Tips to Keep Squirrels Away from Your Property
Are they active at night?
Squirrels are cute little creatures until you have a squirrel infestation problem to deal with. These pesky creatures are persistent, intelligent, and will wreck all kinds of unimaginable havoc, from making a comfy nest in your attic to eating plants in your garden to gnawing woods and chewing electrical wires.
Squirrels are particularly challenging to deal with because of their enormous population. Either you live in the city or a suburban area, chances are you’ve seen them scampering up and down a tree trunk or picking a fallen nut. As homeowners, how can you shield your property from squirrels? This post will examine effective ways to accomplish that.
Eliminate Attractants
An attractant is anything that draws squirrels to your property in the first place. This includes food sources like berries, fruits, nuts, and birdfeeders. Squirrels are opportunist feeders and will keep coming back for more. Similarly, the promise of warmth and shelter also attracts squirrels to attics and garages. In attics, the soft insulation material provides a comfy spot for them to build their nest.
Reduce the availability of food
Ensure that you eliminate all potential food sources from your property. The following tips highlight how to do that.
- Never feed a squirrel. It will just keep coming back for more.
- Make your birdfeeder inaccessible by squirrel-proofing it.
- Ensure that you properly close your garbage bin.
- Pick up all fallen fruits and berries from your garden. Try to do this every day.
- If you can afford it, grow your crops in a greenhouse to deny access to squirrels.
- Similarly, you may fence your garden.
Make your house inaccessible
To prevent squirrels from residing in your attic, here are some important things to implement.
- Seal up all entry holes to your attics.
- Trim down tree branches that are giving squirrels access to your attic.
- Ensure that you monitor your property regularly for squirrel activities. This way, you’re able to detect weak spots that can serve as potential entry points.
- Install a chimney cap to prevent squirrels from gaining access to your home.
Make Your Property Unpleasant to Squirrels
After eliminating attractants from your property, the next step is to put measures in place to make them uncomfortable anytime they come into your property. Some of the ways to accomplish that includes:
Repellents
Repellents are substances that deter squirrels from staying in your yard. Some examples include common kitchen ingredients like garlic. Squirrels hate the aroma of garlic. Similarly, soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and scatter it around your property to deter them. Squirrels also dislike the smell of hot spices like cayenne pepper and chilli pepper. Spraying these spices on your plants will discourage them from coming near it.
Commercial repellents like mothballs can also be effective. However, they wash away after rainfalls. This means you have to continually apply it to remain effective.
If you have squirrels living in your attic, a sound repellent is a good way to get repel them. The discomforting sounding is usually unbearable for them.
Planting Flowers Squirrels hate
Do you know that squirrels hate plants like daffodils, geraniums, Galanthus, and lily-of-the-valley? These flowers are brightly coloured and they produce scents that irritate squirrels.
Scare Squirrels Off Your Property
Just like any other animal, squirrels have a biological drive to stay alive. Therefore, by creating scenarios that pose as dangers – either real or arbitrary – you can scare squirrels away from your property. Some of the common ways to do that include;
Planting Flowers Squirrels hate
Once a squirrel moves close to the sprinkler, it is automatically triggered and it releases water in the direction of the squirrel. The natural reaction is for the squirrel to retreat.
Predators
Natural predators of squirrels include coyotes, fox, bobcats, and raccoons. By applying their urine around your property, it gives the impression that the territory is occupied by a predator. This smell deters a squirrel from trying to come anywhere near a predator’s territory.
Owls are also a main predator of squirrels. Placing an owl decoy on your property deters squirrels from coming near. The same applies to toy snakes. The problem with deterrents is that squirrels are very intelligent and after some days, they figure out those decoys aren’t a real threat. To avoid this, ensure you constantly change the position of the decoy. Also, purchase an owl decoy with moving parts, flashing eyes and that produces frightening sound to make it more realistic.
Pets
Dogs and cats love to play with anything that moves. While they usually won’t catch the squirrels, they will chase them off whenever they come to your property.
Conclusion
Sometimes, some squirrels just keep coming back irrespective of the actions you take. In such cases, you might have to trap the squirrel. Thereafter, you can either relocate it or kill it, depending on your district’s wildlife laws for relocating or killing squirrels. To learn more about how to kill a pesky squirrel, check out the post on ‘Different Ways to Kill a Nuisance Squirrel’.
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