I had always been an admirer of squirrels nibbling on acorns and found them extremely photogenic while doing so.
So, when on an afternoon I saw one of these creatures running along the bark of a tree in my garden, I decided to feed it, quite unaware of how mighty damage I invited in.
This went on for a week, I met the squirrel at around the same time in the same place and fed it every day, until one day I saw it around my patio furniture.
That was the exact moment of truth when I realized that something was probably wrong. And on careful examination, the results were definitely what I was afraid of.
My isolated yet fancy patio furniture and the walls of my outhouse were both brutally torn up by these creatures that I found “adorable” but no more!
And that is when I knew, it was time that I take the necessary actions to drive these creatures out of my premises.
On detailed research, I found some ideal ways to do the same, which I decided to share with you all as well through the following subpoints so that you too can effectively get rid of these destructive creatures.
Methods I Used To Get Rid Of Squirrels Fast
Method 1: A Motion-Activated Sprinkler To Your Rescue
Squirrels are fast-paced and jumpy creatures, with less resort to defend themselves and hence are more inclined to fly away when confronted by danger.
And that’s why you should use a motion-activated sprinkler to scare off these creatures.
You can purchase one of these customizable motion-activated sprinklers with a high-technology sensor that can distinguish the source of motion for better results and lesser water bills.
Installation of the gadget is quite easy and feasible. These mostly come along with easy-to-interpret instructions for installation.
You simply have to dig them into the ground of your lawn to the level of squirrel heights for best sensitivity and customize the control and activity settings.
That’s it, now you just have to lay back and see the magic.
These sensors will detect the movements of squirrels and as soon as it will, a gush of water will be sprinkled with a loud buzzing noise, enough to frighten the squirrels and make them run away.
This device is truly effective and shows good results.
However, if you have too many squirrels on your lawn, mishaps with one will warn the other squirrels and they might not cross the path where sprinklers are installed and go undetected.
Method 2: If You Have Bird Feeders, Make Them Squirrel Unfriendly
So many of you fancy bird feeders and it might be a hobby for you to attract birds of different breeds in different seasons into your backyard.
But that might not always be just bird feeders but also an attractive spot for squirrels to nibble on.
They would eat up everything that you have for the birds and hence let all your wishes go into vain. How to prevent this disaster from happening? By using squirrel-free bird feeders.
Squirrel-proof bird feeders are easily available in the market as this is a common problem faced by many. But if you don’t want to spend any more bucks on it, you can DIY it too!
Firstly, you can try hanging bird feeders instead of placing them somewhere.
Hand the bird feeders at places that are unfeasible for squirrels, fairly above the ground to restrain them from jumping onto them as well.
You can attach an obstacle to the other end of the hanging wire so that they can not reach the feeder through the wire either.
A baffle on a bird feeder or a slinky on the wire end of a bird feeder would work well too.
Method 3: Plants That Drive These Critters Away
Squirrels love greenery and flowers as these are the main sources of their food and shelter.
But there are still a few plants and flowers that these creatures are not so fond of, and the trick is to have these same anti-squirrel plants in your garden.
Brightly colored flowers with a strong aromatic or pungent smell, like fritillaries, hyacinth, lily of the valley, geraniums, Galanthus, daffodils, and mint can be some of the flowers that squirrels are deterred.
Hence, you can plant the seeds of these flowers in your garden that will drive the squirrels away naturally without having to use any toxic repellants directly on them.
However, do not forget to check if they are in any way harmful to humans and stay cautious because you definitely don’t want to end up harming yourself in the process.
Method 4: The Anti Squirrel Inorganic Mulch
Squirrels do not only have the potential to ruin your patio furniture and outhouse walls.
But they also can actually ruin the expensive garden that you put so much effort into. And the best way to protect your garden is definitely mulch.
Mulch is basically a gardening concept where the ground is leveled with moisture-retaining, anti-weed, and anti-pest layers.
Wherein, the organic ones are some grass, hay, straw, and leaves that are quite easy to dig through for squirrels.
The inorganic mulch made of gravel, plastic sheets, pebbles, chicken wire, and rubber chips can actually restrain the squirrels away from your garden as they will barely be able to reach the ground to dig it up through these hard layers.
Method 5: An Ultrasound Deterrent For Squirrels
Squirrels have a wide hearing frequency range, skewed more towards Ultrasound and high pitched ranges that are even inaudible to human ears.
And this discovery is the root of these Ultrasonic Squirrel Repellents which are indeed effective and also non-toxic.
These devices are extremely convenient in general, for their customizable features in settings, longevity, and a charging mechanism with a solar power-driven system that helps you charge the device by simply placing it on the sunnier side of your garden.
Thus, you just need to place this device at a sunny spot which is also supposed to be their general entry point as it typically works within a 30 feet range at a 110-degree angle. Turn the knob to 3, especially for squirrels.
The device will not only emit sound but LED lights too, which is an added way to drive the squirrels away.
Method 6: Fewer Food Aources and Entry Options
This is an easy and quite feasible option that will also help you maintain the overall hygiene of your house and keep other equivalent pests and animals away from it.
Just simply go through all your garbage bins and replace them with chained bags of disposable garbage made out of animal-proof materials.
Make sure to keep all corners, cracks, and crevices of your house clean of standing water and sealed.
All the potential entry points of animals should be taken care of and existing nests and holes should be uprooted or covered up, making sure that you don’t end up trapping any of the creatures inside.
If these animals have no entry point, nowhere to stay, and nothing to eat, why will they intrude into your property anyway, right?
And lastly, some more easy ways can be installing a simple squirrel trap, installing an electrified fence at entry points, scaring them off with your pets, and probably also using a rat trap as a potential threat to squirrels.
These are all quite easy ways that will not need any expertise to drive squirrels away from your property yet are extremely helpful as I say from my personal experience.
You too can try these out and see these critters running away from your house within a week or two!
FAQs
- What do squirrels hate the most?
Squirrels tend to strongly hate white pepper, black pepper, and garlic scents. Sweet fragrances like peppermint also have the same impact on the critters.
- What scent keeps squirrels away?
White pepper, black pepper, garlic, peppermint, and literally any strong smell can be a good weapon to drive squirrels away.
- What spray keeps squirrels away?
Any insect repellant spray can effectively work on squirrels. However, sprays with apple cider vinegar content tend to work faster as it caters to the “strong smell” category and is absolutely hated by squirrels. Other than that, you can also use any random spray with a strong odor to keep them away.
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