Squirrels are a nuisance. They get into the garbage and bird feeders. They build nests in the most irritating places in the garage, attic, and eaves. The biggest annoyance of all is when you get “cursed” when you walk in and out of your own home.
There are several ways to dissuade them:
- Attach a deflector or squirrel guard to the bird feeder posts.
- Make sure bird feeders are at least squirrel jumping distance from all trees and perches.
- Use metal trash cans and bird feeders instead of plastic that they can chew on.
- Use a spring-loaded perch bird feeder so it won’t pop open under the squirrel’s weight.
- Use live traps to move them to another area.
- Use squirrel repellants like chili powder, sprinkled red bell peppers, or cayenne pepper wherever you want them to stay away.
- Lay chicken wire over your flower beds (covered with a light layer of soil) to keep them from digging up the bulbs.
- Find the holes where they are entering and repair them.
This all works, I can tell you from experience. I can also tell you that when you try to keep them away from one area, they invade another area. One night I came home to find a dead squirrel in our bathroom. He crawled down the drainpipe thinking it was an interesting place to build a nest, swam to the toilet, and then panicked when he found the toilet seat down until he drowned. I still think of all the fun my dog and cat could have had if the seat was up, and my family still teases me for screaming like crazy when I found it!
You have to admire the little rodents.
- They can put a tortilla through a quarter-inch hole in a garbage bag and keep it in one piece.
- They know that the dog can’t chase them past the fence and the cat can’t get through the screen, so they can curse them all they want at a safe distance.
- They are incredible acrobats who will try anything and chew anything to get to food.
My clever husband came up with a plan to use his curiosity against them. He hung empty coffee cans in trees several feet apart (because squirrels are territorial) and put sunflower seeds to feed them.
It was then that we made the most amazing discovery. If you feed them, they will leave other areas alone! They didn’t even make nests in our garage anymore; instead, they made nests in the trees near the feeders.
Now I must warn you that you need a coffee can feeder for each squirrel unless you want to hear them fight all day when another squirrel enters their territory. Screaming squirrels confuse other animals and birds, it is a danger alarm and they stay away, defeating the purpose of feeding the birds.
We soon discovered that each squirrel had its own personality. A squirrel ate and the sunflower husks fell out of the can. Another grabbed a seed, ate on the edge of the coffee can with the back of the tree trunk so that he could observe its dominance while eating. Others preferred to hide inside or peek out from time to time like a soldier in a trench. We find squirrels even more entertaining than birds!
Talking about entertainment… squirrel feeders are a fun way for furry court jesters to work for dinner and “earn a living.”
- Place dried corn on the cob on the end of a spinning treadmill or arrow feeder and enjoy watching them try to eat it.
- Put an ear of corn on the end of a squirrel bungee.
- Place nuts or seeds in a squirrel snack box where they must open a lid to remove the food.
- Extend a wire or cord from tree to tree so they have to walk a tightrope to get to food.
- There are also cute corn cob feeders made to look like small picnic tables or adirondack chairs.
As they say, if you can’t beat them, join them. We found that feeding the squirrels not only kept them out of trouble, it entertained us as well. As an added bonus, the flying squirrels visited the feeders at night!
