SQUIRRELZAP

A WEBSITE WITH SOME THINGS ON IT.

Zapping squirrels.

People often ask me "Dr Bellend, how do you keep pesky squirrels off your nuts?". Well, here's the answer...

We had about 3 persistent little buggers that would take turns on the bird table and scoff everything without the birds getting a chance. I even purchased a squirrel feeder which I attached to a tree, but they still weren't satisfied! After various attempts with mechanical devices I concluded that the pesky critters were just too agile and brainy to be beaten by such devices. So, not wanting to outwitted by a rodent I turned to electricity.....

I ran a wire from my greenhouse underground and up to the bird table. I mounted the bird's nut feeders on insulators from electric fence posts and livened them up with a borrowed electric fence controller. There are 2 methods the squirrels use to get on the table, up the post and jumping from the nearby bush, so I protected the post with some wire also. I also ran an earthed wire round the rim of the table to ensure a good connection on the little bugger's feet. The electric fencer produces pulses of about 7Kv every second and while not dangerous, it will give a painful shock. Some come back for 2 or 3 attempts before they give up. The shock causes them to take flight (literally) and they run off up the garden wondering what hit them. Most satisfying. Of course I don't need to tell fellow geeks that the birds are not affected by this because they don't present a path to earth, similar to when they sit on power lines.

Warning: The Squirrelzap uses a harmless low-power farmer's electric fence controller. Dr Bellend does not accept responsibility for any loss or injury incurred by persons attempting to reproduce this system in any way. (This includes barbecued squirrels and people).

The innocent looking bird table.
The farmer's electric fencer. Powered by 9v battery. Gives about 2 months on one charge.
Electrified nuts!
Post protection.
How to turn a normal squirrel....
......into a flying squirrel.
And finally... The new updated version that zaps the squirrel from a remote control. This has the satisfaction of being able to zap at the press of a switch on a hand held unit. It consists of an old radio intruder alarm door contact (the transmitter) and the receiver board seen here in the shed. When the switch is depressed on the hand held box a contact operates on the receiver. this sends current to an induction coil from a gas cooker ignitor which then goes out to the bird table. A coat hanger serves as a passable receiver antenna.
Well squirrel, I've got 10,000V of electromagnetic gas ignition technology at my fingertips. Do ya feel lucky?

Video of a squirrel getting 13 Amps at U Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N8SgpZ7yIY