Well, its been two nights since I put up the solar electric fence and all is well. The unit was $99(3 mile - smallest TSC had) plus about $20 for wire and plastic insulators. Hoped it would have been cheaper but was in a rush and very determined...I already had some rebar for posts which I cut into 1/3's and had to buy a few more lengths. Pretty easy. As Grandad suggested, I put the wires at 6" and 12" off the ground and one foot away from the base of the existing fence. I made the gate swing in. The unit is mounted to a 4x4 post and has an on off switch. Still wishing I did this a while ago. Not much corn left...I'm noticing a few late ears trying to form. I may have to hand pollenate these. Every stalk had at least two ears, some have had 3 ears and apparently a couple that may end up with 4 if you include the sucker. I'm curious about watering the garden while/if the fence is on. Any need to be concerned - precautions???lol I have one grounding rod - 3/8 rebar 4' in the ground. Was told rebar would be suffice for this application vs. the more expensive copper grounding rod. I kinda gathered that more/multiple grounding rods made for a stronger shock. Is this true or necessary for this small of a fence? We both tried the fence and felt it...

Thanks for answering. We too planted lots of new bulbs last year and the squirels dug some up almost as soon as we got them in the ground! You never know what will attack our gardens next. It's a 'fight' and I usually don't win!. lol Connie

novice 60, I hate red wasps, their stings are so painful. I have an old Dirt Devil canister vac that the DW has tossed many times. The wheels are missing and it's held together with duct tape, but it's small and has a powerful motor, so I keep rescuing it from the trash. I use it to vac wasps from my feeders - they go in, they don't come out. Could be because I also use it to vac loose fur from my dogs. The noise scares the hummers away, so they're not in danger. If they do become accustomed to the noise and start getting too close, I'll cover the end of the hose with a piece of 1/2" mesh hardware cloth. Each wasp makes a new nest in the spring, so every one that you can get now means you're destroying a whole nest. Try it, it works for me. AND IT'S FUN!!!

I am not computer literate so I will rely on my husband (the computer genius) to post my story. Bless his heart, he has never faltered in believing me (after 37 years, he still listens). One fine day in November of 2011 I decided to purchase a bird feeder to help the birds thru the winter. We thought it was such fun to watch them and then the squirrels (who broadcast the seed when they jumped onto the feeder). On occasion when I was running low on bird seed, Iâd throw stale bread. That created a frenzy��"way too much fun! More bread Iâd say! More seed too. The long, dark days became fun. Until dooms day. Dooms day was somewhere around the end of January 2012. I was in bed (my love sleeps in the next room due to his disabilities). What was that moaning sound? Moan, moan. Then nothing. Until Iâd start to doze off. This would occur in no particular pattern so, of course, it could not be heard by anyone but me. Being terrified of rodents, rats in particular, I was on the phone to Exterminator #1, a guy we had come to our home previously for bee control. He was nice and admitted he was going to retire so he didnât want to go in the crawl space. He also didnât bill us. Enter exterminator #2. He had never heard moaning sounds and did not have a clue as to what might make these sounds��" after 22 years in the business. A friend asked a local gardening store what they thought might make these sounds and an employee said he had squirrels and they were what I was hearing��" the babies crying for mama. I called exterminator #2 and played him the sounds of baby squirrels (which the afore mentioned computer guru found). He was at our house the next day to once again look for evidence of squirrels. He even made an extra trip to pick up squirrel repellant (cost to us $50 for the extra trip) and left us with the valuable information . . . âIf you find where she is getting in, do not plug the hole or she will eat through the side of your house to get to her babiesâ. Exit exterminator #2. I decided to have my older granddaughters come and spend the night to document those moaning sounds and reaffirm to myself that I am sane. Would you believe that there was absolutely no sounds made, no movement detected, no evidence whatsoever that we âhad companyâ. Remember, I am a grandmother! So now, behind my back Iâm getting the snickers and rolling eyes because POOR GRAMMIE HAS lost it. Before I called Exterminator #3, I had more occasions than I can recall to jump out of bed, take apart my bed; right down to removing the mattress and box springs and even take the mesh material off the box springs BECAUSE IT SOUNDED LIKE ONE OF THE CRITTERS MOANED UNDER MY PILLOW. Because I am relatively regarded as being intelligent and still possess all of my faculties, I did not pass on to my family my escapades during the night but instead kept this to myself. They could NOT be in my mattress��" theyâre squirrels. NOT!! So, now Exterminator #3 tells me a good news and bad news story. The good news, I AM NOT NUTS. The bad news, the moans I was hearing were not that of squirrels but were from a similar sized animal: NORWAY RATS. Take a peek at these guys on the internet. Twelve to 14 inch bodies. Oh, and mice too! Did this happen because we have total slobs living at the end of our block who opt to not have garbage pickup? Folks, I never realized that this was not a requirement in my neighborhood of $300,000-$400,000 homes (weâre evidently in an unincorporated section of Vancouver, WA. Code Enforcement tells me). Well, anyway, it doesnât help me in my quest to have my home back to just the two of us! Exterminator #3: total cost about $3500 (possibly more later) has removed most of the vermin��" all they could find which included rats and mice, they took out all of the insulation in the crawl space and the vapor barrier. I think I have reason to celebrate. Every possible entry has been plugged, every inch disinfected, all furnace pipes vacuumed, tunnel holes plugged and cemented; in other words my world is so good and free of vermin. Unless you count last night. Iâm so tired because of constant sleep deprivation for going on five months now. I fall into bed knowing we are critter free��" now approaching $6000 because we did not replace the insulation now so weâre, hopefully, not giving anybody a place to nest. The reinstall of the insulation will occur in August at a price of $2000. I put my head on the pillow with the knowledge that we are free (are we?? Two seniors 70 or so, one disabled, now depending on social security and owing so much). I almost jumped out of my skin when the little squeal came from under my pillow. At this point I want to just give up. As I tell my poor husband, I think I have mice in my mattress, am tearing apart my bed in and enlisting help to move the mattress on our back porch. I am wondering if I have lost my mind. Time will tell. At least I did one thing right in my life when I married probably the one and only man who would say he believed me.