A dead squirrel in your yard can be problematic, as it can cause diseases and smell in this place. Finding a dead rodent in the garden is not a happy experience, and there can be various reasons for squirrels to die suddenly.
What To Do With a Dead Squirrel in My Garden? You can remove the dead squirrel from your garden by wearing gloves, using a long-handle shovel, burying it in the soil, putting it in a trash can, and calling animal services to take the dead animal from your house. It is better to call the squirrel rehabilitator center to take the baby squirrels and examine your place if you often find dead squirrels in your yard.
You should immediately take action when you find a dead rodent in the garden and take specific precautions before handling them because even a dead squirrel is not safe to touch.
How to safely remove a dead squirrel from the garden?
You can safely remove a squirrel that dies in your garden using the following methods and steps because there are many reasons for its death.
Wear gloves
These rodents carry different pests and diseases; therefore, it is not safe to touch them without wearing gloves because the chances of disease spread increase if you directly come in contact with dead or alive squirrels.
You can wear thick and specially designed gloves used to deal with wild animals before removing the rodent from your yard.
It is essential to wear gloves when dealing with dead animals because you do not know the reason for their death, and it can be fatal if you pick them up with bare hands.
Use a long-handled shovel
Use a long-handle shovel to pick up the rodent body if you want to bury the critter because it will minimize the chances of pests and diseases on your hands and body.
You can wear disposable protective gear and dispose of the clothes after removing them from your garden. The long-handle shovel can make it easy to pick and bury it in the soil or take it outside the house.
It can also keep an appropriate distance between you and the rodent, and you can handle the situation without worrying about germs and diseases.
Bury the dead squirrel in the yard
Burying dead squirrels is one of the common ways people use to deal with such situations. It is a more humane way to remove them from the yard.
Dig a small and shallow grave in your backyard and bury it in the grave at any corner of the yard or garden.
You can bury the rodent approximately 2-3 feet in the soil to allow decomposition and keep the garden surface free from pathogens and smells.
The natural decomposition process can take place in the soil, and the dead animals are consumed or broken down by microorganisms in the soil.
The decomposition brings nutrients for microorganisms when the weather conditions and soil bacteria are active.
The dead squirrels can decompose in two to three weeks if buried in soil, and the outside weather is hot because high temperature regulates the microorganism’s activity.
The chances of smell reduce if you dig a deeper grave for it, and easy because the squirrels are small rodents.
Put it in the trash can
You can put the squirrel’s body in a trash can if you do not want to dig a grave in your garden. It is better to put it in a thick plastic bag and seal it properly to prevent the pest and diseases from the trash can to the people who come in contact with it.
Use the long-handle shovel to put it in the plastic bag and tie it. Place the plastic bag in another thick plastic bag and tightly tie the open end.
Put this plastic bag in the trash can outside the house and wash your hands with a disinfectant to prevent germs on the hands.
According to the law in different states of America, it is acceptable only if the plastic bag is fully sealed and covered in one or two more bags before throwing in the trash can.
Call the animal control services
You can call animal control services if you find a dead squirrel in your garden because the professionals have better experience handling them.
However, animal control services do not work for collecting dead wild animals, but they help you contact the department that serves this purpose near your town.
You can also call the local Department of Sanitation to collect them, as they are experts in dealing with such situations and can safely take the wild animal out of your garden.
Can a dead squirrel cause diseases?
The dead squirrels cause diseases like living rodents because the germs and bacteria remain active after death. They can cause Hantavirus, plague, tularemia, rabies, and other fatal diseases after death if you leave their bodies in the garden or touch them without gloves.
Different pests, such as ticks, fleas, and mites, remain inside their fur and can infest the place because they can get on your clothes and hands.
F. tularensis germs can be found several weeks after their death because the disease germs remain active for a long time and can severely infect people.
The bacteria or germs can enter your body through the cuts and scratches you get when removing them from the garden.
Therefore, professionals recommend wearing thick gloves when removing or burying them in your yard or garden to avoid bacteria entering your body.
What to do with the baby squirrels if the mother squirrel dies?
A mother squirrel may die, leaving behind many babies, and many people do not know methods to deal with this situation.
Place the baby squirrels in a soft, comfortable, warm cage and feed them their favorite food. It is essential to keep the young rodent babies warm because they cannot survive the cold and die soon.
It is better to contact the squirrel rehabilitation center or the local animal services department because they can help the young little rodents to raise well and let them live their lives in the wild.
You can also take the squirrel babies to the nearby vet, which helps you to contact the animal services department near your town without much effort.
What to do if you keep finding dead squirrels in your garden?
There are many reasons why you keep finding dead squirrels in your garden.
It is possible that the rodents get some virus and they are dying because of this virus, or someone in your neighborhood may be poisoning the rodents.
Call the Department of Environmental Conservation or the squirrel rehabilitator center if you often find dead squirrels in your yard, as they have experts to find the reason behind this problem.
However, it is not legal to poison rodents because the poison can cause damage to other pets or kids playing in the garden.
You can contact the authorities if you find someone in the neighborhood is poisoning the rodents, and they will take immediate action to stop this.
Things to consider when handling a dead squirrel
Consider these things when handling a dead squirrel, such as keeping the pets and kids away from the yard where you find the dead squirrels because the pets are more prone to get pests from them.
Disinfect the area after removing the carcass from the garden using a solution of bleach and water. Mix diluted bleach with water and pour it around where the rodent died.
Take your dog to a veteran doctor if the dog picks up the dead squirrel because the disease can spread indirectly from the dog to you and your kids.
Do not leave the carcass for a long time in your yard because it can attract flies, pets, and other insects to this place and damage the property or enter the house.
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