apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

1/2 inch square galvanized mesh stapled over the exterior frame will keep them out.

Repair the hole itself with screening wood-glued around the edges.

Also, grab some dog hair and spread it around the exterior. It's not as smelly as crap or pee, but it sends the same warning.

maybe if you email sugarbush, she can help?
www.sugarbushsquirrel.com

Perhaps try using a sheet of hardware cloth (not a cloth at all but a thicker stiffer sheet of woven metal) on top of your screen...it's not pretty, but strong enough they can't chew through it. I feel your pain...Been there...they chewed through my sheetrock trying to get in...

http://modfrugal.com/2009/04/tree-rats-are-turning-me-into-joan-crawford/

You do need to repair the screen. It is easy and inexpensive to replace the entire screen in the frame. When you go to the hardware store, ask about a stronger screen material. If nothing exists, put chicken wire or something similar over the repaired screen frame. Should not be hard to do.

To protect flowers from snacking critters, I use repellants with coyote urine or hot pepper.

Install a new screen, put on some gloves, slice a habanero in half, and give the screen a good rubbing. A squirrel who gets a taste of that will stay away for a while.

I couldn't believe it when I read this question...I have lived in 7 different cities in the past 10 years, and the squirrels here in Ottawa (or at least my neighbourhood in the Byward Market) are the nastiest and most persistent little buggers I've ever seen. And I used to like squirrels! They have chewed a small hole in the lid of every tough plastic garbage bin on our street, which they use to get in and dumpster dive. I used to leave the door open on my balcony to get some fresh air, but now the squirrels have figured out they can dash in and scrounge around my kitchen. If I put something out on the balcony, in less than 5 minutes I'll have squirrels riffling through it, no matter how many times I try to scare them off. The only advice I have is to store your outside garbage in metal bins, and put cayenne pepper on your plants. Doesn't really help you with your window problem though...maybe put some fine chicken wire over them, but the holes would have to be really small. The holes in the garbage bins are only about an inch wide. And you might have to double it up since they are so good at chewing though hard material! Maybe putting a small dish of cayenne pepper at the window will cover up any yummy smells from the kitchen?

p.s. Glad to see someone else from Ottawa on here!

Ugh. I know the tenacious ways of Ottawa squirrels. They must be stopped! When the little buggers ravaged my decktop garden a couple of years ago, I pulled out all the stops. I sprinked cayenne pepper just about everywhere; I inserted bamboo skewers in the soil (aparently this deters them); and I bought a couple of dollar store rubber snakes (which are supposed to scare them off). In addition to fixing the screen, you may want to try a makeshift chicken wire screen set over the regular screen, and perhaps embed some skewers and snakes (or place these an the ground nearby), topped off with a good dusting of pepper. Good luck.

Step one: put away anything stain-able and spread out sheets of plastic everywhere.

Step two: get a cat

There is no step three.

*shudder*

I spent a year fighting off Montrealer squirrels. I'm sure they must be related -- they're just as nasty. They gnawed a huge hole in my garbage can; I finally managed to keep them out of it by sprinkling a lot of cayenne pepper powder all over the lid. They pulled out all of my tomato, herb and eggplant plants. It turns out that they were living in the shed that's attached to my apartment (I live on the third floor of a triplex). They were entering through a hole where the roof meets the wall. They made a nest in my summer clothes. I complained to my landlady, who immediately blocked the hole. I haven't had a problem since. I even have a small garden on my balcony.

My suggestion? As suggested above, sprinkle cayenne on the windowsill, rub habanero on the screen, and if you can, make a visual sweep of your apartment building. If the squirrels are nesting close, it probably explains why they're trying to get into your house. Find that nest and tell your landlord.

I know some people will hate this- but we put out a rat trap to keep squirrels from getting into the house. They can really destroy your walls... They may happily live outside, but if they try to get in the house- snap!

Also, you can try a product called ShakeAway. It's a repellent, but I don't think it is too stinky.

I have the same problem in Chicago! One squirrel ate through 6 of our sunroom's screens! And a black squirrel comes into our apartment or attempts to all the time....unfortunately, the guys living below me feed them so it's hard to keep them away but I take a bit of peppermint oil and dab it in the winow or on a cotton ball and put it whenever I want them to stay away from. Seems to work. It's never good when they lose their fear of humans.

squirrels are rodents, just like our friends rats and mice. you might think to treat them as such when they become pests. folks would have no problem putting out poison for rats or trapping mice. just sayin'...

I've had a squirrel mark his territory on my balcony screen. So, I would try to rub down the screen with a little soap and water first to get rid of their scent. then rub on the hot peppers, as mentioned above.

Sounds like the squirrels are pretty nasty where you live. I think the ones in Calgary must just be a normally pesky variety

Good luck!

I completely agree that squirrels are vermin and should be treated as such. They are urban foragers carrying who knows what kinds of nasty germs. I hate to cause undue harm to a living thing, but vermin have no place in human dwellings. And their bold, unafraid temperment is so irksome. Arg. Curse ye squirrels!

It's time to get that pet boa you always wanted!

My first thought was, as said by a couple others, to fix your existing screen (because there are also insects to keep out) and then augment it with a screen of half-inch chicken wire so you can have your windows open. You could probably attach to the inside or outside of your window with some lattice strips along the edge.

And then douse the whole thing with habanero peppers!

Hey! Ottawa here as well!

