How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Yard

 For most people, the occasional sighting of a squirrel in the yard or garden is just a pleasant wildlife sighting, but large squirrel populations can quickly become a nuisance, especially for avid gardeners or serious birdwatchers. Some squirrels, such as the very common gray squirrel, are known to dig up a gardener's bulbs and flowers almost as fast as they can be planted, and squirrels can even chew through drip irrigation pipes and other shallow utility lines.

 

When food supplies are scarce, squirrels may even munch on the bark of trees and shrubs, competing with rabbits to see who can kill the plant first. Homesteaders who tap maple trees to make syrup may find that squirrels quickly learn how to chew through the tubing to consume the sweet sap.

 

Other species of squirrels, such as the red squirrel can be desirous and brutal hunters of baby birds in the nest. In the wintertime, crowds of squirrels can disrupt your bird feeders. Bird lovers often come to despise the various species of squirrels that disrupt attempts to cultivate other wildlife.

 

Squirrels that get into the house or the garage can also create quite a serious problem. In seeking to build nests, squirrels will chew openings through the siding and beneath eaves. They may also get into the home through unscreened chimneys and vents, and build nests there or in the attic, so the solution is often to make efforts to keep squirrels away from your yard altogether.

 

Method to getting rid of squirrels in your yard

Limit Food Sources

Squirrels usually will not hang around in a landscape that doesn't provide nuts, berries, or seeds for them to eat, so the proper choice of plantings can make your landscape less attractive to squirrels. Avoid (or remove) nut-bearing trees and berry-producing shrubs. If you enjoy feeding birds, make sure your bird feeders are fully squirrel-proof. For example, you can mount feeders on tall poles covered with sheet metal that prevents squirrels from climbing though they will still snack on seeds spilled to the ground by birds. Covering bird-feeder poles with petroleum jelly can also prevent squirrels from climbing them.

 

Gardeners can fence in vulnerable planting areas with wire fencing of no more than 1-inch mesh and at least 30 inches high. For additional protection, extend the fencing below ground and outward to prevent burrowing. You may even want to cover the top of the planting area with a dome of wire fencing, which can be removed when you need to tend the plants. Buried bulbs can be covered with 1-inch mesh and covered with mulch, which will prevent squirrels from digging them up.

 

  A landscape where food sources become difficult to obtain may cause squirrels to move to other nearby properties where dining is easier.

 

Limit Shelter

While large shade trees offer lots of benefits to a yard, try landscaping in a prairie or meadow style rather than a woodland style that features tall trees where squirrels readily nest. Getting rid of large, dense trees (especially nut- or fruit-bearers) will go a long way to encouraging squirrels to leave your yard.

 

Use Scent Repellants

Repellants that target squirrels are available at most nurseries and garden centers and from online retailers. Always follow all label directions and keep them out of reach of children and pets. These are the same products used to repel rabbits and other plant-eating creatures, and they usually need to be reapplied at regular intervals, especially after rainfalls. Most include liquid compounds meant to simulate the smell of the urine of predator animals, such as foxes or coyotes, so they may give your garden an odor you find disagreeable.

 

If you can't get rid of the squirrel on your own then you can take the help of Squirrel Control Services. MDK Services pest control is the best Squirrel Control Services in San Angelo. For more details about MDK Services, pest control google: Squirrel Control Services or call 325-658-3498.