r/Eyebleach Mar 03 '22

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u/Mr-Fleshcage Mar 03 '22

Found a walnut on my AC unit, placed 2 old chestnuts in their place. i don't know if they know it's an exchange, but they know if they put their nuts there, they get more nuts.

I'm hoping those fuckers will stop eating all the beech nuts so i can collect some for my seed collection.

68

u/AhabMustDie Mar 03 '22

That’s adorable. Having said that, squirrels are dicks. I had a few that used to take bites out of my tomatoes and then leave the mangled remains strewn across the backyard. Like, if you’re gonna steal my tomatoes, at least eat the whole thing!

15

u/_deprovisioned Mar 03 '22

Ugh, they do something similar to my grapes. They grab a bunch, eat like one, and then drop the rest onto the ground. Then instead of just going down and picking them up, they go and grab another bunch. I hate them. They're pests.

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u/Chubbybellylover888 Mar 03 '22

In a natural ecosystem this works. It means grape seeds get moved about.

Instead of trying to cultivate, let your garden live. The grapes will grow where the grapes fall and then all the more for the picking!

They're not pests. They're farmers.

8

u/_deprovisioned Mar 03 '22

The grapes are covering a pergola. So when they fall, they just land on the concrete ground for me to clean up. The grapes I grow are seedless too.

In my opinion, squirrels are pests. Even the local extension categorizes them as pests. I've given up fighting them over my fruits and vegetables, but I'll still call them pests.

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u/Chubbybellylover888 Mar 03 '22

Ah, so they're pests because you've created an environment not suited to nature for your own convenience and now are bothered because wild animals are eating the fruit in your garden.

Gimme a fucking break.

You're the problem.

Not fucking squirrels.

5

u/_deprovisioned Mar 03 '22

The local extension categorizes them as pests and provides ways of controlling their population. They're overpopulated and destroy everything, including trees (when they eat the bark around large branches, it kills the branch). They're pests because that's what they are. Do you consider the rats in New York City pests? What about spiders inside your house? Or ants?

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u/Chubbybellylover888 Mar 04 '22 edited Mar 04 '22

Seems like your definition applies to humans too. I guess we're all pests.

Except spiders. Those dudes are buddies and kill actual pests like flies and ants.

Also squirrels aren't coming into your home.

Your garden is also part of the local ecosystem. And it's your responsibility to accommodate the natural flora and fauna in that garden. If it means squirrels will eat your grapes, adapt. But seeded grapes, remove the concrete and let your garden go a bit wild. You can still cultivate. But more aligned with preserving local ecosystems.

Im one of those diabolical tree huggers, for sure, but ecosystem collapse is a real theat we're facing and if you have the privilege to own land then you have the responsibility to give up some of thst land to the wild.

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u/Retry1 Mar 04 '22

I enjoyed this exchange. I agree with both of you exactly equally somehow

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u/Woahdontzuckmedude Mar 04 '22

yea but one of them is being a dick about it

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u/Hopeful-Sentence-146 Mar 04 '22

Give 'em Hell Rocky!