It’s Time to Thin the Herd: Ground Squirrels in Great Falls

I have no doubt you've seen these pesky little critters around town; they are everywhere!

The infamous Richardson's Ground Squirrel.

According to the State of Montana Field Guide website,

The Richardson's Ground Squirrel is a medium-sized ground squirrel of rather uniform coloration. It is buffy yellow to grayish in color. The tail is about one-fourth of the total body length and is blackish to buff with whitish hairs on the outer edges and end. Adults are 7 to 9 inches long and weigh 11 to 18 ounces.

Seemingly every chunk of grass in Great Falls is crawling with these nuisance creatures.

Density and Residency

The worst infestation is likely around the Great Falls Visitor Center on Flag Hill.

You might be thinking to yourself, oh, they are so cute and funny to watch.

Yea, maybe for five minutes until you see one of them munching on their neighbor that just got smoked by a car.

Yes, they eat each other; it's incredibly disgusting.

My question is, at what point will the City of Great Falls get involved?

As much as I'd like to plunk a few with a 22lr, that's far from legal within city limits.

If something isn't done sooner rather than later, they will literally take over the town.

I'm surprised that the ground squirrels have thrown their hat in a city commission race or run for mayor.

After all, they'll likely outnumber the residents sooner rather than later!

In all seriousness, though, the population needs to be cut back.

I'm unsure that poison is the answer since other animals, such as eagles and hawks, eat them.

I can remember, as a kid, putting watermelon-flavored gum near their dens out in horse pastures.

As you can imagine, ground squirrel holes and horses don't go hand in hand very well.
This was a great way to kill them without poisoning other animals.

I'll be very curious to see if the city or county steps in and does anything about this growing issue.

Look at these little buggers!