Some folks love getting squirrels in their yard! A little bit of nature is a welcome break from other stresses in life.
While that is true, having squirrels in your yard might not be good. For a start, it means they are getting too close to your home, and you don’t want to end up with a squirrel in your attic!
This post will look at how to keep squirrels out of your yard.
What you will learn in this post:
- How to keep squirrels out of your yard
- Does having a cat scare squirrels away from your yard?
- How you can stop squirrels from digging your lawn.
How To Keep Squirrels Out Of Your Yard – 7 Ways
To understand how to keep squirrels out of your yard, follow the following 7 tips.
Ultimately, it would be best to consider some things that attract squirrels to your yard. By removing those attractions, you can be sure that the squirrels will take a detour to someone else’s garden.
1. Store Food Correctly
The first thing you should do is take stock of what you are storing in your yard. For example, if you are storing food, you should be storing this food correctly.
Squirrels have a perfect sense of smell and can pick up on the scent of food if you have not stored it correctly.
It would be best to store any food outside in round glass containers. These are squirrel-proof, so even if they find the food, they will not be able to get to it.
2. Remove Animal Feeders
Animal feeders are a huge draw for squirrels! If you have these in your yard, they will be all over it in no time.
If you want to understand how to keep squirrels out of your yard, removing animal feeders is one of the best things you can do.
Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to watch the birds eat in peace, but it does mean there is less chance of getting a squirrel in your yard!
3. Set Traps
Setting traps in your yard will catch any squirrels that find their way in. The only problem is, how do you set a trap that only a squirrel will get in?
The answer is – you can’t. You can ensure you set a trap that is big enough for a squirrel to get in, but nothing bigger. You will only catch smaller animals, like rats and mice. Your neighbor’s cat will be fine!
Don’t forget to use some tasty squirrel bait!
4. Remove Trees
Squirrels love trees! They are great climbers and use trees to give them a good view of the area and keep them away from predators. Cats can also climb trees; they are not as fast as a squirrel when on a tree.
If you want to know how to keep squirrels out of your yard, then cutting down any trees will help!
If you have a nut or fruit tree, it is a huge attraction for squirrels.
5. Keep Yard Tidy
Squirrels like to travel under the cover your yard may offer. A squirrel will use any junk in your yard to keep away from predators above.
If you have any junk in your yard, you should clarify that to reduce the cover a squirrel will use to travel through.
Not only will the junk attract squirrels because of the cover it offers, but they will also use some of the junk to form a nest. There will be tons of items in the junk that squirrels will chew up for comfort. They may even nest in the junk!
6. Control Yard Growth
For the same reason as above, any bushes or shrubbery will offer a squirrel some cover to allow them to travel without being the victim of an aerial attack.
Predators such as raptors and eagles will be hovering above, looking for rodents to eat. A squirrel will know this and travel where predators cannot see it.
It would help if you cut down any plants you do not want and control the growth of everything else. Having wide-open spaces in your yard will help to keep the squirrels away.
7. Use Plants They Hate
You can use several plants to repel squirrels from your yard. Some of them look great, too, so they can double up as something pleasing to look at!
The following plants will work to repel squirrels:
- Daffodils
- Hyacinth
- Geraniums
- Galanthus
Plant these flowers around your yard, concentrating on areas where you have noticed increased squirrel activity.
Is Having a Cat The Best Way To Scare Squirrels?
While a cat is a natural predator of squirrels, having one is not enough to keep squirrels away.
I know this because I have a cat, and I still get squirrels in my yard! Cats are great for keeping mice away, but they are not great at catching or repelling squirrels! At least, mine isn’t, but he is good at catching other rodents.
No doubt having a cat can help deter squirrels. After all, it is a natural predator! Squirrels seem to be a little braver than most other small rodents, so they do not seem to be scared of them!
I know why squirrels get into my yard, and it has everything to do with a large nut tree growing on the outskirts!
How Do I Stop Squirrels From Digging Up My Lawn?
You might consider covering parts of your lawn with netting or wire mesh to stop them from digging up your yard.
During the fall, a squirrel will go out and find tons of food. Once it has found food, it will bury the food in random areas in your yard. After a long winter, the squirrel will find these places and dig them back up again. With that in mind, you may only need to cover the lawn from fall through spring.
Also, if you have planted some flowers that repel squirrels, they are less likely to dig up your lawn.
Conclusion
If you want to know how to keep squirrels out of your yard, then the 7 tips on this page work!
As I said, some folks enjoy a yard visit from a squirrel, especially kids! Unfortunately, while they can bring joy, squirrels can also bring several deadly diseases.
For that reason, it is not a good idea to attract squirrels to your yard. In fact, it is a good idea to remove the things that attract squirrels.
I mentioned above that I have a cat and still get squirrels in my yard, but I know exactly why they like it! It is the huge nut tree I have growing on the outskirts of it! Every fall, I see many squirrels running up and down the tree grabbing nuts. I do not want to get rid of the nut tree, so it is something that I am used to. I have secured my house to ensure that a squirrel cannot get in!
Good luck!
