Will two-inch chicken wire keep out squirrels?

[Jarrod King]

My garden is basically in a forest clearing so there are tons of squirrels that love to eat my precious tomatoes. I'm trying to form a squirrel-proof fence. I'm thinking a 48" high chicken wire fence with an electrified strand at the top. Would this work or is 2-inch chicken wire too wide and the varmints will just go right through it? Anyone have any experience with this? 1-inch chicken wire is significantly more expensive and I have hundreds of feet to fence in.

[sjamesNorway]

I've read that you have to go down to no more than a 3/4" mesh.

Steve

[Worth1]

Squirrels are smart they will figure out where the switch is to shut off the electric fence.

No kidding.

Worth

[TexasTycoon]

It sounds too wide to me. I know with rats, anyway, if they can get their head through then they can get the rest of themselves through. Unless you've got chubby squirrels, I think 2 inches is a mite too big.

[4season]

Use a live trap baited with some apple. Then set them free across the closest large river. That makes the problem someone elses. Or do what I do, humanely dispatch the pest.

[heirloomtomaguy]

2 inch chicken wire will not work. The squirels will slip right through it. As expensive as it is go with the smaller mesh. Its the only way to protect your crop. Oh and shoot as many of them as possible.

[bower]

I was shocked to discover how effective a little row cover is, against squirrels rabbits and even moose. I am in a forest clearing too, and I've wasted no end of time and money on chicken wire fencing and trying to maintain it in the past, until finally I gave up because it always failed. Nothing would keep them from getting through the wire fence either dig under, climb over, or pry open a hole.

The past year, I had vegetables not very well protected I mean not a solid wall of row cover and gaps that animals could have gotten through - but they didn't. A little bit of that white cloth flapping, was enough to keep them away.
My farmer friends tipped me off about this. Row cover is good for more than insect pests and cold!

Good luck fighting the squirrels- I did that in Florida-we lived at the edge of a pine forest, and the little varmints were terrible- the only way I kept them from my bird feeders was to put 8" PVC around the poles- 6' tall, but that requires an open space away from trees to keep the squirrels from sailing from branches. the only way I could protect my vegetable crops was with 1/2" wire screening, and that isn't practical for large areas.

[Hellmanns]

You guy's need a feist. Squirrel problems eliminated!

Originally Posted by Hellmanns

You guy's need a feist. Squirrel problems eliminated!

I don't understand that sentence? What is a feist?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

I don't understand that sentence? What is a feist?

Feist a small varmint dog.

Pronounced with the long I sound.
Best dogs in the world.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...T01Ze6YSoS7Zog

Worth

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Feist a small varmint dog.

Pronounced with the long I sound.
Best dogs in the world.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...T01Ze6YSoS7Zog

Worth

True, Worth. A feist is intelligent, lovable and nonaggressive to anything but vermin, especially squirrels. Squirrels finally just give up being harassed, and move on..

[bower]

Nice looking dogs!

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by bower

Nice looking dogs!

Thanks, bower! Here is a pic of my old dog, Barney, and his brother Buster. There is a squirrel up that tree, and believe me, it is going to stay there! He is 8 years old now, and his only desire in life is to please me.. It makes a little tear well up as I write this.. Yes, he's that loyal.


I recently bought a cousin of Barney's a little female I named Lucy Lou. Her daddys name is Buster too, and he is a NKC super grand squirrel champion, I don't care nothing about papers, l just know the bloodline and the loyalty they have.

Here is a video of him a few years back featured on The nation's longest running outdoor television show, Ky Afield.
https://youtu.be/M5zFfC02uKk

[bower]

Oh my! Those are really gorgeous dogs. Great squirrel hunt video.
There weren't any squirrels on the island when I was a child. Not sure when they arrived but the first time I heard one in the woods, I had no idea. What could be making such a noise. It sounded like a rubber duck being squeezed to bits.
One thing about them, they make lots of noise when they find food. If I hear them when I'm out hunting mushrooms, you'll find something where they're chattering. They do eat a lot of mushrooms - of course, if they can't find zuchinni or tomatoes! Or nuts!