Remember the 90s kid movies where the most innocent-looking child would turn out to be mischievous?
Well, ground squirrels have quite similar resemblance with those kids from the movies. These rodents may look cute and innocent, but when these little balls of fur are in action, digging your garden ground, leaving the trails of grass around the area, and welcoming dirt in your garden, they can grow from cute to nuisance.
These wreaking balls also are health hazards. They usually carry fleas which may transmit to other animals and humans and cause another pandemic. (God Forbid!)
While ground squirrels rarely enter buildings or build nests in them, they do reside in colonies and can be drawn to human resources such as food, shelter, and water.
Who Are These Little Monsters?
Ground squirrels are from the rodent family tree, which are small, chewing mammals that many predators rely on for food.
They all dig burrows to dwell in and retreat to for safety, but when the temperature is temperate, they spend days foraging and sunning on the surface. These small critters are built for digging in the earth.
The squirrels have strong claws and short ears that are positioned lower on their heads than tree squirrels. The round-tailed squirrel has short, smooth fur as well.
Fungi, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, eggs, insects, mice, rats, and other small critters are all devoured by ground squirrels.
Meanwhile, humans, birds of prey, wild cats, foxes, and snakes are all predators of them.
Why Are They Called Ground Squirrels?
Ground squirrels get their name from the fact that they live in burrows in the soil and ground. They have been known to become farm pests in the past. Ground squirrels have been seen at elevations ranging from sea level to 13,123 feet.
How to Know About Their Invasion?
When they invade your territory, they will leave signs for sure to identify their presence.
- Tiny Holes – Ground squirrels dig open, exposed tunnels with discarded dirt piles surrounding the entrance. These holes usually appear near the base of trees or in the vicinity of your garden plants.
- Plants were destroyed – Ground squirrels may be to blame if the tops of your vegetables have vanished or the fruit has been brutally bitten off your plants. Seedlings and some ornamental plants are also eaten by them.
- Ragged Grass – Ground squirrels may do a lot of harm to your yard, and their grazing can easily develop bald spots.
- See for yourself – It’s a solid sign you have ground squirrels on your property if you spot them or if your domestic pets start bringing you dead squirrels.
- Marks for chewing – Ground squirrels could be to blame if you’ve seen gnaw or chew marks on your sprinkler heads, wood furniture, or anywhere else.
- Strange noises – Have you heard unusual squeaking or scratching noises coming from your backyard? It might be ground squirrels excavating burrows or moving around.
Eliminate Ground Squirrels
- Fencing
Garden and flower bed fencing is a type of so-called exclusion technique. Hardware cloth or sheet metal may be used for fencing. It should be around eighteen inches tall and six inches deep in the ground. It should also encircle the place, which must be well-protected. It benefits people who figure out how to stop squirrels from digging. The one minus is the fact this technique is pricey and operates simply in tiny areas.
- Fumigation
Pest technicians are usually in charge of fumigation. This is due to the fact that it is primarily a professional application. For ground squirrel control, solid fumigants should be utilized.
All burrow points must be constructed for this to work. The tough fumigants are then thrown into the holes. Ground squirrels will be extinct in no time.
Ground squirrels are not active at night. This means that they spend the majority of their time working throughout the day. Because the program is completed at night, this can make it a lot easier to fumigate.
You might also like: How to Get Rid of Ants in the Garden
- Baits
Ground Squirrel Bait is made out of the active component diphacinone, which is an anticoagulant. The element is designed to keep ground squirrels in check by providing them with a tasty treat. This is significant because it encourages ground squirrels to consume the bait immediately rather than storing it in the burrow.
Caution – These baits are harmful to other animals and humans, which is why they must be kept in bait stations or boxes. The can usually weighs 5 pounds and should have a tightly secured lid, so that it is difficult for toddlers to open.
- Gasoline infusion
Inducing gasoline into the soil is another method for eradicating ground squirrels in the backyard garden. The amount of petrol released into the soil is determined by the trash’s flexibility and structure. The land squirrels in the tunnels are suffocated after the gasoline is injected into the earth. Meanwhile, the rodents emerge from their burrow into the gasoline-soaked burrows.
Smoke bombs can also be used to put the ground squirrels to sleep. The gas that is released by these explosives is thrown into the tunnels, killing the furry monster instantly.
- Invest in a squirrel trap.
Squirrels can be captured using live capture traps. To lure the squirrel, place squirrel bait such as pretzels, peanut butter, acorns, birdseed, or other appealing food sources inside the live trap.
You can relocate the squirrel 10 to 15 minutes away from your home once they’ve been caught. Please look at your local laws and regulations before trapping squirrels, though, as some areas do not allow the trapping of wild animals.
Home Remedies to Get Rid of Ground Squirrels
There are a few tools you can use to eliminate the vermin outside. Most of these may be present in and around your cost or home with very little time or perhaps cash expenditure on your part.
- Plants with a strong mint flavor
People enjoy minty odors, but ground squirrels distaste and abhor them. You can take advantage of this situation by including these plants in your landscape.
The fragrance of certain plants, such as castor bean, crown imperial, and narcissus, repels ground squirrels. To keep ground squirrels out of your outdoor living spaces, put these visually beautiful and mole-repellent plants throughout your yard.
- Fish
Another stinky option is to collect leftover fish scraps and bones to scatter around the yard to keep gophers and ground squirrels at bay.
- To Get Rid of ground squirrels, Use Pepper Spray
Deterrent pepper spray can be purchased at a local gardening or hardware store, but it’s also easy to manufacture at home using a simple method. Pepper spray will keep animals away from your garden but will have no effect on the edible veggies, lettuces, fruits, or roots.
To deter squirrels from eating your garden, make a DIY mixture of water and cayenne pepper and spray it around and at the base of your plants. This solution will need to be reapplied, but it can be an effective way to keep ground squirrels out of your yard before they cause damage.
- Employ ultrasonic sound repellents
Ground squirrels are irritated by high-pitched frequencies, so utilizing an ultrasonic sound repellent is a fantastic way to keep them out of your yard. Please bear in mind that this repellent can irritate our dogs, who can hear the frequency despite the fact that people cannot.
- Castor oil solution
Combine 1/4 cup castor oil and two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle, then add a gallon of water and stir well. This can be sprayed anywhere in your yard where squirrels are known to congregate.
- Keep an eye on your garbage.
Rubbish cans should be sealed with a lid and trash should be placed in knotted bags. This is an effective pest control method for a variety of wildlife pests including ground squirrels.
- Water method.
Fill a hole with water and flood the ground squirrel’s home. Fill the gaps with mothballs, castor oil, pepper spray, or another type of deterrent once the moist rodents skitter over your fence and into some other, more dry locations.
- Ground squirrel repellent
Use a ground squirrel repellent that is based on predator urine and scents. If you wish to utilize them, you should buy them in a store. These repellents can be sprinkled or sprayed around the places you want to protect. When ground squirrels smell the urine of a feared predator, they swiftly decide not to return to that place
The three most common and conventional ways that ground squirrels are actually dealt with are fumigation, trapping, and baiting. But if the problem is not serious to that level, try some home method first.
Have a rodent-free life!
