electrifying steels deck posts to keep raccoons off?

[cqaigy2]

Wrong..nothing could be further from the truth...For starters rats have hair, squirrel have fur...in most places squirrels are game animals which means they are protected (killing game animals out of season is a crime)...

Look at the eyes compared to the size of the head...squirrels have a well developed brain for their size...they have a unique characteristic of hoarding and storing food.

If you don't think squirrels are smart watch a video or two...you will be surprised... daylight robbery squirrels - YouTube

Quick Learners

Squirrels are quick studies, capable of learning by observation. In a study performed at the University of Exeter, squirrels would watch another squirrel remove a nut from one of two pots. The squirrels learned quickly that if the squirrel they watched took the nut, the pot would be empty and that going for the opposite pot was the better bet. When having to choose a pot without watching a fellow squirrel first, they showed no preference. Being able to learn by observation is an indicator of abstract thought.

Memory

Squirrels bury nuts in order to have access to them later, a skill that痴 not very helpful if they can稚 remember where they hid them. Squirrels have shown they are capable of remembering where they have buried nuts. In study performed at Princeton University, grey squirrels were capable of using spatial memory to retrieve nut caches they had buried. They can remember good sources of food from year to year. Squirrels are also capable of memorizing the easiest route up a tree to get back and forth from their nests.

Deterring Thieves

If a squirrel comes across another squirrel痴 cache of nuts, he値l happily take them for himself. To deter would-be robbers, squirrels will rebury a cache of nuts over and over. Moving food around makes it harder for another squirrel to find the store. Squirrels will pretend to bury a nut if they know they are being watched and wait until they are alone to actually hide it. Being capable of actively deceiving another squirrel is a form of tactical deception, a skill once thought exclusive to primates

That's a squirrel for sure, but maybe the term rat, wasn't being used as a scientific description, rather to add emphasis to the comment. For instance, i've heard deer described as wood rats, i don't believe the individual actually thought that deer are a type of rat.

 

[k0ua]

Coons are there because something attracts them( FOOD). Figure out what it is and remove it. I use to feed my dog outside. Not any more.

When my MIL was alive and living with us, we had a major coon problem. She was a bird feeding fanatic. Lots of black oil sunflower seeds. The coons came for the seeds too. No bird feeding, no coons. AND as a bonus we have cut way back on the squirrel population too. The top deck rail used to be covered in squirrel poo. You can clean it off and they would come right back and sit there and eat and poo on the deck rail. Since it is white, that didn't look very good. Now now squirrel problem either.

 

[turnkey4099]

That's a squirrel for sure, but maybe the term rat, wasn't being used as a scientific description, rather to add emphasis to the comment. For instance, i've heard deer described as wood rats, i don't believe the individual actually thought that deer are a type of rat.

I just learned something. I thkought there were in the rodent family...nope, had to google it, Mammal.

 

[Diggin It]

I consider Pigeons to be flying rats.

 

[aczlan]

The steel posts are 4 in square, 12 ft tall sitting on a concrete foot. We have container gardens on our deck with tomatoes and such. But we also have a dog door patio side and don't want the 'coons crawling into to our house. I think the electric fence around the poles is a good working plan for keeping them off. It's just a mater of getting a good ground next to the hot wire.

Personally, I would get 4 fiberglass fence posts per steel post and some electric fence netting, then put the electric fence netting around the base of each steel post, that way the raccoons cannot reach them to climb up without getting shocked while they are standing on the ground. Then you just need to keep them off of your stairs to the ground.

Aaron Z

 

[Ford850]

Personally, I would get 4 fiberglass fence posts per steel post and some electric fence netting, then put the electric fence netting around the base of each steel post, that way the raccoons cannot reach them to climb up without getting shocked while they are standing on the ground. Then you just need to keep them off of your stairs to the ground.

Aaron Z

I’ve done this but with hardware mesh. A medium charger is not enough for many of them, you’ll need a very strong long range cattle model.

 

[EddieWalker]

I like electricity, but everything needs to be ideal for it to be effective. Have you looked into Squirrel Baffles on the posts? squirrel baffle at DuckDuckGo

 

[turnkey4099]

Squirrels, rats and rodents are all mammals. Many people consider squirrels as tree rats. It's kind of a slang term for them.
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents.

Yeah, after I posted that I realized I had the wrong stage of classification. Been som 60 odd years since I supposedly learned it.

 

[radios1]

I’ve done this but with hardware mesh. A medium charger is not enough for many of them, you’ll need a very strong long range cattle model.

what you want is 10 milliamps at most, since kids and stupid adults may try to test if it's really electrified. killing a human can be very bad if you get caught!.. Electrical Safety: The Fatal Current what you want is the 10 milliamps at a high enough voltage that it will make a good enough connection to get the 10 milliamps. btw, voltage don't kill, else people would be dropping dead from static discharges in their house, like from rugs in the winter!.. it's the amperage imposed on the skin that kills!..

 

[jaxs]

what you want is 10 milliamps at most, since kids and stupid adults may try to test if it's really electrified. killing a human can be very bad if you get caught!.. Electrical Safety: The Fatal Current what you want is the 10 milliamps at a high enough voltage that it will make a good enough connection to get the 10 milliamps. btw, voltage don't kill, else people would be dropping dead from static discharges in their house, like from rugs in the winter!.. it's the amperage imposed on the skin that kills!..

Lawyers want the intire population up a tree like a bunch of scared kittens but must you help their cause? If Paddy is like me,lawyers wouldn't persue him simply because there's no money in it for them. Lightum up Paddy,if they are screwing around beneath your deck without your permission,they deserve to get shocked. Besides,exactly how many people do you know that were killed by ignition spark or fence chargers?