Hello.
Evicted marmots are in desperate mode digging around/under the foundations of a house to reenter their comfortable dens. So far have destroyed subfloors by chewing wood.
Can burying an energized non-insulated steel wire 10 cm under the soil, 10 cm apart from the foundation discourage them when digging paws touch it ?
120VAC or ~4KV? AC or DC? as in plain domestic voltage with 1 Ampere fuse or the typical cattle fence ? How would it work leaking current to ground ?
Any suggestions how to make such contraption work ?. Prefer a non-exposed buried wire.




The 1,5 mm mesh replaced with a now working 4mm mesh at the vents. That is why are digging instead now. Their grand entrances are blocked. Very strong muscular persistent creatures of ~15Kg !. Crack concrete.

 

Unsure of marmots, but powdered tobacco was used for rabbits as a deterrent. There are several rabbit deterrents on the market.

 

check with animal control. we had same problem with skunks and rabbits.
ultimately placed heavy metal wire mesh underground and replaced pavers with cement. no more digging...

 

You cant bury an electric fence no. It would be completely shorted out.

They work because the wire is the + and you tie the - to the ground (literal ground). Then when the animal is touching the ground and the wire they will complete the circuit and get shocked.

You could engergize the wire mesh with + and the ground with - and that would work.

 

or give them something they can chew but... will regret. like pvc coil filled with pepper spray.

 

Perhaps then, will have to suspend the wire 10cm along over soil on pvc pipe standoffs; temporary until they learn the lesson... AC or DC ? ; 4KV or 120V ? On dry/wet soil, what would not kill; what would kill ? They are about 50 cm, 10 to 15Kg.
If they chew a buried insulated or enameled? wire; it has to work then... I want to stick to electric methods.

 

If I took that approach, I'd go for using a fence charger. Under 50USD or...


Probably cheaper to buy one. The voltage won't kill them but it'll make them hurt like hell. As any farm boy that ever made the mistake of peeing on one can attest to.