Squirrel Control Fencing?

attml · January 9, 2017

Has anyone had any luck controlling squirrels using any landscaping fencing? Or do they just crawl right over them no matter the size? If you have a lot of squirrels and have some fencing that has stopped them from getting to your tomatoes I would love to hear about it! I was looking at a 6 foot and 7 foot variety like these:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-N...x-7-ft/3458958

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-G...-ft/1000085945

One is polypropylene and the other is steel. Any other thoughts on squirrel control? They have decimated my tomatoes the last 2 seasons!
Thanks!

rhines81 · January 9, 2017

Unless you have your garden sealed top/bottom/sides the squirrels will find a way in. I have tons of squirrels (well it's a fluctuating population depending if they get me aggravated or not) but not one have I ever seen in my garden. I have the 6' wire welded fencing around my garden perimeter mainly just to deter the deer.
Once squirrels develop a taste for something, they keep coming back. Sorry you are having an issue with them, may I suggest a couple of these around your garden? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux8L7hyIWVE

PhilaGardener · January 9, 2017

The will chew through plastic. I had to resort to an electric fence.

b54red · January 13, 2017

I use lead pellet fencing. It is the only one I have found to be effective in the long run and every year or two it needs reinforcing.

Bill

bjbebs · January 13, 2017

A few thoughts on controlling the squirrel population. I will not use fencing and am willing to live with consequences. I will share my crop with all critters other than groundhogs. That being said, squirrels have never bothered my gardens other than an occasional bite every now and then. Three years ago they started hitting my apple trees. I've picked almost no apples for two years now.
So thinning the herd and trying to take out the baby makers has become my winter mission. I realize they will rebound quickly and in two years the population will be right back up. Having done this many times, there is no way to eliminate the problem, and control is short lived.
A bird feeder hung from a limb outside my back door makes quick work of them. They all have been bred and they will be throwing litters in a few weeks. Nothing re-populates faster than a fox squirrel living in the city.

SteveP · January 15, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I use lead pellet fencing. It is the only one I have found to be effective in the long run and every year or two it needs reinforcing.

Bill

Squirrels have eaten or damaged 100's of my tomatoes over the last 3 years. I too began feeding them lead pellets. I don't strive for eradication, just keep their numbers in check. Here in town, the only natural predator is the occasional hawk.

Worth1 · January 13, 2017

I almost ran over one in Austin the other day, it was on a skateboard and ran a red light.

Worth

MuddyToes · January 14, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I almost ran over one in Austin the other day, it was on a skateboard and ran a red light.

Worth

Worth, you crack me up.

Seriously, though, my dog does a pretty good job of scaring them away.

Dark Rumor · January 15, 2017

I put corn out to give the squirrels another option, it did seem to work, but I also attracted more squirrels and a lot of doves.

jtjmartin · January 15, 2017

In 2015, my garden was plagued with shade, deer and squirrels. I'm not sure that I got even one good tomato. My goal in 2016 was to have "one good tomato."

On Hulu, there is a commercial for a company that delivers the ingredients for great meals. I saw the heirloom tomato commercial about a thousand times and would say to myself, "I want one good (heirloom) tomato this year." Then, my mouth would water.

I cut a number of trees down. I had to make a deal with my wife to re-landscape the front yard to her liking, so that I could drop a clump maple that was 80% of the problem in the back. Done.

I watched for a sale on Amazon and bought Tenax C deer fencing. Great stuff. The deer walked right by . . . and ate all my stuff that wasn't fenced - including my wife's new plants in the front yard! Done.

And I erected a "lead pellet fence" and did some trapping for the squirrels. I thought that maybe we had 6 problem squirrels around - wrong by a factor of 5! I reduced the population and saw no squirrel damage in 2016. Done.

I had hundreds of tomatoes this past year! I hate hurting anything (and love that the squirrels work really hard) but I love my garden more.

Jeff

SharonRossy · January 18, 2017

Squirrels absolutely destroyed a lot of my plants last year. I used all kinds of plastic netting - nothing worked. Someone said to leave food for them - no way - not sure what I will do this year. Not even the sound wave thingy worked. Buggers!

b54red · January 19, 2017

I gardened for nearly 25 years in the same spot with no problems from squirrels but then all of a sudden they took and interest and after that it has been a constant battle to keep them thinned down to a level where I get a share of my own garden. I still find them amusing at times but now the overwhelming feeling I have toward them is not so benign. Every time I get them really thinned out well I think the problem is over only to find them back in less than 2 years and sometimes worse than ever. Despite their cute appearance they really are just furry tailed tree rats. I bet if they had hairless tails only a few people would be trapping and releasing them.

