How to Get Rid of Squirrels

Practical Guide How to Get Rid of Squirrels

Have you noticed holes in wood within your home? Maybe you have large noticed bulbous, black, rounded insects buzzing around the eaves, window trim, fascia boards, siding, wooden shakes/shingles, or decks? If so, you most likely have carpenter bees on your property. This large species of bee do not bite but the female will sting if aggravated. The more serious problem with these bees is the damage they cause by boring holes and tunnels through the wood. Such damage to the wood affects your property’s visual appeal and can also weaken wooden structures. If you are wondering how to get rid of carpenter bees, this post explores different tactics, including sprays, repellents, and traps.

Editor’ Picks

Brand

Top Pick

Havahart 0745

Top Squirrel Killer

The Giant Destroyer 

Best Baits

Wilco 100046603

Natural

Ultrasonic Pest Repeller

 

No products found.

Top Pick: Havahart 0745 One-Door Animal Trap

This is a top pick among squirrel traps for several reasons. The Havahart 0745 One-Door Animal Trap features a patented design. The 16 x 6 x 6 inches cage is made of Galvanized Steel, 12 Gauge Wire Mesh has a design that ensures quick, safe catches and releases. The versatile trap catches not only squirrels but also weasels, rats, chipmunks, flying squirrels, and voles. The trap is ideal for outdoor use where squirrels thrive. It features a sturdy rust-resistant wire mesh that boasts steel reinforcements to increase its lifespan. It is also galvanized for maximum resistance to rust and corrosion. The mesh openings are smaller than most other traps on the market to prevent escapes and stolen baits. The trap system works through a gravity action door and a sensitive trigger. This ensures quick and secure animal captures targeting the specific animal size. It eliminates unwanted catches. The cage trap is humane for squirrel catching with the smoothed internal edges protecting and preventing injuries to the captured animals.

Top Squirrel Killer: The Giant Destroyer (GAS KILLER)

If you are looking for an effective solution to kill squirrels around your property or how to get rid of squirrels, the Giant Destroyer (GAS KILLER) is your solution. This product quickly kills ground squirrels, woodchucks, moles, gophers, Norway rats, and skunks. It contains the Powerful “S” Formula which is the most powerful pest gassing chemical on the market. The Gian Destroyer is only used for the outdoors though it only contains organic substances. There are no poisons that would affect the environment, and all ingredients are biodegradable. You can use it in burrows and holes on golf courses, residential lawns, parks, re-forest areas, and open fields. This squirrel removal technique works by producing smoke bombs and gas when placed in burrows. It kills rodents instantly and it more effective than traps.

Best Squirrel Baits: Wilco 100046603 Ground Squirrel Bait Station

A squirrel bait is another effective technique to get rid of squirrels on your property. This squirrel bait station is also highly effective against mice, rats, chipmunks, and other small rodents. It is one of the safest ways to get rid of small rodents both indoors and outdoors. If you suspect there are squirrels in the attic, this tamper-resistant bait works discreetly to rid of yourself this infestation. The kit comes with pet-proof baffles that protect your kids, pets and other non-target animals from harm. The bait station features metal bait bars that hold the poison you want to use on the squirrel. The 2.22” entry holes can’t allow pets to snatch the bait. Now that the squirrel bait is normally used in the outdoors, its sturdy polypropylene construction protects it from extreme weather and it is ideal for all year use. This bait is not as messy as a snap trap and it is reusable, unlike snares. Any squirrel that eats the poison bait will wander off to die in the wild. Another great feature that makes this a smart way to get rid of squirrels is the addition of mounting brackets. These protect your bait stations from being carried away.

Best Natural Squirrel Remover: Ultrasonic Pest Repeller

This ultra-sonic pest remover ranks as the best plug in-home and outdoor for a number of reasons. for a start, the repellant not only gets rid of squirrels but other rodents, bed bugs, mice, rats, ants, insects-roaches, spiders, fleas, flies, mosquitos and bugs. It is easy to use as you just plugin for it to start working. It is the best eco-friendly squirrel eliminator as it doesn’t kill but rather drives them away. The LED Bulb light emits ultrasound waves which squirrels and other pests find annoying. However, these waves don’t bother humans or pets. The Seewinland Ultrasonic Pest Repeller is also pet and human safe and boasts over up to 1800 square feet coverage. It works well both for indoor and outdoor use. For squirrels’ removal, you no longer require position, wires, traps, sprays or other deterrents.

