How to keep squirrels out of your garden

Although grey squirrels are commonly found in gardens, red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are very rare and have become restricted to just a few areas of Britain. This decline is partly due to the superior adaptability of the greys (Sciurus carolinensis). Red squirrels seldom do much harm, though they can damage trees. The usually charming grey squirrel can sometimes be troublesome in houses and gardens.

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What damage do squirrels do?

In gardens, grey squirrels gnaw bark from trunks and boughs of trees. They can destroy so much bark that branches and even trunks are girdled and the tree or branch dies. Even if the tree is not killed, the damage can let wood-rotting fungi into the tree. Squirrels can also strip blossom buds from trees and shrubs in the spring. In autumn, they often eat newly planted bulbs. Fruit and nuts are taken too, especially strawberries, raspberries, walnuts and cobnuts. They are notorious raiders of bird-feeding equipment.

Are grey squirrels a serious pest?

They are usually only seriously destructive where gardens are near parks or woods. However, where they do misbehave, the local damage can be very serious. Often they are attracted to gardens by free meals in the form of food on bird tables, dustbins or food put out especially for them. More seriously, they move on from the garden to colonise loft spaces, where they nest in preference to their natural tree nests called dreys. Here they make lots of noise and often chew cables, timbers, roofing felt and pipes, with potentially disastrous consequences.

How do I stop squirrels stealing bird food?

You’ll need to use a squirrel-proof feeder that excludes them. You can make your own by enclosing a nut-filled feeder inside a pair of hanging baskets wired together. The mesh size should be less than 50mm.

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How do I keep squirrels out of a garden?

You can try protecting plants from squirrels. If fruit is being attacked, enclosing the plants in a wire-netting fruit cage can protect them (plastic is unlikely to deter squirrels for long). Use 25mm square or hexagonal mesh, and bury the edges at least 15cm deep. Aim to net before the fruit is ripe. Fortunately, squirrels are not great burrowers, so you don’t need to bury the edge of the wire very deeply. Wire netting can also be used to protect buried bulbs – a favourite meal of squirrels. You could try keeping the pots in a cold greenhouse or shed until the bulbs emerge. 

Protect tree stems with wire or spiral tree guards. Once they have developed a taste for these forbidden fruits, however, squirrels tend not to give up until they have found a way through the netting. They are also likely to find their way through netting designed to keep them out of lofts. The only way to solve the problem is to remove them.

What smell will keep squirrels away?

We trialled squirrel-repellent spray, which smells of cloves, but unfortunately the scent quickly faded and the squirrels soon ate our spring bulbs. We also tried covering the soil with coffee grounds as we'd heard they don't like the smell, but we got the same result as the squirrel-repellent spray and the squirrel quickly ate our bulbs. They're said not to like the scent of dog hair but we found that it blew away however we tried to secure it in place and the squirrels damaged our plants. Chilli powder did deter the squirrels but it needs ot be reapplied frequently as it washes away in the rain and we found magpies liked to eat it.

Do squirrels hibernate?

No, they don't hibernate. Instead they store food during the summer and autumn to access during the winter. They stay warm and dry in their nests (dreys).

Tell me more about squirrels

Grey squirrels were introduced into the UK from North America about 100 years ago and have largely displaced the native red squirrel, which is now only found in a few areas of coniferous woodland. They feed mainly on vegetable foods, such as nuts, fruit and seeds, but they sometimes raid birds’ nests. They are active only in daylight, living in areas where there are plenty of trees and open ground. They build nests high in trees. Here they produce two litters a year, in spring and summer. Each litter consists of three or four young.

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