Catch a Squirrel

Squirrels can cause a lot of damage for such small creatures. They may infest your yard, eating your birdseed; they may nest in your trees; and they may even get into your attic! Fortunately, it is relatively easy to catch a squirrel and remove it from your property. You can even use a humane "live trap" and release the squirrel back into the wild afterward! Read on to learn how to catch a squirrel.

Steps

Setting up a Trap

  1. Make or buy a squirrel trap. You can buy live traps for catch-and-release, or you can buy "death traps" designed to kill squirrels. Visit a local hunting- and fishing-supply store, look online for "squirrel traps," or hire a professional trapper.[1] If you're up for a project, consider building a squirrel trap from things you might have lying around your home.
  2. Use a single-animal live cage trap. You can buy various models, but most are metal cages with a trip-lever in the back. The squirrel walks in, drawn by the alluring smell of bait, and trips the lever to shut the door of the cage. This way, you can take the animal alive, without having to kill it or dispose of the remains. Mount this trap on the hole through which the squirrels are entering and exiting.
    • Make sure that the cage is large enough to hold a squirrel. In general, it should be at least 16 inches long, five inches wide, and five inches high.[2]
    • Consider the ethical as well as the practical benefits of using a live trap. Not only do you avoid a messy cleanup, but you avoid killing an unwitting creature.
  3. Build a one-way door trap. This is best suited to indoor squirrel infestations.[3] Figure out where your squirrel has been getting in, and set the trap at this opening. The idea of the one-way trap is that the squirrel can get into the hole, but not out of it.
    • You should be able to find the entrance by looking for light or feeling for an airflow. Check vents in the walls and "valleys" in your roof. The holes may be smaller than you expect.[4]
    • If you just want to keep the squirrel out of your attic, you can set up a one-way door trap leading outside. This way, the squirrel will be able to get out, but it won't be able to get back in. Be aware, however, that mother squirrels often hide out in attics when they are raising their young – so you might wind up with a bunch of dead baby squirrels unless you are able to root them out.[5]

Catching a Squirrel

  1. Bait the trap with nuts and grains. Try using peanut butter: it's nutty, and it isn't something that squirrels come across often. Grains like bread are a great supplement to the nutty flavor – so consider simply spreading peanut butter onto a piece of bread. You can also use various other nuts, nut butters, seeds, trail mix, or fresh fruit.[6]
    • In a pinch, almost any easy-to-lift morsel of human food should serve to entice the squirrel. Don't use meat or dairy products.
  2. Try to "chum" the squirrels first. Leave small morsels of your bait out in the open, with no trap or a disabled trap, so that they get used to the taste. Do this for a couple of days before you try to catch a squirrel. This serves a few purposes: you will be able to make sure that the squirrels like your chosen bait, and you will "train" the population to seek out these easy, tasty meals.[7]
  3. Set the trap where a squirrel will find it. If you've seen a lot of squirrels in your backyard, eating the birdseed – place the trap near the birdseed, so that the squirrels will encounter it on their way. If there is a squirrel in your attic, put the trap in the attic. Make sure that the opening of the box is enticing and easily accessible. If you're outdoors, check for signs of squirrel activity on the ground: nut shells and pine cone shreds are usually telltale signs.
    • Squirrels like to be out and about in the mid-morning, so this is a good time to execute your plans.[8]
  4. Leave enough food to keep the squirrel alive. If you plan on catching and releasing the squirrel, you'll need to make sure that it survives from the time it is caught until the time you check the trap. Again: a piece of bread spread thick with peanut butter should do the trick. Consider leaving a small bowl of water in the trap, too.
  5. Check the trap every day. Change out the bait every 3-4 days. If you plan to humanely catch and release the squirrel, try to find it and free it before it dies. On a practical level: even if you don't care about the squirrel's survival, it will quickly start to smell if it dies and begins to decompose in an enclosed space.[5]
    • Try not to spook the squirrels. Check the trap from afar, if possible. If the trap is outside, look out your window instead of coming close. However, if the trap is in your attic or another indoor space, you might not be able to avoid creating a disturbance.
    • Don't take the trap for granted. If you don't catch a squirrel within a week, you might reconsider the type of bait and the location of the trap.

Releasing a Squirrel

  1. Try to be humane. If you have set the intention of killing the squirrel, and you plan to, say, stuff it, then you probably won't want to keep it alive for release. Otherwise, however, consider that you don't need to kill the squirrel to get rid of it. You can catch the squirrel humanely and release it back into the wild. This way, you can rest with both an easy conscience and a squirrel-free property.
  2. Remove the squirrel from your property. Bring the captured animal at least a mile from where you caught it. On average, the home range of the male eastern gray squirrel is around 3.41 hectares, and you'll want to take it even further to reduce its chance of returning.[9] It helps if you've trapped the creature in an easy-to-transport box, cage, or bucket.
    • Consider bringing the squirrel across a river from your property. Squirrels can swim, but a large river should provide enough of a deterrent to keep them from coming back. Make sure that the squirrel won't be able to cross the river on a "bridge" of tree canopies.[10]
    • If you have caught multiple squirrels, feel free to release them all at once. You may need a car to carry all of the cages.
  3. Release the squirrel. Bring the trap into a wooded area – preferably a park or a forest, rather than someone else's property. Make sure that you're at least thirty feet from the nearest road. Set the trap on the ground and wait for the animal to calm down. Then, when you're ready, carefully prop open the door of the trap. Let the squirrel run free.
    • Be patient. You may need to wait a minute or two for the squirrel to feel comfortable making a dash. Try walking away from the trap for a minute, then coming back once the squirrel has escaped.



Tips

  • If you plan on trapping the squirrel and need it alive, make sure you check the trap every day or so. Squirrels tend to die when they do not eat, and may damage themselves in their zeal to get out of any detaining trap.
  • Make sure any trap you have used is new or has been treated with a little bit of rosemary rubbed on it, as you don't want it to smell like human or dead squirrel/rat/chihuahua.
  • However, avoid the use of those glue trap as the animal often gets stuck to it and can get hurt or he will chew off his limbs.
  • Glue traps are often used.
  • Consider other options. If a squirrel is eating all of your year-round bird feeder seed or your cat's outdoor food bowl, consider getting a squirrel-proof bird feeder or placing your cat's food bowl indoors.

Warnings

  • Be careful with store-bought traps. Commercial traps often rely on spring tension to stop a squirrel, and you might hurt yourself while setting them up.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.squirrel-attic.com/professionals.html
  2. ↑ http://www.wildlife-removal.com/howtocatchsquirrel.html
  3. ↑ http://www.squirrel-attic.com/catch.html
  4. ↑ http://www.urbanwildliferescue.org/humane/squirrels.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.pestremovalguide.com/how-to-catch-a-squirrel/
  6. ↑ http://www.havahart.com/squirrel-baits
  7. ↑ http://www.unexco.com/gallery/baittrap.html
  8. ↑ http://pestkill.org/rodents/squirrels/how-to-trap/
  9. ↑ http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1660/062.115.0301
  10. ↑ http://howtostopsquirrels.com/how-to-catch-a-squirrel-in-a-trap/
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