Squirrels are furry creatures that belong to the rodent category. They are considered rodents due to their ability to infest an area and their ability to cause destruction via digging, stealing plant bulbs, etc.
Squirrels also carry diseases such as salmonella and are considered a health hazard due to the numerous ticks and fleas on them. If your home has seen a recent invasion of squirrels, these effective home remedies to get rid of squirrels can be of immense use.
All methods have been efficiently designed as to not kill squirrels, this eliminates the need to dispose of corpses.
What causes squirrels to intrude you home?
How to keep squirrels away? The pointers below will give you a brief understanding of their invasion.
- Lured by bird feeders
- Dirty attics
- No enclosed fencing
- Feeding them often
- Cracks in wall
- Nearby farms or vegetation
- Lots of trees
20 Home Remedies to keep your property clear of squirrel menace
1. Avoid feeding them
The best way to get rid of squirrels is to avoid feeding them. Squirrels may seem cute at first sight but after feeding them a few times, they tend to linger around. Also by feeding them you create an open invitation for them to come over to scavenge for food near your home.
Dispose of food packets immediately after consumption, squirrels tend to look for nuts, bread, fruits, etc. in yards or in garden areas.
2. Electric Fencing
You may want to invest in electric fencing if you want to keep these annoying critters away from your home and garden. Squirrels can nibble through wire fences quite easily. If you have a farm or garden, this is one of the best tactics to prevent squirrels from wreaking havoc.
You need to ensure that there are no trees around for the squirrels to jump over the fence while erecting fences.
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3. Remove squirrels from your attic with traps
If you hear scurrying noises coming from your attic during the day, there is a good chance you have squirrels in your attic. Squirrels are excellent climbers and agile enough to squeeze into the smallest of holes. It’s important that you do not kill squirrels at any point as this can cause of smelly odor to emanate from your attic.
Prepare cage traps, and fill them up with food, once the squirrel enters the metal part of the cage, the trigger should slam shut. This way you can take the squirrel far away from your home and set it free, repeat this tactic for as many times until you hear the noises go silent.
4. Spread up a Feast
Yes! Just not in front of your home or lawn but about a stone throw away from your home. Since food attracts squirrels, the best way is to leave treats for these critters at a remote area from your home. This method prevents squirrels from coming to your lawn.
Ideally, you can continue feeding them for a few days to ensure that the squirrels have moved their base from your home to the newly isolated location. You can stop feeding them once you see no sight of them around your premises.
5. Strobe lights
You can repel squirrels naturally with the use of strobe lights set up all over your home. Strobe lights produce regular flashes of light and can usually cover a large area. They are harmless to humans and are environment-friendly.
The way to quickly disperse a group of annoying squirrels from your lawn is to put around 4-5 strobe lights around your home’s perimeter and since squirrels hate strobe lighting, they will be gone from your property within a few days.
6. Hot Peppers
Ideally, you can utilize hot peppers such as cayenne peppers to control squirrels in your house. This is one of the most effective home remedies for getting rid of squirrels without killing them. Just take a few flakes or concoction of hot peppers and spread them around your lawn.
Cover the infested areas such as plants, trees, farm, etc. Once the squirrels approach the area and taste the red hot paprika, you can be sure they will never be another uninvited guest in your home for years to come.
7. Mulching your plants
If you have a lot of potted plants or a mini lawn, the best way to keep squirrels from stealing your newly laid out bulbs are by mulching the area. Mulching comes in a lot of varieties such as glistening rocks, grass, decorative straws, etc.
Spread the mulch over an area to cover the plant roots, this prevents squirrels from digging into your plants.
8. Witch Hazel
Also known as winter bloom, these shrubs are ideal for spraying around the garden due to their bitter taste that squirrels just can’t stand. If you want to drive away a large number of squirrels from your lawn over the course of a day, consider using a spray bottle with witch hazel essence.
9. Seal Trash bins
One of the most overlooked problems is not emptying your trash cans and sealing them tight. When trash collects you have squirrels gathering all around the leftovers and create a mess. To keep the ghastly menace from spreading, you can proceed to seal your bins with a sturdy covering and ensure the bins are only opened during disposal.
