Squirrels.....Game On

[BobbyVA]

Sounds like you need a good suppressed .22 for Christmas!

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

You mean 300blk out suppressed running some [emoji6]220 grain [emoji2958][emoji2958][emoji2958]




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[waveslayer]

You mean 300blk out suppressed running some [emoji6]220 grain [emoji2958][emoji2958][emoji2958]




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Ha Ha ha we will need to get the OP a bleach bucket to clean up the explosion. 220 grainers make a mess. I blast little squirrels all the time at our cabin... with my TBAC can it is like a rabbit farting. I shot this squirrel once with a blunt from my bow. It sounded like a bag of potatoe chips being popped... I still smile thinking of that

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

 

[Ricoman]

You really can't make this up.

I live on a couple acres, mostly wooded, and have always enjoyed the animals. In the past, the extent of the squirrel issue has been getting into bird feeders, but I've solved that problem.

I recently had a 'Suspension fault, service required' error message on my 2019 Raptor. I took it to the dealer, a squirrel had chewed through part of the harness going to the right rear shock, harness replaced, no big deal. I've been parking my vehicles in this same spot since I built this house 30 years ago, the end of my driveway covered by a carport and surrounded by Red tip plants and trees on either side for privacy. Never an issue in all that time. Good toys stay in the garage.

On Saturday I went to remote start my Raptor from the house, the fob made contact with the truck but no start. I move to the kitchen window so I can see, same thing, truck lights blink, no start. I figured that perhaps one of the doors was ajar, I go out and get in the truck, push the button, truck turns over for 8 seconds, no start, I try again, no start. As almost a joke I raise the hood to see this. Damn squirrel started building a nest in the engine compartment and chewed through a wire. I parked the truck the night before so this was done in ~12 hours. Took forever to clean out the mess, and of course it cut the wire right off at the connector, there's only about 1/16th" of bare wire sticking out of the connector (purple wire, 3rd pic) so it's not as simple as a splice, solder and shrinktube. I was able to get enough of an ugly booger solder on the wire to make it stick until I could get to the dealer Thursday for a proper fix. I was really worried that there was going to be more chewing damage but fortunately I didn't see any. I moved the truck from its normal location forward about 50 feet in the middle of the asphalt driveway with the front close to the middle garage bay door and away from the original bushes, trees, etc.

Last night before my scheduled appointment my daughter comes in the house with her dogs and says the dogs reacted around the truck like there's something in it. I go out, and the damn squirrel built another nest with the same fresh Red-tip bush limbs in the same spot in the engine compartment. there was not a single leaf on the ground as evidence he/she had been in there. I clean out the big mess and get a ton of faults on the screen, ABS error, accident avoidance error, etc. etc. etc. The truck still starts and I left it at the dealer.

Again, 30 years, zero squirrel/vehicle issues parking in the same stop and conditions, now 3x in 2 weeks. I think this was a single ******* squirrel w/o a nest and now he has his scent in the truck. I can see at least 5 other nests high up in the trees on my properly. So until I can provide a better fix, I picked up (2) Havehart live traps and put them on either side of my parking area. I don't care about the 'live' part, but that's all I could quickly get. I have another large live trap being delivered tomorrow. Reading all I can, I also plan to tie a bundle of drier sheets right in the area of the engine compartment where the nests are being built and change weekly for now. I also picked up a large container of Pinesol/ammonia that I plan to pour into 2 containers, place 1 under the engine area where the truck is parked and the other under the rear end, and just drive/park over them. May also pour a barrier of liquid repellant around the area.

I can't have the worry of more damage. It's illegal to shoot squirrels out of season here so I could never suggest here that I use my custom Macari R9 .22 Spring Rifle w/24x scope to control this but need a 7x24 solution

Anyway, just venting, If anyone has suggestion on managing my squirrel issue quickly I'd appreciate it. I don't want to use poison as my daughter has dogs even though they are leashed.

BTW, the dealer stated today that he's see more damage than ever this year, another guy brought in a F150, they had to take the bed off, etc and $2700 later he left only to return the following week with more damage.

More suggestions?

This is the first nest, the 2nd nest was just as bad and exact same spot. Notice cut purple wire in last pic.....

I heard on this Forum that its something the new car makers are using to wrap the wires that attracts mice,rats and F*@&! Squirrels...I got the .22 by the door,but the little F*#)@ers are fast...so its a 50/50 chance....have had luck with the small Squirrel traps,but they are SMART..catch a few and then trap stay untouched....
Suggestion....they sell RAT POISON in blocks that you can run a wire thru....place a few of these wired into the engine comp. where they can get to them....If you see nibbles....he will be dead in a day....and better yet...if the block is gone..he chewed thru it and is bringing it back to the wife and kids....ONE family gone..!! And if they really are bugging you...set couple RAT TRAPS under truck by front wheels and 1 in the engine compartment...just remember to remove it when you take off...
Mice totally destroyed the wiring in my BMW,so I got a hard on for those little F#*@('s too..!!
GOOD LUCK & HAPPY HUNTING!

 

[BigDinNoCo]

I had a ridiculous Blackbird problem once. These birds were taking birdsh*t out of the nest & placing it systematically all along the outside perimeter of my hot tub cover. I tried a pellet rifle & many other things, but finally what worked was placing one of those Home Depot rotating head owls on the deck above the hot tub. Then they were gone. I don't know how smart squirrels are, but maybe some sort of animal/predator decoy could help? Good luck!!

 

[Oldfart]

It’s only with Fords, stupid company uses environmentally friendly materials for wire harnesses which are like magnets for squirrels and rats.
I care less about the environment when my money is blown out the window because of it...

Not true, ALL auto/boat/bike makers have been forced to switch over to new eco-friendly insulation that many animals enjoy. I've been lucky with not having any squirrel damage in many years. Once in a while the mice will get into fuse boxes and make a mess, but that's a lot easier to deal with than chewed off wires.

My local coyote and fox population have mostly eliminated squirrels and groundhogs in my area. I used to be able to regularly shoot 50 or 60 groundhogs a year, this past year I only got a dozen. It sucks for me because I got to feed them to a local eagle population, which is always awesome to have visit.

 

[Bill Anderson]

How did the squirrel pot pie tase was it good or did it have sort of a copper taste?

 

[NM156]

I just had this problem. I started to smell something burning when I got off the freeway but since it mostly smelled of burning brush, I didn't worry too much about. Thought it was a brush fire in the surrounding area. Then the next day, same thing. Got off the freeway and smelled burning brush. Now I was a little more concerned. Two days in a row, no way. Finally popped my hood and I had bunch of twigs on my air filter box and a few on my valve covers. Cleaned it out and checked for chewed wires. Didn't see any chew marks but I check every morning now. I don't have any critters at my place but at work I saw a bunny hanging out by my tire. Not sure what to do to keep them away.

 

[Johnkn]

I just spoke with the dealer, in addition to the purple wire on the harness shown, it chewed through the speed sensor wiring on the left front wheel as well at the vacuum line(s) there for the front hubs. Including the 2019 engine cover it chewed I'm looking at close to $1k to repair.

Lets just say that I'm not lacking in firearms. It wouldn't be wise of me to post on the internet that I am shooting animals out of season, and shooting M33 ammo out my back window might draw unwanted attention.

I don't want to put rat poison or anything stinky like ***** in a hot engine bay, I wonder where the vapors and smell goes?

I will be trying multiple items, hopefully with some positive results. thanks for the suggestions

 

[CigarPundit]

Might want to put out some glue traps. I’ve had very good luck with those. You’d want the big ones.

 

[GCATX]

Is this your wife?