contender
Ruger Guru
Sadly,,, I'm not an expert on wood preservatives that would be best. I do know that the stuff to protect wood against carpenter bees has had some success in critter repellent. Look up; www.logfinish.con and look for NBS-30.
I'm not a critter expert but the openings in the mesh in some areas don't look like much of a
deterrent, they seem too large to me.
Did you ever consider termites?