If you have eradicated squirrels, now you want to keep squirrels at bay and make sure squirrels don’t come back to your home and property. There are many ways to deter squirrels. Or, maybe you need to get started in eradicating squirrels in the first place.
There are some easy ways to keep squirrels away, like sprinkling cayenne pepper or hot sauce on the ground on areas around your home where you do not want squirrels.
If you have squirrels that get into your bird feeder at your home, you can consider putting some pepper or hot sauce around the bird feeder to scare them off.
Read on for more about how to keep squirrels away, or how to lure them so you can catch and release them into the wild where they will not bother you or your garden anymore.
What is the Best way to Repel Squirrels?
Hot sauce, cayenne pepper, or any hot pepper have all been proven to be effective ways to deter squirrels and get rid of squirrels. Really, anything hot that smells or tastes strong. Squirrels don’t like any of these hot sauces, and one sniff or lick will send them running away. Just about any type of pepper, you have in your home could help you repel squirrels.
Animal Repellents
There are some other ways you can repel squirrels and keep them away from your home. Consider using an animal repellent, which was created specifically to repel animals from your home.
This will repel squirrels and any other vermin you might have problems with. If more than just squirrels are taking over your home and yard, make use of a tool that will get rid of all unwanted animals from your property. Using a spray specifically designed to repel rodents is not only effective, but it is safe. And, the sprays have been tested, so you know they work, which is more than you can say about any old wives’ tale.
Are repellents Safe?
While animal repellents should work to keep squirrels away, they should not be too harmful. You might not care if the squirrel gets harmed, but you will care if your pet gets harmed by the repellent. While poisons like rat poison will no doubt harm your pet, most repellents are safe for use around pets, but you still might want to consider a trap instead.
What do Squirrels Hate the Most?
Squirrels hate cayenne pepper and hot tastes, so if you want to deter squirrels, use those ingredients. You can also look to do the opposite with squirrels – instead of deterring them, attract them, and then release them elsewhere away from your home.
What do Squirrels love?
Yes, if you are trying to get rid of a squirrel, it might pay off to know what they love. This way, you can lure them, trap them, and release them.
If you are looking to use a live trap for squirrels, bait them with peanut butter. If you do this, you can keep the squirrels in the trap and release them away from your home.
They also Hate Repellents
Squirrels also hate certain sprays that you can use. A spray like that one will keep all rodents away from your home.
You can spray this on your lawn and keep away squirrels, rabbits, moles, and any other rodents that might be destroying the yard around your home.
Catch and Release
If you want to go the catch and release route, you can use a trap like this to capture any squirrel that comes into the yard around your home.
You can easily use this with something as easy as peanut butter and trap rats, chipmunks, or squirrels. This will allow you to capture the rodents and then release them somewhere far away from your home. Just be sure to release far enough away that a squirrel won’t come crawling back!
Benefits of Catch and Release for Pets
If you have pets that are located in areas of your home, garden, such as your yard where squirrels are also, you do not want to use sprays, pesticides, or poisons since they can be harmful to your pets. If your favorite dog is going to be in the area, catch and release is the better option. While he might like the peanut butter you put down to trap the squirrel, chances are he will not be able to get his nose in the trap, and he will not be harmed from you catching and releasing squirrels.
Plants and Squirrel Repellents
Like dogs, you do not want any insecticides getting on your plants or your garden. Even docile things like cayenne pepper could be harmful to the growth of your vegetables. If you are concerned about the growth of your garden, stick to the catch and release option for getting rid of squirrels.
Catch and Release or Poison and Sprays?
Our recommendation is catch and release since it seems to be safer for everyone involved. Poisons should never be used, as there is too much of a risk of a pet eating them and getting sick or dying, and they really aren’t even that effective at getting rid of squirrels. Repellent sprays are a viable option, and they should not harm plants or animals, they will just work to keep squirrels away.
If you do not catch and release, we also recommend natural deterrents like cayenne pepper and hot sauce. They are not harmful, but they will successfully scare away any rodent that tries to eat your lawn and garden.
Keep Squirrels out of bird feeders
Safflower seeds are something else you can do to help keep a squirrel away from feeders. To keep squirrels away, fill your feeder with these types of seeds. Squirrels don’t like them, but some birds do, so you will get birds in your feeders and not squirrels. Squirrels love some other types of bird seeds, so stick with safflower if squirrels are eating your other types of bird seeds.
Deter Squirrels, not Birds
Anyone who has a bird feeder has no doubt had a problem with a squirrel at one time or another. Since squirrels typically start at the ground and climb their way up the tree that the bird feeder is attached to, you could also try sprinkling hot sauce all over the ground and lower part of the tree trunk that your feeder hangs from. This could deter the squirrel, but not scaring the birds away since they fly in above the ground where the hot sauce is.
What are Squirrels Afraid of?
Really strong odors, even if they might be pleasant to humans, it can scare a squirrel away. Squirrels get confused when they smell something really strong, like peppers. You can also try high pitched noises, which should send the squirrel running away.
What if you have Squirrels indoors?
Hopefully, there is not a squirrel inside your home, but there might be one in a barn or other indoor space. If that is the case you want to use a repellant that is safe to use inside.
Try something like this, which works by using high-frequency sound waves to scare a squirrel away. There are no chemicals or poisons, so you do not have to worry about any pesticides contaminating your vegetable garden or hurting your pets. No squirrel likes the high-pitch sounds of this, so they will be scared and run away.
Be Careful with High Pitch Noise
A word of caution: be careful using something like that if you have a dog, as dogs can be sensitive to the high level of noise.
Do Coffee Grounds keep Squirrels Away?
This is one way you can get a squirrel apart from your home. While most humans love coffee, squirrels don’t like it. If you have a squirrel problem at your home, consider taking your coffee grounds from your morning brew and spread them around your lawn to keep squirrels off your property. Ideally, you would add a new layer of coffee grounds a couple of times per month, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
You could also supplement coffee grounds by spraying the ground with a deterrent like this. This is sure to keep away vermin whether it is a squirrel, a rat, a skunk, or something else entirely.
How about Tea Bags?
Maybe you like coffee and your wife likes tea. Will the discard tea bags have the same effect as coffee? Not really, no. Stick to coffee grounds if you are sprinkling anything on the ground. Do not bother with tea bags – if anything, squirrels might be attracted to the tea, not repelled.