Not a wood project but these little soon to be extinct critters live in the woods and have waaaaay overstepped their bounds. I'm looking for an effective, not necessarily environmentally friendly, extremely inhumane solution to getting rid of squirrels around any vehicle completely and permanently. Predator solutions are the least appealing to me, chemical and/or electrical solutions are the most appealing.
I've seen squirrel under my wife's car but unlike where we used to live in OH, these squirrel are thin, smart and fast, as a result much more difficult to dispatch with traditional methods. They've chewed on the bottom of the front and rear air dams, and wire looms and directly on wires. The most recent are the four wires they chewed completely through right at the connector (also chewed) into the top of the fuel pump. As with many modern cars, the fuel pump is expensive and very difficult to get to resulting in having to remove the fuel tank from the car. There appears to be evidence of them within the last week hanging out on top of the intake manifold. I would prefer to never have to do this again. Thus my need to make any and all vehicles very, very unappealing to any would be wire chewers. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
If you figure out a way, let me know as well! Those little buggers have eaten up the fiberglass insulation on the firewall of my truck, the rubber gaskets around the radiator on my tractor, the plastic heater tubes on my vintage VW Beetle, and even the lead boots over the vent pipes on the roof!
Have you tried spraying the parts in hot sauce? I did it for my plants with the rabbits around here. Not inhumane, but effective. Just don't use it on any parts that can get really hot.
with the plastic parts made with soy oil, it makes them smell like a food source
to the varmints. I have two plastic gas cans they ate the black plastic cap off of,
a roto-tiller they chewed up the gas tank on, my neighbor's John Deere tractor has
chew marks all over the plastic hood and fenders. . . . since I am in the city limits now,
I have resorted to the pellet rifle with a scope. and a nice squirrel "feeding station" with
a double layer of 3/4" plywood for the backboard. I should call it the "Last Stop Cafe".
so far, they have not gotten into my cars that are parked under a big oak tree with acorns
ALLLLLLLL over the place. (knock knock on wood).
A pellet rifle used to be my go to but these squirrels are smarter than those I've been previously accustomed to. They chewed on my dad's Ford gas tank by where the filler hose slides over the barbed nipple to the point that the tank had to be replaced. They've chewed through two gas tanks on his mower and have built multiple nests between the grille and condenser in the front of his truck as well. The weird thing is most of this has only happened in the past two years and nothing prior to that. Nothing has happened to their habitat that would have driven this change either. To add to the fun, the check engine light illuminated on my 2017 Dodge and I fear they might have gotten that too despite being parked ~200' away from the other victims.
Here in southern Ohio I use a 12ga with high brass and that generally stops them effectively. If your in town that might be a problem.
Not sure of the legality of this but my mom use to use a poison around the house to kill mice. Not sure what it's called but it would basically dehydrate them to death. They were a greenish blue after the fact. Id say if u mixed something like that with peanut butter they might "take the bait".
A good cat will work good too. It's a little less frowned on but the end result is the same
I'll try the antifreeze, granular poison could be a problem as my brother has his two dogs here often and there's often small children around too. I'm pretty far in the country but if they'd hold still I could get them while under the car with a pellet rifle, shooting under a car with my shotgun would have predictable and very undesirable results.
I went with a pellet gun. It is fun and effective.
Squirrels were using my attic at a hotel and chewing through the soffit vents. It was creating damage in an area 3 stories high and not accessible by any extension ladder I could get up there. They had to go. I tried to scare them out and covered the holes and vents with stronger and more secure wire mesh. That worked until they started chewing new holes to get back in.
Then the assault began. I won.
Many squirrels later, there are plenty on the property but they are no longer trying to get into the house and the attic has been quiet and empty. It took a year to eliminate the problem population.
Not a fan of poison for larger pest animals. Takes a lot of poison to actually kill, and then you have rotting carcass in random locations. Big animals reek as they decompose.
An underfed aggressive outdoor cat can help keep the population down; but squirrels get smart and just wait for cat to nap or go inside. Fat indoor cats are useless for chasing squirrels.
Last time I had squirrel problem, used live trap(s) baited with peanuts, peanut butter, and bird seed mix to catch them, followed by pellet gun shot in head, and then bury in shallow grave in back yard. Once I had buried about half of them in yard, rest decided they liked neighbors attic across the street more than chewing plastic stuff my garage. My live trap caught 2 different neighbor pet cats chasing squirrels, at direction of SWMBO; they were released and continued to 'fertilize' our flower beds till we sold the place.