Bill

January 9, 2017	#1
attml Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Annapolis, Maryland Posts: 222	Squirrel Control Fencing? Has anyone had any luck controlling squirrels using any landscaping fencing? Or do they just crawl right over them no matter the size? If you have a lot of squirrels and have some fencing that has stopped them from getting to your tomatoes I would love to hear about it! I was looking at a 6 foot and 7 foot variety like these: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-N...x-7-ft/3458958 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-G...-ft/1000085945 One is polypropylene and the other is steel. Any other thoughts on squirrel control? They have decimated my tomatoes the last 2 seasons! Thanks!

January 9, 2017	#2
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	Unless you have your garden sealed top/bottom/sides the squirrels will find a way in. I have tons of squirrels (well it's a fluctuating population depending if they get me aggravated or not) but not one have I ever seen in my garden. I have the 6' wire welded fencing around my garden perimeter mainly just to deter the deer. Once squirrels develop a taste for something, they keep coming back. Sorry you are having an issue with them, may I suggest a couple of these around your garden? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux8L7hyIWVE

January 9, 2017	#3
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	The will chew through plastic. I had to resort to an electric fence.

January 13, 2017	#4
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I use lead pellet fencing. It is the only one I have found to be effective in the long run and every year or two it needs reinforcing. Bill

January 13, 2017	#5
bjbebs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: illinois Posts: 281	A few thoughts on controlling the squirrel population. I will not use fencing and am willing to live with consequences. I will share my crop with all critters other than groundhogs. That being said, squirrels have never bothered my gardens other than an occasional bite every now and then. Three years ago they started hitting my apple trees. I've picked almost no apples for two years now. So thinning the herd and trying to take out the baby makers has become my winter mission. I realize they will rebound quickly and in two years the population will be right back up. Having done this many times, there is no way to eliminate the problem, and control is short lived. A bird feeder hung from a limb outside my back door makes quick work of them. They all have been bred and they will be throwing litters in a few weeks. Nothing re-populates faster than a fox squirrel living in the city.

January 13, 2017	#7
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I almost ran over one in Austin the other day, it was on a skateboard and ran a red light. Worth

January 15, 2017	#10
jtjmartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b Posts: 1,110	In 2015, my garden was plagued with shade, deer and squirrels. I'm not sure that I got even one good tomato. My goal in 2016 was to have "one good tomato." On Hulu, there is a commercial for a company that delivers the ingredients for great meals. I saw the heirloom tomato commercial about a thousand times and would say to myself, "I want one good (heirloom) tomato this year." Then, my mouth would water. I cut a number of trees down. I had to make a deal with my wife to re-landscape the front yard to her liking, so that I could drop a clump maple that was 80% of the problem in the back. Done. I watched for a sale on Amazon and bought Tenax C deer fencing. Great stuff. The deer walked right by . . . and ate all my stuff that wasn't fenced - including my wife's new plants in the front yard! Done. And I erected a "lead pellet fence" and did some trapping for the squirrels. I thought that maybe we had 6 problem squirrels around - wrong by a factor of 5! I reduced the population and saw no squirrel damage in 2016. Done. I had hundreds of tomatoes this past year! I hate hurting anything (and love that the squirrels work really hard) but I love my garden more. Jeff

January 18, 2017	#11
SharonRossy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,140	Squirrels absolutely destroyed a lot of my plants last year. I used all kinds of plastic netting - nothing worked. Someone said to leave food for them - no way - not sure what I will do this year. Not even the sound wave thingy worked. Buggers!

January 19, 2017	#12
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I gardened for nearly 25 years in the same spot with no problems from squirrels but then all of a sudden they took and interest and after that it has been a constant battle to keep them thinned down to a level where I get a share of my own garden. I still find them amusing at times but now the overwhelming feeling I have toward them is not so benign. Every time I get them really thinned out well I think the problem is over only to find them back in less than 2 years and sometimes worse than ever. Despite their cute appearance they really are just furry tailed tree rats. I bet if they had hairless tails only a few people would be trapping and releasing them. Bill