Why are the squirrels eating the bricks on my house?

[Tom]

The cat sits at the front door looking out the side light window all day. I remark on it, Karen says yeah, it's weird the squirrels eat something out next to the wall there. I figure they're getting something out of the expander channel between the pad and the wall but this morning I happen to look out and it looks like the squirrel is getting something out of the mortar between the bricks but later on I'm out there sweeping up and look, one brick in particular is showing clear signs of gnawing. Like a lot of gnawing. Just one. What the hell?

[Too Tall]

Zombie Squirrels.

[Mabouya]

Because they wanted some variety in their diet and got tired of eating the lead flashing on the rooftop vents at my house.

[monadnocky]

It's the efflorescence in the bricks.
It tastes salty. Animals love it. Hope you're not in porcupine territory.

[bcroslin]

Salt maybe? Our dogs lick the dirt. They’re chihuahuas so they’re weird to begin with but someone told me it’s for the salt and minerals.

[vertical_doug]

You can just hang a mineral lick out in the yard. You may end up with deer in the yard.

[sk_tle]

I guess they are simply grinding down their teeths. Some of them keep growing.

[j44ke]

I guess they are simply grinding down their teeths. Some of them keep growing.

This is possible. Squirrels have to gnaw something to keep their teeth from overgrowing their bite. They may have discovered a lower fired brick in your wall that is softer, and once one squirrel started the fad, everyone else had to go give it a try. Scent is a big deal for squirrels and they have scent glands under their chins, so they gnaw, rub their face on it, and then all the other squirrels have to visit. Add salt efflorescence and they are going to eat it.

[Tom]

Yes, Karen noticed the one brick they like more is a different color than the rest. Cracks me up... they probably went all over the house trying one brick after another until they found the one that is just right.

[fmbp]

The goddamn squirrels in my neighborhood eat everything!

We have a chain-link fence in our back yard. Those little effers gnawed through the (aluminum?) wire ties that hold the fencing to the rails. I had to get new wires to hold the fence up. They also destroy almost all the produce in our garden, and eat up our Halloween Pumpkins. Bastards.

[j44ke]

Squirrels ate all the insulation off of the romex cable used in our friend's solar panel array on their roof. The installers said they didn't know squirrels ate romex when they did the original install, and that they were having to redo 500 installations with BX so it was going to take a while to get back to them. So that means the squirrels ate 501 installations worth of romex cable insulation.

Burp.

For fun, type "Squirrel Obstacle Course" into YouTube.

[thollandpe]

Squirrels ate all the insulation off of the romex cable used in our friend's solar panel array on their roof. The installers said they didn't know squirrels ate romex when they did the original install, and that they were having to redo 500 installations with BX so it was going to take a while to get back to them. So that means the squirrels ate 501 installations worth of romex cable insulation.

Burp.

For fun, type "Squirrel Obstacle Course" into YouTube.

Wow. Outdoors, wet location? I'm assuming these were panels with micro-inverters so it was all AC. Your friend should call the electrical inspector. BX, or whatever it is because I don't think you can get BX anymore, may not belong outside either.

Ask potential solar installers if they plan to use Romex outside. If the answer is not "heck no" then ask them to leave your property. If it is "heck no" then add it to your contract.

[72gmc]

Squirrels are rats with better PR, and rats can chew through anything. Even steel, according to the Pixar short my kid likes to watch after Ratatouille.

[j44ke]

Wow. Outdoors, wet location? I'm assuming these were panels with micro-inverters so it was all AC. Your friend should call the electrical inspector. BX, or whatever it is because I don't think you can get BX anymore, may not belong outside either.

Ask potential solar installers if they plan to use Romex outside. If the answer is not "heck no" then ask them to leave your property. If it is "heck no" then add it to your contract.

Seems like the original install was sort of a nightmare to begin with, including someone falling off the roof, so anything is possible. And BX might not be what was used but how the story was told to me. This happened when there were several companies running around installing solar panels and controllers that sold energy back onto the grid in some kind of lease/buy arrangement that made everything seem a lot less expensive and advertised zero utility bills etc. I am going to guess most of the photovoltaic solar in Greene and Columbia County was installed during that period. Doesn't seem to be much of that going on now.