I’ve gotta get a pic to post, but a client called me Friday with an issue. When I went over, I noticed that the beautifully redone front door threshold I had repaired for her last spring was nearly destroyed on the edges, and covered with reddish dust (redwood house).
Okay?
Now – what really happened, SQUIRRELS have gnawed the edges of the darn thing, and the red dust was pepper she put out to dissuade them – kept her awake at night.
I mean really gnawed – 1/2″ deep in some places, and all since last spring. I used the Minwax wood consolidator and Minwax brand “Bondo” polyester resin.
Anybody heard of this? Our old city engineer used to ride around with squirrel-destroyed electrical parts on his dashboard, telling anyone who would listen that a breed of “super squirrels” was evolving.
They chew my aluminum ladders, too.
Am I living in the Twilight Zone?
Forrest – hearing chewing sounds
Edited 9/17/2006 8:34 pm by McDesign
Replies
Around here they chew up PVC vent stacks
our squirrels are pretty tough, they like real wood
i think that one has been knocking up the cats in my neighborhood . . . .
Our squirrels are party'n fools
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Edited 9/17/2006 9:45 pm by wrudiger
Hi McDesign,
I've got the same type of thing going on with squirrels at my place. They've gnawed off the end of a deck handrail in one spot, and are working on some spindles and some siding where a roof peak meets a wall. And these are not just a few little nibbles.
(If I weren't within city limits I'd need to go find that Southern cuisine thread . . . :^))
Those squirrels are chewing through a bondo mixture? Well, maybe it didn't agree with them . . . or perhaps they'll mutate into uber-squirrels as a result.
:^)
sojourner
Squirrels: Rats with better outfits.
Maybe using cayenne in equal parts with the hardener in the bondo would work? Or better yet, wasabi- I don't know anyone who likes unexpected wasabi.
zak
"so it goes"
Someone needs to tell my dog then.
I loaded an egg with a lot of wasabi to try and stop it stealing them. Decided to test it first, so I handed it straight to the dog.
Ate it....didnt blink.....wanted more.
After the 10 megaton chilli egg and a strong emetic got eaten too........the vet reckoned I should feed her a hand grenade. Damn thing would probably eat it and not even know .
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
ROAR!!!!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Our pup ate about a dozen "TNT" chicken wings off the counter with no ill effects - wanted more.
Forrest
LMAO
I give up. Your dog must have some heat addiction. zak
"so it goes"
The dog likes hot sauce. so spray tabassco on the squirrels and let the dog loosse.
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so spray tabassco on the squirrels and let the dog loosse
LoL!
Getting the pepper spray cloes enough to the tree rats with out being counter-sprayed would be the trickier part, I'm thinking.
However, they make pepper-loaded 'paint balls' though . . . Almost the best of both worlds.
Now, back on topic, I want to remember that the "trick" for rodents was peppermint oil, not OC.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I just saw a patch of lead cambing (1/8 thick X 1" wide strap of pure lead that covers a joint between stone copings) last week that was getting chewed up by squirrels! there were at least 100 of these joints on the building, but they were attacking just one.
I thought maybe if ther was some kind of dialetric connection/corrosion (maybe it's touching some copper reinforcing pin underneath?) that it seems tasty...like chewing on aluminm foil. Same reason mice chew wire insulation?
This is lead poisoning for sure. Just the slowwwww kind. I think we'll have some squirrels with low IQ's running around in no time. Not something you want at an ivy league school! We'll keep it out of the brochure....Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
Lead does tase sweet, and there is lead in the sheathing on Romex
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
'Been chewing lead to pass those long Maine winters? I never knoew it was sweet. I have no explanation as to why they'd single out one strip from the 100 other ones.
There's lead in the NM sheathing? I assume that's only "vintage" romex, not the stufff you get off the shelf these days?Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/3004/3285snaffle.jpg
That looks liike chili fixins!
That's what I do with the critters. Although I suppose I'll need to curb my intake if they have high blood lead levels....kinda like limiting your intake of fish/murcury!Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
I took a lead abatement class 3-4 years ago, and that is where I learned it. One example they used for case studies was an electrician who used to chew on the little strippings when he bared the wire. The lerad is what makes the color stay true and not fade. Since it stays covered and is not subject to wear or giving off dust, there is no health reason to not use it anymore. But electricians need to have good sanitary practices.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Squirrels' teeth are constantly growing. They have to gnaw to wear them down some. Oxidized lead is abrasive. You'd think the rat-basturds would die of lead poisoning.
I hope they would die from lead poisioning is more like it.
The telco cable around here is lead wrapped.The like to chew on that lead. Then is rains and the wires get wet and the phone goes out.One of the phone lineman told me how he was up on pole when a squire decided to use his hardhat as a transfer pad between the pole and near by tree.
Squirrels ate the plastic gas tank right off my old lawn mower...one day I pulled it out from under the porch to mow the lawn, and there was nothing but a big pile of plastic chips where the tank was supposed to be.
