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Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas – Keep Squirrels out of The Yard!

Do you have a problem with squirrels?  If so, these natural squirrel repellent ideas may prove useful to you.

Dealing with squirrels has been an ongoing problem for me in one way or another for several years. 

If you read my blog often, you may remember reading about the squirrels in my vegetable garden a few years ago.

Suffice to say, it was a nightmare all around. I was at my wit’s end trying to keep them out of my home grown vegetables. Squirrel with an ear of corn and words reading keeping squirrels away.

Problems caused by squirrels in the garden

Animal lovers are charmed by the acrobatic maneuvers of squirrels and find them delightful.

But when a gardener walks out into their vegetable garden to find their corn in a mess and their tomatoes scattered over the ground with exactly one bite out of each, they are anything BUT charmed.

Squirrels are a constant source of frustration for any vegetable gardener and I, for one, am always looking for new, and natural, ways for keeping squirrels out of my garden.Red Squirrel on a bowl.

I am an organic gardener by nature, but when my 1000 foot vegetable garden was destroyed by squirrels two years ago, I was prepared to try anything and everything to get rid of them.

Even if you never see squirrels in your yard, there are lots of signs that they have been visiting your garden.

Look for shallow digging and holes around plants, small bites on vegetables (particularly tomatoes), seed heads that have been nibbled, whole plants that have disappeared (!), and digging evidence in your plant containers.

These are all signs that Mr. Squirrel has been paying you a visit and that it might be time to take action to control him.Red squirrel in a tree with a nut and words Natural Squirrel Repellents.

Keep squirrels away naturally with some very creative ideas. Dogs, cats, garlic, peppers and peppermint are all useful tools to rid your yard of squirrels. 🐿🌶😺🐶🐿  Share on X

Let’s look at some Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Keeping squirrels out of the garden is a challenge for sure, but these ideas should help.

Hot Pepper Plants and Cayenne PepperHot Pepper plant.

Hot peppers are the most often used ingredients in natural squirrel repellent remedies, it seems.  You can use them in a variety of ways:

  • Sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on the ground near the plants that seem to be attracting squirrels.
  • Sprinkle a light dusting of cayenne pepper right on the leaves of squirrel tempting plants. Low lying leaves are the most important ones to sprinkle.
  • Mix cayenne pepper and petroleum jelly and spread it on the stems of plants at the base. Also spread it on fences, poles and other solid things near plants that squirrels like.
  • Make a cayenne pepper spray to spray on the leaves of tempting plants. To do this, mix a small bottle of your favorite hot sauce with a gallon on water. Place in a spray bottle and use it directly on the leaves of the plants that the squirrels are going after.

Note:  all of these remedies will need to be reapplied periodically, especially after it rains.

Garlic Spraysgarlic cloves and whole heads of garlic.

Squirrels also dislike the smell and taste of garlic.  Make a concoction with chopped up garlic, water and vinegar.

Let the mixture sit for a few days to give the flavors a chance to combine well and spray it on fences, and stakes in your vegetable garden.

Apple Cider Vinegar Spray as a squirrel repellent

Apple cider vinegar spray in a bottle with a red top.

The acrid taste and smell of apple cider vinegar is a real turn off to squirrels. Use it as a spray on hard surfaces and fixtures in squirrel infested areas.

Note:  This spray is for use on hard surfaces, and it can be sprayed 100%. Don’t use it on plants since vinegar can kill plants.

How to Keep Squirrels away with Bulbs and Plants

Use bulbs as a way of keeping squirrels out of the garden.  Some plants that repel squirrels are beautiful to see, but many of them are actually unappealing to squirrels.

Allium, lily of the valley, daffodil and hyacinths in a collage.

There are some bulbs and plants that squirrels really avoid due to their taste and smell.  Planting this type of bulb near your vegetable garden can do a good job of keeping the squirrels away.

A few ideas for squirrel repelling bulbs are daffodils, hyacinths, allium, lily of the valley, peppermint and geranium.

Squirrels aren’t the only thing that plants will repel. Lots of plants are great at repelling insects. See my list of mosquito repelling plants here.

Peppermint Essential Oil is a Natural Squirrel RepellentBottles of peppermint essential oil in a row.

Squirrels don’t like the strong scent of peppermint. In the same way that a live peppermint plant will deter them, peppermint essential oils also can be used.

Soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them here and there on jar lids around plants in your garden that the squirrels like. The baits will need to be re-soaked periodically.

You can also make a peppermint essential oil spray with the ratio of one drop of peppermint essential oil to one ounce of vinegar and use it to spray on hard surfaces in the garden.

Peppermint essential oil can also be combined with other oils to make an effective homemade mosquito repellent spray.

