How to Keep Squirrels Away - Squirrel Prevention Tips

This site is primarily about squirrels that get into the attic or some other part of the home, like the eaves, chimney, etc. In that case, prevention is very simple, straightforward, and effective. Simply inspect your house and find all the possible openings that serve as entry holes, and perform home repairs to shut these holes! Voila, no more squirrel problem! That's how you keep away squirrels permanently! If it's a matter of squirrels in your yard or garden or simply on your roof, then it's quite a bit harder. Squirrel repellent is a myth, and doesn't work. Except for super hot sauce. You can spray it on plants or on wood, and that can help deter squirrels from chewing. Other than that, squirrel trapping is a way to remove unwanted squirrels from the property.

How To Keep Squirrels Away – Squirrel Prevention Tips
You are unlikely to be able to keep all squirrels away from the exterior of your property, but you can definitely keep them out of your home itself. There are also plenty of effective methods for discouraging them from taking up residence on your property. Of course, in the case of preventing squirrels outside, you will need to focus your efforts on specific areas, such as your garden or a bird feeder as it is impossible to keep them out of your entire property without some impressive fencing.

Seal Any Potential Entrances
The absolute best method of keeping squirrels away is to make it impossible for them to get inside your home in the first place. To do this, you will need to do a thorough investigation and find every single gap in the siding, roof, or eaves or any other hole that squirrels could use to get inside your home. If there aren’t any holes for them to get in through, it is impossible for a squirrel to get into your house without gnawing and creating their own entrance, which they are unlikely to do. Secure any gaps that you find with sturdy materials, such as metal mesh or even steel. This way, squirrels and other wildlife can’t reopen them. During your inspection, pay particular attention to roof vents, ridge cap vents, dryer vents, gable vents, your chimney, and the area where your roof lines meet each other. Be sure to install a heavy steel chimney cap to Keep Squirrels Out Of A Chimney.

Clean Up Your Property
Most of the time when a squirrel decides to stay on your property, they will do so because you offer readily available food or shelter. Sealing up your home takes away most of the shelter options, but food may still be an issue. Look at your property from a squirrel’s perspective and get rid of anything that may appeal to them. If, for example, you have trees with nuts on your property, make a conscious effort to regularly clean up all of the fallen nuts; do the same with fruit trees as well. For those who are serious about keeping squirrels away and have a bird feeder, you may want to reconsider or at least opt for one that deters squirrels. The good news is that there are numerous bird feeders that make it significantly harder for the squirrels to get to the bird seed; some still will, but you will have much fewer squirrels on your property. Pay attention to other items on your property as well, such as the bowl of cat food you leave for your outdoor cat and make sure your garbage is secured.

Targeted Prevention On Wood Piles
Squirrels are a type of rodent which means that their teeth are constantly growing and they need to gnaw on items to keep them at a comfortable length. In addition to chewing on nuts, squirrels will also chew on wood to do this. They may also target your wood pile in search of nesting material or just to create a shelter. If you can’t surround your wood pile by fencing or keep it in an enclosed shed, you should be able to keep the squirrels away by spread extremely hot sauce on it. This will deter the squirrels as a single bite will make them regret their decision and move on. Just remember that there are a few key disadvantages of using hot sauce to deter wildlife, with the biggest being the fact that you will have to regularly reapply it so the smell and taste remains. After all, new squirrels will always come by your property and consider testing out the wood pile. Even if you have deterred dozens before, if the hot sauce wore off, a single new one may create damage.

What About Repellents?
You will notice that none of the above options mention repellents as a way to keep squirrels away. This is because there is not a single repellent for sale that will actually prevent these animals. They may rely on predator urine, mothballs, or other harsh chemicals and may be granules, liquids, or in another form. The common theme, however, is that they will waste your money and time. Even noise machines won’t work since squirrels will completely ignore them; there is even an FTC fraud warning for them.

Using Fencing
If you have a very specific area that you want to keep squirrels out of, you may be able to prevent them with fencing, but it will be a challenge. Remember that squirrels are some of the best jumpers and climbers in the wild. Because of this, you would need to create a completely enclosed structure that includes fences on the sides as well as fencing creating a roof. Essentially, if you want to keep a squirrel out of an area, you need to make sure it is completely enclosed.

How to prevent squirrels - outside is hard, and maybe trapping is the only option. But it's very easy to keep them away from your attic, by performing simple home repairs to seal shut open holes they can use to get in. Presumably you are visiting this website because you already have squirrels in your attic, but if they're just in your yard or garden, well, I actually don't have great advice for you other than trapping and removal. Just don't waste your time and money on ineffective repellent products.