multiple runs all join up to one main run shortly before entering cover.
  4. Rolfe
    If you are after shooting permission that is one thing. If you are offering professional pest control services free of charge then that is a contradiction. You are NOT professional..........you would need proof of training and need to be full time employed as a pest controller to be able to use the term in it's true sense. You are offering to do for FREE what rural pest controllers in your area are trying to make a living at which is bad practise in my opinion. Make your mind up what you want to do............BASC insurance will only cover you for sporting activities it does not cover you if
  5. Rolfe
    Look like May Bugs (Cockchafer) to me.....but pictures aren't that distinct.
  6. Rolfe
    Culling greys would go a long way to cancelling the spread of the disease for sure (% of the greys tested in one area were found to be carrying the disease), but halting it altogether is another matter. The problem is, once the virus gets amongst the reds it rapidly spreads throughout that particular area. In the Cumbria area, the rate of expansion of grey squirrels over the last decade is 100km2 per year. The decline of the red squirrel is about 70- km2 per year. There is about a 3 year time lag between grey squirrels arriving in an area and the poxvirus occurring in red squirrels.
  7. Rolfe
    The greys carry parapoxvirus that kills red squirrels this MAY be the cause of the reds decline in your area. The virus is a highly infectious viral disease with a high mortality rate (99%) in red squirrels. In contrast, the grey squirrels carry the poxvirus antibodies with low or no associated mortality. It is a nasty disease which looks similar to myxomatosis in rabbits Rolfe
  8. Rolfe
    Feel Free Steve............let me know how you get on.
  9. Rolfe
    Thanks for the input John i will read and digest the links later. The location was in a rural garden that backs onto a churchyard near to Pitsford Reservior In Northamptonshire. No animal sancturies that i am aware of and i don't think the land in the near vicinity is keepered although there are a couple of small shoots. The squirrel was number 10 out of a total of 11 squirrels i caught in just over a week all of which were fit and healthy. I just think the rear leg wound would have been stitched up and closed if it had been a rescue job........but who knows. Anyway.........it was in about a
  10. Rolfe
    The type i use are the "Leader" galvanised metal ones, John b in his book shows how to make the wooden type. This is one prior to installation so you can get some idea of the construction.
  11. Rolfe
    Rolfe, is there any change the squirrel was attacked while it was inside your cage trap? Hi Steve.........makes a change from discussing moles buddy don't it? NO.....is the answer to your question, the front leg injury was healed and closed over and the rear leg was an oldish wound that was still open but on the way to closing up. The squirrel was in excellent condition and obviously could climb and feed as normal. I still go with some kind of trap theory, but i have had foul caught greys in a Mk6 Fenn before now and all have been securely held by a leg. I know rats will gnaw a limb of
  12. Rolfe
    Exactly what i would of thought. Wouldnt suprise me if this was a vet job then released back into the wild. Which im pretty much sure is Illegal to release a captive grey squirrel back into the wild? Yes it is illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild as it is a mink........both being non-native species. The vet theory is one i hadn't thought of....but the rear leg wound was open but clean, i would have thought it would have been closed by sutures had it been a vet job though.
  13. Rolfe
    I have seen it many times with rabbits in cage traps........even ones that were staked down, some of them had been quite badly mauled by having limbs pulled through the mesh. Had this been the case with the squirrel i feel the skin would have been badly ripped. These were dead straight cuts as if they had been sliced by some cutting implement, I did think it was something like it had landed on a roof extractor fan and its feet had gone through the mesh......but surely it would be to sure footed for that........oh well the mystery goes on. Archie.......It was as active as any squirrel i had
  14. Rolfe
    Was an adult squirrel and the wounds were reasonably fresh.........can't think for the life of me what caused them........very unusual to say the least. Oh well don't suppose we'll ever know for sure but sure is interesting none the less.
