Squirrels building nest in my A/C

X2 on the use of a wire cloth barrier. I had squirrels in the underbelly of my 5er and discovered that the wiring and plumbing were good food sources that also attracted them since the materials were made with organic materials. Do what you can to avoid giving them a food source.

mobeewan one of the ideas I had was to have the mesh attached all the way around the cover. Maybe attached with strips of metal held in place with sheet metal screws. But I have to have something that would not harm the EPDM roof.
If I were to use PVC do you really think it would restrict to much airflow for the unit to operate? Thanks

MDKMDK I had thought about a wire mesh to use around the unit but had not considered the chicken wire. The way my unit is made it will require wire / cover completely around it. Thanks

You might try making some wire covers to fit inside the shroud where the Shroud openings are. You'll need to use wire cloth with the largest openings you can that the squirrel won't be able to squeeze through. You can compensate by loss of airflow by making the covers in the shape of a rectangular pan like the bug covers they make for the furnace Inlet and Outlet and the water heaters.

You'll need to add the screen at the bottom edges of the Shroud to keep the squirrels from crawling under the shroud or you might use some PVC pipe and elbows to make a frame that you can place around the bottom of the air conditioner shroud to keep the squirrels from crawling under the shroud. The pipe will need to be removed when you run the air conditioner.

Hardware cloth

Wrap a piece of chicken wire or similar, with smallish holes no bigger than 1/2", around the A/C unit, specifically on the surfaces where they gain entry. I've used short pieces of picture hanger wire like twist ties to fasten it in place. It's a great deterrent for unwanted entry into a variety of things, chimneys, soffit vents, any small opening that squirrels and chipmunks frequent. It allows air flow, too.

stewed squirrel with sour cream gravy!!....still remember that one my Dad made when I was about 12 !!

The 5er is in the country, only get there every 2-3 weeks. Thumbs up on the stew though.

Trap them. Start a relocation program.

Squirrel stew.