It is the nature of many animals to depend on others for food and, in return, harm them. Squirrels show the same behavior for the garden plants and destroy them.
Are Squirrels a Pest in the Garden? Squirrels are a pest in the garden because they harm the growth of grass, plants, and fruits. The formation of burrows and digging behavior to take out the nuts disturb the soil nutrients. In addition, using repellants, a safety net, and spraying predator’s urine can reduce the chances of its entry into the garden. You can use artificial food commodities and owl decoys to keep them away from the garden.
The gardeners face many issues because squirrels are bad for trees as they eat the newly grown leaves, and branches.
Why are squirrels considered a pest in the garden?
Many animals and birds take their food from plants and trees, which affects their growth. For example, squirrels are a pest to the gardens because they disturb the soil under the ground.
Moreover, it affects the growth of grass by removing all the essential nutrients.
Formation of burrows
Many rodents prefer to live underground or in high trees to avoid interaction with predators. Birds hide in their nest to stay away from ground predators.
These are the intelligent creature that works to store food for winter when a food shortage occurs. It hides the nuts in the ground and remembers the place to take them out in cold weather.
It hibernates in that area and sleeps there until the end of winter. Burrows do not allow the growth of plants in that area because digging the soil removes the plant from that area.
Consumption of vegetables
Many birds and pests do not keep the vegetables safe and disease free. Instead, they take the whole vegetable to eat or bite a little part from it.
It is not healthy to eat for humans because it may contain germs that carry infectious diseases. In addition, squirrels can harm vegetables by scratching them with claws and teeth.
It takes the fresh and fleshy vegetables from there and satisfies its hunger. So it likes to eat tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and corn.
It spoils the plants, and the gardener is always at a loss due to the activity of these animals.
Damage to flower beds
You can see flower beds in the garden, which are created by assembling many flower plants in a group. It increases the beauty of the lawn.
Moreover, the squirrels can hide their food under flower beds because they have soil under them.
It displaces the soil from the flower bed when it comes back to taking out the nuts by using its strong claws affecting their growth.
It can also eat the colorful flowers or nibble them away to taste. It likes fresh flowers and eats some parts of them as a food source.
Damage plant bulbs
Bulbs are the leftovers of the plant present underground at the end of the season. It is a simple method of storing energy, and the plant uses it in the next season, which is favorable for its growth.
They eat the plant bulbs when they dig the garden soil to find nuts. Therefore, it can utilize these bulbs in extreme hunger conditions because bulbs are not its favorite food.
The life period of the plant shortens when it does not leave them in the ground. Therefore, it does not regrow in the growing season because of its shortage.
How do you keep squirrels away from the garden?
You can save your garden by taking some precautionary measures which help remove the squirrels. The rotten fruits, flowers, and vegetables do not maintain a refreshing and peaceful environment.
Flowers, trees, plants, and vegetables are the primary elements of a garden. Therefore, you can control the pests that harm these things.
Spread repellants
You can use vinegar, cats’ and dogs’ hair, or peppermint oil that can help to keep them away from the orchid.
Moreover, you can spread red chili flakes on the ground to frustrate it, and it goes away.
In addition, you need to spray these repellants after watering the lawn or after rainfall. This is because its effect lowers when it comes in contact with the water.
You can grow chili plants there that help in protecting the other plants and trees.
You can spread it as a fertilizer on the ground because it does not like the smell of hen manure that contains ammonia.
Use net
It is not easy to control the squirrels’ entry into the garden and reduce the loss of plants and vegetables. Try to create a boundary of the net around your place where these food commodities are grown.
It can somehow lessen the chances of their entry, but it can nibble the net in most cases if it is of low-quality fabric or plastic wires.
You can use wire nets that are helpful for the protection of your garden. Moreover, you can cover the fruits and vegetables with a soft net to prevent damage.
Sprinkle artificial sunflower seeds
They like to consume sunflower seeds because of their taste and appearance. However, you can distract them by placing artificial sunflower seeds on the ground.
These seeds attract them, and it starts playing with them when it comes to know that they are not real. Finally, it can move away from the garden in frustration.
Many gardeners distract them by growing some favorite food in a separate corner from where they can take food to eat.
Spray predator urine
You can keep them away by sprinkling predator’s urine on the ground. It can sense this smell and run fast to save its life.
In addition, you can purchase this urine from the market where different animals’ urine is available. The urine of big animals is enough to scare small animals.
You can fix rotating sprinklers on the ground that keep the squirrels from digging soil.
Use plastic decoys
You can use many artificial owls and hawks that are available in the market to frighten the squirrels from entering the garden.
You can use resin-based owls and snakes in your garden to scare them. It gives a real look that is not present in plastic decoys.
It also contains light in the eyes and produces an owl’s voice which helps to scare squirrels and other rodents that can affect the plants and trees.
Moreover, you can hang plastic CDs and aluminum foil strips that show the reflection of the rodents and scare them.
You can spread this foil on the plants to keep flying birds away from your place.
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