Homemade Ground Squirrel Repellent
Ground squirrels make burrows in the ground, digging up plants and scattering dirt everywhere. There are many types of ground squirrels found in the United States, including the California ground squirrel, Belding's ground squirrel, the Franklin squirrel, and the Richardson squirrel. These squirrels can wreak havoc on a yard, so it is good to have many repellent options on hand. Does this Spark an idea?
Cayenne and Pepper Flakes
You might consider trying red pepper flakes or cayenne as a homemade squirrel repellent. You can coat plant bulbs with cayenne pepper, or simply scatter the cayenne in areas where plants are located. You may also consider making your own Tabasco spray by mixing one small bottle of Tabasco with one gallon of water and a tablespoon of liquid soap in a spray bottle. Shake the contents of the bottle and then proceed to spray your plants with the homemade repellent. You can also grind pepper flakes and scatter them into birdseed. This won't harm the birds, but will keep the squirrels away. Also try putting safflower seeds into the bird feeders and plant areas. Safflower seeds have a bitter taste that squirrels dislike.
Removing Items
You may have to get rid of or limit the squirrels' access to some items in your yard which are drawing the squirrels there. Squirrels are drawn to birdseed, pet food, berries, flower bulbs and water. Removing these items or zoning them off will make your yard less attractive to ground squirrels.
Bird feeders are notorious squirrel attractors, for both tree squirrels and ground squirrels (while they make their homes in burrows, ground squirrels are good climbers). The drastic solution is to keep bird feeders out of your yard. However, if you plan to have a bird feeder, place a baffle above and below the feeder, as birdseed often will fall from the feeder and attract the ground squirrels.
Other Repellents
Squirrels hate the smells of moth balls, dried blood and fox urine. Obviously the moth balls have a bitter odor and taste, smelling like cleaning fluid, which squirrels try to avoid. Dried blood clearly carries the scent of dead animal. And fox urine smells like skunk, an animal that squirrels stay away from. While it may not possible for you to find dried blood or fox urine easily, moth balls can be purchased at any hardware store and used - provided that they are in an enclosed space away from both humans and animals. Another method is to coat the perimeter of areas with a sticky substance such as honey. Squirrels, like most animals, don't want their fur to get sticky and will avoid these areas if they are well-coated with honey or another sticky substance.
Tags: ground squirrels, moth balls, your yard, away from, bird feeders