Easy Squirrel Repellent Ideas For Your Home And Garden
Many people with gardens, bird feeders and backyards in general are in need of a squirrel repellent from time to time. These animals have zero shame about getting in your attic and relieving themselves as well as chewing on any exposed wiring that they can find. They enter your home from the roof so it is important to cut off access for them to get there.
Keep Squirrels Out Of Your Home
If the kind of squirrel repellent that you need is simply keeping them out of your attic, you need to eliminate any methods that they may be using to actually get to your roof. Tree branches should be trimmed around 15 feet away so that they are too far to jump from. If you have electrical cables running to your home you should disconnect the power and slip long plastic tubes over them. When the squirrel tries to run across them, they slide, so the animal is forced to jump back to the wire that it came from and is unable to clear the path to your home.
Squirrel Evictor
If you already have issues with squirrels in your attic, you may want to try the Squirrel Evictor. This is a harmless squirrel repellent that simply bugs them enough to leave. It is simply a strobe light that squirrels find disorienting and irritating so they vacate the premises.
Safflower Seed
If you need a squirrel repellent because they are eating the bird food out of the feeders, safflower seed is ideal. It is found in certain blends of bird food and happens to be a favorite to chickadees, morning doves, cardinals and finches. Safflower seed has quite a bitter taste that squirrels do not like so the next time you buy your bird food, read through the ingredients and find one with this particular seed in it.
Sprinklers
Motion activated sprinkler systems are an ideal squirrel repellent. They also scare away raccoons, skunks, deer, cats and even some dogs. The best part about motion activated sprinklers is that they do no damage to the animal and your grass and plants certainly appreciate the water.
Urine
Urine is one of the most effective forms of a squirrel repellent, particularly from foxes. It is typically sold in powder or liquid form and it is safe to use around plants, pets and children. Squirrels naturally stay away from anything that smells like a predator. Urine is the most natural and effective repellent used by farmers around the perimeter of their corps. Tiger's urine and hyena urine are also available in some areas. This method will also keep away rabbits, chipmunks, woodchucks and groundhogs.
Garden Repellent
The best squirrel repellent that you can use on your home garden that will not leave an odor on your vegetables is an old homemade recipe. You will boil up some water and add chopped onion, jalapeno pepper and a few heaping tablespoons of ground red pepper. This should boil for around 20 minutes or so and then you will drain the liquid out. After it cools, you can put it into a plastic spray bottle and apply it all around your vegetable garden. Also, it doesn't hurt to sprinkle a bit of loose ground red pepper around the vegetable plants as well. The squirrels get incredibly irritated with the smell and avoid your garden. One application lasts around five days or so during dry weather but you will probably want to reapply this after a solid rainfall. The great thing about this squirrel repellent is that you can make a big batch of it and store it in old glass jars so that you always have some handy to use.