How to Get Rid of Squirrels in the Home & Garden | A Complete Guide | The Guardian's Choice (2023)

FAQs

Are squirrels afraid of shiny things? ›

Or, if you'd prefer another option, place shiny and noisy decorations in your garden. Objects like windmills, spinners, CDs, or reflective objects may make squirrels look at your garden less desirably.

They are nature's gardeners.

Squirrels have an important ecological role, especially in forest ecosystems, McCleery said. “Their biggest contribution to the forest is in shaping plant composition. They have a peculiar habit of taking seeds, which are their main source of nutrients, and burying them.

Squirrels sometimes eat part of a tomato and leave the rest behind; other times, they eat the entire fruit. Other squirrel favorites include beans, squash, cucumbers, and eggplants.

Scents like white pepper, black pepper, and garlic are naturally unpleasant to a squirrel. The same goes for sweet smells such as peppermint. Try spraying your plants and flowers with water and then sprinkling on pepper or peppermint oil to deter squirrels.

Scare them away.

Rodent-chasing dogs and motion-activated noisemakers, such as garden spinners, pinwheels, and aluminum pie tins, all make good squirrel deterrents. In addition, if you're watering your lawn anyway, consider using a motion-detecting sprinkler to increase the scare factor.

Squirrels enter your home for the same reasons as mice, rats, and other rodents: They are seeking food, warm shelter, and nesting areas. If your home has easy access points, squirrels will have an invitation to come indoors and attempt to set up housekeeping.

A Farmers' Almanac trick says to grate Irish Spring soap and sprinkle it around your garden plants. Squirrels and deer steer clear as they don't like the scent.

Yes, Irish Spring soap can help to keep squirrels away. The scent of the soap is unpleasant for the animals and will prevent them from entering your home or yard. You can use either a liquid soap solution or shave bars of Irish Spring and sprinkle it around areas that squirrels are known to frequent.

That's why many people are in search of a way to keep squirrels out of the garden. Coffee grounds are a simple solution to this problem because squirrels are naturally repelled by their scent.

Use vinegar: Try soaking rags with cider vinegar and placing them near the attic door or at the bottom of the fireplace. Squirrels do not like the smell of vinegar and may choose to leave on their own, says The Spruce.

How do you get rid of squirrels inside? ›

Get them out.

It might be as easy as banging on the rafters or going into the attic and speaking loudly. You can also try putting a bright light in the attic and leaving it on, playing a radio around the clock or putting rags soaked with cider vinegar in the attic (squirrels don't like the smell).

Aluminum foil is a good way to keep squirrels away from your roof. Cut the aluminum foil into pieces, and then affix them to the areas you do not want them to climb onto. Make sure that they are placed in areas that are easy for you to access so you can remove them when the time comes.

Note: Pits and seeds can be toxic, except for berries. Avoid: Dates, dried fruit of any kind, figs, fruit juice, persimmons, plums, prunes, raisins.

As for nuisance squirrels, it may be useful for safe and humane wildlife abatement. You see, there is a theory that squirrels are afraid of the color red, and therefore, steer clear of anything resembling the crimson hue.

Will mothballs help repel squirrels? Mothballs should not be used to repel squirrels – nor should they be used to control anything other than clothes moths.

What do squirrels hate the most? Squirrels hate their natural predators – or perceived predators – the most, so if you can encourage owls to your yard, get a dog or a cat that loves hunting, they are much less likely to come in.

Alliums in the form of flowers, or garlic, scallions and onions produce a strong odor that squirrels may avoid. Daffodils, bright flowers that come in a variety of colors, are said to deter animals like squirrels, rabbits and deer because of their unpalatable taste and fragrant odor.

Fake owls, foxes and hawks may deter squirrels from venturing too close to your property. You may also use motion sensor floor lights to deter squirrels from your property at night.

Epsom salt

Sprinkle Epsom salts onto your trash can lid or around the areas that pests like to burrow into or dig around. Epsom salts will deter most any pests, including raccoons, mice, and squirrels among others.”

