I live in the Rocky Mountain front in a heavily wooded area. We have lots of squirrels, mainly Colombian ground squirrels, along with chipmunks. A few years ago we opened up an area and built a 40 foot by 30 foot garden. The garden has a 7 foot fence made of 6X6 wooden posts and chicken wire to keep deer and bears out.
Every Spring we plant vegetables, and every summer we have both squirrels and chipmunks gnawing through the chicken wire in order to feast on our vegetables. I patch the holes and that usually takes care of the problem… at least until next year.
I’ve seen these same critters scamper up tree trunks when being chased by my dog, but they seem completely unable to climb up and over a chicken wire fence to get into the garden. Are they stupid, or just unable to climb a chicken wire fence?
I have an 11’ x 10’ garden (I envy your space) enclosed with chicken wire. After I found my second tomato on the ground partially gnawed, I bought squirrel repellant and scattered it around. No more gnawed tomatoes. I never actually caught them in the act, but it was pretty clearly squirrels. So yeah, they didn’t have any problem scaling chicken wire.
From what I’ve read, they’re only interested in the tomatoes for the moisture in them. That’s why they just eat a bit and then discard it.
I have little firsthand experience with chipmunks, cute little buggers that they are, but there ain’t no way in hell a squirrel couldn’t climb a chicken wire fence. They either don’t want to, or you just haven’t caught them in the act yet.
I know when there’s a hole in the fence because my young vegetable plants are being eaten mercilessly. Once I patch the hole, no vegetables are harmed. I can’t figure out why they would spend the time, effort and energy to chew through metal wire instead of just climbing over a fence. Hence the question. One of life’s true mysteries I guess.
The OP says he lives in a heavily wooded area. Hares (Lepus; in the US most species are called jackrabbits) inhabit mostly grassland and shrubland and would be unlikely in wooded environments.
With regard to the OP, several sites recommend chicken wire for fencing vegetables against chipmunks and squirrels. Other sites suggest chipmunks can climb it and so recommend putting a wire mesh roof on the enclosure. I haven’t seen any sites that say chipmunks regularly gnaw through chicken wire.
The only reason I can think of that chickenwire would deter climbing by chipmunks is if it was slack enough so that it shook and felt unstable to them as they climbed.