Squirrels are chewing my new Hardie board siding

[myg30]

We just had are old vinyl siding replaced with some Hardie board siding. Looks great !
Between 6:30-7am almost every morning, I hear this loud scratchy sound. Only lasts about 10-15 seconds.
Come to find out, squirrels are chewing the lowest board just above ground level.
Seems they do it to grind down their fast growing teeth.
We have dogs but they don’t do it when the girls are outside in the yard. It’s the shaded far side of our house by our a/c unit. Hitting the wall or taping on a window gets them gone but the damage is already done.
So does any one have a method that keeps these pests away ? I’ve read on the web and the dog hair is not working. We live inside city limits so various means of shooting are out. Thinking about sprays but It’s a light color siding so I don’t want to stain it with sprays or oils.

I might try a trap but there are sooo many of these little critters.

Mike

[country gent]

We learned dealing with this Squirrels and chipmunks are faster than most traps. Live traps work but what to do with them then. Also once the trap is set off the rest are safe. Maybe a peppermint or pepper spray will deter them but it would need to be applied on a regular basis. I dont care for poisons personally as they can affect the whole ecco system. But at times they are the best way. Another trick is aluminum foil in threads moving in the breeze will keep them away until they get used to it.

[gwpercle]

You could be nice ... Have-A-Heart live trap , bait with peanut butter on crackers , catch and take on a senic ride to some other place .

My Dad , who liked squirrel gumbo , had a air rifle ( BB gun actually) get real close and one shot to the head ... it wasn't a hard shot , cleaned and frozen untill he had 6 or 7 seven ... then it was Gumbo Time ... After awhile ... no more came around to visit his Pecan Tree .
Gary

[farmbif]

do you have a feline friend? mine brings home squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, rats and mice continually

[Gator 45/70]

Electric fence zapper,The kind used to keep cows in, One zap from one of those will have a squirrel thinking twice.

[atr]

they do the same at my cabin. almost routine every morning. I just let them be. Sometimes I verbally threaten them, but that doesn't seem to do much good.

[waksupi]

Mix up some cayenne pepper, a drop of dish soap, and water. Paint it along the base of the boards.

There is also a product to stop horses from cribbing, that may work.

[Rapier]

Animal damage to the outside of your house is normally not covered by the homeowners policy. So stop the squirrels however is legal in your area and anyway you can.

[AlHunt]

A few cats. Not all cats are good mousers / rodent hunters so you'll need a few.

[baogongmeo]

Google "squirrel tube trap". Toss a handfull of corn or bird seed in it and WHAM... dead squirrel.

[Minerat]

Get one of these and catch a bunch so you can make less trips to the country.

https://www.ruralking.com/squirrelinator-trap-only

[megasupermagnum]

If you haven't already thrown all the siding scraps, I'd just set one up on that corner, and let the squirrels chew away on a sacrificial board.

[contender1]

First off I do not advise breaking any laws,, wildlife or otherwise. In many places it's ILLEGAL to trap & relocate ANY mammal that can potentially carry rabies.
Next,, shooting, even with a pellet gun can also be illegal in many city limits.

Now,, I'm a State Certified Animal Damage Control Agent. And even I can't break laws.

If you can legally kill them,, it will take TIME & EFFORT to do this. Trapping can work,, but if you have several squirrels,, you will need several traps,, or a colony type of trap. Then you have to follow State guidelines about relocation or euthanasia.
This doesn't prevent their relatives from coming after you remove some. And it can be an ongoing issue.

Exterior treatments such as peppermint oils & NBS-30 (a carpenter bee killer) have some success in repelling them,, but require regular treatments.

So,, I normally tell folks who have a new structure,, such as yours,, that a (2) strand lower to the ground electric fencing is the cheapest option,, and once the house ages,, AND the squirrels learn it's not easy to get to the boards,, they will move on. The only issue,, MAY be that they switch places to try & chew.

It can be a serious challenge.
I get calls about such things,, and most often,, we use the trapping,,, followed by the repellents,,, AND adding electric fencing to a home.

Maybe a call to a professional in your area can help.

[JimB..]

My squirrel population fluctuates. When it’s low all is good, but when it gets too high they start climbing on the house and out comes the air rifle. It’s all very humane.

Whatever else you do, order a few spare pieces or siding and put them up in the garage rafters.

[Mk42gunner]

My first suggestion is to spray ammonia along the trouble area. May work, may not, but it is fairly cheap.