In conclusion, Pine Sol may not be an effective method for keeping squirrels away. While the strong scent of Pine Sol may deter some squirrels, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. There are other repellents and methods that have been proven to be effective in keeping squirrels away.

Can I sprinkle coffee grounds in my garden? ›

Adding coffee grounds directly to the soil as a fertiliser can be a good option. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen. They also have some amount of other nutrients like potassium and phosphorous. Overall, this means that adding coffee grounds to your garden can work fairly well as a fertiliser.

One of their most feared predators is the common fox. While you don't have to get a pet fox to keep squirrels out of your yard, you can create the illusion of a fox nearby. Fox urine can be purchased at almost any hunting and fishing supply store and is an excellent squirrel deterrent.

The short answer? No, not really. Coffee is bad for plants for the same reason most people love drinking it - because of the caffeine. It means coffee is allelopathic - reducing the growth of other nearby plants that compete for minerals or water.

Due to their large populations, gray squirrels are known for seeking shelter in human structures during the coldest months of the year. Looking for warmth in late fall and winter, squirrels often nest in attics and exterior walls, using insulation as nesting material.

Once inside the walls, squirrels have the ability to cause property damage ranging in severity from minor to potentially hazardous. In addition to gnawing on and chewing holes into structures, the pests can damage the insulation and wiring contained within walls.

Squirrels chew through soffits, fascia boards, siding, wood, metal, and shingles to gain access to your attic. Once inside your home, squirrels damage attics by chewing wires, ripping up insulation, and defecating in the attic.

Now that we know more about them, we'll discuss the scents they hate! The scents on this list are: Peppermint Oil, Capsaicin, Coffee Grounds, White Vinegar, Garlic, Cinnamon, Predator Urine, Irish Springs Soap, Dryer Sheets, and Rosemary.

Nuts/Peanut Butter

A peanut and peanut butter combo is popular squirrel bait. After all, squirrels gather nuts and seeds from your yard (though they will try to eat just about anything).

California ground squirrels can be quite a nuisance, and they can cause serious damage to your property. Their extensive tunneling can cause damage to walkways, retaining walls, earthen dams, and other structures and hardscapes.

Are gray squirrels bad for your yard? ›

Gray squirrels primarily eat nuts and seeds. They have a sharp front incisor tooth that they use to crack open nutshells. The grey squirrel will also strip the bark off of trees to get at the sap beneath. This can damage young trees and stunt their growth.

Squirrels are cute, but they can be destructive. An overabundance of squirrels can wreak havoc on your property and neighborhood. They cause a lot of damage to your garden and home by chewing on wires, roofs and causing leaks in the roof.

Trapping can be used year round but is most effective when numbers are low. In late spring or summer, at locations where squirrels are moving from adjacent lands into the crop field to feed, baiting or trapping along the perimeter offers the most effective control if access to the neighboring property is not possible.

Ground squirrels live in colonies that may grow very large if left uncontrolled. They are active during the cooler times on hot days and sunny periods during the cooler months; they are usually most active in morning and late afternoon.

It's not uncommon to find ground squirrels under the house, as their nests can b e five to 30 feet in length and two to four feet deep. These pests thrive in areas that provide shelter from predators, which is why burrowing under homes can be ideal.

Squirrels are diurnal (active during the day) so you can see them doing damage to your garden. If you notice your plants are only getting eaten at night, you can likely rule out the squirrels. Instead concentrate on keeping out nocturnal animals like raccoons and opossums.

The Kania Trap 2000 is considered by wildlife control officers and wildlife managers as the safest setting trap and most humane killing trap on the market today.

Squirrels are fun to watch in the yard, but they can really wreak havoc in the garden. That's why many people are in search of a way to keep squirrels out of the garden. Coffee grounds are a simple solution to this problem because squirrels are naturally repelled by their scent.

What does it mean when there are a lot of squirrels? ›

If you keep seeing squirrels everywhere, it could be a sign that you need to take some time for yourself. Maybe you've been working too hard and need to relax a bit. Alternatively, it could signify that you are due for a change in your routine.

Squirrels aren't afraid of much, but they are terrified of the other animals in the wild that are solely focused on eating them. One of their most feared predators is the common fox.