Ways Squirrels Damage Your Garden

For most people, squirrels are a welcome sight in their garden. These animals are cute, and you may enjoy watching them run around. But what you have to understand is that squirrels often become an enormous nuisance. This is because squirrels damage many parts of your garden. In this article we will look at what areas this can include.

Squirrels looking for food can cause damage

The biggest problem with invading rodents like squirrels is that they can attack your bird feeder. This provides squirrels with an easy source of food, and they may actually chase birds away. They can also physically damage the bird feeder by gnawing on it, and they can bend the metal mesh out of shape. To a lesser extent, rats may also be attracted to your bird feeder.

If this is happening, then the best way to prevent it is by getting a baffle. This is basically a cone shaped attachment which fits over the pole of your bird feeder. This prevents squirrels from climbing up the pole and can be an effective rodent control method.

Squirrels damage bulbs as well. They do this because bulbs provide them with a tasty snack. This problem can be prevented with squirrel resistant bulbs. For example, many bulbs have poisonous sap which deters squirrels. These include Daffodils and Hyacinths. Squirrels may also dig in your flower beds. They do this when looking for food like earth worms and beetles. You may want to investigate gardeners’ tips for dealing with this.

Gnawing and digging squirrels can cause problems

Squirrels damage wooden structures as well, and they are especially dangerous in the roof. Like many rodents, squirrels have teeth that continuously grow. Because of this they need to gnaw on wood to keep their teeth filed down. This leads to squirrels gnawing on things like wooden decking and other wooden parts of your house. A good example of this is your roof, which can lead to costly damage. Squirrels may also strip the bark from trees. If this damage becomes too extensive it can actually kill the tree. This is a huge problem with grey squirrels, which are an invasive species in the UK.

Squirrels damage lawns as well with their digging. There’s not much you can do about this other than keeping squirrels out of your garden. So how can you do this? The best way is to simply remove sources of food. Start by squirrel-proofing your bird feeder). Also remove nuts, fruits, and seeds that have fallen. Something else you can do is keep your bins secured. Squirrels are often attracted by the food debris in your bins. You can also buy squirrel repellants. These contain essential oils that squirrels hate. Spray these repellants on your plants and squirrels should leave them alone.