I put some Tabasco sauce on a piece of wood that a squirrel was chewing on and the chewing stopped.
Lead poisining is what works the best 17 or 22 cal lead pill.
I agree! Lead poisoning is very effective. Just watch for down range.
that lady needs a dog.
I had squirrels building nests in my chimneys, they were smart enough to move the chicken wire away from it.
One day I was working on the outside of the workshop putting up new soffits when 2 of them walked by. Good thing I had just reloaded the finish nailer. I was able to hit them both, they jumped up and never came back. It is not a firearm but the nails are painful enough for them.
rats with furry tails
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
and a great PR department...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
So far they're not eating fibrecement- but all wood, sound or unsound, is a target!
I second the lead poisoning- other chemicals of the rat- and mouse-sort don't seem to be that tempting, even when pasted with peanut butter...
Slightly off topic, I once blocked up a rathole with a mixture of cement and broken glass. The rats still tried to dig their way through it.
Probably the new improved crack squirrels..I heard that in many large ( populated) areas , when the "5-0" tells the crack head to freeze, they ditch or toss away the rocks...the squirrels find and eat the rocks. Now you have a whacked crack head with great incisors.
Just a rumour I am sure.
The ones I see in Lex. sure look like they found some meth tho'.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"
I had one chewing through my window screen the other day. I heard it from the kitchen while I was getting something to eat. When I saw what it was, I had to fight it off with the butter knife I had in my hand. luckily it wasn't all the way through and i just whacked it with the knife and it ran away, but now I'm left with a hole in the screen. They have been tormenting me since I bought the house. They chewed through two trash cans and continuously spread the contents of the cans around the yard. Now we have those fancy cans on wheels that the truck drives by and picks up automatically. They claimed that they are rodent proof. They were correct about that till I put a bag of trash in it.
Yup...crack squirrels. I told ya.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"
They were correct about that till I put a bag of trash in it.
Yeah, well, mine are the same--that's why the trash doesn't go in until late Tuesday night for Wednesday late-morning collection.
Anything that Absolutely Must Be Out of the House Right Now, gets a couple of mothballs to slow the raccoons down (even when that gets me a 'nag note' from Solid Waste Collection about putting "road kill" in the cans . . . )Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
see rez about a screen patch...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
got a job fer ya...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I got sick of the squirrels chewing my house up and retrieving their buried acorns in my front yard.
My front yard has become a sister city to Baghdad because of all the digging.
I started to set out rat traps with peanut butter as bait. And a 6" gutter spike to hold it to the ground.
A city worker stopped by and told me to make sure the squirrels didn't sit in the traps all day. Other than that he said that squirrels in our area have become a big problem, and he was going to pass on the trap idea to them.
I don't have the keys to success.
I know how to pick the locks.
A rat trap will nuke one of those aggressive little red squirrels, but will just piss off a black or grey squirrel. Don't ask how I know, or the local animal rights people will be outside my house with picket signs!
I've caught them in 4" connibear traps baited with a slice of apple (While trying to get the muskrats boring into my pond levy...another critter for another thread).
Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
and speaking of squirrels, or chipmunks or any other name for fancy rats, this morning I smelt that wonderous aroma of dead squirrel somewhere in the house.
be friggin' ^$#*&(%+*
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
make sure yur doors swing both ways...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The "crack squirrel" is no myth - My brother caught a couple of them trying to break into his son's Tonka truck. It turns out there was a cracktree not fifty feet from the sandbox! whudaworld.
Now - what really happened, SQUIRRELS have gnawed the edges of the darn thing, and the red dust was pepper she put out to dissuade them - kept her awake at night.
Forrest, are you sure its squirrels. The reason I ask is, I've never known squirrels to be active at night..... Might be one of them chupacabras.LOL I think they like spicy foods!
FWIW... I have done a few squirrel induced repairs in the past and the one common denominator with all of them was bird feeders close to the house.
Please confirm this with your client and get back to me on it so I can store it in my ever expanding memory bank of useless information.:)
Doug, leaving the lights on till we get to the bottom of this midnight gnawer !
Appologies to the OP. We're not answering your bondo question.
I've never heard of the bondo attraction, but I'm getting ready to bondo a windowsill at my house this evening! That Cayanne additive sounds like it's worth a try!
Does the client use de-icing salts on their front stoop? Maybe the bondo threshold is retaining some saltiness?
This might be unusual enough that trapping the offending critter out will take care of it. The new critters that backfill their nitch (and they will) may not have the same penchant.
Ithaca, NY "10 square miles, surrounded by reality"
I was having problems with my DSL and phone, off for a while and then it came back for a couple of months. I got a new renter and her phone was out. I went to the service box outside and checked it. It worked. For about 15 minutes. Then it was dead. SBC came out and replaced the wire and removed the 3 abandoned drops. The one being used had been chewed on, the black jacket was gone and all of the conductors were nibbled on. There must be something in the plastic that they like.
Talk to anyone who has had a car or truck sitting for an extended time- mice and rats seem to love the wire insulation.
lead - it tastes sweet
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!