How to prevent Squirrels from chewing Christmas lights?

[CaptTom]

We've got squirrels all around here. I've never noticed that they've chewed up anything except maybe wood so they could get into a shed or someone's attic. I've had mice get into my small engines and even car engines. Even there, they may chew a wire or two a little bit, but I've never seen much damage.

I just restored a friend's unused lawn tractor which had been a mouse habitat for three years. I probably pulled out gallons of bedding material and mouse skeletons. It's running great now. All the wiring was fine. And this was a big tractor with a complex electrical system.

Are there regional taste preferences among rodents? Or are the ones around here so well fed that they don't need to resort to eating wire insulation?

 

[ERD50]

... The first time it happened, I was convinced that kids came and chopped up my lights with scissors. I mentioned it to a co-worker and they couldn't stop laughing at my suggestion. "Joe, it is probably rabbits or squirrels." ...

I saw a post on Next Door about the time I experienced the damage. The guy was ranting about kids cutting his wires, and some others chimed in that it was squirrels/rabbits.

I was thinking kids when it happened to me, but it just didn't fit. So far, the kids around us have all been good kids, no problems, and it just seemed too weird that they'd come all the way to out front porch and get back to where the wires were.

Occom says smaller critters are to blame.

And I'd likely have a better chance of getting away with using a BB gun on squirrels/rabbits than I would the neighborhood kids!

I don't know if there is any practical way to wire up an electric fence thing. If it's squirrels, they climb pretty high. But if it happens this year, and it's all on the ground, I'll give it a try.

It's important to use a REAL device designed for this purpose. Growing up on a farm, I'm familiar with electric fences. They have some specific design features to make them safer, one of which is that they cycle off every few seconds, so that nothing is 'paralyzed' by the current, which can end badly. Once the current is off, the muscles can relax and break away from the fence.

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

If the wires are only chewed a few feet up from the ground then it's squirrels.

One year I noticed our plants had small branches cut off neatly at a 45 degree angle. I was sure it kids, until I learned that is what rabbits do.

 

[JoeWras]

If the wires are only chewed a few feet up from the ground then it's squirrels.

One year I noticed our plants had small branches cut off neatly at a 45 degree angle. I was sure it kids, until I learned that is what rabbits do.

Yes, it looks amazingly like someone came in with scissors or a pruner.

 

[Koolau]

One of the things we miss here in the Islands is seeing squirrels and rabbits scampering about. "Road kill" is virtually unseen here. The only exception is the occasional duck which waddles across a busy highway (instead of flying - what's up with that?)



I guess we're lucky not to have critters that eat our plants, though we don't have a garden since we live in a condo building. Our big issues with free-ranging animals is (wait for it) chickens! They seem to announce the coming morning WAY to early. And their calls carry across the valley. YMMV

 

[MarieIG]

When I had my house I figured outside was the squirrels home and if they ate something I just stopped doing it. They would eat the garden so I gave up planting one. I couldn’t hurt them in any way.

I couldn't hurt them either.

They never went after lights, but there was a constant battle between DH and the squirrels centered around the bird feeders at our last house. DH would move the feeders or put up another "squirrel proof" feeder, and the squirrels would overcome whatever obstacle he attempted to put in their way. The score was about 100 (Squirrels)/ 0 (DH) by the time we moved.

DH thinks he "defeated" the squirrels at our current house by putting a shields at the bottom of the feeders. (We currently have some enormously fat squirrels grazing on all the food falling out of the feeders so if his plan was to make the squirrels too full and fat to bother to climb the feeders, he is indeed victorious.)

 

[Sunset]

We actually enjoy greatly seeing the rabbits and squirrels in the yard.

The only issue is sometimes the squirrels go for the bird feeder, but normally the birds throw enough seeds and corn down that the squirrels stay on the ground and clean it up.

Here they are having lunch..

 

[Koolau]

I couldn't hurt them either.

They never went after lights, but there was a constant battle between DH and the squirrels centered around the bird feeders at our last house. DH would move the feeders or put up another "squirrel proof" feeder, and the squirrels would overcome whatever obstacle he attempted to put in their way. The score was about 100 (Squirrels)/ 0 (DH) by the time we moved.

