Chewing critters

[C & E]

I just got back from the cabin where I found that something had been chewing on the T1-11 siding of the shed along the edges and eight feet up where a ledger board allowed a toe-hold. This is the first time in the two years that I've had the property that this has happened. A neighbor blamed squirrels or porcupines for this kind of chewing. I've had squirrels around our home for years and never had any gnawing at all. Have any of you had this issue? What did you discover and is there a deterrent? I thought of mixing one of those insanely hot sauces that you dip a toothpick into to spice up a quart of salsa and mixing it with water. Then, spray the offended siding as a deterrent. My luck they would like it!

[HeyBub]

Or you could have a very large, very pissed bear.

Check for tracks on the ground!

[Mamba]

You might try a variation on Bitrex (sp?) as well. Extremely bitter to most mammals and comes in a sprayable liquid.

I tried copious amounts of cayenne powdered peppers mixed into the surface soil around my well enclosure for the squirrels that were digging burrows into it. Didn't seem to faze them in the least.

If you have a specific area and surface you may have better luck with a liquid application. I know we once had a crazy cat that liked to chew the power cord to my sump pump in the basement. We coated it with a habanera sauce and that certainly was effective in that case.

[cybercat]

I thought this was going to be about tough squirrel meat. Oh, wait, this isn't rec.food.cooking!