Will two-inch chicken wire keep out squirrels?

[Worth1]

Coyotes eat calves livestock and your pets.
This is horrible but I have seen one of our cows growing up as she was giving birth to a calf the coyotes ate it as it was coming out.
So there was a half eaten dead baby calf that still wasn't delivered all the way we had to pull it.

Is that graphic enough I hate them with a passion.

Worth

[Hellmanns]

The last two animals on earth will be a coyote and a buzzard. Then, the coyote will play dead and catch the buzzard.

[Deborah]

I hate coyotes too. I saw a dead one on the freeway the other day. Good riddance.

[OzoneNY]

I got a troublemaker name Gizmo. Well, he's the wife's dog not mine. But to his credit he is half Yorkshire Terrier, he's fast and he has teeth like needles. He's 11 lbs of rodent executioner. His favorite hobby is shredding rabbits and squirrels though I get to clean up the mess....but I dont mind so much. He generally keeps the barbarian rodents outside the moat these days.

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[Rockandrollin]

Like the original poster, Jarrod, I am also fighting squirrels except mine are ground squirrels. I would love to find a solution that is safe for people and pets. I think that poison would be the most effective but worry about secondary poisoning of neighborhood pets. I've been able to kill the most by trapping, but even in good trapping year that I got 52, all I am doing is thinning the population.

Things I have tried:

Macabee gopher traps in the burrow openings: I've caught a lot this way, but probably about 75% tripped traps with no squirrel. Reminds me about Worth's comment about the squirrels shutting off the electric fence.

Home made 5 gallon water bucket trap: This originally was quite effective. One day I got 6 of them. Then the magpies discovered them and would eat all the peanut butter bait. Tried a wire cage over the trap and also burying the bucket to ground level with a plywood box over it. Apparently the squirrels had a town hall meeting and discussed the perils of these traps as I caught very little afterwards.

Havahart live trap baited with peanut butter: Caught quite a few, but effectiveness wore off.

Conibear #110 trap at burrow opening: This was awkward placing it over burrow and also a 5 gallon bucket over it to protect neighbor hood pets. These are wicked traps. I need a better game plan of how to exclude pets from getting to them.

Rat traps baited with peanut butter: Caught a few.

Lye or boric acid: Using a flexible funnel, I would put it deep as I could into the burrows. didn't seem to slow them down. The squirrels would push it out in a lot of cases.

Oatmeal with plaster of paris: Mixed one part plaster of paris to 3 parts oatmeal and put in a pvc bait station. They are eating it, but doesn't appear to be slowing them down any.

Rifles: Although I am on 5 acres, the neighbors and roads are relatively close so I am limited to my RWS 48 air rifle and a .22 with bird shot. Got a few.

Water hose into burrow: Some of these burrows would take water for hours and not fill up and the ones that did fill up didn't seem to effect the population.

Gopher gassers: The ones you light, put in burrow and seal burrow to give them the poison gas treatment. No workie.

Vehicle exhaust: Used Pvc pipe to go from tail pipe to burrow. Pipe melted within 10 minutes, DOH!

Rodenator: Would love to try this or something similar, but have heard they can damage pvc irrigation pipes.

I would love to hear what you have used effectively. If your solution is one that you are afraid to post here, PLEASE pm me.

[henry]

Propane air is lighter this might not be a good plan for smokers :]

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by henry

Propane air is lighter this might not be a good plan for smokers :]

Tell me about it.
I saw one guy pull out his Zippo and light a cigarette at an oil well and then went to put the lighter out buy tapping the lid on his leg before it went into his pocket.
Poof!!!

Oh no we told him you are supposed to put the lighter out at head level the gas is at your waist.

This was a long time ago back when people did crazy stuff.
Worth

[Rockandrollin]

Originally Posted by henry

Propane air is lighter this might not be a good plan for smokers :]

When the wind dies down, I will try it at night. Thank you

[henry]

For those of you that need a little more fun and revenge.
http://www.rodentblaster.com/
No way I would pay this price there would be ways to make your own.

[henry]

Rodent control with dry ice, anyone tried this?
http://www.ehow.com/how_5352714_kill...s-dry-ice.html

[Jonnyhat]

i have a JRT who will chase a bear... I have a jrt X pug who has killed a coon

[elight]

I want to give this thread a bump. I am frustrated beyond belief. Last season, the squirrels started to get to my tomatoes toward the end, but not to the point that it ruined my harvest.

Now, at the point where my first tomatoes should be ripening, I had over 100 tomatoes on my plants a week ago, and today I have essentially none. They have eaten everything. I am so dejected after investing so much time and money.

From what I can tell, nothing really works. Would a cage of some sort keep them out? Maybe. I tried "marking my territory" but I'm doubtful that will have an effect.

Maybe it's time to give up on tomatoes in Florida. That would be really disappointing, but I'm otherwise out of ideas.

[Jonnyhat]

I loosely cage them with chicken wire... my buddy does the same thing... only he also electrifies them... he lives on the edge of the woods and not even the heard of deer that lie there go near his tomatoes. Shocking I know

[Jeannine Anne]

There is a theory in the UK that human hair distracts foxes, folks get the hairdressers to save it and put it among the plants. Of course they don't have the same wildlife but it's worth a thought. There is always the theory about Zoo Poo too. I used that in my greenhouse last year and the neighborhood rat that came in to eat the tomatoes stopped coming. I might have been coincidence but I have a bucketful in there now with the lid open!!

XX Jeannine

[Kikaida]

elight, I feel bad for ya. Perhaps one of those yappy varmint dogs would do you well.