How to Make Your Own Squirrel Deterrent
Squirrels can become real pests and those with bird feeders sometimes get desperate for an effective squirrel deterrent. While there is something charming about seeing a squirrel scurrying around in the woods, an avid gardener or bird-watcher can start finding squirrels a real nuisance. They are known to take bird seeds from feeders and rip and chew tree barks. Since it is in the nature of squirrels to do these things, the only way to keep your garden safe and your feeder ready for birds is to use a squirrel deterrent.
“Squirrels stay away”
It is a good idea to follow a common-sense approach in dealing with aggressive backyard squirrels. Since they are drawn by food, it is a good idea to make the food unattractive to them.
So, if you find that the expensive seeds you leave out for the birds are being consumed by the squirrels, mix in some paprika or pepper and put that out for a few days in a row. Squirrels tend to dislike such strong flavors and are likely to stop seeing your feeder as a source of food.
If they are attacking your plants and trees and leaving them looking unattractive, you need to spray something that will be let them know that they are not welcome in the garden. A combination of Murphy’s Oil hot sauce and cayenne is recommended as being effective in keeping squirrels away. Similarly, you can also create a spray of vinegar, vegetable oil and pepper and spray it around the garden in places where you do not want the squirrels to go.
If you do not have the time for making these concoctions, you can use moth ball around the garden as their smell works to send squirrels scurrying away.
In each of these cases the idea is to make the garden, deck and bird feeder unattractive to the squirrels in terms of smell and taste. They are all not permanent fixes and you will have to do these things a couple of times a week.
Obstacles for squirrels
The other approach in making squirrel deterrents is to make it challenging for the squirrel to get to its favorite places. For example, if the bird feeder is on top of a pole, you can try applying petroleum jelly along the pole to make it slippery and difficult to climb. You can string plastic bottles through wires or create other booby traps which will hinder the climbing and movement of squirrels. Sometimes chicken wire is known to be a deterrent in that it takes squirrels a little longer to chew through it. These are benign obstacles intended to deter a squirrel from destroying and consuming things in the garden or yard.
If you want more permanent obstacles, there are traps that are available in the market. In the humane ones you use nuts to bait and catch the squirrel and then you can release it away from home. There are also the more drastic traps which tend to kill the squirrel. You have to choose a trap depending on your personal situation and the extent to which the squirrels are bothering you.
Accepting your new neighbors
There is one other possible response to squirrels in the backyard and this is to accept them. Much like you leave seeds in the bird feeders to attract and watch birds, you can leave squirrel feed out for the squirrels to congregate around. Typically they do not need much and it can be fun to observe them as they come to eat and to see how they interact with other squirrels.
Home-made squirrel deterrents can be quite effective in managing to keep squirrels at bay although it may need repeated applications. So, if you find the process frustrating, it may be simpler to just accept and feed the squirrels also!