Keep squirrels out of your yard by using gentle methods. This will help your flowers, vegetables, fruits, and other plants grow well without being disturbed by squirrels.
Why Are Squirrels Attracted to Gardens?
Squirrels enjoy food and will treat nearly everything in a yard as something to eat. Squirrels are known for liking acorns, but they’re not choosy eaters. They will also munch on vegetables from your garden, flowers, their bulbs, and any birdseed you put outside. Even things like trash can draw squirrels to your home.
4 Ways to Identify Squirrel Damage
Many gardeners want to keep squirrels out of their gardens. Find out when squirrels are in your yard and how to spot damage they cause before you take any steps. Here are some clear signs that squirrels are in your yard.
Missing crops: If your plants are often missing crops, it’s likely that a squirrel took them before you could pick them. This often happens with tomatoes, cucumbers, berries, greens, and more. If you see any munching on the leaves or crops, there’s still time to use repellents.
Bulb damage: Squirrels find food in nature and can’t tell the difference between food that falls from trees and food grown by people in their gardens. Squirrels will dig up planted bulbs in the spring or fall. They do this to eat the bulbs and to make places to hide other food they’ve gathered.
Missing bird food: Squirrels are scavenging rodents. They look into any possible food source, like the seeds in bird boxes. Squirrels enjoy eating sunflower seeds, which are often found in bird food. Squirrels will eat food that falls to the ground, and they can also climb up to the bird feeder to eat from it.
Soil or mulch mess: Squirrels like to dig in the soil and mulch of flower beds and pots. If you notice this happening in your garden, it could mean you have a squirrel problem. Take care of the roots and use one of the natural methods to keep squirrels away.
10 Humane Methods to Keep Squirrels Out of Gardens
There are many kind and natural methods to remove squirrels. Here are some safe and successful ways to deal with a squirrel problem without hurting them:
Include hot peppers. Squirrels dislike the smell and taste of capsaicin, which is found in hot peppers. To keep squirrels away, sprinkle cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or chili pepper flakes on the dirt. Another option is to grow hot chili peppers because foxes won’t eat them.
Cover the grounds. Make your garden squirrel-proof by using row covers, bird netting, chicken wire, or by placing hardware cloth at the bottom of the dirt. All of these choices will keep the plants safe from squirrels while letting in sunshine and making it easy to water them.
Make bird boxes that squirrels can’t get into. You can keep squirrels away from bird feeders by changing the type of food you use. Squirrels enjoy sunflower seeds but dislike safflower seeds, so switching to safflower seeds will help. Put a squirrel blocker, which is a cone-shaped barrier, on the bird feeder to stop squirrels from reaching the food.
Get a decoy. Plastic owls or rubber snakes in the yard can scare away squirrels and keep them from coming near. Move them every day and, if you can, attach some noisemakers to the decoys.
Set up sprinklers that activate with movements. Squirrels are known to be very nervous. Install some motion-sensor sprinklers in your yard to scare away squirrels that come too close. After this happens a few times, the squirrel will probably stay away from the area. 6. Grow flowers that keep squirrels away. Plant allium flowers, such as daffodils, snowdrops, and hyacinths, along with marigolds to help keep squirrels away, as they do not like allium plants. Don’t plant tulips, crocuses, or geraniums because they draw squirrels.
Take out the trash. Prevent interest in your property by keeping trash cans closed and not putting food or waste out in the open. The smell of food and garbage draws in squirrels and makes them look for other food nearby.
Buy some peppermint oil.Peppermint oil doesn’t harm plants or squirrels, but it helps keep squirrels away from your plants. Put a little of the essential oil on the plant leaves and in the soil. Mix peppermint oil with petroleum jelly and rub it on the plant stems to keep squirrels away.
Use a store-bought bug spray. Home improvement and gardening shops sell repellent spray made from the urine of animals that prey on squirrels, like hawks, weasels, raccoons, snakes, owls, and foxes. Regularly spray the yard with the repellent to keep squirrels away.
Use apple cider vinegar. You can make a DIY repellent mixture with apple cider vinegar. Mix some in a spray bottle with peppermint oil or cayenne pepper, and spray it near your plants or anywhere you want to deter squirrels with a bad smell. The more smell blockers you use, the more effective they are.
Mothballs can help keep away some pests, but they won’t stop squirrels from getting into your yard. The product is dangerous for plants, animals, and the earth if used outdoors.
Harmful Squirrel Deterrents
Not all ways to keep squirrels away are kind or safe for them. Peanut butter might seem like a good idea, but it is harmful to squirrels in big quantities. Squirrel traps can be risky, and there are several problems with using them, especially live traps. Squirrels get quickly excited, and if they feel stuck with no way to escape, they can cause a lot of damage to property. Although there are trap-and-release traps available, they can still be dangerous.
How to stop squirrels eating bird food
Many bird feeders are available, but only a few can keep squirrels away. If you have issues with squirrels or want your birds and squirrels to coexist peacefully in your yard, try these tips.
Purchase a bird dish that keeps squirrels away. It should have a cage that lets small birds eat while blocking squirrels.
Buy a ‘Guardian’ cage that is squirrel-proof and fits over a normal bird feeder.
Invest in a more technological feeder which has a weight-activated shut off to the feeding port, so as soon as the squirrel lands on the feeder the access is stopped.
Add a squirrel baffler or cap to a hanging feeder. This will prevent squirrels from sliding down to reach the feeder. One inexpensive method is to poke a hole in the bottom of a plastic bowl and hang it upside down over the feeder.
Sprinkle chilli powder on the bird table or feeder. Birds can handle a little chili spice, but squirrels don’t like it and will avoid the food.
Use distraction by setting up a squirrel dish and filling it with special food made just for squirrels.
How to get rid of squirrels in the loft
Squirrels can be a total disaster for property owners and cause thousands of pounds of damage, by nibbling through wires and woodwork or tearing into insulation and plasterboard.
Here are some quick ways to scare squirrels away so you can find and close off entry places to stop more from getting in. It’s a good idea to use a mix of methods to improve your chances of getting the squirrels out of the loft.
Make sure squirrels can’t reach your loft
Keep trees and tall bushes at least 5 to 8 feet away from the land. This is the maximum distance squirrels can jump. If they can’t jump to the roof, they can’t get onto it.
Prevent squirrels from accessing the loft
It’s better to avoid a problem than to fix it. It’s usually easier to stop an issue before it happens. Make sure there are no gaps or openings into your land. Use mesh that is less than 25mm wide to cover all openings from the area behind the soffits to the arrow slits in the gables.
Trapping squirrels
Live traps can help remove squirrels from your property, but it may not work well unless you know how many squirrels are there. Grey squirrels will need to be carefully killed because they are considered pests.
Deter squirrels with the scent of natural predators You can find products that smell like squirrel enemies, like foxes. These can be sprayed around areas where squirrels live to scare them away.
Sound and light tactics
Leaving a cool LED light or a radio playing talk shows in the attic can annoy squirrels and make them leave your space.