DH thinks he "defeated" the squirrels at our current house by putting a shields at the bottom of the feeders. (We currently have some enormously fat squirrels grazing on all the food falling out of the feeders so if his plan was to make the squirrels too full and fat to bother to climb the feeders, he is indeed victorious.)

Yeah, I always figured there was a conspiracy between the birds and the squirrels. The birds quickly realized that the feeder always got refilled, so they threw every third kernel on the ground for their "buddies" with the bushy tails. Every one was happy - including the feed store where the 50 pound bags of bird food came from.

Here in Paradise, we can't have our own feeder and we are forbidden to feed the pigeons (not that I would.) For two years, our HOA interviewed and even tried out "pigeon removal" systems. One included live traps with "relocation." No joy. They found their way back. Another one depended on strict removal of all food sources in the area - then we found out the next building over did not forbid feeding the pigeons. So, they ate next door and roosted on our ledges.

Back in high school, one year we showed up and there were NO pigeons. Turns out they poisoned them!! I was never a fan of pigeons, but even at 17, I was incensed that they would do that "for us." We didn't ask for it. YMMV

 

[MarieIG]

Yeah, I always figured there was a conspiracy between the birds and the squirrels. The birds quickly realized that the feeder always got refilled, so they threw every third kernel on the ground for their "buddies" with the bushy tails. Every one was happy - including the feed store where the 50 pound bags of bird food came from.

Here in Paradise, we can't have our own feeder and we are forbidden to feed the pigeons (not that I would.) For two years, our HOA interviewed and even tried out "pigeon removal" systems. One included live traps with "relocation." No joy. They found their way back. Another one depended on strict removal of all food sources in the area - then we found out the next building over did not forbid feeding the pigeons. So, they ate next door and roosted on our ledges.

Back in high school, one year we showed up and there were NO pigeons. Turns out they poisoned them!! I was never a fan of pigeons, but even at 17, I was incensed that they would do that "for us." We didn't ask for it. YMMV

Oh my! We don't get many pigeons - but once in a while I tease DH that a "Court Street Pigeon" (the ones with the green heads) has come to visit me from my old stomping grounds in Brooklyn.

 

[street]

Go buy a live trap cage put it up in a tree the height of a bird feeder. Use corn or peanuts/nuts or dried fruit.
They say they are very easy to catch but need traps up off of the ground. Then use can do what you want with them.

 

[427Vette]

This whole thread has me picturing Bill Murray in Caddyshack…��! Just leave the lights on for a few days. I’d bet if they got a few shocks while chewing on the wires they would quit chewing on them. It would probably only take a few days. Dogs seem to learn the invisible fence thing pretty quickly.

 

[ERD50]

This whole thread has me picturing Bill Murray in Caddyshack…��! Just leave the lights on for a few days. I’d bet if they got a few shocks while chewing on the wires they would quit chewing on them. It would probably only take a few days. Dogs seem to learn the invisible fence thing pretty quickly.

I doubt this would be a deterrent.

The lights strings typically have two separate insulated wires (plus a separate insulated 'runner' to power the 'string-a-long' plug at the end). The wires are loosely wrapped around each other, not bound together like an extension cord.

What that means is, the critter is very unlikely to come into contact with two bare wires at the same time (a Hot and a Neutral). It will eat through one, then may eat through the other. And if they come into contact with the hot wire and are sufficiently grounded, the GFCI will trip, and then they've turned it off - they may not learn from a one-time jolt.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Some examples (critter can't get a shock this way):

-ERD50

 

[Northforker]

Just eat what you shoot.

I feed them to the red foxes in our woodlot, they sometimes come to the yard after I shoot one looking for a meal, if not, the dead squirrel is ALWAYS gone before the next morning. We used to eat them, but I got tired of skinning them, too much work.

 

[easysurfer]

There comes a time to stop feeding the squirrels .

 

[CaptTom]

...then we found out the next building over did not forbid feeding the pigeons. So, they ate next door and roosted on our ledges...

