Squirrel Destroying My Deck

[legion]

About a week ago, I got up one morning to find some critter had scratched/chewed up all the way around my deck. It was not damaged the day before. I re-stained the damaged areas...and the next morning, more scratched/chewed sections.

I finally caught the bastard in the act. Unfortunately, he was up on the railing, and taking a shot with my air rifle and missing would probably result in hitting my neighbor's house...possibly breaking a window. Shooting him in a tree is similarly problematic.

Any hints or tips on getting rid of the bastard?

[porsche4life]

Trap ?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Get a moose to befriend him and they'll both be off on great adventures. Problem solved. Just watch out for Russian spies.

[Tobra]

Trap and relocate or kill them

Alternatively, you can make a spray by soaking used cigarette butts in mix of oil, dish soap and hot water that will taste awful to them, but may make your deck smell a bit smokey.

[Hads930]

Oh DECK......never mind.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by Hads930

Oh DECK......never mind.

Makes you wonder how he was applying the stain doesn't it?

[legion]

Guys, I'm no Pricasso.

[red-beard]

C4?

[lonewolf]

Same thing happen to me last year
Bugger chewed up all the cushions on my outdoor furniture. I tried everything but he just laughed at the traps,poison etc. 22 solved my problem.

[dhoward]

Squirrel Catapult - YouTube

[Jim Bremner]

Paint Ball Gun?

[Heel n Toe]

I heard somewhere that if you paint the area they've been chewing with hot sauce, they'll get the message.

[Bill Douglas]

I have an extremely vicious hunting dog/rottweiler (border terrier) that is up for the job.

[aigel]

Have a heart trap and relocate, either a few miles down the road or into your crock pot.

Amazon.com : Havahart 0745 Live Animal Professional Style One-Door Chimpunk, Squirrel, Rat, and Weasel Trap : Rodent Traps : Patio, Lawn & Garden

G

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by red-beard

C4?

That would do it

[Discseven]

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I have an extremely vicious hunting dog/rottweiler (border terrier) that is up for the job.

Dude............that is like the cutest thing ever posted in PPOT.....

I vote for c4 rigged to a motion sensor

[RWebb]

it is hungry - killing or trapping it will only work until the next one moves into that territory and starts munching down

I bet you used an oil based deck stain, right?

They want the oil like you want bacon.

Call a good paint store and try a water based stain or one with something squirrels don't like mixed into it.

And a pet martin will make the squirrels think twice about effing around in your yard.

[HHI944]

I never knew they were attracted to oil based stains

[Zeke]

There are no natural predators? Feed it until it gets fat and lazy. That'll help bring up the predator population. We son't have any feral cats around here anymore. But we do have a bunch of coyotes. They just want the cats and whatever else they can kill.

But, we still have a bunch of squirrels and not enough hawks. That's probably because this is a piss poor hawk environment.