help me shut down the vermin interstate

June 1, 2022 5:42 PM

is there anything I can do to prevent squirrels and rats from running along my fences?

There are so many squirrels. There are so many rats. Running creeping galloping sauntering along my backyard fences, scoping out the fruit trees in my yard. Realistically, is there anything I can do to shut down the superhighway?

I'd rather NOT have to deal with dead ones, so traps aren't what I mean. I mean something like... spikes? Something to make them choose some other place to go.

posted by fingersandtoes to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

Spikes (eg bamboo bbq skewers) can help a bit, as can ultrasonic screamer devices, predator urine, the right kind of dog…

Sometimes you can get carpet tack strips or upholstery tack strips for a decent price, and nobody wants to scamper on those.

If you don't mind the cosmetics, a mix of hot cayenne pepper powder or oil and petroleum jelly is also a cheap and potentially useful option.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:47 PM on June 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

The other place they will choose to go is THROUGH your yard. Would you rather them on the fence or in your yard? Because if you block off the path of least resistance, the next easiest path is probably one you don’t actually want them to use.
posted by Bottlecap at 6:05 PM on June 1, 2022 [8 favorites]

The best, most sustainable, most holistically beneficial way to deal with this would be to hire a predator to deal with the excess rodent population; perhaps you can convince a hawk to come nest nearby.

It probably isn't the method with the best chance of the fastest success, and I don't know whether this is realistic for you given the particulars of your situation, but it would be the ideal solution if you can make it work.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 6:05 PM on June 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Pigeon spikes are cheap and will probably sort you out, and you'll have the answer to Bottlecap's question soon enough.
posted by mhoye at 6:19 PM on June 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Adopt a feral cat.
posted by amtho at 6:29 PM on June 1, 2022 [4 favorites]

Three cats.
posted by signal at 7:02 PM on June 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

More ideas:

Inflatable owl

Canned predator scent

A classic: motion sensing water sprinkler
posted by amtho at 7:52 PM on June 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Brush a cat
Shove the hair in cracks along the fence
Worked for me!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:23 PM on June 1, 2022 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: do cats allow themselves to be brushed?!

would dog fluff work? I think I can get access to a fluffy corgi
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:37 PM on June 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have 2 cats that love brushies and one who simultaneously hates and loves it so I think most cats like being brushed. If you have cat owning friends maybe they can supply some.
posted by fiercekitten at 9:47 PM on June 1, 2022

If you are seeing that many rats, you might have a colony nearby, and if so your best results are going to come from pushing to have the colony exterminated.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:24 AM on June 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: the squirrels are the bigger problem, in terms of fruit tree robbing. (Well -- I don't know, do I? The rats are nocturnal, so they might be just as aggressive, just at times I don't see them.) In any event there's nothing I can do about the numbers of them in the neighborhood. The squirrels are invasive with no predators (this is a small suburban yard with no tall trees to house raptors in): there are a ton of fruit trees in the neighbordhood to keep them fed and happy; and I've heard there's a woman on the next block who actually puts bread and seeds out on her lawn to feed them, if you can imagine.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:27 AM on June 2, 2022

If you're trying to protect your fruit trees, the problem isn't that they're running along your fence and "scoping out" your trees. It's that they can get over, under, or through your fence to the trees. Unless running along the fence is the only way they can get into your yard, I think it's a red herring.

Depending on the size/position of the trees, one option could be baffles around the trunks to keep squirrels from climbing them to get to the fruit.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 12:45 PM on June 2, 2022

I have a cherry tree and the birds are the thieves. The squirrels and chipmunks stick to wrecking the veg. garden. Motion-activated sprinkler is appealing.
posted by theora55 at 1:34 PM on June 2, 2022

You could get something like this netting (this is a _huge_ amount of netting, but you can get larger pieces too). (Maybe another vendor, too)
posted by amtho at 10:38 AM on June 3, 2022