Backyard Squirrel Maze 1.0- Ninja Warrior Course — Key Takeaways
Squirrels mastered every stage of an 8-obstacle "Ninja Warrior" course within 1–2 days per obstacle, completing the full run in under 40 seconds — no commercial or DIY deterrent reliably stops them.
Key takeaways
All 4 squirrels completed an 8-obstacle Ninja Warrior course in under 40 seconds within a week
All 4 squirrels completed an 8-obstacle Ninja Warrior course in under 40 seconds within a week
- Rick was first to reach the jackpot after ~1 week; all four squirrels eventually ran the full course in <40 seconds.
- Each obstacle was mastered within 1-2 days of introduction, including a slinky bridge, rotating pitchforks, and a reset trap.
The Homewrecker reset trap used a pressure sensor → microcontroller → relay → solenoid → pneumatic piston chain
The Homewrecker reset trap used a pressure sensor → microcontroller → relay → solenoid → pneumatic piston chain
- Standing on the platform >3 seconds triggered the full chain, releasing a trapdoor that sent the squirrel back to start.
- The squirrel-pult launcher ran at 40% pressure, delivering ~0.5g acceleration — 10× less than a typical rollercoaster.
Squirrels lock a landing target in 300ms and use angular momentum like ice skaters to land feet-first
Squirrels lock a landing target in 300ms and use angular momentum like ice skaters to land feet-first
- After launch, the squirrel locked its head on the landing spot in 300ms — less than the blink of an eye — and never broke that lock.
- It tucks arms to spin fast and extends them to stop rotation, identical to the ice-skater trick; cats use the same two mechanisms.
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In this video
- 1mThe Squirrel Problem: Three Bird Feeders Defeated
- 3mBuilding the Eight-Part Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course
- 8mMeet the Contestants: Rick, Marty, Frank, and Phantastic Gus
- 10mWorking Through the Course: Obstacle by Obstacle
- 14mFirst Completions and the Squirrel-Pult in Action
- 18mCourse Retirement and Backyard Nature Reflections
“This was like the moment in 'Jurassic Park' when they realized the Velociraptors can open door handles.”
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