The Sciurus Carolinensis, known to many as the grey squirrel, is the most common type of squirrel in most rural and woodland areas. It is also a bit common in some urban areas. The grey squirrel gets its name from its greyish color. While they may be very cute and fun to watch as the play about, grey squirrels are known to be very annoying and destructive pests. This is mainly because they are vegetarian in nature and, unlike other species of squirrels, they don’t hibernate meaning that they have to feed all year round. Their main diet is made of nuts, fruits, seeds, cereals, vegetables, berries, and bird eggs. Their diet make them a nuisance in rural and urban areas because the love raiding gardens and lawns where they eat up planted vegetables, flowers, seeds, seedlings and dig up holes everywhere.
Any garden owner with a grey squirrels problem in his/her garden would want to get rid of them as fast as possible. If you are one of such and wondering how to do it, the good news is that there are several very effective ways of stopping the squirrel invasion. It is however important to be aware of what attracts them to your garden apart from food. Grey squirrels like warm areas and places with trees such as sycamores and beech trees where they can form a shelter and storage plus where they can nest. With this knowledge, you are ready and can go ahead to get rid of them.
The most common ways to get rid of grey squirrels in a garden include; Using traps and cages, using pest repellents, and using physical deterrents. Some of these methods require the involvement of a pest control professional while others don’t. Using trappings is one of the easiest, cheapest and most humane way of dealing with a grey squirrel problem in your garden. Different kinds of squirrel traps are live traps, spring loaded traps, cages and funnel-shaped plastic collars. Traps are usually baited using foods that squirrels love in order to attract them into the trap after which they can be caught without causing harm to them. They can then be relocated or taken to a vet.
Pest repellents are of two main types, physical and chemical. Physical repellents are devices that are designed to produce powerful bursts of ultrasounds when they detect motion around the garden. This works by scaring the grey squirrels away. Chemical repellents on the other hand, produce a smell that makes the garden inhabitable for the squirrels. Physical squirrel deterrents are statues that scare the pests away, a good example being owl statues placed around the garden.
Grey squirrels can be a great nuisance because of their destructiveness, but if you’re armed with the right knowledge and tools, you can easily and completely get rid of them from your garden. However, if you are in doubt about how to handle the problem, it is always advisable to call in squirrel control professionals to do the job for you.