How To Keep Squirrels Out of Your Home & Garden

For many, squirrels are cute, furry creatures that are fun to watch scampering around in the garden, but did you know that grey squirrels are actually an invasive species that is not native to the UK? Their numbers have grown to the point where they have displaced the native red squirrel in many parts of the country.

Aside from this, all squirrels can sometimes be a nuisance if you’d prefer to see birds in your garden, but they’re a real scourge of anyone who is trying to grow any kind of fruit, vegetable and even flower. Yes, that’s right, squirrels have even been known to eat the stems of flowers. And to top it all off, they can cause havoc if they take to nesting in your loft.

With this in mind, we want to share with you some tips to help you discourage squirrels and keep them off your property. This guide also applies to businesses as well as homeowners.

Keeping squirrels out of your garden

They might be fun to watch on occasion, but when they’re eating the things you’ve carefully planted or scaring away local bird life, it can become a source of frustration. Here are some tips for keeping squirrels away from your garden.

Rethink bird feeders – While these are great at attracting birds, they do also tend to appeal to squirrels too. It’s best to try and squirrel-proof your bird feeder either through a metal cage that allows birds in or by greasing the pole which the feeder hangs from so that the squirrels can’t climb up.

Another route to take would be to do away with a seed and nut feeder altogether and simply grow plants that birds like, such as crab apple trees and hawthorn. Essentially, anything easy for birds to grab that might not be as easy or as attractive for a squirrel.

Scare them off – You can’t be expected to sit and wait around all day to scare off squirrels, but you don’t have to thanks to a range of motion-based equipment. Some gardeners like to place decoy owls with heads that rotate in the wind, as this is sometimes enough to deter squirrels, while motion sensor sprinklers can also do the trick.

Foods they don’t like – Finding things squirrels don’t like can help put them off visiting your garden. Bulbs they can’t stand include allium, daffodil and snowdrops, so you should be able to plant these without them being eaten. They also dislike the strength of mint plants and chilli flakes, so scatter these around as an additional defence.

Keeping squirrels out of your home

To some people’s surprise, squirrels can cause quite a bit of structural damage if they manage to get into your home, chewing up wires, pipes and beams. They also carry disease in some cases, so it’s better for your home and your health to try and get rid of them.

Prevent access to your roof – The best thing to do is to stop them from gaining access to your roof space in the first instance. This is where they like to access your property since, unless it’s converted, your loft is a nice dark and quiet place for them. Ensure that there are no holes or gaps around your soffits and keep tall trees and shrubs away from the roof to remove the access route. Squirrels can jump anywhere between 4 to 9 feet, so you need to put some distance between them and your roof.

Use predator scents – If you have squirrels in your loft or you’ve had them before and want to deter them, try using the scent of their natural predators, like foxes, cats and dogs. This can be bought as a spray and applied in any areas of your loft you feel are vulnerable in order to scare away squirrels — just don’t overdo it!

Set up sounds and lights – Squirrels don’t like to be disturbed, so if you make your loft unwelcoming for them with some moving or flashing lights along with a radio left on for some noise, they will be unlikely to stay. This isn’t guaranteed as some squirrels may have become accustomed to being in close proximity to humans, but it’s a good combination to try.

Get professional pest control – If you have nuisance squirrels in your loft or anywhere else in your home or business, look no further than our expert team at Pest Defence. We have the knowledge and experience to trap and remove grey squirrels and can provide advice on preventing squirrels from getting into your property in future.

To learn more about our squirrel control services for Essex and London – including Colchester, Chelmsford and Brentwood – or to book an appointment, simply give our friendly team a call today.