Squirrel Traps

There are many brands of squirrel traps available on the market. These traps each have their advantages and disadvantages. There are also numerous ways of creating homemade traps, which also have their advantages and disadvantages. Most of the traps are cage traps which capture the squirrel alive and unharmed. The squirrel can then be released. The traps that are made for squirrels are generally too small to capture other types of animals such as small pets like cats and dogs, or other wild animals like opossums and raccoons. They can accidentally catch other small animals like snakes or rats, though the type of bait used for squirrels is not usually attractive to other animals. Homemade traps can be of various sizes and these may have more chances of accidentally capturing other animals.

 

Squirrel Traps Home Depot

Squirrel traps are available from The Home Depot both on their website and in their stores. These traps start in price at about $20.00 and go up from there depending on the size and sophistication of the trap. Simple traps generally have fewer moving parts and thus can be slightly less reliable for catching squirrels or harder to release squirrels with. More sophisticated traps will have more features built-in and these will be more reliable for catching squirrels safely. They are usually also very easy to open back up for releasing the squirrel later. Squirrel traps do not go into very high price ranges for the most part because they are smaller cages than those used for larger raccoons or opossums.

Ground squirrel traps are basically the same as other squirrel traps, but there are a couple of key differences. Ground squirrels are burrowing animals who spend much of their time underground when they are not foraging for food. They are particularly annoying to people with gardens or farms as they eat vegetables and fruits. They also multiply fairly quickly given a steady source of food, and can eat large amounts of food if they are numerous. Because of their underground homes, ground squirrel traps are purposely more sheltered than other traps. While other traps have thin wire bars and let in lots of light and air, the ground squirrel trap is more like a metal box with ventilation windows. Ground squirrel traps are most ideal for ground squirrels or other small burrowing animals for this reason. Tree squirrels are much less likely to enter a ground squirrel trap than they would a more open trap, as they are less used to spending time in confined spaces.

 

Homemade Squirrel Traps

Homemade squirrel traps are another option. Rather than purchasing a pre-made trap, it is possible to construct a trap from ready accessible materials around the home. For example, some traps require a piece of stove pipe, heavy mesh screen, duct tape, a drill with a metal-piercing bit, a hammer and nails, and a bait of some sort. Most of these items will be found in the average household and those that might need to be purchased would still be less expensive than the $20 or more traps that are available for purchase. Of course, making homemade traps also requires extra time and effort. For those who are not very handy with tools and are not used to dealing with hammers or power tools, it is perhaps better to simply buy a trap. It is possible to cause injury to oneself with drills and hammers as well as with sharp edges of cut metal, so it is important to take safety precautions when dealing with such tools and materials.

For those who are comfortable with these tools and materials, making the trap will also be a faster and more successful endeavor. Individuals who know how to use these tools will be able to work faster and more efficiently as well as more accurately, which will yield a better product in a shorter amount of time. In order to build squirrel traps it is useful to look at articles and videos available online that show various models of squirrel traps. There are models both for ground squirrel and tree squirrel traps as well as various other small animal traps. Most use similar principles of trapping the squirrel by luring him and and having the squirrel activate a trigger which closes the exit. Any trap which accomplishes this goal is a successful trap, whether it looks like a store-bought trap or not.

 

Squirrel Poison

Squirrel poison, though it does exist in one or two chemicals, is not readily available because it is generally illegal in most areas. Also, it is difficult to make poisons that squirrels will be interested in eating because of the type of diet they have. Regular rat poisons would be effective except that it is nearly impossible to make them attractive to squirrels. Squirrels have two distinct differences in eating habits from rats which cause this. The first is that they have a diet of primarily seeds, so they do not expect to find other items that are food items. Therefore, they would not be interested in rat poison pellets. The second reason is that squirrels generally do not eat indoors even if they have a home indoors. Lastly, they are likely to die indoors if they consume poison and cause an odor problem in the attic which is difficult to solve. In the end, using squirrel traps is still the most effective method.