# Is there any way to get rid of squirrels **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 22, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735 "2018-09-22T16:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/21 "2018-09-23T17:26:38Z")
And don’t forget, where the rodents are, snakes are sure to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/22 "2018-09-23T19:30:40Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > I have no problems with squirrels, but squirrels are crafty, and it wouldn’t surprise if they wouldn’t be bothered by this. I have certainly never tried these either and I agree that squirrels are deviously intelligent. It wouldn’t surprise me if they saw such a sprinkler as a wonderful toy. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/23 "2018-09-24T13:47:04Z")
IME, even shooting them doesn’t really get rid of them. They will learn to hide when you open the door, and they are smart enough to get on the other side of a tree trunk from you. Maybe it works better if you don’t live in a wooded area. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/24 "2018-09-24T14:06:03Z")
“Nuke the entire site from orbit–it’s the only way to be sure” ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/25 "2018-09-24T14:39:23Z")
I have lots of squirrels, too, because I have a walnut tree in the yard. They don’t get in the attic or anything, but they eat all our walnuts and make a big mess. We have cats and a dog. Doesn’t make a difference. What I’m wondering is if there’s any way I can just keep my walnut from producing nuts. (I know, I know… cut it down, haw haw.) A spray when it flowers or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/26 "2018-09-24T14:47:46Z")
My brother is a light’s out shot with a crossbow. He likes to zero them when they are crossing the wire that leads from the utility pole to the house. They have no lateral movement, so there is no chance of a lateral change of direction. The only thing they can vary while traversing the line is their speed of movement. They are literally hung out to dry and an easy shot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/27 "2018-09-24T15:11:35Z")
We have hundreds of grey, red, fox, and black squirrels all over our property. We even actually feed them. Our dogs chase but never catch them. But they are rarely in our home. We plug every entry and are constantly on the lookout for their breaching of our defenses. Tree branches are kept away from the house. We live in peace and enjoy their antics. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/28 "2018-09-24T17:29:19Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Yes, I say poison in the attic is no different than any pest control for bugs, mice, or rats. I live in the woods and the wildlife would take over if we let down our guard. Deer and rabbits eating anything you plant, possums and coons in the barn eating everything from grain to fertilizer and ropes. Mice in the fields. Coyote trying to get in the automatic feeder in the dog kennel, or trying to eat the puppies. It’s me or them. This is best read with [an appropriate soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTpp8PQSog&list=RDQMzaLKQrHsyXY&start_radio=1) playing in the background. ---
**Author:** ![theICONiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@theICONiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theICONiac)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/29 "2018-09-25T14:25:49Z")
If wholesale murder of the bushy-tailed lil’ bastards does not affect your conscience one whit then the most effective means of elimination outside of poison is as follows: 1. Procure a large plastic garbage can. 2. Fill it approx. 2/3rds full of water. Add a handful or two of un-shelled peanuts. 3. Sit back and watch the squirrel apocalypse unfold. They fall into the garbage can attempting to retrieve the peanuts and cannot get back out, succumbing to a watery grave… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/30 "2018-09-25T20:36:42Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Pellet gun. My parents had a big problem with squirrels, then they got a pellet gun, a pump-action 0.22 cal. I’m not sure if they offered bounties to anyone who nailed one off their deck, but it was common knowledge that if you wanted to see if you could get one, you were welcome to try your shot. No, I never shot one, but I can say they don’t have a problem with squirrels anymore. The most amazing act of marksmanship I have ever seen or likely will ever see was my dad defending his back-yard tomato garden from a squirrel with a .22 rifle. Said squirrel was 30-40 feet up a pine tree that was itself some 30-ish feet from where he stood. It poked its little tomato-poaching face around the tree, and my dad pulled the trigger. In my early-adolescent jackassery, I was somewhat tickled to observe that the squirrel merely side-stepped the attempt on its life by retreating behind the tree again, and I inwardly chuckled. Then its _headless body_ fell to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/31 "2018-09-25T21:06:29Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > This is best read with [an appropriate soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTpp8PQSog&list=RDQMzaLKQrHsyXY&start_radio=1) playing in the background. Yep, ole Arkansas Beck is at it again. I am a dead eye with a 22, I don’t think I could kill many squirrels with one though. They are way too hurky-jerky. But give me 410, no mercy. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/32 "2018-09-25T21:27:59Z")
I live in a neighborhood so I use a break barrel air rifle and only shoot for squirrels that are down on the ground when I’m up on the deck. The air rifle is pretty powerful but it takes a lot of strength to cock it. I don’t think my wife could do it safely. Something to think about if that’s the direction you’re thinking of going. ---
**Author:** ![mundylion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundylion/32/3604_2.png) [@mundylion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mundylion)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735/33 "2018-09-27T21:43:56Z")
> [@theICONiac](#): > > If wholesale murder of the bushy-tailed lil’ bastards does not affect your conscience one whit then the most effective means of elimination outside of poison is as follows: > > 1. Procure a large plastic garbage can. > > 2. Fill it approx. 2/3rds full of water. Add a handful or two of un-shelled peanuts. > > 3. Sit back and watch the squirrel apocalypse unfold. > > They fall into the garbage can attempting to retrieve the peanuts and cannot get back out, succumbing to a watery grave… I did that inadvertently and can vouch for its effectiveness. I had a large ceramic pot, half filled with water and I floated a round gadget that was a small fountain powered by solar. Cute. Two days later I looked inside and found three ex-squirrels floating on the top. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-squirrels/821735.md?page=1)