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6 Simple Ways to Stop Squirrels From Running on Your Fence

6 Simple Ways to Stop Squirrels From Running on Your Fence

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It can be kind of annoying to have to deal with a lot of squirrels in your backyard. If you’ve noticed more and more of them lately, you might be at your wits’ end.

This is especially the case when squirrels keep running on your fence because this can cause some turmoil.

If you happen to have a dog, there is a good chance that your dog freaks out every time it sees a squirrel. You might notice the squirrel riling up the dogs and staying just out of reach by running on the top of the fence.

Even if the squirrels aren’t necessarily harmful to you or your dogs, it’s going to be annoying to have to listen to the barking all the time.

This is why so many people want to find reliable ways to stop squirrels from running on their fences. There are some things that you can do but most of them just involve scaring them away and keeping them from wanting to come near your property.

Read on to get all of the details so that you can determine what you want to do.

1 – Try Using Apple Cider Vinegar

Pouring Apple Cider Vinegar

One interesting thing to try is to use apple cider vinegar to keep squirrels away from your fences.

You probably didn’t know this but squirrels absolutely hate the scent of apple cider vinegar. If you utilize this scent properly, it can be a very powerful squirrel deterrent.

What you should try to do is take the apple cider vinegar and put it in some type of bucket. Next, you’re going to want to get a sponge of some kind and soak it in the apple cider vinegar.

You can then go ahead and use the sponge to apply this to your fences and it should help to keep squirrels from wanting to run on them.

Of course, the effect isn’t going to last for very long. Once it starts raining, the scent is going to wash away and there isn’t really anything you can do about that.

However, it’s pretty easy to just do it all again to try to keep squirrels away.

2 – Radios and Loud Noises

Dog Barking Over A Fence

Radios and loud noises can help to keep squirrels from wanting to come around too. Many people have used noise generators or radios to deter squirrels from coming near their properties. You could do this as well if you want to go that route.

However, it’s worth noting that this might not necessarily prevent the squirrel from running on your fence. Your dog barking likely scares the squirrel away already, assuming that you have a dog.

If you have pets and squirrels are still running on your fences, the noise generator or radio idea might not be too useful.

3 – Lights

Lights Hanging From A Fence

It’s also interesting to note that squirrels don’t like lights very much. Generally, squirrels prefer to do things in the dark so that they can feel as though they’re hidden. If you make your fence area light up, they’re not going to be as likely to want to go near it.

Many people just place lights on the fence itself to see if that helps. It could get you better results than you might think. You could also use something such as security lights and point them at your fences to keep them lit and deter squirrels from running on them during the night.

4 – Commercial Squirrel Repellents

Aerosol Repellent

Commercial squirrel repellents are likely going to be even more effective than the apple cider vinegar method mentioned earlier.

These powerful repellents make use of odors that come from natural predators of the squirrels. For example, many of the most popular squirrel deterrents use fox urine and urine samples from other squirrel predators.

You can spray your fences with these repellents to try to keep the squirrels from running on them. When the squirrels smell this repellent, they’re going to be naturally fearful and will want to keep their distance.

Overall, this method works very well but you are going to have to spend some cash to get the repellent.

It’s also worth noting that the squirrel repellent is only going to last for a specific amount of time. Most commercial repellents are going to last at least four weeks but some will last six weeks or a little more. This also partially depends on your climate and how dry it is in your area.

When you buy this commercial squirrel repellent, it should come with instructions about how to use it properly. These instructions will also tell you how often you need to reapply it.

If it says to use it every four weeks, you can just follow those instructions to continue to keep the squirrels away from your fences.

5 – Trap and Relocate Squirrels

Live Trap For Squirrels

Trapping the squirrels is another option that some people decide to utilize. There are many people who want to be able to get rid of squirrels on their property but they want to be able to do so in a humane way.

You can buy simple squirrel traps and use them to trap squirrels, and then you can relocate them away from your home.

Driving the squirrels and taking them away from the property might not be a permanent fix, though. There are many squirrels in the wild and it would be a pain to keep doing this all the time.

This method can work for a short period of time but you won’t be able to keep squirrels from coming back eventually.

6 – Calling Professionals

Close Up Of A Squirrel In A Cage

Calling professionals is something that should be considered if you just want to get this problem taken care of.

If you have lots of squirrels on your property and they’re becoming a nuisance, the experts can take care of things for you. They can apply the best squirrel repellents to keep squirrels from wanting to get near your property.

Some exterminators will exterminate squirrels as well but others will capture them and use humane methods. It really depends on the company as well as various other factors.

If you have questions about what professionals can do to assist you with this issue, you’ll really just have to talk to your local pest extermination company to go over the details.

Keep in mind that this is going to be the costliest method on this list for dealing with squirrels. If you don’t want to spend a fair bit of money to take care of the issue, it might be good to try some of the low-cost squirrel deterrents mentioned earlier.

Otherwise, calling in the professionals is a very easy way to get your squirrel problems settled.

Leave Your Squirrel Woes Behind

Your squirrel woes can be a thing of the past when you make use of one of the many methods listed above.

Some of these methods will work better than others and it’s kind of hard to get rid of squirrels permanently due to how common they are in many areas. Even so, it’s not too hard to deal with things when you know which methods will work out.

Be mindful of the above advice and take your situation into account when figuring out what to do. You’ll definitely be able to feel more at ease moving forward; hopefully, your dog won’t have to bark at squirrels so often either.

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