Squirrel repellent ideas on a peach colored background with squirrels, dog, daffodil, peppers and bottle of peppermint oil.

Other Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

If the remedies don’t work at keeping squirrels out of the garden, then it might be time for some more drastic measures. Here are some other ideas for what repels squirrels.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels by scaring them

Metal scarecrow with light sensors to keep the squirrels away.

Motion detecting lights, scarecrows, high-frequency sound machines, owl decoys, and other tools are used to scare squirrels. Some friends of mine have a huge farm property and Randy has a vegetable garden which gives her prizes every year at the State Fair.

When I visited recently, I asked Randy how she keeps the squirrels away from it and she said it was this amazing sculpture that she had made.

The sculpture is huge, has solar lights that come on at night, as well as motion detectors, and does a great job of keeping the squirrels away from it.

How to repel squirrels Using Cats and Dogs Black German Shepherd sitting on a lawn.

The last few dogs that we had love to chase squirrels and this is one behavior that I don’t discourage.  

If you have a dog or cat in your yard that chases the squirrels every time they visit, it is unlikely that you will have much of a squirrel problem.

Not all dogs deter squirrels. When I had my squirrel invasion, the dogs I had then had no interest in the squirrels! Other times (and other dogs) proved just the opposite!

Squirrel Traps

Sometimes the answer to a squirrel problem is simply to trap them and remove them to another location.

Note: Be sure to check the rules about relocating in your area.  Some regions prohibit this action by law.

Squirrel trap in garden near some iris leaves.

Place sunflower seeds, small pieces of corn on the cob or other threats that squirrels like in a squirrel trap. Place the trap near the area where you know the squirrels visit.

Once the squirrel gets trapped, release it in some far away place (or they will just return if you release near your home!)

Remove things that attract squirrels

You may be unknowingly attracting squirrels in your attempt to bring other wildlife into the garden. The bird seed that the birds love is also a favorite food of squirrels.Bird and bird feeder willed with seed.

Place bird feeders away from your vegetable garden area if possible, and be sure to clean up around them.  The smell of seeds and bits of fruit can really be attractive to squirrels.

Also, make sure that your garbage bins are closed to keep temptation away.  There is no sense in sending out a welcome mat if you want to keep squirrels at bay!

Give them an alternative food choice

This may seem like an oxymoron, but sometimes giving the squirrels their own food supply can be the answer.Squirrel feeding station with a red squirrel.

If you have tried everything to keep squirrels away and they still keep returning to your garden, try setting up a distraction station somewhere in your yard that is some distance away from your veggies.

Set up a food station with squirrel tempting treats like sunflower seeds, nuts and other treats. This will attract the squirrels away from your vegetables and to other areas of the yard.

Just be sure the station is positioned well away from your edible vegetables. Don’t forget to keep water here too.  My entire crop of tomatoes each had one bite out of them and I am sure the squirrels were mainly thirsty that day.

Cages for Vegetables are natural squirrel repellents

Squirrels love vegetables, in particular corn. (My squirrel problem was never a problem until I decided to plant corn in the vegetable garden.)

If all else fails, cages may be your only option.

Garden with cage for protection from squirrels and other animals.

One of the best natural squirrel repellent ideas is simply to keep them out! The squirrels cannot eat when they can’t get into the vegetable area.  Think about making tall wire cages.

Be sure the garden beds have tops (bird netting works well) as well as sides, or the squirrels will just climb up and in. Row covers also work for smaller veggies.

A note on Predators.

Both hawks and owls love to prey on squirrels.  My husband is convinced that our squirrel population is so much higher because wooded land near by has been built up with houses and the owls are less plentiful.Grey Owl in a tree.

Find out what you can about attracting owls and hawks to the area to see if this helps.

If you don’t have live owls living nearby, think about investing in some owl decoys. They are designed to scare away squirrels and other rodents.

Have you found other natural methods effective at keeping squirrels out of your garden? Share your natural squirrel repellent in the comments below!

Pin this post on Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Would you like a reminder of this post for keeping squirrels out of your garden?  Just pin this image to one of your gardening boards on Pinterest. You can also watch the video on YouTube later, as well.

Red squirrel, hot peppers, peppermint oil bottles in a collage with words reading natural squirrel repellents.

Admin Note: This post first appeared on the blog in April of 2017. I have updated the post with additional tips, more photos, a printable check list and a video for you to enjoy.

Yield: Ideas to Keep Squirrels out of Your Yard!

Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Squirrel in the garden

There are lots of ways to keep squirrels out of your yard. This handy check list will help you plan for a squirrel free garden this year.

