Polywood Furniture: Will Squirrels Chew Them?

Polywood is a type of plastic wood that has been used for many years as an alternative to natural wood. It is very popular in the garden and patio furniture market.

As with any product, it is important to know how it can be damaged or destroyed by external factors such as the weather and pests.

In this article, we will discuss whether squirrels will chew on Polywood.

Will Squirrels Chew Polywood?

Many homeowners have reported that squirrels have chewed through their wood furniture and then moved on to Polywood to continue their teeth-sharpening activities. Squirrels are attracted to Polywood because it mimics the look of natural wood. Squirrels not only damage furniture on your patio but can also carry dangerous diseases.

Why Squirrels Chew Your Patio Furniture?

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having squirrels run amok in your lawn, you’ll find they enjoy munching on furniture too. But why do squirrels chew patio furniture?

Sharpening Their Teeth

Squirrels will chew patio furniture due to the fact that they are always looking for a way to sharpen their teeth. Squirrels’ teeth grow throughout their lives, so they must constantly keep them sharp by gnawing on different objects.

Building Material

At first thought, you might think so but in reality, squirrels use the salvage parts from your furniture to make their own nest. In many cases, especially In more urbanized areas, materials for building their nest are becoming more and more scarce. That’s why many squirrels chew your Polywood furniture or decking to acquire material for their nest.

Nest

Another common reason is, squirrels chew your Polywood decking to make a hole. This hole can be used as a nest. So don’t be surprised to see one sleeping inside there.

What Squirrels Will Chew?

Squirrels will chew just about anything, but they prefer to chew things that have softer textures and taste woodsy. This is why you will find that squirrels like to chew on things such as tree branches, baseball bats, and lumber. They also like to chew on objects that have been exposed to other squirrel’s urine and feces.

Why Won’t Squirrels Stop Chewing Wood?

Squirrels do not stop chewing because it releases endorphins into their bodies while at the same time stimulating their appetite; not only for food but also for other materials of interest around your home or backyard area.

The best way to stop this destructive behaviour is to first identify what materials the squirrel is attracted to while chewing. Once these materials have been identified, some squirrel exclusion techniques can be implemented in order to deter the animals from continuing this behaviour in the future.

What Other Damages Can Squirrels Cause?

Aside from damaging your outdoor furniture, another harm squirrels can bring not just to you but also to your family are deadly diseases. Deadly diseases like Tularemia, Salmonella, Leptospirosis, and more commonly is Rabies. Squirrels can transmit these deadly diseases to humans and even your pets.

If they contact you or anyone from your family, even breathing the air around squirrels can catch diseases. This is probably the biggest risk of having squirrels around your house and your outdoor space.

Even worse, not only they can bring disease they can also cause annoying mess in your backyard.

How Do I Stop Squirrels From Chewing My Polywood Furniture?

Although squirrels are cute little animals, they can be quite destructive. They tend to chew on the corners of furniture and on other wooden embellishments because this is how they sharpen their teeth.

So if you have ever wondered what can you do to keep squirrels out of your patio furniture then continue reading.

Squirrels Comes For Food

The reason why squirrels come to your property is because they are looking for food or sometimes shelter. Unfortunately, most homes tend to have leftover food in their backyard or outdoor space. It can be leftover food from your kid’s snack or the fruits in your garden or even bird food. These are the squirrel’s favourite snack.

To prevent squirrels from chewing your Polywood then you might want to remove the reason they come into your property in the first place.

Use Barriers

If you often see them in your outdoor space, then using physical obstacles can be an effective solution. These barriers can be mesh wires, cages, etc.

This way, the squirrels can’t touch the furniture and it will also bother them to spend some time looking for a way to climb over or under these barriers. You may not like the physical barriers but they are effective and if you need to stop the squirrels chewing your furniture, then it is a good choice.

But sometimes these tactics are not possible to use. For example, if you have an open verandah and you don’t want to close the space with wires or another obstructing material.

Remove Trash

Squirrel-proof your trash bin is another way, so no squirrels will be able to reach your trash inside. You must always secure the lid even if it’s empty. Squirrels should not notice any trash inside your trash bin and you do this by not leaving any telltale signs on trash outside.

Squirrel Repellent

The first thing you can do is to give your Polywood products a light coating of silicone spray. It will help to make sure that any rodents that journey near your Polywood are able to smell the repellent.

When they smell that repellent, they’ll back off and look for another target. However, if the Polywood has been painted or stained, you should rinse that away before you apply the silicone spray.

Ultrasonic Pest Repellents

Besides these inexpensive deterrents, there is a modern way of deterring squirrels from gnawing on Polywood furniture.

The process of ultrasonic vibration was accidentally discovered when researchers who were investigating high-speed flight at high altitudes ran their helicopter engines next to nests of barn swallows.

The birds abandoned their nests, and the bird’s chicks survived. This forced the researchers to come up with an acoustic theory that they quickly tested. They created a prototype ultrasonic device that repelled birds by producing a high-pitched sound inaudible to humans.

However, soon after research began, the researchers found that the ultrasonic vibrations had similar results on other types of animals, including rats, cats, and mice, and of course squirrels.

Here is a nice article about ultrasonic pest repellents. It’s a good read if you want to learn whether it’s effective or not.

Use Statues or Pets

If you have a pet then you are in luck. You can leave your pet outside your outdoor space and they will usually patrol the area and chase invaders away especially squirrels. Although, you must not let your pets hurt the squirrels as it is not very ethical to do.

Statues are also a good squirrel repellent as they can scare squirrels away. Squirrels are very scared of birds like hawks and owls, so a statue of those is a good idea. But remember, statues are only a temporary solution and eventually the squirrels will learn that these statues are fake.

Professional Pest Control

Squirrels are cute, fluffy creatures that many people find adorable. But if you have a nest in your area, then it can cause problems. Don’t mess with these animals alone. A pest control professional is the best solution if you want to remove them from their home.

These specialists have the right equipment to keep small animals away from your property and the knowledge of how to effectively use it. In most cases, they will be able to give you a guarantee of effectiveness.

Besides repelling squirrels, pest control companies also deal with other pests, such as mice or rats.

Conclusion

Polywood is a type of crafted plastic that is used in the construction of garden furniture. Even though it is made of plastic, squirrels don’t seem to be picky about what they want to chew. There are many instances and reports from Polywood owners finding their beloved Polywood furniture damaged by the big teeth of these squirrels.

Even though that’s the case, luckily, there are still things you can do to save your outdoor space from these pesky squirrels.