...The squirells downtown are like the pigeons and the birds downtown - very very tenacious. I've noticed the black squirells seem less evil for some reason?

I'd go with the hot pepper -cayenne comments as well.

I use to think squirrels were cute and then they took over my parents attic. And there attic is a small crawl space. It's hard to avoid them when you have pecan orchards. We found that having an out door cat kept them away.

Poor squirrels. They too are trying to live in an urban setting. Although I do not live "downtown," but more in the suburbs, I have lots of squirrels who come by. I feed them out in the pear tree in the backyard. I love all animals and want to help them, not hinder them.

the squirrels around here would get up on the electric wires and short them out (and themselves too) I can't count how many times our power has gone out because of squirrels.
They are nasty, disease ridden creatures that will chew anything and get into the walls of your house. Chipmunks are even worse- they dig too.....
We shoot them, but since that won't work in an urban setting, trap them or poison them.
And fix that screen ASAP

This thread is so timely- A squirrel just bit through our screen here in Denver and I was going to e-mail AT for tips on how to keep him away. Looks like a trip to the hardware store and some hot peppers are in order. Thanks all!

spray the screen and windowsills with Hot Pepper Wax spray (available online and at garden centers http://www.hotpepperwax.com/Products/FAQ.html ) There is just enough wax in there that it won't wash off when it rains and it will make the squirrels get "hot feet" which will annoy them but not hurt them and they they will leave that area alone. I sprayed it on my plants that they were eating and the edges of my fence and I haven't seen much squirrel activity since!

Good luck!

I had a little squirrel problem here and I just threw a handful of Pop Pops in their general direction. No problems now.

http://www.buysparklers.com/Pop-Pop-Snappers-p/snap.htm

I live in Ottawa too and the squirrels here are real monsters!
Nothing like the ones I was used to out west. They seem to enjoy waking me up in the morning by pulling the plants out of my flower boxes and kicking stones and dirt at my window.

I think the first step is to replace the nylon mesh screens in your windows with metal ones. If your land lord won't do it, it's pretty easy to diy with some screen from Home Hardware and a staple gun.

Good luck!

I like Jason's idea...I have two cats and it works. Otherwise my alterntive is to shoot them. This works too. They are cute but they are still vermin.

A dog or cat would work.

Also, Sharper Image used to have a product that made a piercing sound that only animals can hear. I know someone who swears it works, but I haven't tried it myself.

Live in Ottawa too -- you already have great suggestions, but I just want to point out that all squirrels are not the same -- the small black squirrels are local, and very nice (we have a pair living in one of our trees, and they are a blast), but the red and grey squirrels are EVIL IMPORTS!!! They are extremely aggressive, and are driving out the black squirrels (one red and one grey tried to drive out the blacks in our backyard a couple of years ago).

That squirrel in the photo needs to go to rehab from the looks of him...

We have aluminum window screen. It was fairly cheap at the hardware store, and the kittens haven't damaged it, so I doubt the squirrels will.

.22

I believe this company has a presence in Ottawa: http://www.hawkeye.ca/animal_control/squirrel.shtml

It looks like they can solve your squirrel problem through "permanent" removal.

Don't you guys have an animal control department in the city government? If you do, they probably have tried and true methods to offer...

Squirrels in my neighborhoods are less invasive, so I haven't had to solve the problem, but I do know they make hot pepper in a spray form (might be a bit oily, so test before using anyplace where the residue might be a problem.) We got some to discourage our house rabbits from chewing on things like baseboard molding... not that effective for rabbits, but maybe it works better for squirrels. (Pet stores sell it...)

Good luck. I kind of like squirrels and chipmunks, but I do know they can cause damage...

Just a note on using hardware cloth, chicken wire, big screen, etc. - you can paint it charcoal or black to make it much, much less noticable. Good luck!

Some friends here in Edmonton just got rid of a trio of squirrels living in their basement. They used a trap that I think they got from the city. After trapping, they had to release the critters across the river, because apparently they'll find their way back to their old stomping grounds if you release them too close to home.

My grandad uses an air-rifle - instant solution!

"I love all animals and want to help them, not hinder them."
so we can send all our bed bugs to you then, dkzody??

It would seriously mess me up to kill an animal, but squirrels, I've noticed, are slowly moving themselves from the "animal" category to the "evil nemesis" folder in my mind. To me, summer = gardening, and I'm coddling the bits of my garden that have survived the NE rains, the resultant slug boom, and the various rots and blights. Until this morning, the bits included my grape arbor, and a row of rather prolific tomato plants. When I went out there this morning, two sharp rodent incisors had taken a bite out of each and every nascent tomato, and perp was up in the arbor, inspecting the progress of the grapes. What did Blackwater recently change its name to? I'm thinking of contracting them. . . .

I get it ... Squirrels are the real reason for the surge in owl-themed decor. Put a scary-to-a-rodent, kitchy-to-a-human predator-shaped accessory by that window. Bingo!

I woke up to a squirrel shredding the garbage bag in my apt. After I screamed, the little guy ran out. And moments later was popping his head in the window AGAIN as if he left his wallet there or something. I shut the window so fast he ran. I triple timed it to my bedroom where I had left my screen open, (its summer in NYC and SO hot) and the little bugger was sitting right smack in the center of my bed like a prized poodle. What is the deal? Granted it was my mistake to leave the screen open - but like Holy Crap! Should i be worried about diseases? Is he marking his territory?