So, I buried an invisible pet fence last year but it looks like not deep enough to keep the fucking squirrels from trying to make a meal of it. I'm looking at various options for the fix

1) Just lay it above ground (with landscape staples of course) and repair as they eat it. This risks it being raked or sucked up by the lawnmower though repair should be easy.
2) Get a radio based unit. I'd have to dump the $400 I have invested in the current system for a new unit and collars. Not sure how well I can get the unit set up to keep my mongrels in the yard.
3) Run the wire in some sort of tubing to keep the squirrels from eating it.
4) Perhaps try and go with a thicker gauge wire (currently using 20), or more importantly, a thicker insulator.

I have ~800 ft of this stuff to run. I'm kind leaning towards burying it in some plastic for aesthetic reasons provided I can find something small enough.

3/27/2011 11:37:54 AM

By a BB gun.
Here is a recipe for slow cooked squirrel sounds delicious.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/slow-cooked-squirrel/Detail.aspx

3/27/2011 11:58:33 AM

You have invisible pets?

3/27/2011 12:53:52 PM

1.) Yeah I suggest you paint the pet, will make it easier to see.

2.) Do they make combination electrified and shock collar fence wire?

3.) Train your pet to eat squirrels.

[Edited on March 27, 2011 at 1:12 PM. Reason : .]

3/27/2011 1:10:29 PM

Quote :

"By a BB gun"

Wow...

Seriously just dig a deeper trench how deep are the little fuckers digging?

3/27/2011 1:42:04 PM

weird, i've never heard of squirels messing with the wire; we never had that problem. what kind of plastic were you thinking, 800ft of conduit wouldn't be that cheap.

3/27/2011 3:15:14 PM

Quote :

"Seriously just dig a deeper trench how deep are the little fuckers digging? "

This could have been part of the issue. In some places I know I didn't get it more than an inch or two. But I live on the coast and the soil is sandy and I see some 3" holes in places. And moles will try to chew on it as well though I don't think I have much of a mole problem.

Quote :

"what kind of plastic were you thinking, 800ft of conduit wouldn't be that cheap."

At Lowes, 10' of 1/2" PVC (sch 40 I think) was $.96 so this cost isn't terribly prohibitive, its just much more than I need and would require a deeper hole. As best I can tell, there is no such think as 1/4" PVC which would be good.

3/27/2011 4:36:17 PM

^you can get 1/4" PVC... schedule 80 may be cheaper, but much more brittle

and at 800', what about 1/4" flexible plastic pipe? may be cheaper since you can easily get that in bulk.

3/27/2011 6:12:22 PM

Just FYI, squirrels are capable of chewing through plastic. I've seen them go through a pretty thick trash can to get at bird seed. I dunno if they'd bother just to eat your tasty wire though

3/27/2011 8:16:43 PM

Quote :

"a thicker insulator."

Maybe you're confusing how these things work?

3/27/2011 8:33:24 PM

I tried to do this myself and failed (ripped a belt on the trencher) and just ended up paying invisible fence to do it.

3/27/2011 8:36:46 PM

electrocution?

3/27/2011 8:46:37 PM

Quote :

"Maybe you're confusing how these things work?"

I'll assure you I'm not.

^^ I got the fence put in the first time using a curb edger to dig the trench but it obviously wasn't deep enough.

3/28/2011 6:51:33 AM

i'd buy a $100 rifle and kill the fucking squirrels

3/28/2011 6:58:54 AM

There are some places where the elements have exposed my "buried" fence. Don't have any problem with squirrels. My dogs get rid of them. Maybe your dogs should bark more??

3/28/2011 7:19:19 AM

Pardon my ignorance. But why do the squirrels want to eat it?

3/29/2011 1:22:05 AM

i would bury it deeper and put it in a plastic tube. if you get a lower gauge wire you increase the chance of lightning not instantly vaporizing it and carrying said lightning charge to your house unless you have an arrestor or fuse type system setup.

3/29/2011 10:25:19 AM

^^ They don't "want" to eat it. They are just digging for the nuts they buried and find some curious looking something and bite into it.

3/29/2011 10:13:22 PM

If you are digging a trench and burying it that is the problem, the tree rats think they buried something there and when all they find is the wire they are bound to fuck shit up. Use a edging attachment on a trimmer and cut a slice in the yard, shove the wire in with a screwdriver, then soak the area and stamp it till the slit packs in. Also, shoot the fucking squirrels.

3/29/2011 10:20:07 PM