Active Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Difficulty easy
Estimated Cost $10 - $50

Materials

  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Peppermint Essential Oils
  • Squirrel Cages
  • Motion Detectors
  • Vegetable Cages

Tools

  • Print out the check list below to help plan for dealing with squirrels this year.

Instructions

NATURAL SQUIRREL REPELLENT IDEAS

  1. Hot pepper plants
  2. Cayenne pepper on the leaves of plants.
  3. Peppermint essential oil on cotton balls in the garden
  4. Garlic and vinegar spray (hard surfaces)
  5. Apple cider vinegar spray (hard surfaces)
  6. Motion detector lights
  7. Large statues in the garden
  8. High Frequency sound machines
  9. Cats and Dogs will keep squirrels away
  10. Squirrel traps to trap and move squirrels
  11. Move bird feeders away from vegetable garden
  12. Keep garbage bins away too
  13. Set up a squirrel feeding station for their own food supply
  14. Grow vegetables in cages.
  15. Plant bulbs that deter squirrels such as daffodils, hyacinths, allium, garlic, lily of the valley, peppermint and geraniums.

Notes

Set your printer to "fit to page" and print out this chart on heavy card stock

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Barry

Friday 14th of April 2023

I must have had squirrels from South of the Border then because they ate my jalapeno plants...and the cayenne pepper spray didn't work either.

Hope

Monday 1st of August 2022

Thanks for the extensive info. Unfortunately, I have tried 75% of these suggestions to no avail🤬Put apple cider vinegar all over my banana trees and they seemed to like it! I just marinated it for them🤣 These squirrels are eating EVERYRHING this year! Banana tree shoots, canas flower shoots, crepe myrtle flower buds, and don't get me started on my garden! Have a few things you mentioned I'm going to try! Wish me luck🤞

Carol Speake

Monday 1st of August 2022

Good luck Hope. Squirrels are a real problem in gardens for me too.

Margo

Friday 13th of May 2022

First, your husband is correct on the housing. We are in the middle of a development boom, in our "used to be" small town. They are cutting down thousands of acres, by the day.

The owls have left us, we used to have a family here. The hawks have left us. We even had a eagle, and I don't see it anymore. What we do have is 100 squirrels that are beating me.

They don't like the smell of garlic- Fl squirrels do! They have dug up and ate all of mine. I had 30 tomatoes on one plant- gone. It's not their fault the developers are destroying their homes. My heart is sad for them, and angry that they took out my corn- again.

Chicken wire is no match for them either. Hot peppers? Tasty morsels for these guys. They have learned, and fast how to get past the deterrents. Moth balls? HA! The cover them up. They have gone into survival mode and our gardens are their grocery store. When I say survival mode- I sat and watched a squirrel beat the tar out of a hawk, and the hawk fled! That is where we are.

I'm not going to shoot them, and was told that it would be useless anyway. You get rid of one batch, it leaves room for others that are searching for a home, to move in. Frankly, I have 2 options. Live with it and pray they leave something, of quit gardening. Neither seems like a good idea to me. All I know now, these money hungry people here in Fl are destroying this place!

Stephen Thomas

Thursday 7th of April 2022

I set food out for the birds that has nested close to the house. I got Brat that wants to help himself. The ideas that you listed. it won't hurt the birds, will it?

Carol Speake

Sunday 10th of April 2022

Most of the remedies are fine around birds, although peppermint oil can cause respiratory illness to some birds.

Judith

Sunday 20th of February 2022

Squirrels were eating wires on cars and gas lines. Chewing up the eves, crawling in an nesting. I blend, boil, strain and can in quart jar a habanero base for a spray that then i mix in sprayer includes peppermint, Irish Spring made liquid and a tea spoons oil all mixed as a concentration for my home made spray. I spray inside hood. I keep water out in summer so they wont chew on gas line or garden plants. I use hot red pepper on tomato plants. I put a little insulated dog like house with straw and two small entry/exit. way in back. I bring treats all winter. As distractions and TOYS.collected walnuts, corn and the hard round squirrel chew sold.( i cover with a vitamin water with cut ends, so the plastic covers most the chew. Stick a wire through and hang in or out of house. They have to work to chew. I use old vitamin water plastic jars. add a little corn, and a cut a hole so just a few corns fall out. So they have to work. Make Other Vit water bottles with TBS of cheep peanut butter. Slice the bottom so they can get their foot in and have to chew and work for the peanut butter. So Distractions, warm house so they have somewhere besides warm car engine in winter. and they need water.

I have to remove figs on tree before they get them. I cleared away many bushes. Removed all bird feeders to way back or not at all. I used steel wool mixed in blobs of calk patching holes in eaves where they were chewing into edge under eaves of house. No car repairs as often. and come spring i bet they attempt a new hole in eaves of house.

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