Squirrel catapult eating bird seed3/6/2024 ![]() Slowly approach the squirrel with the blanket held in front of your body, so that they don’t see a human form.(Relocating them further is inhumane.) If obtaining a trap isn’t an option, try this method: If there is no possible exit, set a humane trap baited with peanut butter on the floor near the squirrel and leave them alone for a few hours, then release the trapped squirrel outside. (They can jump from a second-story window onto a lawn without harming themselves, but don’t let them jump onto concrete.) Leave the squirrel alone, so they can find their way out. Close all interior doors and open a window or exterior door in the room. What should I do if there’s a squirrel loose in my house?Ī squirrel who has entered a house is there by accident and will be desperate to get out. Wood decks and furniture: If squirrels are gnawing on deck railings or wooden lawn furniture, try capsaicin-based repellents or lightly rubbing the exposed surfaces with a bar of soap.Just consider it free aeration for your lawn! Any "damage" they create is likely to be so slight that tolerance and time are all you need. Lawns: Squirrels bury or cache their winter food supply and rely on their incredible sense of smell to relocate their buried treasure.Lay chicken wire over the planting bed or use wire bulb cages. For other bulbs, soak them in a repellent with Thiram as the active ingredient (and labeled for use as a squirrel repellent) before planting. Flower bulbs: Squirrels will dig up and eat tulip and crocus bulbs, but they don't like daffodils, so consider investing your bulb-planting energies in daffodils.Use trunk baffles only during the short time fruit is ripe to avoid damaging the tree’s trunk. Trees: Protect dwarf or semi-dwarf fruit and nut trees by netting the entire tree for the short period when squirrel damage is most likely protect individual clusters of fruit using individual net or paper bags sold as “fruit protection bags.” For taller trees, many orchardists use sheet metal or even pie plate baffles taped to the trunk of each tree.You can’t and shouldn’t get rid of squirrels in your yard, but you can try to thwart them using these methods for common squirrel-related yard complaints: How can I get rid of squirrels in my yard? (Try kinder methods first.)Ī word of caution: “Solutions” that stick to or shock squirrels are cruel and may also harm birds. ![]() Capsaicin-covered seed, which irritates squirrels’ mouths but doesn’t affect birds, mixed with your usual seed.White proso millet seed, which mourning doves and house finches prefer.Nyjer thistle, which nourishes goldfinches and others of their kind.Safflower seed, which attracts species such as cardinals, chickadees and titmice.However, some squirrels figure out that they can just launch themselves at baffles, bounce off and eat the resulting seeds that are spilled on the ground, so you can also try offering bird seed that squirrels don’t like, such as: Hang your feeder on the wire between bottles.Puncture a hole in the bottom of three or four clean, empty 1 liter soda bottles.Attach each end of a wire to trees or posts.Here’s how to make a homemade, squirrel-deterring bird feeder: You can also suspend the feeder from a horizontal wire strung with homemade bottle baffles. ![]() When they try to push their past the baffle, it rotates, dumping them onto the ground. If squirrels are taking more than their share, try using a feeder with an external cage that prevents squirrels and larger birds from getting at the food or a feeder with large plastic dome called a “baffle.” The squirrel tries to climb onto the feeder and encounters the baffle, which blocks their access. Where possible, a little seed for squirrels and more for the birds is a good compromise.
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