Home Remedies for Removing Squirrels

Some great home remedies to deal with squirrels include:

 
  1. Scaring them away using a dog – Squirrels fear dogs and this is one of the most effective methods to get rid of these pesky rodents. Letting loose your dog during the day ensures squirrels don’t have the freedom to roam freely.

  2. Deterring them With Scent – Various scents might be pleasant to humans but squirrels and other rodents hate these. They include pepper, mint, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Plant mint or cinnamon around your compound. You can also mix mint, pepper or nutmeg with bait around the compound. This will keep squirrels off your property.

  3. Natural homemade squirrel spray – You can make homemade squirrel spray to get rid of squirrels. Mix a teaspoon of Lysol and 3 ounces of Epsom salts. Add a quart of water to form a natural spray. Use a spray bottle to apply the mixture on tree stumps and other places where squirrels normally rest on your compound.

What Kind Of Spray Will Help To Get Rid of Squirrels?

Spraying is an effective method to repel squirrels from your property. Some of the natural repellents that can get rid of these rodents include Garlic, peppermint, and castor oils all of which affect the sense of smell of these small animals.

You can go for ready to use sprays such as Havahart Deer Off or make your homemade spray using these natural repellants.

Interesting Facts about Squirrels

  • There are about 280 different species of squirrel.
  • Squirrels are born blind.
  • They are amazing diggers and can find food buried beneath a foot of snow just by following their Scent.
  • Squirrels can fall from 30 meters high, without injuries
  • Their front teeth never stop growing.
  • Squirrels run away in a zigzag pattern to escape predators
  • They are cunning. For instance, a squirrel will pretend to bury a nut to deceive any potential thief
  • Flying squirrels don’t fly but sometimes glide for distances of up to 90 meters (295 ft.).
  • Newborn squirrels are only an inch long.
  • Squirrels get overweight and bulky to stay warm during the winter.
  • A male squirrel can smell a female in heat from up to a mile away.
  • Squirrels use their tails both for balance and as a parachute when jumping
  • Squirrels can see behind them.

How to Prevent 

When it comes to squirrels, it is always easier, cheaper and more convenient to protect your property from their infestation. Some easy ways to do this include:

    • Don’t feed them. Avoid hanging bird feeders, anywhere  or scattering plant seeds and leaving compostable food scraps in the compound
    • Clean your yard/compound: get rid of anything that attracts squirrels including nuts, seeds, and fruit by raking regularly and storing trash in garbage cans with tight-fitting lids.
    • Scare them using pets such as cats or dogs.  This is the best natural squirrel deterrent.
    • Block their entry points to keep them away from your property
    • sprinkle black pepper or cayenne pepper around your compound
    • Protect Your Bird Feeders using a squirrel guard and also place them away from trees
    • Use a tall fence around your property
    • Install motion activated sprinklers or other systems that are motion-sensitive to scare away the squirrels

FAQ

You will find squirrels in almost every part of the world except in Australia and Antarctica. They are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa. Eastern Gray Squirrels can be found in the Eastern US, many Western states, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.

Squirrels fall into three categories, namely tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels. They are good diggers and will burrow complex system of burrows. Flying squirrels build homes in tree holes or nests built into branches.

Squirrels love nuts but they are omnivores meaning they also like to eat plants and meat. Other foods in their diet include small insects, fungi, small animals, seeds, fruits, eggs, caterpillars, and young snakes. They bury their food in preparation for the cold months.

Mostly, there two kinds of attic-dwelling squirrels namely; flying squirrels and gray squirrels. You will notice them because of the noise they make at night for flying squirrels and during the day for gray squirrels.

It depends on your state laws with most of the states requiring the animal to be euthanized.

A squirrel is a wild animal and if aggravated, it can become aggressive and bite you. In the case of rabies, these small rodents can also bite.

While mothballs are great for deterring rodents and killing them, the pungent smell might seep into your house, making it uninhabitable. Using traps is a more effective idea.

Using professional traps such as The Havahart 0745 One-Door Animal Trap is humane as it doesn’t injure the animal.