E-mail Diana Diamond About this blog: While state and federal politics dominate the headlines, local issues have an enormous impact on our everyday lives. This blog will attempt to shine a light on topics of public interest and facilitate greater participation in the ...  (More) About this blog: While state and federal politics dominate the headlines, local issues have an enormous impact on our everyday lives. This blog will attempt to shine a light on topics of public interest and facilitate greater participation in the civic process in our community. Born and raised in California and a graduate of UC Davis (go Aggies!), I had an opportunity to live and work - inside the beltway - of Washington, D.C. while completing my graduate work at Georgetown University. Upon completion, I returned home and embarked upon a career in high tech with companies including Tandem Computers and Cisco Systems, eventually settling in Menlo Park with my husband. After the birth of our middle child, I became an at-home mom but continued to stay involved with community issues close to my heart. That involvement has included work for Site Creations, a non-profit dedicated to public art, guest lecturing at Foothill and De Anza colleges, board membership for SOLO Aquatics, and serving as Nativity School's auction chair, parent-teacher group secretary and co-president. But these days, I'm mostly just mom to three great, and very busy, kids.  (Hide)

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The squirrels in our backyard eat all of the fruit and nuts on our trees so we bought some squirrel traps. The black crows are very noisy.

The City of Mountain View had a squirrel eradication program a few years back at Cuesta Park because they were proliferating and biting park visitors who made the mistake of trying to feed them. Squirrels and black crows seem to have become the dominant species in many residential areas because they are very aggressive and territorial. Like the previous poster, we also trap squirrels and dispose of them accordingly as they will literally destroy your fruit and vegetable garden. My husband considers squirrels rats with big tails and they are not welcome on our property.

Ground squirrels burrow and tunnel leaving massive holes all over the place which can pose an ongoing danger to livestock and horses. As I recall, the City of Mountain View used gas at Cuesta Park to reduce the ground squirrel population. We set metal traps and drown the captured squirrels by dropping the cages into a discarded 50 gallon oil can filled with water. For adherents of 'catch & release', one way to tell if the squirrels have made it back to your property is to spray paint their tails prior to letting them go (on someone else's property of course).

The birds here are wonderful, but we have been invaded with noisy black crows but even they are fascinating to watch. We recently freed one that had got its leg stuck and as we freed him, the others in the area watched with great excitement. For many days afterwards the crows would circle round in the air and make a lot of noise as if to continue thanking us for freeing their pal. As for the black squirrels, I have heard rumors that around here they are due to an escapee from a Stanford experiment lab and mating with local squirrels. This is one article about them as a species. Web Link However, squirrels are carriers of disease and are not to be petted. They can be a nuisance as they steal fruit off trees and dig up bulbs that have just been planted.

The introduced Eastern Gray Squirrels prefer spaced disturbed by humans, which is why they colonize city parks and streets. The native Western Gray squirrels are more reticent and prefer being deeper in the woods. Web Link

I like most birds but detest black crows, city pigeons, and seagulls. Crows are excessively loud while pigeons and seagulls are very dirty birds who will crap on nearly anything in sight (e.g. patio furniture, railings, cars etc.). Not too fond of vultures either because the remind me of lawyers.

Squirrels may be cute but they wreak havoc with your garden and they ravage the fruit in trees, especially the apricot trees. I bought a Havahart squirrel trap a few months ago and have moved about six of the critters to a more welcoming locale.

• I bought a Havahart squirrel trap a few months ago and have moved about six of the critters to a more welcoming locale. And where was that? Did you transport the squirrels to Foothills Park or to another Palo Alto neighborhood?

>> "Not too fond of vultures either because the [sic] remind me of lawyers." Anyone who covets money at the expense of others is a vulture.

Squirrels crows are spirit forces from another dimension. They are here to teach and enlighten us.

"Squirrels crows are spirit forces from another dimension." Curious...which dimension? Please be specific. "They are here to teach and enlighten us." New Age talismans & Carlos Castaneda drivel aside, what are they here to teach us? How to be nuisances and pests?

~ Squirrel facts withstanding, is this some sort of tongue in cheek racist metaphor? @Lateisha Williams Contrary to popular belief, not everything is about race. Seriously.

Hard to believe some of the incredibly cruel and inhumane things that people do to wildlife (drowning trapped squirrels!). Terrible. Please Google Humane Ways to Keep Squirrels Out of Gardens to find alternate ways of dealing with "nuisance" wildlife. Check out WildCare's (San Rafael) website to learn why trapping doesn't work and how relocation efforts are most likely dooming the animal, and for some great ideas for transforming conflict with wildlife into coexistence.

Contrary to popular belief, squirrels can make great pets. The key is to rescue a baby squirrel and treat it as part of the family. Like early man who domesticated wild wolves and eventually turned them into dogs, after 5-10 generations, squirrels can adapt themselves to humans and respond accordingly. We have three pet squirrels that scurry about inside the house and they are very endearing and entertaining. Squirrels are omnivores (meaning they eat just about anything) and can be house trained over time. The only problem is that if they are domesticated, they will not survive in the wild. Most wild squirrels live about 18 months, their short lifespan due to predators or getting run over by cars. Their average lifespan is about 5 years but a domesticated squirrel can live 11-12 years. Our squirrels are gray but we would have no problem having a darker one as part of the family.

@Melissa in Portola Valley It is ILLEGAL to have pet squirrels in California & you are breaking the law. Web Link @Cheyenne Taylor of Downtown North "Squirrels [and] crows are spirit forces from another dimension." Squirrels & crows are not 'spirit forces from another dimension'...just common garden pests seeking a free meal at the homeowner's expense. @Mandy Smith of Shoreline West "Crows are excessively loud while pigeons and seagulls are very dirty birds who will crap on nearly anything in sight (e.g. patio furniture, railings, cars etc.)." Agreed. Pigeons and seagulls are not 'spirit forces' either, just scavengers. [Portion removed.]

The primary reason for the squirrel eradication program at Cuesta Park was because people (especially children) were feeding them and getting bit. The squirrels having no natural predators at the park, got overly accustomed to humans and no longer feared them. Feeding wild squirrels by hand is a bad idea as squirrels have very sharp teeth and some carry rabies. It is the parent's fault (or the babysitter's) if the children they are supervising get bit and the resultant trip to the ER at El Camino Hospital usually involves a shot of novacaine, some stitches, and a rabies test, all of which are no picnic for a small child. In our backyard, we have electric fence wire strewn along the perimeter which effectively dispels squirrels, stray cats, and crows. It puts out about 25,000 volts (at very low amperage) and when an unwelcomed animal comes in contact with it, they get zapped and I've actually seen a cat go airborne (about five feet in the air) upon coming in contact with the wire. It was hilarious as well as safe because the low amperage will not kill or injure an animal. Legally and to avoid further liability, you do have to post a warning sign as it could trigger a heart attack or seizure in the event a human (i.e. prospective burgler or prowler) accidentally comes in contact with the live wire. It's no different than having to post a Beware of Dog sign if one has a vicious guard dog patroling the backyard. While wild animals cannot read, it is unfortunate that one must protect the criminals who enter your premises.

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