Troublesome squirrels

Squirrels may look cute, but they still manage to cause a lot of trouble and damage around the house and garden. Trying to kill or relocate squirrels is not the answer as they produce a litter twice a year and more squirrels will move in to fill the void that has been created. The best thing you can do is to try and understand their habits and then try and get the better of them.

Squirrels teeth grow continuously so unfortunately they must chew at anything and everything to stop them from getting too long. They’ll gnaw at tree bark, wires, create holes to get indoors and once trapped in the house they’ll make another hole to escape. But they’ll be reluctant to nibble at something that doesn’t taste too good. Try hot peppery sauce sprayed onto plants and birdfeeders.

An electrified fence will teach squirrels that your garden is not their playground.

Via the trees is another entrance into your garden, so try placing a 2ft wide strip of metal around the trunk of the tree, it needs to be about 6ft above the ground and held together with springs so that it gives as the tree grows. Trimming back overhanging branches will also help.

If you’ve got squirrels in the loft, add a few mothballs into the equation and they’ll soon leave, when they’ve gone, remove the mothballs and patch up their holes with a heavy wire mesh.

If you’ve given up hope and are resorting to a live trap to capture your unwanted guests, then be sure to gain permission from the land owner before you release them elsewhere.