5 Solar Panel Critter Guards For Animal Lovers
There are a lot of reasons you might install a solar panel system around your home, and one of them is because you want to be more environmentally conscious about your energy consumption. But ironically, nature can prove to be a detriment to your eco-friendly techniques. Along with the potential damage and fire hazards brought on by excess plant growth or extreme weather, our furry and feathery neighbors can quickly turn your dream solar panel system into a nightmare situation.
Birds, raccoons, squirrels, and more often find the solar panels on your roof to be suitable nesting places. Excess animal waste or chewed-up wires can result in your system losing power and efficiency, meaning more money to spend on repairs. Your solar panel setup was already a hefty investment, so why not take the extra step early on to ensure its longevity?
The best and safest way to go about this is by installing a critter guard system around your solar panels. These mesh screens — similar in appearance to chicken wire — block the ventilation gap underneath your precious panels while still allowing air and water flow to pass through. This helps keep your solar panels clean, increases their lifespan, and leaves innocent animals unharmed. As with solar panels themselves, you'll find no shortage of options out there when it comes to critter guards. We've sifted through a wide selection of these guards and come up with a list of the best ones on the market, based on user reviews, price point, and industry recognition. More about our selection process can be read below.
Maporch Solar Mesh Screen
For years, German manufacturer Maporch has been renowned for its high-quality gardening items, including a variety of chicken wire and similar protection products. It should come as no surprise that the company would find a way to integrate a similar approach to keep your home's solar panels safe and sound.
The Maporch Solar Mesh Screen offers an easy and versatile way to make sure your panels are critter-free. Standing at 6 inches high and ranging between 50 and 120 feet in length, you'll be hard-pressed to find a solar system set this can't accommodate. Installing it is a breeze, with no need for drilling, and it's made of a galvanized mesh steel that's both easily bendable and removable. At the same time, the product is strong enough to keep animals out while also being weather-resistant. To top it off, the mesh comes with fasteners, scissors, and gloves to make your task all the easier.
The product currently sells on Amazon for between $34.99 and $89.99, depending if you go with the 50- or 120-foot model. Regardless of the length, buyers have responded positively to the item. It currently sports a 4.5 out of 5-star rating average on Amazon based on 330+ reviews, where customers have commended its ease of installation and durability.
RoTak Critter Guard
RoTak is a trusted name in solar panel protection, as the company has been making its own line of solutions to tackle pesky pests since 2018. In other words, the Rotak Critter Guard Pro is sure to give you peace of mind and then some.
RoTak offers 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch tall critter guards, so you're bound to find an option that fits your situation. Each stretches out to 100 feet to best wrap around and protect your solar panel. The wire mesh itself is thick and durable enough to withstand any animal or weather scenario that comes its way. Best of all, the product is easy to put up and won't damage your solar panels while also being practically impossible to see from the ground so as not to ruin the look of your roof.
It ranks as one of the highest-rated critter guards on Amazon, with a stellar 4.7 out of 5-star average based on 745 current reviews. Buyers like the incredible strength of the mesh steel, but some have noted that the optional fasteners aren't always the strongest. It's currently available for between $79.88 and $139.98, depending on if the size you get and if they come with fastener clips.
SolaTrim Pest Barrier for Solar Panels
Perhaps you need a critter guard but don't want to deal with the fasteners, ties, and other attachment accessories needed to hook a mesh critter guard up to your solar panel. Fortunately, there's a quick and easy alternative to these kinds of critter guards with the SolaTrim Solar Panel Pest Barrier.
After wiping down the solar panel's modular system with acetone, the SolaTrim can be stuck on using a special adhesive running along the top of it that — once attached to your panel — is practically impossible to pull off. Within an hour, it's permanently stuck on. The barrier itself is made out of aluminum and can easily be cut to conform to the height of your panel without the need for power tools, with a sturdy pair of metal shears more than capable of getting the job done.
While average shoppers may not be as familiar with this kind of critter guard, it has certainly made a splash within the industry. Solar energy equipment supplier Suncatcher Solar of Canada (via Nixalite) said of the item that, "SolaTrim has several advantages over a simple wire mesh. It is a strong product made of lightweight aluminum with an aviation grade adhesive tape that seals it thoroughly to your solar panels. ... We like that it is designed to be a permanent solution that will last the lifetime of the panels." The 5-inch by 20-foot and 6-inch by 20-foot options are currently available on Nixalite's website for $173.50.
Prolee Solar Panel Bird/Critter Guard Anti-Rust
Pesky pests are more than enough reason to want to install a critter guard to protect your solar panel system, but that's not all Mother Nature has to throw at us. The weather can be an equally troubling factor not only to your solar panels but to your critter guard as well. If you live in an area with heavy rain or snowfall, rust can easily develop if your tools aren't up to the task.
If that sounds like where you live, Prolee has the solution with its 6-inch by 100-foot critter guard. It comes with a galvanized mesh steel and flexible design that makes it well-suited for roof types of all varieties while also coming with 100 fastener clips and a heavy-duty cable cutter to aid in installation. What helps this item stand out is its weather-resistant capabilities thanks to its steel being covered in ultra-thick black PVC. This eliminates the need to break out the rust remover.
At $58.88, it's also one of the most affordable choices on this list. The item has a 4.3 average rating on Amazon based on 70 reviews, with buyers saying that it readily protects from pests and is surprisingly sturdy.
Vevor Solar Panel Bird Guard
Critter guards may not be universally known, but they clearly can prove functional for the right situation. As more individuals realize their potential, we're sure to see a greater variety of more widely available options. But the one that seems to be leading the charge for critter guards in the current age is the handy Vevor Solar Panel Bird Guard.
Vevor's versatile product delivers all the great benefits of some of the other choices on this list wrapped in an accessible package. Its powerful 8-inch by 98-foot steel mesh wire is easy to cut and install around your solar panels, gardens, vents, railings, or anywhere else you want to keep animals out. The critter guard also comes equipped with 100 stainless steel fasteners and 50 tie wires that will last you for some time.
Along with possessing a 4.3 rating average on Amazon based on 260+ reviews, the Vevor Solar Panel Bird Guard also sits at among the highest-rated critter guards sold at The Home Depot and Lowe's. Aiding in its accessibility is its insanely low price of $50.19, although variations of the critter guard can be found on Vevor's website for as little as $40.99
Why we chose these critter guards
Picking what critter guards made this list was surprisingly tricky and not for the reasons you might think. Unlike some lists where the selection is wide and varied, the vast majority of widely available critter guards lack the diversity of some other tool categories. More than likely, as solar panels continue to grow more commonly accepted and utilized in our increasingly environmentally-conscious society, critter guards will evolve to suit different needs. But for now, the range is largely limited.
Nevertheless, we did our best to vary our selection with picks that range in size, functionality, and price. For the latter, we didn't include anything over the $200 range as critter guards are relatively simple and shouldn't require extensive bells and whistles. Sure, investing in the best quality possible is never a bad idea if you're able to, but for most needs, simple mesh wire critter guards are more than sufficient. Of course, the ultimate metric for these devices was their quality. All of our picks has either been commended by customers (with the lowest-rated items on here having a 4.3 out of 5-star rating average on Amazon) or industry professionals.