How to Get Rid of Pesty Squirrels

Get rid of squirrels with traps and bait.

Squirrels are members of the rodent family that can be pesky to you and your home. Although there are many natural squirrel repellents such ad predator urine and ammonia-soaked rags, the most effective squirrel removal method is trapping and determent. Before calling animal control or an exterminator, you can try to get rid of the squirrels on your own using several different methods, depending on the severity of your problem.

Things You'll Need

• Traps
• Bait

Instructions

1. Place live squirrel traps around your house and garden areas. You will need to place bait inside to draw the squirrels inside. Peanut butter, peanuts and sunflower seeds work well as squirrel bait. Once you place the traps, you will need to leave them alone and check on them periodically to determine if there are any squirrels inside. Once you have trapped a squirrel, release the it into the wild far away from your residence where they won't be able to damage your property.

2. Place kill traps around your property. Kill traps are similar to live traps but are used to exterminate squirrels. This is a common method and helps get rid of squirrels so that they do not return. You can use an anticoagulant or acute toxin bait inside, along with regular bait. Set up the traps after hibernation because food is scarce at this time and squirrels will accept the bait more often than at other times of the year.

3. Place bird feeders in open areas away from trees so that squirrels are unable to climb up or jump onto the feeders from tree branches or fences. When squirrels are able to reach bird feeders easily, they will return often for the food. Placing bird feeders in open areas where it is impossible for squirrels to jump from a tree branch to the feeder is an excellent way to get rid of squirrels. If you cannot place your bird feeders away from trees or fences, consider buying bird feeders that automatically close when squirrels jump on.

4. Seal off open holes around the house and garage with steel so that squirrels cannot chew through. You can also place one-way exclusion traps around open areas so that when squirrels leave the indoor area, they are trapped and cannot get back into the house. Once the squirrels are trapped, you can release them away from your property where they will not be able to return and damage your home or garden.

References

• Gardening Know How: How to Get Rid of Squirrels
• Professional Wildlife Removal: How to Get Rid of Squirrels