Same thing here. Next-door-neighbor loves to feed the birds. Eventually all the pigeons who used to live a mile away under an overpass decided to move here permanently. Her husband and I hate them, but she doesn't see them as the rats with wings which they really are. I'm toying with the idea of sending her the bill when I need a new roof. Unfortunately killing them wouldn't be conducive to good neighborly relations.

 

[Koolau]

Some examples (critter can't get a shock this way):

-ERD50

ERD50 you could become a hand model if the FIRE thing doesn't w*rk out for you.

 

[JoeWras]

Birds and squirrels: birds are smart and let the squirrels do the heavy lifting. I'm not convinced that squirrels have any intelligence at all. They are just evolutionary successful jerks.

Funny story: DW and I were on vacation and had lunch in a quiet picnic area of a park. While eating lunch, the squirrels were coming close to us, begging. They'd get up on their back legs and look at us. I was impressed, maybe they do have intelligence. After a few minutes, I broke down and threw them a snack.

Out of nowhere, this bird swoops down and yanks the food away just before the squirrel could retrieve it. The bird was gone in a flash. I thought the squirrel was smart, but it was just a dumb accomplice in a clever plan that the birds set up all along.

 

[ERD50]

ERD50 you could become a hand model if the FIRE thing doesn't w*rk out for you.

Not my hand or photo, examples I found from the web.

I dunno, kinda pudgy fingers, but as my DD pointed out a few years ago "Your hands are looking 'old'", I said, "They've looked old for a while, you just noticed now!"

Which reminds me, it seems that many women these days are looking younger than their years (and I mean 'regular' women, not celebrities, etc). Sometimes, the hands will show their age more than the rest of them. Probably a matter of staying fit, no smoking, less sun, etc.

-ERD50

 

[MarieIG]

Not my hand or photo, examples I found from the web.

I dunno, kinda pudgy fingers, but as my DD pointed out a few years ago "Your hands are looking 'old'", I said, "They've looked old for a while, you just noticed now!"

Which reminds me, it seems that many women these days are looking younger than their years (and I mean 'regular' women, not celebrities, etc). Sometimes, the hands will show their age more than the rest of them. Probably a matter of staying fit, no smoking, less sun, etc.

-ERD50

As frequently discussed on the beauty boards, the skin on the hands should receive the same care as the skin on the face (as well as the whole-body systemic care as previously noted - of course).

 

[Koolau]

Birds and squirrels: birds are smart and let the squirrels do the heavy lifting. I'm not convinced that squirrels have any intelligence at all. They are just evolutionary successful jerks.

Funny story: DW and I were on vacation and had lunch in a quiet picnic area of a park. While eating lunch, the squirrels were coming close to us, begging. They'd get up on their back legs and look at us. I was impressed, maybe they do have intelligence. After a few minutes, I broke down and threw them a snack.

Out of nowhere, this bird swoops down and yanks the food away just before the squirrel could retrieve it. The bird was gone in a flash. I thought the squirrel was smart, but it was just a dumb accomplice in a clever plan that the birds set up all along.

I love this story. Birds may not be as smart as they are devious. Anyway...



I read a study on squirrels once. The thought was that squirrels bury all those nuts for winter, but forget where many of them are buried or hidden. They studied several squirrels and discovered that their recollection was excellent (I forget the number but I think it was in the high 90% range.) Smart little rodents! YMMV

 

[JoeWras]

I read a study on squirrels once. The thought was that squirrels bury all those nuts for winter, but forget where many of them are buried or hidden. They studied several squirrels and discovered that their recollection was excellent (I forget the number but I think it was in the high 90% range.) Smart little rodents! YMMV

I wonder if they go through this process too?

I know I hid my nut here. What's this sapling doing here? Let me dig under it and see.

 

[The HalfBreed]

Use 110V lights.

 

[ERD50]

Use 110V lights.

?

They are 110V lights. See my post #37.

Even if the critter makes a 'short' between a part of the circuit with current limited by the full 50 LEDs in series, that's enough current to give it a severe/painful shock. Elsewhere in the line will result in a higher and higher current. So these 110V LED strings could provide a severe/painful shock, even though individual LEDs are ~ 3V each.

But as described in that post, making contact in that way is unlikely (bridging both the hot and neutral lines at once).

-ERD50

 

[Murph]

Daisy BB rifle.