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Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders and Seed Treatment: Electric Fence: Netting: Repellant: Smoke Bomb: Traps: Strobes and Ultrasonics: |
Squirrel Control at Bird Feeding Stations Avoid the temptation to trap squirrels in a bird feeding area, especially if they are numerous. No sooner will you have a few trapped than the seeds will lure more in, and you will find yourself trying to empty the sea with a bucket. Instead, remove the squirrels’ access to the food. Install a squirrel proof bird feeder (if you are dealing with tree squirrels like the grey squirrel or flying squirrels), or else cope with tree squirrels (red, fox, and grey squirrels) by squirrel-proofing your existing feeder with a plexiglass dome (if it is a hanging feeder), making sure that nearby branches do not place the feeder within reach. You can also treat the seed-laden ground around the feeder with Ro-pel® or Get Away®, repellants that squirrels find distasteful. And for very little money you can treat your bird seed with Squirrel-Away™, a harmless product that doesn’t bother birds but does effectively repel squirrels. Click on any of the following headings to reach the indicated products: Bird feeder squirrel proofing accessories Repellants: Bird seed treatment: Lawn and Yard Squirrel Control As in bird-feeding areas, there’s no point trapping numerous squirrels digging for nuts or other goodies in your lawn or landscaped areas if they are being attracted by a good food source, because replacements will soon arrive. So squirrel removal is fruitless. Instead, block access to the food source by removing the source or applying a repellant. Get Away®, which repels both by taste and by smell but which is not offensive to humans, is a good choice for keeping squirrels away from garbage. Get Away®, fox urine, and Shake-Away™ Small Critter Powder (powdered fox urine) can be used to drive squirrels away from landscaped areas and lawns. Another repellent, Whole Control, does a good job of keeping squirrels from digging up lawns, landscaped areas, and gardens. If you are dealing with ground squirrels and know where they live, you may be able to gas them in their burrows. This is a classic and effective way of reducing tunnel-dwelling squirrel populations that also works against moles, voles, chipmunks, pocket gophers, rabbits and ground hogs/woodchucks. Click on the following headings to reach the indicated products: Whole Control (repellant) Indoor Squirrel Control If squirrels have invaded your house (you have a squirrel in the attic or somewhere else), you have a major problem. That’s because squirrels feel about their home the same way you do. They don’t want to leave; they may have family there; and they will apply all their energy and persistence to staying put. Whatever you do don’t poison the squirrels unless you have a high tolerance for ungodly smells. There are repellents like Rid-a-Critter and Shake-Away™, as well as ultrasonic devices like the Victor Pest Chaser (see below) that are designed to evict squirrels. However, in many cases the squirrels will learn to endure the repellant or find places in their nesting area where the noise is blocked, and so these remedies are best reserved for later. One innovative tool for getting rid of squirrels living in a house or other building is called the Squirrel Evictor™. Actually a high-intensity strobe light, the Squirrel Evictor™ often does what its name implies–especially if it can be played on an unoccupied indoor area like an attic or basement space that the resident squirrels must pass through to reach food or water. For more information about this useful device click here. The traditional way of getting rid of squirrels is by trapping. We don’t sell killing traps, mostly because of the danger many of them pose to pets and people. But live traps appropriately baited with sunflower seeds or unshelled peanuts will do the job safely and well. Place one, two, or more of these inside the infested area and/or outdoors at the places used by the offending squirrels to enter and leave the premises. If the offenders are flying squirrels (which are nocturnal) or red tree squirrels, use the smaller traps (18" x 5" x 5"). If the interlopers are other tree squirrels or ground squirrels, use the larger traps (24" x 7" x 8") which are unable to contain flying squirrels but which are fine for trapping larger squirrels as well as skunks and rabbits. If you plan to release the trapped squirrels alive, be sure to export them a good distance away–some say as far as seven miles–in order to prevent them from returning. While you are evicting these squirrels, be sure to remove or interdict food sources as described above in “Bird Feeding Station Squirrel Control” and “Lawn and Garden Squirrel Control” in order to reduce the surrounding squirrel population as much as possible and thereby lower the chances of re-invasion. Then, once you are really sure you have every squirrel out of the house, inspect your premises carefully for all actual and potential entry portals. These should be plugged up and treated with Ro-pel® to prevent re-entry by fresh invaders. In the event the infested structure is on posts, you can interdict the area around it with Mr. McGregor’s Fence®, a pet-safe, child-safe electric fence . If you cannot plug potential access-ways (such as gutter down-spouts providing access to the roof) spray the area around them with Get Away®. Be especially fastidious in your inspection, fencing, and plugging up if the potential re-invaders are flying squirrels, because they have pliable bodies and can squeeze through very small openings. At this point you should also go indoors and take steps to make the old infested area inhospitable to house-hunting squirrels. In other words, now is the moment to hang up some Rid-a-Critter, apply some Shake-Away™, or install the Victor Pest Chaser–because while none of these will reliably evict squirrels in residence, all will reliably repel squirrels seeking a new home. Click on any of the following headings to reach the indicated products: Electric Fence: Repellants: Traps: Ultrasonic Devices: Vegetable Garden Squirrel Control Squirrels don’t devastate vegetable gardens like woodchucks, but they do take nips from pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, etc., and they can be quite a nuisance. Until recently that nuisance was well-nigh unpreventable. Repellant sprays don’t work well on vegetables, partly because many impart a bitter or undesirable taste to crops and partly because the plants grow fast, exposing new unsprayed areas to attack. Nor do traps work well, because after some squirrels are removed the food source in the garden attracts more. Squirrel-Away™ Small Critter Powder (powdered fox urine) sprinkled on the ground or actual fox urine put out via dispensers can work reasonably well for a time–at least until the squirrels deduce that despite the smell there are no foxes–but this should be regarded as a temporary measure. The best way to keep squirrels and other small animals away from your vegetable garden is with a permanent, inexpensive electric fence (Mr. McGregor’s Fence®) that will zap critters without hurting them and that is harmless to pets and children. This will work 100 per cent effectively against ground squirrels. If no low tree limbs overhang your garden it will also work 100 per cent effectively against tree squirrels. And besides squirrels it will also keep out woodchucks/ground hogs, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, and opossums. The low barrier fence that runs behind the electrified wires needs to be reinforced with a squirrel barrier to keep squirrels from working through a mesh originally designed to keep out larger critters, but this accessory is affordable and easily installed. Click on any of the following headings to reach the indicated products: Electric Fence: Repellants: Flower Garden Squirrel Control If squirrels are digging in your flower garden (digging up bulbs, nuts, etc.), apply Shake-Away™ Small Critter Powder (powdered fox urine) around the border, or spray the areas involved with Whole Control (which gives the soil a bad taste), or else spray the ground with Get Away®, a repellent that works by both taste and smell but is inoffensive to people. If squirrels are eating your plants, a good remedy is to spray your plants with Ro-pel®, which won’t harm the plants but which gives them a bitter taste. Repellants: Squirrel Control for Fruit Trees and Berry Bushes Repellants like Ro-pel®, Get-Away®, Shake-Away™, and fox urine (see Flower Garden Squirrel Control and Vegetable Garden Squirrel Control, above) can be used to discourage squirrels from frequenting areas planted with of fruit trees and berry bushes. In addition, fruits and berries can be effectively protected against squirrels with Bird-X® netting, a hard-to-chew product that also protects against birds, rabbits, and other garden interlopers. Click on any of the following headings to reach the indicated products: Repellants: Netting: |
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