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Originally Posted by jo_thorne
I have a soft heart for animals, too. As far as the lightning goes, I don't think the squirrels would be struck even if the tree was. Maybe someone who knows more about lightning can answer this. If lightning strikes a tree, I think it travels down the tree to the ground. I'm not really sure about this, but I think the squirrels would be more at risk if they were on the ground at the base of the tree. That's why people are always told not to seek shelter under a tall tree in a thunderstorm. If lightning strikes the tree, it will go to the ground and then up through the person's feet.
I looked up Animal B-Gon. I had never heard of it. It sounds pretty gentle as far as that type of product goes. It's made of essential oils and is supposed to repel the animals because they won't like the scent.
I wonder why your landlord is using it? Does he have flowers or vegetables that he's worried animals will eat?
It can be hard to live somewhere where someone else owns the property and you can't do much about what they decide to do.
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That's a great point about the path of the current. The peripheral branches may leave no way for the current to exit so they might not get zapped. I know squirrels have been killed by lightning per youtube but none of the videos show the actual lightning strike and pre-strike conditions so I don't know where on the tree those squirrels were.... I'm feeling a little better with the thought that there are several nests in the tree and chances are they wouldn't ALL get hit... Hopefully that tree isn't as much of a target as I think it is either.
Landlord is using Animal B Gon for a couple reasons, he has a garden, and squirrels were (past tense) nesting in the roof. They are not anymore. He blames it all on the squirrels, I think, but I don't believe that the squirrels are a problem anymore. I think the rabbits are what's eating his garden, and that the squirrels would leave the roof alone now that it's in good repair. My sense is that squirrels usually only nest in roofs that are in disrepair with holes or cracks they can enlarge and turn into nests.
Saying something about this, directly or indirectly, might help. Just not sure what to say...