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For the past few weeks, we notice that the squirrels in the garden are feasting on everything just when the garden crops are ready for picking. The squirrels know just when the best time for eating is – right at harvest time.
Many people are looking for tips on how to get rid of squirrels in the garden. I’ve had to laugh out loud at some comments I read which show how totally exasperated people are due to these critters. The squirrels are decimating their hard work of putting in a vegetable garden only to have it destroyed at the peak season. (I know, that’s mean to laugh, isn’t it?) The squirrels are obviously watching and waiting and know just the right time to start munching down.
In spite of funny stories about these cute-looking furry guys with the big black eyes, there are some terrible experiences of squirrels gnawing wiring in vehicles causing expensive repairs. Squirrels will also invade homes and chew on wires causing fires, too. So, there’s a very serious side to this problem besides losing the battle of being able to enjoy your own fruits of your labor in the Fall.
In our neighborhood where the climate is very conducive to gardens and fruit trees, the squirrels here are very healthy little guys. They hop from yard to yard, tree to tree enjoying nuts, vegetable gardens with all sorts of plants, and loads of fruit trees of all kinds. There isn’t a season here where they are deprived as we hardly ever get snow or even much rain to make life hard for them.
So flourish they do. We often see many squirrels in our yard at the same time just having lots of fun chasing each other around a huge Redwood tree or along the fence. After playtime, it’s eating time when they chow down on whatever happens to be closest to them at the time.
I see that they love corn!
And I know they love squash!
There are commercial squirrel repellent products available that you can check out, too. Be sure to check that they are not harmful to any domestic animals that might get near it.
Of course, if you are fortunate enough to have a dog or cat in your family, they are excellent squirrel repellers. Squirrels are lots of fun for dogs and cats to chase while hardly ever really catching one. But they will be good protectors of your garden crop.
Be careful with putting out live traps – or any other kind of traps – to catch the squirrels in your yard. You may think that this is a humane way to catch and relocate these pests, but you can get yourself in serious trouble. In many States and counties, this would be against the Fish and Wildlife laws. Check this out in your local area to be sure you’re OK with this before taking this step.
A peculiarity of Nature is that squirrels have front teeth that constantly grow. They must eat and gnaw on things in order to keep their teeth from getting so huge that they wouldn’t be able to use them. Their teeth are incredibly strong and are capable of chewing through aluminum flashing on rooftops. As mentioned earlier, they chew through heavy wiring.
A good practice to keep the squirrels out of your garden is to remove all temptation that is easy-to-eat food in your yard. For instance, if you have nut trees, rake up any nuts that fall from the tree and keep the area clean. Same with fruit trees: rake up any fallen fruit that will have your squirrels’ names on them.
I have watched our squirrels run off with whole apples in their mouth as they scamper to the fence with their prize. We have to do a better job, too, with keeping the grounds as clear of food to minimize the problem of squirrels in the garden.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Page for more info.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my…
October 8, 2018
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