Natural Prairie Dog Repellent

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Prairie dogs are not something that a lot of people will have problems with unless you live in an area that has lots of them. Because of that reason there are not many things that are known to work as repellents for prairie dogs. Prairie dogs are not of the canine family, in fact they are rodents. They get their name because of the sound they make which is a barking sound. The prairie dog is closely related to the squirrel. They are not a big rodent, though they can be as large as 1 foot long. They weigh less than a very small dog, with the heaviest at 3 pounds. Prairie dogs can reproduce fast with anywhere between 3 to 8 pups every year. Though not a big problem in the cities and suburbs, people living in the plains will have these invasive rodents cause some damage to their soil and property.

Prairie Dogs are usually classified as a pest species due to their tunneling habits. They form large colonies, and a large network of underground tunnels. The most common complaints include the following:

• Landscape destruction
• Holes pose risk to horses or ankles

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Natural Repellents
If you want to get rid of any wildlife you have to know which animal is its predator. When thinking repellents you must think of the circle of life. The same is true of prairie dogs; their natural predator is the fox. The prairie dog will avoid the fox, but that does not mean that you should trap a fox and release it in your property; fox urine will be more than enough. You can get fox urine by the bottle in some gardening stores. The one inconvenience of this method is that it will take more than a few applications because of the weather. The solution is worth a try because if you are patient and persistent, eventually the prairie dogs will leave. Do not expect it to happen from one day to the next; in fact it may take a couple of weeks.

Make It Hot
A lot of people will suggest an exterminator, but if you want to get rid of the prairie dogs in a humane way then calling the exterminator is not your first choice. You can instead do what many people have found effective and use spices to get the little rodents to leave. What you have to do is find the burrows and the food source of the prairie dogs. Once you have found the burrow spread a generous amount of cayenne or hot peppers in the hole. If you know the food source do the same on it. Though they will feed on insects they will also feed on vegetation. If their food source is eliminated then there is no reason for the prairie dogs to stay. This method has been highly successful when attempted by people with rodent problems. It is not a guaranteed method, but it has a good percentage rate of success.

Commercial Repellents
Because prairie dogs do not represent a huge problem for people themselves, there are not many repellents in the market designed specifically for them. Some repellents made for other types of rodents will also work with prairie dogs. Because of their proximity to squirrels (they are a type of squirrel) the first repellent you should try is squirrel repellent. If you look at the ingredients of some repellents they are made of things that you can find at the supermarket yourself. In fact, a lot of the repellents are made of a combination hot peppers and some other kind of chemicals. The peppers themselves are usually enough, but the repellents that you purchase can be fast acting. Also make sure that you get non-toxic repellents if you have pets that will be free to roam the area where you will be placing the repellent.

Moth Balls
There are many people that recommend moth balls for any occasion where a person finds they are having difficulty getting rodents to move out. These can be found at the hardware store, grocery store, and in most places; even the family drug store. Though they are often recommended they are not often seen to have a high rate of success.

Here are some other do-it-yourself articles I wrote that might help you:
Prairie dog removal and trapping tips