Many people think the grey squirrel is an attractive little animal and often they try to encourage them to visit their gardens.

The trouble is grey Squirrels are destructive little fellows and they have a tendency to chew everything and anything that gets in their way. So be warned if you encourage squirrels to visit your garden you run the risk of damage, another favourite pastime of squirrels is to try and get into house roofs were they while away the hours chewing through electric cables.

Ways to Deter Grey Squirrels

Deterring the grey squirrel from stealing all your bird food is going to be challenging as they are highly intelligent animals but you could also see this as a fun pastime, a kind of game maybe?

Try to place bird feeders at least 8 feet from any vegetation such as trees were they squirrel could jump from.

Have a look at squirrel proof feeders which either have a built in design that makes life difficult for the squirrel, things like upturned plastic cones as these prevent the squirrel from climbing up the pole to the bird feeder. A quick fix would be to grease the pole, this may stop some squirrels from climbing the pole, well worth a try if you have some grease lying around in the shed or garage at home.

Cages around the bird feeder often work well as they allow small birds in or larger birds can access food with their beaks, squirrels either can’t get in or their escape route is awkward and thus they feel trapped so tend to look for easier pickings. Always ensure though you buy metal feeders as the plastic ones can get gnawed through by squirrels.

Squirrel Deterrent Devises

There are of course alternative methods of deterring squirrels from your house or garden, popular ones would include an ultra-sonic or sonic device to repel the pests or live squirrel traps, humane spring loaded trap door cages made from galvanised steel to prevent rusting, these cages can be used outside or in your loft space. Bear in mind what would you do with the squirrels you might capture.

Feeding the Grey Squirrel

Feel like you’re fighting a losing battle trying to prevent the grey squirrel from eating all your expensive wild bird food, well why not change tact and invest in a special squirrel feeder for your garden, these special squirrel feeders can be loaded up with cheaper seeds, the little blighters are then less likely to eat your more expensive bird food or destroy your bird feeders in the process.