Squirrel Wars - 2012
Squirrel Wars--Report From the Front
Harris McKee, June 2012
Constant readers will remember the battles reported previously in Bella Vista with the destructive squirrels of Cunningham Lane. No one needs to be reminded of my roof saga; not hail the insurance adjuster noted—squirrels! Nor how I took to armoring my drip irrigation lines to protect them from plastic eating squirrels. This week my war took a forward step in technology.
Thirty years ago I finally controlled a roving dog with a technique from my childhood used to contain cattle, an electric fence. (For those of you unfamiliar with this device and fearing its use in a family neighborhood, please know that I, like most farm kids, personally verified the shocking nature of electric fences.)
Twenty years ago I loaned the system to my daughter and son-in-law to control their dog. They used the system in Illinois successfully but decided to use an underground control system when they moved to Wisconsin and put the fencer on the shelf.
Last month when we visited them, I retrieved the fencer and the original roll of wire. It seems that squirrels have been emptying my guarded feeder and despite dropping 15 feet to hard steps when I scream at them, they keep coming back. So you can imagine my anticipation as I watched a squirrel approach the simulated ground plate I constructed of aluminum pop cans. He stopped and shook and retreated. He had already tested my system. In the installation in my yard in Texas, once tested, our dog never crossed the wire whether it was turned on or left off. Here’s hoping that my squirrel enemies will experience similar deterrence.
Guarded Feeder
(Guard Keeps Small Squirrels from Falling Out of Feeder)
Fencer with Ground Plate