10. Fox Urine
Foxes are natural predators of squirrels and one of the most natural ways to repel squirrels from your property is by creating a false illusion of nearby foxes. You can buy fox urine from any pet store or a nearby zoo in your vicinity.
Pour a few drops of the urine in a spray bottle and proceed to spray around the major infestation areas. You can be sure that once the squirrels notice the presence of a nearby predator, they will never think twice of making a home near your property again.
11. Mint Leaves
Mint leaves come in varieties such as peppermint, spearmint, etc. these have a powerful concentrated scent that repels squirrel invasions. You can also burn the roots of mint plants to spread the vapor, but be extremely cautious not to damage your lawn or property while lighting up the stems.
12. Human or Dog hair
If you have a pet dog in your home, take a few strands of its hair or better yet, the next time you go to a salon, take a few strands of your own hair. This might sound crazy at first but squirrels are repelled by humans and dogs as they consider us natural predators.
Similar to the fox urine trick, placing a few strands of hair all over the infested areas can drastically bring down squirrel numbers. Again, this creates an illusion that there is a predator around and prevents them from coming back to the same spot again while permanently removing them off your premises.
13. Ammonia
Dipping a cloth in ammonia and placing these rags all over places where squirrels visit often can eliminate squirrels from your property. The pungent smell is repulsive to squirrels and you can watch them scatter away far from your home within a few days of application.
14. Cat Litter
Another one of the natural home remedies for getting rid of squirrels via natural repellent is cat litter. If you have cat litter or better yet cats around your yard, you can be sure that these feline predators can naturally provide you with a solution of removing these annoying critters off your premises.
15. Nutmeg with Cinnamon
Grind equal amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon to create a powder. These 2 components are well known to repel squirrels due to their strong smell. These are common spices found in any kitchen and hence are easily available at any time to create a squirrel repellent.
16. Naphthalene Flakes
Mothballs or naphthalene flakes are among the best squirrel repellents available in the market. Mothballs can be placed in small pouches and hung all over the infested areas of your home. Ideally, ensure you hang a few pouches under trees to ensure the squirrels leave any homes they made there.
It’s also one of the best home remedies for getting rid of other rodents apart from squirrels. The reason squirrels hate mothballs is due to the unappealing and strong vapor produced by the naphthalene flakes.
17. Safflower seeds
Having a problem with feeding your birds while nasty squirrels make it their daily goal to eat whatever you put in the bird feeders? Add safflower seeds to solve this problem!
Safflower seeds are extremely bitter in taste and squirrels hate the taste of these seeds. Once you mix the seeds or solely use safflower seeds in the bird feeder, you can be assured there will be no instances of squirrels trying to steal food from the birds. As an added benefit, birds love safflower seeds, so you get to solve two problems with one solution.
18. Water Sprinklers
Investing in a motion-activated water sprinkler device may not be a bad idea especially when you have a large lawn area. These sprinklers can cover a large area and immediately disperse rodents such as squirrels from trying to steal bulbs and destroying your lawn.
This also acts as a watering system to your lawn while creating a distraction to all forms of critters. Definitely a worthwhile investment!
19. Consider not planting Trees
Although this sounds like an anti-ecofriendly idea at first, not planting trees might do your lawn and garden a huge favor and prevent rodent homes like squirrels from developing in the first place. Trees are where squirrels make their home and multiply in numbers, it’s generally a good idea to start with the base idea of not having to plant trees around your home.
If you insist on having trees for beautification, you can always consider the alternative methods to get rid of squirrels.
20. Jalapeno & Vinegar Spray
If you prefer using sprays over other methods to keep away squirrels from your home, then you are going to find this recipe interesting. Add jalapeno pepper to two teaspoons of vinegar and a few drops of water. Pour the concoction into a spray bottle and shake well.
Every time you spot a squirrel munching on a treat near your lawn, spray the liquid over it. Even if the liquid does not directly hit the squirrel, the spray should create a residue effect around the area to repel the squirrel from entering your home.
What precautions should be taken to keep squirrels away?
These small tips can go a long way in preventing squirrels from making a home in your property
- Eliminate leftover foods
- Maintain quality fencing
- Consider anti-rodent birdfeed
- Spray anti-rodent solution
- Avoid planting trees nearby
- Cover all wall cracks
- Place guard on chimney