This has been the first year I had squirrels eating and knocking peaches off the trees. I guess I was lucky in the past. I shot 10-12 so far but there are more. Rat traps get some. I picked up a bucket of half eaten peaches. So depressing…
So I decided to make the electric fence a bit more squirrel proof. The previous fence had to big openings, 2 x 4 inch. The hard fence was 16 inches tall and weeds could get to the hot wires. And Squirrels would just run right thru it.
I added a layer of chicken wire, or poultry cloth, with 1 inch openings, 2 foot tall fence now. Then spaced to 2 hot wires starting about 2 inches above, then 2 inches above that a ground wire. Around the base where the chicken wire meets the ground, I have covered with gravel.
Because E-fence chargers pulse every second, fast squirrels can zip right in some times. Not because they are smart, just their SOP.
I don’t think this will stop them completely, but I sure hope it slows them down.
I have my hot wire all the way on top of a 3 feet tall fence. Then the ground wire two l or three inches below. This way I don’t have to worry about the weed slowing down the hot wire. The fenced area has been squirrel proof so far but ground hog started to dig under and get in…
I don’t follow your wire placement. Going from ground to top, 3 ft fence, space, Hot wire, space, Ground wire? Also, what spacing of wires to fence and Hot to ground wires?
VERY neat job - and great ideas, Paddy. That took a lot of effort.
I can’t believe they get through that. Amazing. But, they learn to work those incredible mazes that people invent . . . so they just might manage to figure this out.
Thank you. I think in most cases as a squirrel climbs up the fence, they will get hit with a shock. If they are like deer or raccoons, they might learn quickly to find something else to eat. We have also stopped feeding the birds, this kept an army of squirrels on our feeders and under the feeders.
I also work from home and keep an eye out for them. When the squirrel rampage happened, I was traveling on a biz trip.
