I had squirrels in my loft after the squirrel family had gone out up I went with my chilli powder and put it round all the roof vent my roof is now vacant they moved house I keep renewing the chilli powder as we dont want them back not even for a holiday.
We have recently built a raised border which I have planted with various bulbs and have covered this with pond netting in order to protect them! I must admit having a cat does also act as a deterrent.
I've even tried wiring up my bird feeders with strong wire - twisted with pliers and the squirrel has still got through it! I used to get all my bulbs dug up in my pots and as mentioned before - the squirrels just calmly sit on our patio and no amount of shouting or banging windows would budge them. Then I read somewhere that grated soap on top of the pots would deter them AND it works - I've seen them come up to the pots and sniff and run! Hurray!
My squirrels seem to be a little bewildered.they have been burying cotswold chippings every where. Pots and borders are bad enough but in the lawn they are a real menace. Do you think they would benefit from therapy?
We, at the moment, don't have any squirrels but I have seen one or two at the end of the village. I have had them in previous gardens and hate them!! I'm also very pro our little red squirrel and wish there was more we could do to change the balance.
I did shock a lady I knew by informing her of the dire consequences of catching them as she went to buy a trap in our local agricultural shop. It is illegal to release non native species into the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the alternative is you have to kill them. Even the RSPCA cannot release them.
My defence at the moment is my little Jack Russell who chases them when she sees them on walks so they wouldn't stand a chance in the garden!!
You saw 3 squirrels on your lawn - we counted 7 last week! Two years running I thought it a good idea to plant pots of bulbs to place in gaps in the spring borders. Two years running the squirrels dug them up, ate them & planted peanuts in their place. This year I've got the pots in the greenhouse until they are ready to flower. Apparently its illegal to catch the squirrels and transport them to the woods. My lawn too is devastated by holes they've dug. Could be a shotgun if they keep on breeding like this!
We have a family of 5 who sprint around our garden every day, stealing entire seed feeders rather than just emptying them! Fat balls last about 5mins on the tree before they vanish!! They are extremely territorial, so must all be from the same family. I wonder if a fake squirrel would work, like the fake storks at the pond?
We also have a visiting rat this winter, quite fat and fluffy with a short tail. Oddly, he would only take pieces of bark from the play area and sneak them back to his hiding place! Totally ignored the peanuts in the tray!
When we had a dog in the past, we never saw rats or squirrels, as they could smell him I suppose. Perhaps if you own a dog, you could let him out every time he sees a squirrel so that they are chased away. They'll soon get the message. Also, I wonder if that cat-scat remedy of "lions droppings" would work for squirrels. I've no idea, but worth a try for fun!
the secret to dealing squirrels is first do not feed them since it just makes them lazy and well fed which just helps breed better thus increasing the population and causing more damage. Best thing to do with grey squirrel is to kill them at first sight and then eat them. If you used a none posionious method to do the deed.
Yep it was labour intensive but I made chicken wire cages for my bulbs. To do this I used chicken wire with small gaps. I made a tunnel and sewed the edges with garden wire. Popped the bulb and earth inside and bent the tops over, finishing off with a last bit of wire. I live in a forest, trust me, it works
I am having great problems with a family of friendly squirrels digging holes in my newly laid lawn. I will try the chilli option but will it burn/effect the lawn?
The foxes who liked to dig for the worms that would come to the surface after the lawn had had a good hosing have responded very well to a sonic type machine that emits very high frequency bleeps. However, it doesn't seem to remotely bother the squirrels...
Posts
I did shock a lady I knew by informing her of the dire consequences of catching them as she went to buy a trap in our local agricultural shop. It is illegal to release non native species into the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the alternative is you have to kill them. Even the RSPCA cannot release them.
My defence at the moment is my little Jack Russell who chases them when she sees them on walks so they wouldn't stand a chance in the garden!!
We also have a visiting rat this winter, quite fat and fluffy with a short tail. Oddly, he would only take pieces of bark from the play area and sneak them back to his hiding place! Totally ignored the peanuts in the tray!
When we had a dog in the past, we never saw rats or squirrels, as they could smell him I suppose. Perhaps if you own a dog, you could let him out every time he sees a squirrel so that they are chased away. They'll soon get the message.
Also, I wonder if that cat-scat remedy of "lions droppings" would work for squirrels. I've no idea, but worth a try for fun!
The foxes who liked to dig for the worms that would come to the surface after the lawn had had a good hosing have responded very well to a sonic type machine that emits very high frequency bleeps. However, it doesn't seem to remotely bother the squirrels...