When talking about pests that are destructive to your lawn, most lawn owners will talk about moles and voles. Unfortunately, squirrels are also some of the culprits that can trigger serious problems around your lawn!
Squirrels may look adorable and cute from afar, but once they set foot on your lawn, they can give you a headache of some sort. Not to mention, if they happen to wander off the lawn and into your home – you most definitely have a serious problem to deal with!
It is a fact that squirrels are – what’s the best word for this? – “a bunch of thieves.”. These shrubby-tailed beasts have a nasty history of stealing bird seeds, nipping out plant buds, and feeding on ripe fruits and flowers.
While you may love watching as these little acrobats play around your lawn, knowing the possible risks of having them around will come in handy when trying to get rid of them.
It will aid you in making an informed decision on which preventive measures to use or if it’s time to engage an exterminator.
To answer the question, “what are squirrels eating in my lawn.” you first need to understand a thing or two about squirrels.
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Are Squirrels Pets or Pests?
While some people love having squirrels around as their pets, others get easily agitated, especially when holes and piles of dirt mounds ravage their yard.
This is attributed to the squirrel’s survival instincts, which require them to spend a significant amount of time scavenging for food.
With mankind’s exponential growth, most squirrel dwellings are being turned into housing projects, forcing these fluffy beasts to forage and dig up people’s lawn searching for food. – the worst part is, squirrels have no idea how much effort and time you have put into keeping your lawn beautiful.
To cut the story short – it is up to you to decide whether to keep them around as pets or classify them as pests and look for ways to get rid of them.
Back to our question, “what are squirrels eating on your grass?”
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What are Squirrels Eating in my Lawn?
There are several reasons why these fluffy beasts are camping on your lawn – and yes, they are eating something. Let’s have a look at some of the things that attract squirrels to your grass.
Feeding Ground
Generally, squirrels are the kind of creatures that prepare well for winter; they gather and store food before the winter season arrives.
They tend to hide their food in different places and later use their keen sense of smell to locate their hiding spot. – lady luck is not on your side if they chose your lawn as a hiding spot!
It’s crazy how these beasts can find food they buried months ago. The thing is, this process will require them to dig up holes in your lawn.
While having bird feeders and baths on your lawn is a cool thing, it might be the reason why squirrels are camping on your lawn.
It’s impressive how squirrels will do practically anything to get to the bird feeder- you can’t miss some of these funny video clips if you search online!
Flowers on your Lawn
Squirrels love flowers. These little beasts are notorious for nipping on just about anything, so don’t be shocked if they nibble down your flowers and other plants.
If you have flowers on your lawn, you might need to find ways to keep the squirrels from your flower bulbs.
Trees on your Lawn
If your lawn can hold two or three trees, then that might be the reason squirrels are hovering around your lawn. Squirrels are drawn to trees, especially those that produce fruits and nuts.
Sadly, there is no foolproof way of keeping squirrels or other animals from your trees. There are, however, a few things you can do to discourage them from climbing the trees.
Related posts: what causes small dirt mounds in your lawn?
Are Squirrels Bad For Your Yard?
These little beasts can do more harm than you expect, which is why keeping them away from your lawn should be a top priority.
- Tree Stress – Squirrels will not only feed on fruits but will also chew the tree bark. This will stress your trees, and if done for some time, it can damage your trees and, in extreme cases, death. Plus, young trees will not grow if their barks are chewed off.
- Food Theft – As mentioned above, squirrels will steal anything they can eat. This can be particularly damaging to crops and can negatively affect your lawn growth rate.
- Diseases – Research has shown that squirrels can spread different diseases and ringworms to humans.
- Lawn And Plant Destruction – squirrels will dig up different parts of your lawn while trying to hide their treasures and, in the process, ruining your beautiful lawn. Plus, they will chew on any flowers and plants growing there.
Related post: how do you repair grub-damaged lawn
How to Keep Squirrels Away from your Lawn?
Though there is no permanent solution to this, The best way to drive squirrels out of your lawn is by making the place as unappealing as possible to them. Below are a few pointer and tricks to get you started.
- Remove any food sources –Squirrels are voracious scavengers, so pick up any fallen berries, nuts, and seeds. Remember to lock garbage can lids tightly and dump food waste in compost piles. Plus, if you remove bird feeders and other food sources, squirrels will have no other reason to hang around.
- Use Repellents – pepper and garlic are inherently repulsive to squirrels. The same is true with sweet scents like peppermint.
- Scare them away – squirrels can be kept out of your lawn by dogs and cats, especially if your dog is a rodent chaser. If you don’t have dogs, you can use an automatic sprinkler system or, better yet, place fake owl molds to scare away the squirrels.
- Plant squirrel-proof flowers – strangely enough, there are few flowers that squirrels will avoid as much as possible. Consider planting some of these repellant flowers to keep squirrels away from your lawn.
See also: How to eliminate crows in the backyard
When it comes to grass damage, these little beasts aren’t the usual culprit. However, that still doesn’t suggest they can’t cause any harm. Whether it’s digging up homes in the grass or taking food from your bird feeders, the agile and speedy beast can be a threat to your lawn.
