rats or squirrel?

[marty bradbury]

We have a string of miniature lights that run around the awning of our deck. This morning I found where they had been chewed through! Would a rat or a squirrel be able to do this? And why? lol

[TBman]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

We have a string of miniature lights that run around the awning of our deck. This morning I found where they had been chewed through! Would a rat or a squirrel be able to do this? And why? lol

They could, most likely squirrels. I don't know why they would though.

[Dru Edwards]

Mice are also chewers. Their teeth are always growing and they like and need to chew things to keep their teeth in shape.

[srick]

Squirrels - when the kids were young, we made an Easter egg tree (plastic eggs) and watched as the squirrels gleefully chomped away. Similarly, we have seen them destroy Christmas light bulbs,etc. As Dru mentioned, all of the rodentia family needs to constantly grind their front teeth down (rabbits too) and so their behavior may seem odd to us, but it's part of what the have to do.

At this point in life, I no longer fight the squirrels, curse the dandelions or kill the crabgrass - instead, I celebrate the tenacity and diversity of our little ecosystem here. And in fact, the squirrels are some of the most interesting little beasties around. They have an amazing ability to figure out how to jump on to the bird feeder, and from what I have read, they keep a 3D map in their head of their yard, the trees and their food stores.

This episode of PBS "Nature" was fascinating: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/a-sq...episode/16801/

[Ozzy the dog]

[keith.rogers]

If it’s happening at night it’s not likely to be squirrels. They sleep at night.

[Fogducker]

I just acquired a Crossman air rifle with scope---there's a new sheriff in town, so to speak, and the squirrels seem to know it.

Fog

[Murphy Slaw]

Here's your answer.

Saving the environment is causing rodents to be electrocuted.

Where the heck is P.E.T.A. ?

: )

https://www.thedrive.com/news/20878/...ing-insulation

[Bob Womack]

I once had a guest on a talk show who brought his rabbit to the studio to be the subject of a segment. Between segs we mic'd the guy up with a lavalier mic and went into the control room to run the show. In the run-up to the show I watched on the monitors as the bunny chewed through the cable from the belt pack to the mic. I ran out and wired the guy with a second mic, ran back in, and we went to air. At the end of the seqment, before I could get back out and rip the mic off of the guest, the bunny had chewed through another cable.

At that point in the world these cables were expensive and we were lucky to have round the clock engineers who could rewire the mics before the next show.

But those bunnies are... well, as fast as a jackrabbit on a date.


Bob

[Basalt Beach]

We had the same issue and it was a squirrel. Took sections of the wire with him too and used them in his nest. Two remedies; 1) make a solution of water and cayenne pepper and spray the string 2) place moth balls at intervals and at both ends of the light string.

[merlin666]

Poor critters are hungry. In the spirit of the season leave some nuts and dried fruit out in a bowl a good distance from the lights which will be more interesting to them and keep them away. If you want to catch the culprits there are a lot of cheap motion detection cams available which may provide some revealing and entertaining footage ...

[GHS]

If its at night Im going with opossums or raccoons. Opossums are all over my deck at night looking for something to eat but....I have lights all around and plastic tarps over furniture...never any problem so....back to mice I would guess.

[Mr. Paul]

Up here at 8,500 feet the night wire chewers are pack rats.

[sevargnhoj]

Originally Posted by Fogducker

I just acquired a Crossman air rifle with scope---there's a new sheriff in town, so to speak, and the squirrels seem to know it.

Fog

My across the street neighbor used to have walnut trees in his yard and actively protected them by shooting any squirrel that ventured into his yard during harvest season.

The smart squirrels in the neighborhood knew this.

On many occasions (being an avid squirrel watcher) I would see the squirrels stop at the edge of my lawn and carefully search my neighbor's yard before crossing the street to steal his nuts.

[Edgar Poe]

I had the same thing happen on car wiring.
Turns out Japanese wire manufacturers have developed a coating for wires that is made partly from, SOY. So it's like a restaurant for rodents. A very poor choice.

Ed