  15. Rolfe
    Caught a squirrel in a cage trap tonight in a clients garden, (number 10 in just over a week) and was amazed to find it had two legs missing right front and left back. Both cuts were extremely neat not broken and jagged like you would find in a trap caught escapee. The front one was nearly healed and the rear leg wound was clean and uninfected but still open. I have seen loads of mended (trap type) wounds but never any as cleanly cut as these.........any ideas as to the possible cause of such injuries?
  16. Rolfe
    Trap preparation is down to personal choice at the end of the day and if it works for you and you produce results with the finished product then that is obviously the right choice for you. I have never spray painted or speed dipped any of my spring traps so i can't really judge the difference to be honest. My way of thinking is this........and this is just my opinion........that nothing keeps traps firing as sweetly as regular use in the field. I alternate between MK6 Fenns and Imbras on my rabbit jobs and i have a nice little routine that has served me well over many years of trapping tha
  17. Rolfe
    Yes you can if you can get the entire nest pretty much intact.........i take then in a sealed bucket to a wood and place them at the bottom of a large sheltered tree or something similar. Yes you loose a lot of the bumble bees that are out..........but those you take tend to stay with the relocated nest and carry on working and foraging as normal.
  18. Rolfe
    Whats the wasp season like where you are folks? I am doing 5-6 nests a week already all starter cells although the one i removed from a shed today was about the size of a small grapefruit, so maybe were in for a bumper season..........i bloody hope so. I have moved at least 9 bumble bee nests and actually did two today.........i really good year for them too all the nests i have relocated are still active so a minor success where with a little effort they can be saved from being killed.
  19. Rolfe
    Had a call from some builders doing a loft conversion to remove another bumble-bee nest located in the loft insulation.......the project had come to a halt. So armed with my trusty bucket and bee-keepers outfit i duly removed said nest and re-located it to the base of a tree in some remote woodland...this has to be judged as to not get to hot or too cool in the sun but to stay a pretty constant temperature. The pictures show the nest as it appeared in the loft and then when it was put in a hole at the base of a tree prior to covering over with sticks and leaves. Hope they survive anyway.
  20. Rolfe
    John you can get as close as you like to them ..........they aint likely to sting you a more docile creature you couldn't meet....! I have got a bumble bee nest under the shed right by the door.....when i go in and out and they are not troubled in the slightest, they will only get agitated if you disturb the nest. I checked the nest i relocated today and it is still active and doing well and should produce plenty of new bees (and hopefully queens) by the end of the season. Good pictures by the way Mate.
  21. Rolfe
    Damsel Fly.....?
  22. Rolfe
    Lass........I didn't realise you were such a ravishing beauty to be honest and the picture doesn't really do you justice and you have left me fair bumswizzled I have enclosed a wee picture of myself with the hope that we can become more than just friends and share half a cup of tea and a slice of cake later. Happy Birthday Lass......You have a lovely day and enjoy a glass or ten later. Remember birthdays are good for you.......The more you have the longer you live. Best Birthday Wishes Rolfe.
  23. Rolfe
    They are facinating creatures OTC and I refuse to kill them as they do so much good for the gardens. The nests are not usually very big.......this one was about the size of a good grapefruit and maybe contained 100 or so bees. It is something not too many people ever get to see......so thought i would show what a nest actually looks like.
  24. Rolfe
    I was called in last week to get rid of a bumble-bee nest in a compost heap that wanted moving. I said i wouldn't kill them but would try and take the entire nest out and re-locate it. Luckily the front of the compost bin came off so it was a simple matter to dig out the nest and place it in a bucket and transfer it to the base of a tree.......complete with as much original covering as possible. Although it was a major disruption to the nest, it appears to be still very active a week later........so it is possible to re-locate without having to kill any much needed bees.........got stung twice
  25. Rolfe
    Quite Rare.........But OTC on here will tell you more about it........I have wondered myself when Fenn switched from the type you described.........to the more popular half-barrel shape. Rolfe.
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