Effective Squirrel Repellent Methods To Keep Them Out Of Your Grden

Are you struggling to keep the squirrels away from your garden? If so, you are in the right place at the right time. This post is full of excellent squirrel repellent methods, which will be very useful for you.

WHY ARE SQUIRRELS DANGEROUS FOR THE GARDEN?

With love for vegetables, fresh fruits, and flowers, squirrels are a cause of trouble for home gardeners since forever. These furry rodents can plush tomatoes from vines, strip apple trees, destroy the flowers, and chew on everything they can find. Although they can attack the garden any time of the year, they mostly raid in early autumn and summer and can drive you nuts.

Squirrels are highly active in the autumn season because they have to stock up for winter. These cute creatures do not hibernate; therefore, they need to maintain their winter warehouses for pantries. Squirrels are biog hoarders, and this is what helps them to survive during colder months. They stash the food by burying it in varied areas and create their own territory.

Mostly squirrels prefer pinecone, acorns, bark, nuts, berries, fruits, insects, and fungi. They can also be seen as stealing bulbs and bird eggs. Squirrels ruin the flowers just for the sake of having fun. 

Watch out for these pesky visitors and follow the below-mentioned squirrel repellant methods to keep them out of your garden.

PROTECTING THE GARDEN USING SQUIRREL REPELLENT METHODS 

• Never leave compost scraps or food outside, and also keep tight-fitting trash cans on the lawn.
• Do not worry about relocating or trapping the squirrels because you are always going to lose this battle.
• You can also arrange for a separate feeder to distract them, so they do not eat your garden plants and vegetables.
• If the weather is hot and dry, squirrels will try to eat juicy produce like cucumbers and tomatoes when thirsty. Try to keep a birdbath near affected crops to discourage snacking.
• Do you have lots of acorn and nuts in your yard? If yes, this is a true heaven for squirrels. You need to put away the nuts or grow different types of plants.

Read More:- 8 Organic Pest Control Tips For Your Garden

Fencing, Netting, and Covers

One of the best ways to keep squirrels out of your garden is by using physical barriers. Squirrels and other types of rodents can squeeze through small spaces, so make sure that the net has very small holes restricting them from coming inside. Find nets that are specifically meant for squirrels or rats.

• Use wire fencing buried deep into the ground to protect your vegetable garden from squirrels digging burrows and holes. Hardware cloth materials can help to repel squirrels. 
• If you can, try to invest in chew-proof fencing to cover your plants, similar to bird netting used to protect berry bushes. You can also use row covers made with heavy materials depending on the season.
• You can also protect the pots by simply covering them with hardware cloth or netting on top. You can also put a layer of stones or gravel to discourage digging.
• One effective but expensive solution is to use aluminum foil across the vegetable pot and poke holes for water to pass; squirrels repel shiny reflections.

Natural Squirrel Repellents

Here are some natural squirrel repellent methods that you can try to keep those squirrels out of your garden.

Hot Pepper Plants and Cayenne Pepper

Hot pepper is one of the most used natural ingredients to repel squirrels. There are plenty of ways to use it:

• Sprinkle crushed pepper flakes near the plants on the ground that seem to attract these naughty rodents.
• Sprinkle a dusting of cayenne pepper onto the leaves of plants directly. Pay close attention to low-lying leaves.  
• Mix petroleum jelly and cayenne pepper spread the mixture on the base of plant stems. You can also use it on poles, fences, and other solid things close to plants.
• Spray cayenne pepper spray on the leaves of tempting plants. You can make the spray by mixing a gallon of water with hot sauce. Keep it in a spray bottle and use it directly on the tempting plants’ leaves.

Read more:- How To Pick The Best Squirrel Feeder For Your Lawn

Garlic Sprays

The smell and taste of garlic help to repel squirrels. You can make a concoction of water, chopped garlic, and vinegar. Allow the mixture to sit for a few days to enhance the flavors. Combine it well and spray it on the fences and vegetable garden directly.

Apple Cider Vinegar Spray as a squirrel repellent

 

The acidic smell and taste of apple cider vinegar act as a squirrel repellent and a real turn-off. You can use the mixture to spray on fixtures and hard surfaces near squirrel-infested areas.

Warning: Do not use it on plants directly; vinegar can kill the plants.

Peanut butter and aspirin trap

Squirrels love feasting on peanut butter; however, when it is mixed with aspirin, the concoction can help to keep them out of the garden. All you need to do is crush some aspirin into peanut butter and mix nicely. Spread the paste near pots and attic.

