Squirrels are very common small animals that many people see out in their yards. It’s very possible that you might find multiple squirrels near your property at any given point in time because of how ubiquitous they are in many areas.
The problem with squirrels is that they can wind up messing with things in your yard. Sometimes they’ll eat certain things off of your plants, and some people have even had squirrels chew on their patio furniture while they were away.
Squirrels are generally smart enough not to get near patios when humans are close, but you aren’t going to be able to watch your patio like a hawk all the time. If you’ve spent a pretty penny on nice patio furniture, then you almost surely don’t want the furniture to be ruined by squirrels.
Is there anything that can be done to protect your patio furniture from squirrels? Read on to get important information that can help you to keep squirrels away from your patio reliably.
Why Squirrels Are So Harmful
If you have yet to have squirrels damage your patio furniture, then you might not quite understand what all the fuss is about. Squirrels are tiny and some might even find them to be cute, but that doesn’t mean that you should underestimate the damage that they can cause.
The reason why squirrels will mess with patio furniture has to do with needing materials to build nests. If they can’t find the materials that they need in the wild, then they’ll turn to ripping up your cushions and taking other bits off of your patio furniture.
Squirrels have the potential to ruin your patio furniture pretty fast. They can chew up the patio furniture so that it looks nasty and you won’t want to use it any longer.
To add to that, squirrels can also carry many different types of diseases. Squirrels have been known to be carriers of salmonella, rabies, leptospirosis, tularemia, and more.
The thing to understand here is that squirrels pose a threat and you don’t want them to get near your house. You don’t need to fear squirrels, but you shouldn’t encourage them to get close either.
Protecting your patio furniture will help you to keep from wasting your hard-earned money. It’ll also ensure that they won’t get too close to the areas of the yard that you’re going to be using regularly.
1 – Get Rid of Stuff That Attracts Squirrels
Doing the most practical stuff first will be a good idea. You can remove the things from your yard that make it attractive to squirrels.
For example, you should try to make it so that your garden doesn’t have a lot of things that squirrels will want to eat. Otherwise, you should install cages that can protect your garden from squirrels.
Planting mint can help to keep squirrels away as well, and this might be a good idea to plant some near your patio. Squirrels don’t like the scent, and they might steer clear of your patio if you plant mint around the area.
Ensure that you clean up all of your trash so that squirrels won’t have things to forage through. Securing your trash cans will make it so that they can’t get in, and that’ll help to make your yard less attractive to squirrels and other pests such as raccoons.
You’ll also want to think about eliminating any bird feeders in your yard. At the very least, you should build bird feeders that squirrels can’t access so that it won’t become a huge problem.
You might need to pick up after the birds as well because birds will drop seeds on the ground when using feeders. Squirrels could come into the yard wanting to pick up the dropped seed if you aren’t mindful of this.
2 – Repellent Sprays
Squirrel repellent sprays will likely come in handy when you’re trying to get rid of squirrels. You can buy sprays that have been specially formulated to keep squirrels at bay.
Buy a squirrel spray that has good customer reviews so that you can be sure it works well. When you have the spray, you’re just going to want to spray it around your patio.
This spray should keep squirrels away from the patio and your patio furniture for a decent amount of time. Rainfall might wash the spray away, and this means that you will need to reapply the squirrel repellent every so often to continue to enjoy the benefits.
3 – Predator Urine
Predator urine is something that can scare squirrels for obvious reasons. Squirrels have evolved to understand the scent of natural predators, and when they smell the urine of predators, it’ll make them wary.
Urine from coyotes or foxes will work wonders when you’re trying to scare squirrels off. You could spray this in the yard somewhere close to the patio to keep the squirrels from coming around.
Admittedly, it isn’t always pleasant to work with predator urine like this, but it does work well. You can buy products that contain predator urine at online retailers, department stores, garden centers, and some home improvement stores.
4 – Apple Cider Vinegar
Making an apple cider vinegar spray is going to be a solid idea, too. This will likely be substantially more pleasant than working with predator urine products.
Squirrels and many other small animals will be repulsed by the powerful scent of apple cider vinegar. You could soak rags in apple cider vinegar and then place them at specific points on or near your patio.
Overall, this works a lot better than you might think it would. It’s an inexpensive and simple way to keep squirrels off of your patio.
5 – Ultrasound Repellent Devices
Ultrasound repellent devices are becoming more and more common these days. You can use devices like this to keep all sorts of animals from getting near certain parts of your yard.
Essentially, these devices will use ultrasonic sounds that cannot be heard by humans. The sounds will be either annoying or frightening to squirrels so that they won’t want to get too close to the devices.
You can place the ultrasonic devices near your patio so that squirrels will stay away from your patio furniture. These devices are often solar-powered, and this means that they will remain charged and active so long as they get a few hours of sunlight each day.
6 – Let Your Dog Help
Dogs can do a good job of scaring off squirrels and many other types of animals in the area. If you let your dog hang out on the patio for a good chunk of the day, then squirrels won’t be as likely to come around.
The only downside to doing this is that your dog will likely make a lot of noise barking at squirrels. Dogs do love to chase squirrels and other small animals, though.
It’s also true that most people won’t want to leave their dogs outdoors at all times. Even so, this could be one thing that you could do to help keep squirrels from ruining your patio furniture.
7 – Predator Decoys
Predator decoys can scare the squirrels just as well as your dog sometimes. You can buy things that look just like hawks, owls, and other types of predators that are known to kill and eat squirrels.
When squirrels see the outline of these creatures, they’re going to run in the other direction. Their natural instincts tell them to keep away from potential threats like this.
The only big issue here is that squirrels will likely figure out that it’s just a decoy after several weeks have passed. This is why some people rotate several different decoys to keep the squirrels guessing.
8 – Motion-Activated Sprinklers
Motion-activated sprinklers (like this one) can do a very good job of getting rid of squirrels if you’re willing to set things up. These sprinklers will start spraying water whenever anything runs by the sensors, and this should scare the squirrels nicely.
If they try to run to your patio, then they’re going to get a blast of water in their faces. It’ll make them run away in all likelihood, and your sprinklers can stand vigil for you while you’re away.
Setting up motion-activated sprinklers helps with other threats as well. Some people even use things like this to try to keep thieves at bay, and it works pretty well.
9 – Patio Furniture Covers
Finally, you could consider buying patio furniture covers that will protect your investment. You can place these patio furniture covers on your furniture whenever you’re not going to be using everything.
It’s simple to do, and it’ll do a great job of keeping your furniture protected from all sorts of things. Aside from protecting from squirrels, it’ll also keep the furniture from fading in the sunlight so fast by covering it up.
Patio furniture covers aren’t all that expensive, and the squirrels shouldn’t be able to bust through the covers. Many people combine the idea of using patio furniture covers with the other deterrent methods mentioned above.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what’s best to do. You know that you have options now, and there are plenty of things to try even if you don’t have much of a budget to work with.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
--
If you want more backyard tips including recipes, how-tos and more, make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel