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View Full Version : Spar varnish & cayenne pepper & HVLP



Al Lupone
03-23-2005, 1:54 PM
I've been in a constant 30 year battle with squirrels. Used to thin them out with a pellet gun. Neighbors cheered. Pellet gun died & with Ma gun laws I'm not paying $100 every 4 years for a firearms ID card just to buy a new one. I've found that IF they get in somewhere, they will just chew a new hole when you cover up the original. Only one tree left near the house so that is no longer on their highway.

Problem now is the detached 130 year old garage/carriage house. They chewed a hole through the boarded up 2nd floor window. Put a screen over & saturated everything with hornet spray. Last year I also mixed up 4 lbs of cayenne pepper & garlic powder. Put on a respirator, scattered it everywhere & then used a leafblower to saturate everything. THAT WORKED! I just couldn't spend any time in the garage for a few months. I've since turned the garage into my workshop so that is not an option anymore. I also have a 8x20' leanto on the side for my firewood. They are chewing the h*&l out of the rafters & collar joists. & all where they are tied into the main structure.

Here's my woodworking/finishing ??? If I mix up cayenne pepper powder with spar varnish can I use the HF/Rockler knockoff electric HVLP 44677 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44677) sprayer to spray that mixture? I figure if I cover all exposed exterior wood with the mixture, the pepper will discourage them.
Thanks
Al

Kent Parker
03-23-2005, 2:48 PM
Sounds like you've got a ruff go with these little pests. Sounds like big furry termites !

I had a friend that had trouble keeping animals out of his garden so he made a visit to the zoo and bought lion dung to mix as fertilizer. I guess the smell startled the pests enough to keep them out. Pretty neat huh!!

KP

Bill Lewis
03-23-2005, 2:56 PM
Squirrels are just rats with a better press agent.


I would think that the spar varnish might encapsulate the pepper, thereby negating the desired effect.

Adrian Rogers
03-23-2005, 2:57 PM
I'm not sure about MA, but in GA, you wouldn't need any kind of license to own a pellet gun. I would guess it would be the same there. Maybe for a real gun, but I wouldn't think so for a pellet gun. I'd shoot them is exactly what I would do. If you're not OK with that, how about traps, either live or otherwise?

Lynn Sonier
03-23-2005, 3:48 PM
Al: We had trouble with the little pests eating all of our pears. I hung CD's on a string off the branches and it seemed to scare them a little. You can get an armload at Wal-marts. Use dental floss or other light line. It swings around and the light show seems to scare them.
Can't hurt to give it a try and it don't cost nothing.

Brad Knabel
03-23-2005, 3:59 PM
We had a problem with our cats peeing in a couple places in our basement. I sprinkled an entire bottle of cayenne pepper loose on the floor and the surrounding area as a last resort.

It didn't do a thing to deter the cats. Hopefully your squirrels are a bit more sensitive to the pepper - then again they'll be gnawing/scratching through it so it might have more of an impact.

Erik Rudd
03-23-2005, 5:53 PM
Feed them rat poison.

Per Swenson
03-23-2005, 7:08 PM
Blood ,dried blood, slaughter house blood. blood meal. furry tailed blood.
or consider appling the varnish ,then peppering while its tacky.
Me, I use blood.

Bob Noles
03-23-2005, 7:39 PM
Why does your post make me think of pecans and rat traps :confused: :D

Bart Leetch
03-23-2005, 9:29 PM
We had a problem with our cats peeing in a couple places in our basement. I sprinkled an entire bottle of cayenne pepper loose on the floor and the surrounding area as a last resort.

It didn't do a thing to deter the cats. Hopefully your squirrels are a bit more sensitive to the pepper - then again they'll be gnawing/scratching through it so it might have more of an impact.


Cats don't like bleach.

Lou Morrissette
03-23-2005, 9:39 PM
I've had good luck using cayenne pepper mixed with petroleum jelly. It gets in their fur and they try to lick it off and then the fun begins.

Lou

Dennis Peacock
03-24-2005, 12:52 AM
I've had good luck using cayenne pepper mixed with petroleum jelly. It gets in their fur and they try to lick it off and then the fun begins.

Lou

Now THAT's funny Lou!!!!! :D ;)

Bill Arnold
03-24-2005, 6:52 AM
We live in a planned community and our house backs up to a preserve area. We get all kinds of critters (squirrels, raccoons, possums, armadillos, an occasional red fox and even an otter now and then). Plenty of birds, of course, and the squirrels really enjoy the seed we put out for the birds.

We found a product (Squirrel-Away) that is some kind of pepper that is more annoying to my nose than cayenne. Started using the pepper product in the bird seed and it was funny watching the squirrels start to eat the seed, then dart back and start sneezing.:D Only problem was, one of our little squirrel visitors must have immigrated from south of the border -- the pepper didn't slow him down a bit!!! :eek:

Jim Becker
03-24-2005, 9:24 AM
We've attempted to use pepper for "squirrel control" (what a concept...) for a long time, but it has limited longevity as they seem to get used to it, although the suet we by that is "pre-peppered" does seem to be unattractive to them. I am thinking that the stuff we were trying was just plain not hot enough! But no matter, we've discovered a squirrel-proof bird feeder design that actually works and have had less of a problem with them. We have not experienced any chewing issues...that we know of at least. That would not be a happy thing! At any rate, we'd only use non-lethal methods anyway and just live with the results.

Bill Arnold
03-25-2005, 7:54 AM
... we've discovered a squirrel-proof bird feeder design that actually works and have had less of a problem with them. ...

Jim,

Please share with us the design of the feeder. I'd like to have one that is truly 'squirrel-proof'.

Regards,

Pat Monahan
03-27-2005, 1:27 AM
Al
Mothballs seem to work at keeping the critters away. If you want them "away" on a rather permanent basis, mix some antifreeze with sawdust and put it within reach of your furry friends...
Just a thought
Pat

Karl Laustrup
03-27-2005, 10:04 AM
I've tried everything. Used to put axel grease on the poles. That was really funny watching them try to get up and then hilarious watching them try to get it off their bellies. Put roof flashing on the poles and that has worked best. They still get on the feeder but now it is from above via the trees. I've cut back the branches as much as I felt I could and still protect the birds from the Red Tail Hawks.
We have up to a couple of dozen which I periodically thin out by catching via a trap with a cracker and p-nut butter. I then re-locate them about a mile away in a campground. I also use a paintball gun. It's too bad the paint doesn't stay as I could have the most colorful squirrels. Pink, orange, purple, green you get the idea and once they've been hit it keeps them off the feeder. They do learn, but it takes a while.