Get Rid of Squirrels
Squirrels dance through the trees and provide endless entertainment for pets, and they'd certainly be missed if they left our neighbourhoods for good. If you have a bird feeder or a garden, however, you know they can also be a big backyard nuisance. They eat birdseed, ruin growing vegetables, and sometimes even get trapped inside the house. Learn how to control squirrels both inside and out with humane but effective methods.
Contents
Steps
Control Squirrels Outdoors
- Remove squirrel food. Sure, you don't think of it as squirrel food, but if squirrels are overrunning your property it's because they're finding a lot of things they like to eat.
- Rake up nuts, berries, and acorns from trees in your yard that drop them. These are squirrels' main sources of food.
- Buy sealable outdoor trashcans. If your trashcan is easy for squirrels to get into, replace it with one that has a tight-sealing lid. Make sure you keep it closed at all times.
- Squirrel-proof your bird feeders. Squirrels are unbelievably crafty when it comes to eating from feeders. Use these methods to keep them from eating the birdseed before the birds have the chance to find it:
- Buy squirrel guard to attach to your feeder that prevents squirrels from being able to get a grip on them.
- Don't place feeders close to trees or your home. Squirrels will be able to bypass the guard by leaping from the branches or your home's eaves to the bird feeder.
- Keep the area under the bird feeder clean. It may be a pain, but picking up stray seeds that have been dropped by birds will keep squirrels from hanging out near your feeder.
- Fill your bird feeder with safflower seeds. Birds are happy to eat these seeds, but squirrels find them bitter.
- Protect your garden with a fence. Squirrels will dig up bulbs and tear off vegetables if you don't take measures to protect the garden. Use a wire fence and make sure it is buried about a foot into the ground, so the squirrels can't dig under it.
- Use squirrel repellent. Several products are available at hardware and home and garden stores. They're typically made with natural ingredients that cause squirrels to stay away.
- Some repellents are made with cayenne or black pepper, which repels squirrels but doesn't bother birds. These repellents can be added directly to the bird feeder.
- Some repellents are made with the urine of squirrels' predators. These are meant to be sprayed around gardens to keep squirrels away.
- Feed the squirrels. Instead of trying to drive the squirrels away, consider feeding them to keep them out of your bird feeder and garden. Scatter squirrel feed around your yard, or buy a feeder and place it well away from your bird feeder and garden.
- Try motion-activated sprinklers. These will spray squirrels when they get too close, with the added benefit of watering your lawn.
Control Squirrels Indoors
- Make sure your attic doesn't have food in it. If squirrels repeatedly get into your attic, they may be smelling something in there that attracts them. Clean out your attic and make it's sure of anything that could be appetizing.
- Trim branches that hang close to your roof and chimney. Squirrels can jump directly from the branches to your roof.
- Place a guard over your chimney. If squirrels and other critters often enter your home, consider placing an animal guard on your chimney. These are often made of stainless steel mesh, so you don't have to remove them when you use your fireplace.
- Provide an escape route. If a squire does become trapped in your chimney or attic, make sure it has a way to get out. Hang a rope down through your chimney so it can climb back up to the roof. Open a window in the attic and lure it out with squirrel food.
- Buy a live trap. Home and garden stores sell traps made specifically to capture squirrels without harming them. Set it up in your attic, and when the squirrel is caught, take it outside and release it.
- Call animal control. You may not want to deal with loose squirrels in your attic and chimney on your own. Call animal control to come over and trap the squirrel for you.
Tips
- Try prevention before removal. If you can figure out why the squirrels are there in the first place, you can get rid of them without having to use traps or cause any harm to them.
Warnings
- Though it may have looked neat on "The Roadrunner" cartoons, spraying your low lying trees with slippery liquids like cooking spray so that the squirrels fall off doesn't work.
- After taking some of these actions, you may still need to wait until next season before squirrels build their nests elsewhere. Be patient.
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