Grow mint

The strong scent of mint will help to keep those rowdy furry rodents away from your property. You can place a few pots of fresh mint plants on the garden walls or close to the enticing plants.

Use human hair

The chemical in human hair acts as a strong natural squirrel repellent. Collect human or even dog hair and put them in places where squirrels most likely visit. This will scare them as they would think humans are closeby, making them leave the place.

You can even put the human hair in a bird feeder or at the base of plant pots to prevent squirrels’ damage.

 Fox urine

Fox is a natural squirrel predator, and these furry babies always try to stay away from any place that a fox traverses. You can find fox urine in zoos or online to keep the squirrels away from your garden and landscape.

Repel them with mothballs

Mothballs also acts as a natural squirrel repellent. Squirrels tend to find mothballs irritating due to their strong, pungent smell. Spread a few mothballs in different areas of the garden and house where squirrels visit. Do not forget to keep a few pieces in the attic because this is where they mostly reproduce.

Jalapeño pepper-vinegar spray

Jalapeno pepper, when mixed with vinegar, leaves a strong, pungent smell that squirrels hate. You can make a solution by mixing vinegar and jalapeno pepper and spray it in the attic to prevent their entry. 

TIPS TO PROTECT FLOWER BULBS FROM SQUIRRELS

• To protect flower bulbs from squirrels, cover the flower bed’s surface with plastic netting, which is inexpensive and invisible.

• You can also line the planting hole using wire mesh. Also, placing a handful of gravel on the base of plant pots can discourage squirrels and will also allow for better drainage.

• If the squirrels are very challenging, you can use chicken wire. Use the one-inch chicken wire on the plant beds and place some more wire on top of the flower bulbs. The plants can grow out of the wires, but it will be impossible for squirrels to cross them.

• You can also try planting some squirrel repellant plants in your garden like snowdrops, ornamental onions, daffodils, and grape hyacinths.

• If nothing works, you can just grow daffodils or ornamental alliums to deter animals like rabbits, squirrels, and deer because of their fragrant odor and weird taste. You can plant these flowers in containers, planters, or pots.

OTHER METHODS:

Ultrasonic devices

The ultrasonic squirrel repeller proves very useful to keep the nuisance-causing squirrels away from the attic. This ultrasonic squirrel repeller creates ultrasonic waves that humans cannot hear but irritate squirrels, forcing them to move out of your house.

A dog

Having a pet at home is the best way to repel squirrels. If you have a dog or cat, you can let them play in your garden to keep the naughty pests away. The pets can hunt down the squirrels and scare them to live away from your house.

 Strobe lights

If you notice squirrels living in your attic, use strobe lights to scare them off. The regular flashes from the strobe lights irritate the pest while being harmless at the same time. Squirrels will stay away from any place where there are strobe lights installed.

Motion sensor sprinklers

Squirrels get easily scared with sprinkles that work with motion on your lawn. These motion sensors protect the garden from tiny pests while also watering the plants at the same time effortlessly.

KEEPING SQUIRRELS OFF BIRD FEEDERS

• One of the major attractors for squirrels is bird food. These naughty rodents love to eat nuts and seeds. Make sure to keep the pace under and near the bird feeder clean. 
• Do not neglect the jumping capabilities of squirrels. When they can’t reach the feeder or get a foothold, they will do their best to knock it off on the ground.
• Keep the birdfeeder in separate space or isolated poles at least 5-6 feet above the ground and 8 to 10 feet away from trees, houses, and solid structures. You can also incorporate a pulley system.
• Try to attach the feeder to a pole in an inverted cone that is at least 13-inch in diameter and a 15-inch diameter squirrel deterring dish. Instead of this, you can even use a stovepipe or PVC pipe, which is 18 inches long and 6 inches in diameter.
• You can protect the bird feeder using horizontal wire threaded with compact discs, old records, or plastic soda bottles on each side of the wire.
• In case the squirrels keep climbing the birdhouse poles, try to apply Crisco. This will not harm the birds, but the squirrels will keep sleeping down.
• Use the right type of bird feeder. If you use tube feeders, you can use metal ports around the seed dispenser nozzle to protect from house sparrows and nibbling squirrels. 
• If you are planning to buy a new bird feeder, go for metal feeders that come with adjustable springs to regulate the counter-weighted door. 
• If the squirrels keep destroying bird feeders at your place, try mixing safflower seeds in their food. The bitter taste of safflower seeds will not bother birds, but squirrels detest them, which will automatically keep them away from the feeder.