How to Keep Away Squirrels

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Five Tips to Keep Away Squirrels:

1. Prevent squirrels by squirrel-proofing all roof vents, soffit vents, and eave gaps
2. Trim trees to try to keep them off the house, but they will get on your roof anyway
3. Get squirrel-proof birdfeeders if that's what's attracting them
4. Install chicken wire or other fencing around plants or gardens they chew on
5. Hot sauce discourages chewing on wood or wires, but mothballs don't work

How to keep squirrels away from the attic
Squirrels are usual attic intruders; they love attics. They get familiar with humans really quickly and make the attic of your house their new home. If they cannot a find an immediate or easy way to get in, they will chew off an area to make a way for themselves. They might even jump in from a nearby tree straight into your attic. Attics make wonderful homes for squirrels because it protects them from the elements and other predators. However, as cute as squirrels are, they are still dangerous creatures that carry diseases and harm your home. If you don’t want pesky squirrels tearing up your attic, there are some things you can do to help prevent them from making your attic their home. Read all about how to get squirrels out of the attic - for advanced tips and advice

Sealing all the Entry Points
Another important thing that can be done is closing of all the entry and exit routes that the squirrels might be using. They go out during the day and sleep during the night, thus during the day time, go in to your attic and seal any areas that you see daylight escaping into the attic. Try to locate any kind of light that might be coming in through a small opening. Using wire grid to close all the entry points. Also, squirrels usually get to the attic through the roof. They use a tree whose branches are close to the roof of your home and jump from there. Squirrels are fast and can jump sideways about six feet. Look carefully at the trees surrounding your home for any branches that are within squirrel jumping length and then trim them back.



Installing Baffles To Keep Away Squirrels
Become a detective and seek out all possible ways that the squirrels might be using to enter your home. They might be using the wood shingles, trim on the corner, metal or plastic drain pipes or the chimney area. Install baffles at all possible points to discourage the critters from trying to get in. They might, in some cases, like on a downspout or tree help prevent them from reaching the roof, but it's doubtful. Read more about How to Get Squirrels Out of Your Roof.

What Will Keep Squirrels Away From the House or Garden
Much of this answer depends on what you want to keep the squirrels away from. If you want to keep them away from your house, cut down some of your trees and have all possible entry spots into your house sealed. Do not leave any food for pets outside anywhere. Bird feeders will attract squirrels as well because squirrels love to eat bird seeds. There are a number of squirrel repellants on the market, but none of them have been proven to be successful. Save your money. If you want to keep squirrels away from your garden, you may have a little luck if you spray hot sauce or pepper sauce on your vegetables and flowers. Squirrels are not particularly partial to the spice when staching their food. However, squirrels do love flower bulbs. Some people advocate to plant some flowers over others in order to prevent squirrels to get at the bulbs but mostly, there is just very little you can do against the critters. You can trap them and relocate them but most likely, others will just move in and take the place of the ones you just moved out. Read more about A Guide to Keeping Squirrels Out of the Garden

Remember, prevention is usually not enough. Read my 10-step guide for How to Get Rid of Squirrels.

Is There A Trick To Removing Red Squirrels From Yard?
If you have a population of squirrels in your yard that has become something of a nuisance rather than the entertainment they probably were on arrival then you are probably wondering how to get rid of them. The first step is to see what attracts these rodents to your yard and then get rid of it. There are many gimmicks surrounding the removal of red squirrels from your yard and it is safe to say that many of them probably do not work.

This means that trapping and re-location is really the only option for getting rid of red squirrels. There are various types of trap available – including the kind that will trap more than one squirrel at a time. The idea is to leave some of your chosen bait just outside the trap – which at this stage is not set – ideas vary as to the best bait but peanut butter is found to be very popular. Leave the trap like this for a few days so that the squirrel gets used to it, then move the bait inside the, still not primed, trap – again leave it like this for a few days. Then prime the trap. Once you have trapped all your squirrel population you can relocate them as far as possible away from your yard.

Using Traps
Using traps is another way of catching squirrels. They are available at most any store and can be used easily. A trap is placed at one of the escape paths used by squirrels. All other exit points are sealed and thus it has no other option but to use this path. Also, food or bait is put in the cage to lure them. Once the squirrel enters the trap, the door shuts automatically and it gets trapped. There are traps available in the market that can catch more than one squirrel at a time. Once the squirrels are gone, you must immediately close down any possible openings left that can be used to enter the house. The attic should be cleaned carefully. This can contribute to Prices: Squirrels in attic removal cost. Remember the ammonia trick? It might be useful to give the floor and sides of the wall a quick brush with ammonia to help discourage them from returning. Also, squirrels love to chew on things and wires and cables are likely candidates for their menu. Check all of the wires and cables around the house to see if any are damaged and replace them if they are.



