How to Get Rid of Squirrels: Smart, Safe, and Lasting Solutions

Once squirrels enter your premises, they can become more than adorable animals of the woods and turn into a major nuisance, spoiling your house and garden to an unrecognisable extent. It is very important to understand how to get rid of squirrels in a manner that will have no adverse effects on them, prevention, exclusion, and humane methods of squirrel removal must occur comprehensively. This book gives established solutions that can enable American property owners to regain their land back to these ever-present rodents.

Why Getting Rid of Squirrels is Important

Squirrels have several dangerous impacts on your property and the safety of your family, which makes it necessary that you get rid of them. These seemingly innocent-looking animals have the capability of making a lot of structural mischief by chewing through the electrical wiring and resulting in creating a lot of fire hazards. They are the relentless gnawers due to their constantly growing teeth, which consequently causes them to chew through insulation, wooden pillars, and even plumbing pipes.

Squirrels can cause property damages that go beyond the confines of your house. They have a bad habit of chewing holes into siding, soffits and roof vents as a means of accessing homes, which leaves them exposed to weather and other creatures. Squirrels have been known to cause losses up to 20 to 80 acres when the big colonies take root in agricultural fields.

Another vital issue is health risks. The carriers present in squirrels include various bacteria, some of which carry disease or parasites such as rabies and leptospirosis, which are even transferable to humans and pets. Their excreta and urine stain the floors and lead to unhygienic conditions in your house. Squirrels also reproduce in a very high rate, making noise that is annoying to the annoyance of the occupants in the houses.

How Long Do Squirrels Live

Under the current knowledge on how long do squirrels live, homeowners can better plan to have long-term control methods. The average lifespan of the squirrels are five to 7 years. But sometimes there are many factors which can cause an early death to them. Eastern grey squirrels can live twelve years.

The life span of squirrels is also determined greatly by environmental pressure and predation. The average life span of Fox squirrels is 3 to 4 years, with the potential wild life of up to 6 to 7 years. According to the estimates, red squirrels die even more, with their average life lasting 5 years and the maximum wild lifespan reaching 9 years only. Depending on the living conditions, ground squirrels tend to live between 3 and 4 years, but they are capable of living to 6 years.

The death rate among squirrels is high, implying that every year an estimated minimum of half of the population is killed by predation, diseases, falls and human activities such as vehicle collisions. The life span of a squirrel is a very important question to the homeowner, as female squirrels can give birth to several litters in a year, and the number may range up to six juveniles per litter, depending on the species of the squirrels.

Types of Squirrels

The three major types of Squirrels in the United States are tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels. Under these headings, some of the species are widespread:

Tree Squirrels

Eastern grey squirrel: These are the most common and may be spotted all over the eastern part of the U.S and the midwestern part of the U.S as well. They can be accommodated both in the urban environment and in the suburbs, and they are grey with a bottom side of white in colour.
Western Grey Squirrel: This is the type of squirrel that has silvery-grey colour fur, favours oak and pine forests and inhabits the states of California, Oregon and Washington.
Fox Squirrel: The Biggest tree squirrel of America, an orange-brown squirrel. It comes in the east, central and the west states, at least in the open forest and woodlands.
Red Squirrel: These squirrels are small, energetic & less in number, with reddish fur, and they mostly live in the northern range in coniferous forests.
Black Squirrel: It was a different species, just a dark in colour (typically, but not necessarily of the eastern grey or fox squirrel) that contains more melanin, thus appearing black. The northern states had more of them.

Ground Squirrels

Thirteen-lined Ground squirrel: Thirteen white and brown striped small ones are common in prairies and grasslands of the central United States. Hibernates during winter and inhabits burrows.
Rock Squirrel: They are Gray-brown, with mottled, large fur, and lives arid, rocky places in the Southwestern U.S..
The other Ground Squirrels: The types which are in this is the California Ground Squirrel, the chipmunk.

Flying Squirrels

Northern Flying Squirrel: They are mostly found in northern part. Being active at night and gliding with the help of a membrane between the limbs.
Southern Flying Squirrels: Appear in the eastern U.S. They are small compare to others & nocturnal, also they can fly long distances.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels: Proven Strategies

So now to the point,how to get rid of squirrels. This is a step-by-step breakdown for you to use at once:

Remove Food and Nutrients

Keep your lawn free of fallen nuts, acorns and berries as this will make your yard less attractive to the squirrels.
Use lids on garbage cans, and no pet food should left out.

Natural Repellents

Apple Cider Vinegar and Jalapeño Pepper-Vinegar Sprays: Squirrels will stay away without killing your plants as the scent is very strong.
Cayenne Pepper: Put it around the garden bed or use the cayenne pepper on the bird seed to keep the squirrels away.
Safflower seeds: Put these in bird feeders; they do not taste good to squirrels.

Mechanical physical barriers

Fencing: Fence the gardens and the bulbs using a hardware cloth/wire mesh. heavy fences to 812in. deep.
Netting & Covers: It is possible to cover fruit trees and plots with the help of netting.
Mulch and Gravel: Squirrels do not like thick mulches, and they will not have an easy time digging through gravel.

Gallop and Terror

Motion-Activated Sprinklers: Send the obnoxious squirrels in the room a harmless wet surprise the moment they invade your room.
Squirrels will driven out of bright lights and noises in attics by Strobe Lights, and Radios.
Predator Scents: A product containing fox or coyote urine is also use to imitate what would have happened naturally; the animals are already fearful of these places, and the use of a substitute in the area will further make them fear it.

Humane Trapping and Relocation

Live Traps: Trade squirrel traps are use in catching wild animals without killing them; in addition, the animals lure using nuts or seeds. Before you move wildlife, always check, but the releasing of trapped squirrel, do so at least a few miles from your property.
Greenhouse or Caged Plantings: Enclose areas of vulnerable gardens by screening them further with mesh.

After attending to these measures holistically and on a steady basis, one can demonstrate how to eliminate a squirrel population in a humane but effective manner, without necessarily endangering your property or the natural balance around.

Conclusion

Having a squirrel infestation is a nightmare, and with the knowledge on how to get rid of squirrels, you get control back over your home and yard. Be it linking how long do squirrels live or identifying different squirrels, it is necessary to serve with information so as to have an informed action. The most effective method is a combination of implementing food sources management and deterrence, barriers and humane removal techniques. Just remember, squirrels do not give up, and neither should you.

To check out more professional advice on ways how to eliminate squirrels and keep your house safe and sound from other pests, go to saynopest, where you can find the right solutions on dealing with pests based on the American household.