My second is to dump your cats litter box in the problem area; it worked for me with groundhogs under a shed at Mom's house in town.

Robert

[gwpercle]

do you have a feline friend? mine brings home squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, rats and mice continually

LIKE !

Good one , cat(s) do a fine job on all rodents ... and nice to have around !

As far as I can tell ... cats are still legal to own in most states ...
I had one named Killer ... he hept the whole city block free of rats and snakes (he would kill big snakes !) The lady across the street cried when I told her he had passed (feline cancer) he kept her house , yard garage and drainage ditch free of vermin ... I miss Killer , he was a good boy !

Gary

[toot]

my yard looked like the moon scape, with hundreds of holes. my bird feeders attracted them. I called an exterminator and he put down in the holes a ball of peanut butter lased with rat poison. ENDE!!, FINETO! they love the peanut butter! but not for long.

[GregLaROCHE]

If you start trapping squirrels you may find there are a lot more than you think in your area. Electric fence should work, but will cost a few bucks.

[Geezer in NH]

Get a pair of Jack Russel Terriers and SQ's will be gone in a week or so.

By the way I always heard Vinyl was final?

[myg30]

My Australian Shepard is out in the back fenced area a good part of the day most days. She can run like lightning and WILL CATCH and play with a squirrel till it stops playing, grabbing it in her mouth and shaking it till the neck snap and it stops playing.

All good suggestion here and than you very much all.
YES there are many many squirrels here but getting them one at a time.
There is a tall fence and tree which provides quick escape from dog.
I’m working on repellents and shall see what works best here.

Mike

[starnbar]

Traps work so do pellet rifles cats are hit or miss same with dogs neighbors can be a big issue as a lot are tree hugging save the animal types. If you use the trap method be sure to camo the location to reduce attention from neighbors good luck.

[gwpercle]

Get one of these and catch a bunch so you can make less trips to the country.

https://www.ruralking.com/squirrelinator-trap-only

Just make a bigger Gumbo ... invite friends over . Gumbo freezes quite well and is actually tastier the second time .
Gary

[myg30]

Update on the squirrels. Dog hair didn’t work. We made a pepper spray mix, This does work to keep them away and I sprayed some boards and they don’t chew there any more.
NOW, the little ba____ds jumped to the roof and are chewing up there on the wall boards.
A few small trees being cut down this week. The only access to the roof will be are new 6’ vinyl fence and I sprayed it. The wife read that Vaseline should keep them from holding on since it works on bird feeder poles.
If they can climb the gutter drain pipes then I’m declaring war !!!!

Mike

I’m looking into electric fence as suggested.

[10x]

Simple solution. install a galvanized unpainted step flashing under the bottom board to make a drip edge
Connect the flashing to an electric fence controller.

[anothernewb]

The single most effective thing I have ever used on eliminating varmints and strays isn't a gun, or a trap, poison, or device.

It's a pond. A plain old decorative pond. When the water gets more than an inch below the rim. The thing turns into the biggest deathtrap short of nuking the neighborhood. Never seen anything like it. It catches everything. works like a decorative version of the 5 gallon bucket trap.
Mice, voles, squirrels, cats, even the occasional purse dog have made my little cenote their final resting place. (neighbor up the street had a heck of a time denying that little yappy foofy was indeed running loose around the nieghborhood at random times, effectively ending a long standing issue for a number of us.) . The record is 7 squirrels in one evening. The reason it capped at seven wasn't the lack of squirrels. It was the fact that there were enough bodies in the pond the newcomers literally had a raft of bodies to use as a springboard.

[waksupi]

The single most effective thing I have ever used on eliminating varmints and strays isn't a gun, or a trap, poison, or device.

It's a pond. A plain old decorative pond. When the water gets more than an inch below the rim. The thing turns into the biggest deathtrap short of nuking the neighborhood. Never seen anything like it. It catches everything. works like a decorative version of the 5 gallon bucket trap.
Mice, voles, squirrels, cats, even the occasional purse dog have made my little cenote their final resting place. (neighbor up the street had a heck of a time denying that little yappy foofy was indeed running loose around the nieghborhood at random times, effectively ending a long standing issue for a number of us.) . The record is 7 squirrels in one evening. The reason it capped at seven wasn't the lack of squirrels. It was the fact that there were enough bodies in the pond the newcomers literally had a raft of bodies to use as a springboard.

I found out about that, too I went to my forge one day, and had nine dead squirrels floating in my quench barrel. I put a board in it after that, so they could get out.