Foul Smells that will have Squirrels Scurrying Away
One way of chasing squirrels out is the use of ammonia. However, you need to place it very carefully and in a proper manner to be safe and effective. The first and most important thing to do is to ensure that the entry door from your house to the attic is tightly closed and there is no exit point around it that leads to the inside of your home. Make sure the door is tightly closed before you start setting up the ammonia. As a safety precaution, use a mask and hand gloves while handling ammonia. Start by placing four pans in the four corners of your attic. Also, put a fifth one at the place you know the squirrels are living and then fill all of the pans with ammonia. Make sure that these are at least half filled. Take some towels, dip them into ammonia and put them at places where pans are not present. Drag the towel soaked in ammonia along the edges as well. If there is an opening which the squirrels are using as a route, do not fix it up as the squirrels will this same route to escape after catching a whiff of the ammonia. Keep refilling the pans and soaking the towels each week. Once the squirrels are gone, remove the towels and pans. Other foul smelling things like herbs or moth balls can also be used as well.

Here are my other squirrel guides:
squirrel removal page home page with basic information
squirrel trapping tips page, bait, trap types
squirrel repellent analysis of whether it works or not
how to kill squirrels should you use poison?
how to catch squirrels methods to catch them safely
how to get a squirrel out of the chimney squirrel removal agents
are squirrels good pets? analysis of squirrels as pets
should you handle squirrels with bare hands? tips on handling squirrels
when will homeowners insurance not pay for squirrel damage? a guide on coverage for squirrel damage
squirrel mating habits information on squirrel mating habits
what to do with orphaned squirrels a guide to handling orphaned squirrels
will poisons work on squirrels? which poisons are most effective?
are pros the best? a guide on using professionals for squirrel removal
using a snare pole to catch a squirrel other methods of trapping squirrels
what to do with trapped squirrels guide to handling squirrels after trapping
where do squirrels live? information on squirrel habitats
wildlife rehabilitators and squirrels what happens to squirrels next?

6 Tricks to Keep Squirrels From Your Property

If you want to know how to REALLY keep squirrels away from your property, you’ll need to know about so much more than just ultrasonic sound devices and light machines. Sadly, many of the squirrel repellents and deterrents that you can buy commercially have very little to no effect on many wild critters, squirrels included.



There are ways that you can keep squirrels out, however, and these are the six steps that we suggest you try:

1 - Squirrel-proof the bird feeder.

Squirrels are attracted by bird feeders because it provides them with a fairly consistent source of food. People will generally fill bird feeders regularly, but it isn’t always the birds that eats the goodies inside; squirrels are well-known culprits for stealing.

There are a number of ways that you can squirrel-proof your bird feeder, but we do not recommend using a sticky or gooey substance, such as petroleum jelly, as this can affect the birds that you DO want to attract and feed.

Remove the bird feeder from any tree branches. If you have the feeder on a pole, add a baffler to stop raccoons from being to climb up from the bottom. While you're there, make sure that you haven't left any other forms of squirrel food lying around, and this can be anything from fruits and vegetables (or their seeds) you have growing in your back yard, to bird feeder, guinea pig or rabbit food, and a whole load more.

2 - Proper garbage storage.

There are a number of animals that will go rummaging through your garbage bags — squirrels are just one of them. If you make sure that garbage is properly put away — in metal garbage cans and taken inside if necessary — you will prevent all wild critters from coming to your back yard. Almost all of them will be looking for food.

3 - Removal of hiding spots.

Alongside food, hiding spots are what these wild animals are looking for. Some of the might be looking for a cozy spot to nurse a young family, others will be looking for a hiding spot from a passing predator. The more open and clean your back yard or property is, the fewer places that these animals, including squirrels, will find to hide in. Animals won't go someplace that they don't believe is safe, so having a wide, open and tidy back yard is only going to work in your favor.

4 - Trim the trees back.

Trees are a nightmare when you have a squirrel problem — they give the animal a place to nest, hide, get around, and even break into your home, especially if you have tree branches that lead right into your home, through your attic/roof. Trimming your branches back will work magic when it comes to keeping those critters away, and it's a task that can be done in an hour or so over the weekend, providing you don't have too many trees to attend to. You might even find it cheaper and less time-consuming to hire in a professional to do the job for you.

5 - Check the building.

You might not have any experience with a squirrel actually inside your home yet, but if you have squirrels hanging around in the back yard, it is only going to be a matter of time before they do try and make a break for it. Regular inspections will keep you on top of things — if you see a hole, you can work fast to make sure it doesn’t get big enough to let an animal inside.

6 - Call wildlife rehabilitators.

If you don’t really know where to start as far as keeping squirrels away from your property is concerned, you could always just call in the services of someone who knows exactly what to do. Wildlife rehabilitators or wildlife control technicians can educate you on all of the little spots you missed, and how to fix the bits that need fixing to stop the building from being vulnerable. It’s easy to make mistakes when you’ve never come up against a wild critter before, and squirrels aren't exactly the most predictable of the gang.

Go back to the Squirrel Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Squirrels guide.