Squirrel 1, Retread 0. Join the fight!

[Retread]

I have a small (roughly 5ft tall) Blue Point Juniper in my backyard that I keep lit year-round with Christmas lights (don't judge me). The problem is, lately there is apparently a squirrel who chews the wiring (I just lost a second set within the past two weeks).



Aside from buying a pellet gun and plinking the dozens of neighborhood squirrels (with my luck I'd kill all the dozens of neighborhood squirrels except for the one rogue who's chewing the wires), what can I do to stop him?

HELP!

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Get a dog

[wildmaven]

When we lived in WA state, we had a squirrel who would chew off our Christmas lights and bury the bulbs in the lawn. Very annoying, but not much we could do about it, other than taking down the lights. I wish you luck in your fight. The squirrel army is tough.

[Patrick [ASE]]

It's suprising how rodents are abe to chew through wires without a problem, even low voltages should give them a tingling mouth, unfortunately they sem to chew just one wire at a time and not complete the circuit.
Rodents seem to have a taste for PVC
Is the power on when they chew the wires ?
Had a load of wires in trunking that were chewed through by a mouse many of the wires were completely bare and at mains voltage (240v in the UK)
Only thing i can think of is to coat the wres with something that tastes bad, or maybe wrapping the wires with soething, maybe aluminium foil.

[Knightly Celt]

I would offer to court martial the offender but he has already been listed as AWOL and is classified as a deserter. You are welcome to take any and all action you deem necessary without fear of official reprisal from the Proboards Squirrel Army.

[Patrick [ASE]]

Jun 28, 2020 17:39:12 GMT -8 Knightly Celt said:

I would offer to court martial the offender but he has already been listed as AWOL and is classified as a deserter. You are welcome to take any and all action you deem necessary without fear of official reprisal from the Proboards Squirrel Army.

If you see him, approach with caution, he is armed

[Retread]

Jun 28, 2020 14:31:09 GMT -8 Patrick [ASE] said:

Is the power on when they chew the wires ?

Not sure but probably not. I have the lights on a timer. Triggers at dusk and stays on for 3 hours. I've never seen one in the Juniper. (It's only couple of feet from the house and a couple of feet from the end of the open porch.) I would guess this happens in the wee hours of the morning.

I'm a bit puzzled as to why this just started happening. I had a string up for about 3 or 4 years and about two weeks ago I noticed half the string was dead. I took it down a week later and the wires were broken in several places. Thought maybe they failed due to weather or the acidity of the tree or smth.

I put another set up a few days ago and it was only a couple of days before there was a dead section near the end of the string. Took it down and discovered one break. Easy enough to splice it, but I need to do something to discourage this little rascal before I put it back up.

I'm thinking maybe put some Habaneros and water in the food processor, then baste the wires with that?

Maybe someone has a better idea?

[ScottCool]

Jun 28, 2020 13:44:47 GMT -8 Retread said:

I have a small (roughly 5ft tall) Blue Point Juniper in my backyard that I keep lit year-round with Christmas lights (don't judge me). The problem is, lately there is apparently a squirrel who chews the wiring (I just lost a second set within the past two weeks).



Aside from buying a pellet gun and plinking the dozens of neighborhood squirrels (with my luck I'd kill all the dozens of neighborhood squirrels except for the one rogue who's chewing the wires), what can I do to stop him?

HELP!

Admit defeat, join the squirrel army.

[Retread]

Jun 28, 2020 22:19:02 GMT -8 ScottCool said:

Admit defeat, join the squirrel army.

Never admit defeat!

[HoudiniDerek]

Jun 28, 2020 13:44:47 GMT -8 Retread said:

I have a small (roughly 5ft tall) Blue Point Juniper in my backyard that I keep lit year-round with Christmas lights (don't judge me). The problem is, lately there is apparently a squirrel who chews the wiring (I just lost a second set within the past two weeks).



Aside from buying a pellet gun and plinking the dozens of neighborhood squirrels (with my luck I'd kill all the dozens of neighborhood squirrels except for the one rogue who's chewing the wires), what can I do to stop him?

HELP!

Do you have a bird feeder or anything?  Maybe the squirrel is just hungry and that seems to attract attention?

[Retread]

Jun 29, 2020 9:11:51 GMT -8 HoudiniDerek said:

Do you have a bird feeder or anything?  Maybe the squirrel is just hungry and that seems to attract attention?

Nope. We have a sugar maple in the far back of the yard and they gnaw off the branches (to get the sweet sap) and feed on the 'helicopter' on the lawn during the middle of Spring. But I rake those out of the flower bed area where the juniper is. The juniper I have doesn't produce berries so I wouldn't expect it to attract squirrels in general.

[bigballofyarn]

Joke answer:
Maybe he lost his nuts. You could offer yours.


Serious answer:
You don't want to feed them or kill them. You want to train them, but in a way where they will train other squirrels to keep off your/their land. You can use pepper spray or mint mouthwash on the wires, assuming your lights are weatherproof and can be exposed to moisture. You'd have to keep applying those regularly though. You could also set up humane traps and then release the squirrels far away, but new squirrels may be up for the light challenge.

[Pearson]

I thought this was a beef between you and Knightly Celt, "Put'em up, Put'em up"!

[Retread]

Jun 29, 2020 11:51:29 GMT -8 Pearson said:

I thought this was a beef between you and Knightly Celt, "Put'em up, Put'em up"!

I knew it might be interpreted that way when I wrote the thread title.

[Retread]

Jun 29, 2020 11:08:52 GMT -8 bigballofyarn said:

Joke answer:
Maybe he lost his nuts. You could offer yours.

Ouch!