Getting rid of squirrels

Getting rid of squirrels: A useful guide

Squirrels are indeed a sight to behold. Sitting back watching them dart around a yard can quickly become a pastime. However, as attractive as they may be, they are nuisances and are not worth accommodating. The damage caused by squirrels is sometimes fatal. Their large appetite makes them feed on just about anything: flowers, eggs, birdseed and even wooden structures. Squirrels breed at frightening rate – all it takes is just a pair of male and female squirrel to produce a colony of squirrels in under six months.

It takes a lot of work, and of course patience, to get rid of squirrels. If you are really serious about discharging squirrels from your yard, you will have to start taking proactive steps now, not later. In this guide, you will get to learn natural and non-natural tactics for squirrel-proofing your garden and yard for good.

Squirrels, though attractive, are destructive, and so shouldn’t be given the slightest chance to breed. Here are some alarming facts about them:

1. Squirrels can completely ruin a landscape by chewing away the shoots of new plants
2. They will compete with your birds, if you have one, for food.
3. One hungry squirrel can singularly finish off an entire flowerbed
4. They lack etiquette, and will scream and scratch loudly as they pass through pipes and wall cavities.
5. They can completely mess up an the attic of a building with their feces without giving apologies
6. Squirrels have no regards for electrical lines and won’t mind gnawing at them, in so doing putting a home at the risk of fire outbreak.
7. They carry with them harmful disease causing parasites

If you are thinking it is easy to deceive these critters, think again – squirrels are smart – they can smell a trap from a mile off. They are skillful burrowers, and can dig incredible debts to reach their prized treasure; delicious plant bulbs. Their limbs are outfitted with powerful claws which makes it easy for them to jump incredible distances between tree branches. Squirrels are a domineering set of creatures. Whenever they attack a bird nest, they would discharge its occupants and convert the nest to their breeding ground. If they can’t find a nest to settle in, they will make their way into the private homes of people. Squirrels are highly adaptable; even in the harshest of climatic condition, they would survive. Their reproduction rate is alarming – it only takes a period of a year for their population to multiply in several folds.

Like every other thing in life, it is way easier to prevent squirrels from taking over your garden than discharging them. The very first thing you should do to prevent squirrels from invading your garden is blocking off every point of entry they may want to use. Below are some innovative ways to go about this.

1. Get rid of every item that serves as an attractant for squirrels
2. Clear away their favorite snacks like fruits, nuts and acorns from the floor of your garden and from tree branches.
3. Store up domestic waste in hermetically sealed bins that won’t allow squirrels to fit through
4. If you have birds in your backyard, get them special feeders and ensure the feeders are not kept close to tree branches.
5. When planting flowers and ornamental shrubs, do so at a far distance to discourage the pesky set of creatures from coming close. Also, do well to wear protective netting on your flower beds. Nettings prevent squirrels from eating up tender flowers.
6. Ensure every hole on the wall of your home is hermetically sealed
7. Place protective netting over every ventilation opening
8. When using fencing as a deterring tactic, ensure the fence is buried to at least a depth of 30 cm – anything short of that and squirrels will dig their way through.

5 helpful tips for discharging squirrels

If after taking proactive steps to keep away squirrels away you still see them darting around, don’t lose your cool – there are several techniques for discharging them.

1. Traps: The trick here is to find openings these rodents use to gain access to your home. Then place a cage over one opening and seal off the rest. The squirrel will be forced to use the only available exit point, which is the one with cage placed over it.
2. Block off every opening they might have created on the attic of your home.
3. Use multiple techniques at a time – natural repellent, traps, baits etc.
4. After trapping them, set them free, but at a distance far from your home. You are better off trapping all the squirrels and then getting rid of them instead of trapping and discharging them one at a time.
5. If every other tactic fails, use squirrel poison or firearms, provided it is permitted in your locality. Better still, go for commercial repellents; Squirrel MACE is the best in the market.