Notice any holes in your garden? Any broken walnuts around trees? Any plump squirrels prancing from place to place? Those pesky squirrels are on a seasonal hunt to stock up on food for winter. Learn about their techniques for finding and hoarding food and what squirrel control techniques you can try to help prevent them from prancing into your place. 

Fall Squirrel Frenzy

If neighborhood squirrels seem to be a little more rambunctious this time of year, it’s because they’ve got a lot going on. 

First, they’re like kids in a candy store with the abundance of nuts, acorns, and seeds available this season. A high-fat nutty diet helps fuel them while the carbs boost their energy. They gather rations and hide them in tree hollows or around your yard and garden. Hence that new squirrel-sized hole around your bushes. Forgotten seeds tend to regenerate in the soil, so don’t be surprised if new tree sprouts appear in spring. 

Fall is also squirrel mating season. So not only are they going through hormonal changes, but they’re showing off to potential partners with different acrobatic displays. Squirrels that give birth in the fall increase the chances of their offspring surviving the winter. 

Squirrels are also territorial creatures and typically mark their area. They use their sense of smell to stake out each other’s food stash. Even with the abundance of food, raids happen. You don’t have to let it happen on your turf. 

Squirrel Control Techniques

So, if your yard is primed with seeds and shelter for squirrels to feast and nest, you could be dealing with an entire community of rambunctious pests. Given the opportunity, squirrels may also find a way to nest in the warmth of your shed, garage, or attic—especially if they find a quiet corner where they may be undetected. 

There are ways to help deter a squirrel from taking up residence in your yard. 

1. Various repellent products are on the market that claim to help keep squirrels away. 
2. You can lace your bird seed with red pepper flakes to make it less desirable.
3. You’ll want to make sure any openings in your shed, attic, or garage are sealed or sectioned off with wire mesh to keep pests out. 

But one of the most efficient ways to control any pest in any season is to call a professional service. Contact Cardinal Pest to evaluate your yard and home to put a pest control plan in place.