Have always been able to find a DIY pest control store nearby when I need extermination supplies They are very happy to share tips/advice and educate on any local laws that one needs to know. Tractor Supply Co carries commercial/farm exterminating supplies and can be easy to find? Here is online source I have used here in Phoenix: https://doyourownpestcontrol.com/squirrelcontrol.htm
I used 110 size spring body traps around my previous garden when something was getting into my tomatoes and strawberries and squirrels were the primary catch with a few chipmunks in the mix. I set them up here and baited them with a small marshmallow with a little peanut butter and was the a squirrel on at least two different occasions run out from under the car right past the trap, they were for some reason just more interested in chewing on plastic and wires. The only thing I did catch in one of the six traps I set out was a possum which at first I thought was a cat which I definitely don't want to hurt as they could benefit my cause.
Ok, I put my trail camera on video and placed it where it would pickup anything moving under the car and it appears to be the same squirrel (based on size and color) that is now chewing on the actual exhaust system as it's been dropped to the ground to facilitate removing the fuel tank. That the car represents a hangout in the first place is a complete mystery (maybe due to proximity to a nest?), chewing on the exhaust actually doesn't bother me at all as a whole forest of them couldn't chew through a stainless exhaust system in a very long time. As for the wires that have been chewed but still have intact conductors, I've coated them with liquid electrical tape then powdered with cayenne pepper while setting to make them less desirable in the future. The same will be done to the new wires on the new fuel pump. This really makes me long for my 76' Pontiac Ventura that had a Chevy 250 L6 under the hood. What it lacked in power it more than made up for in serviceability. You could sit on the frame beside the engine and change the plugs with the hood closed!
Be interested in the updates, and if he can through that steel, I think you'll need more than just a 12ga to deal with him. As for working on new cars - I remember working on my father's 1976 Newport. You could stuff a Fiat 500 under the hood and still have room to spare.
Checked the trail camera again and it's the same squirrel, this time several minutes of him licking the exhaust pipe, definitely not chewing to keep the tooth growth in check but just constant licking. All of the wires that only had a few nicks in the insulation were coated with liquid electrical tape with cayenne pepper mixed in then sprayed everything with a bitter chew deterrent spray. I'm hoping it works as everything is put back together and I'm comfortable never having to do that again. I got one drop of the spray on my face when installing the gas tank back under the car and sweat allowed a tiny bit migrate to my mouth. This is easily the worst stuff I've ever tasted and over eight hours and three showers later I'm still trying to get rid of this taste. I'd much rather be sprayed with tear gas or bob for dog turds in a tub of gasoline than ever have to endure that again!
If the pellet gun does not work step up to a 22 with subsonic rounds. I have a little tack driver that driver with carbon fiber barrel that works well for thinning the population of chipmunks and red squirrel varieties. The grey squirrel's leave me alone so i dont bother with them. There are also traps that work well if you absolutely cannot use weapons in the yard. Check out Fleet Farm options for traps if you have one near by. Squirrels take time to thin and then it takes maintenance to keep the population down. Antifreeze wont work unless you have stuff made prior to 1980's. They put a bittering agent in it now so animals wont drink it.
I had a problem with mice chewing through a wiring harness in my Subaru and clipping about 6 wires a few years ago. I was told Irish Spring soap keeps those critters away a so I put it everywhere in the cars, house cabinets, garage and barn.
I have not see any since and none are in the traps any more. Maybe that will work for squirrels short of a 22 long rifle!
There are several exterminator videos on YouTube that might give some insight to how the pros handle squirrels. Basically, setting a food lure and dispatching the critters with pellet guns. Most vids detail the equipment used to get professional results.
I've been having greater success with dispatching them with my .177 pellet gun, like any hunting, shot placement is key. I don't want these animals to suffer, not the way they made me suffer (got into the wiring on my not too old Caravan now too) but I've found my scope won't hold sight for crap. Gamo sold this with a BSA 22 special which I know isn't even in the same realm as say a Leupold but it shouldn't be so easy to knock out of allignment. Right after sighting it in, I can hold a 5 shot pattern inside of 2" at 35 yards with cheap ammo but that does me no good if that precision is consistently 2" over the squirrels' heads.
Might loan you one of my cats…she will go up the tree just to get them…..Have had 3 dead squirrels to dispose of….
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