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nafex - Re: [nafex] squirrels out of trees, non lethal methods

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  • From: "Idell Weydemeyer" <iwgarden@earthlink.net>
  • To: "'nafex mailing list at ibiblio'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] squirrels out of trees, non lethal methods
  • Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2013 13:23:15 -0800

Thank you so much for such a clear and detailed summary.

Idell Weydemeyer

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Alan Haigh
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2013 12:27 PM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [nafex] squirrels out of trees, non lethal methods

Squirrel Strategies

As far as I know, there are no studies that have carefully evaluated
various strategies to stop squirrels from climbing up the trunks of trees,
so I�ve had to rely on random experimentation to try to discover a method
that takes the least possible time to install that effectively deters these
pests from climbing fruit trees and taking fruit.


I�ve tried aluminum flashing (roofing coil) which commonly comes as 2� wide
rolls of various lengths from which I cut wide enough pieces to completely
wrap around the trunk of trees to be protected. At least four and
preferably five feet of distance is required from the ground to first
branches to exclude squirrels from jumping up to a branch to get aboard. I
believe it takes about 3� of trunk wrap starting one or two feet above the
ground as squirrels I�ve watched have cleared 2� from prone position
jumping from where they are holding onto the trunk.


This has been fairly affective and most years protects trees at most
orchards I manage. I�m confident that squirrels have been deterred
because some fruit often has already been removed by the time I get
installations done and the removal usually stops immediately after
installation.

I used to augment the metal with an extremely sticky compound called tangle
trap. I would put a 6� ring of it at the top or both the top and bottom of
the metal cylinder if the metal proved insufficient in itself. I stopped
doing this because too many birds were getting killed by contacting the
stuff and it was horrible to work with- it didn�t always work anyway.


One year I spread axel grease on the metal and that solved the problem of
squirrels pulling themselves up the metal at many sites. However at some
sites squirrels eventually began climbing the metal anyway.

Someone suggested on an internet thread I read that straight metal works
better than greased metal because squirrels can actually get more traction
from grease, but this year I used grease at most sites. I now believe the
suggestion may be valid as scratch marks on the grease and grease on the
trees indicates that greased metal was not always reliable. On my site,
squirrels were climbing greased metal and removing apples from two trees
but seem to have stopped once grease was removed- but maybe they just
stopped. I believe the grease may provide more traction when nights get
cooler. Brushing some motor oil on metal weekly may be a better tactic.


I believe now that while 4� of branchless trunk is often adequate,
squirrels are capable of jumping higher- at least some squirrels, some
sites and 5� may sometimes be necessary.

What I�m not at all sure of is the reliability of aluminum flashing
compared to metal duct pipe. This is important because stapling aluminum
is quicker and cheaper than dealing with duct pipe. Also the flashing
comes in painted rolls making it more attractive. The staples on the
flashing may create enough traction for squirrels to climb but on the two
apple trees on my property I�ve got flashing on one and duct pipe on the
other and the squirrels stopped removing apples from both once I removed
the grease.

The duct pipe can't be attached too close to the trunks when using the self
closure and so it must start at ground level or something metal like
chicken wire must be wedged in to stop squirrels from squeezing in between
metal and trunk.


I have found netting to be somewhat useful- I use double strand woven
netting available from 7 Springs, and with trees too low for baffling it
worked at a couple of sites this year although hungry squirrels will often
chew through them- you just can�t be sure. Where the netting has always
worked, so far, is in combination with flashing on trees with inadequate
length of trunk to work with flashing alone.

I should also note that Mylar cylinders around trunks failed me, apparently
because it is so thin that squirrels can press it against the tree to get
traction. Also, in the past I've tried hot pepper and predator urine
without any affect at all.


It is possible that the reason the metal flashing is inconsistent is the
variability of the diameter of the trees I protect and that squirrels can
pull themselves up thinner trunks even with the metal but not wider trunks.
Duct pipe (thin metal �stove� pipe) could solve this problem as thicker
pipe can be placed around thinner trunks but will require 4� long pieces at
least, so they can be against the ground.
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