Learn all the best ways to keep squirrels from chewing on your patio furniture!
From predator urine to motion activated sprinklers, to simple home spray bottle remedies, we've got you covered.
Let's go!
Wildlife is a wonderful thing that is an essential part of any happy and healthy ecosystem.
That being said, wildlife that destroys your property can be rather pesky and can be hard to deal with.
While there is no way to keep patio furniture entirely protected from squirrels that want to chew on them, there are some tips and tricks that might help save your patio and deck chairs from their sharp little teeth.
Jump to:
- Why are Squirrels Chewing on Your Patio Furniture?
- Why are Squirrels So Harmful to Patio Furniture?
- 1. Remove Attractants
- 2. Store your Outdoor Cushions
- 3. Repellant Sprays
- 4. Predator Urine
- 5. Apple Cider Vinegar
- 6. Sprinkle Pepper
- 7. Squirrel Traps
- 8. Use Sound Devices
- 9. Your Dog
- 10. Predator Decoys
- 11. Sprinklers and Motion Activated Devices
- 12. Patio Furniture Covers
Why are Squirrels Chewing on Your Patio Furniture?
With any sort of problem that involves a wild variable like a squirrel, it is helpful to first think about why these furry little invaders might be chewing in the first place.
Every year squirrels collect sticks, leaves, fuzz and other debris to build their nests to make a home for their young, a place to bed down for the winter and more.
Normally, these items are abundant in nature and they can find enough to make a suitable nest without ever having to involve humans or their homes.
In some cases however, it is much harder to find the right debris and other natural components to make the nest that they need so they have to turn to making the materials themselves.
In these cases, they might tear into blankets, dig in flower pots, and you guessed it, chew on wicker patio furniture that just so happens to be in your backyard.
They do not chew on your patio furniture to eat it or to help keep their teeth filed down, but rather to gather the necessary sticks and other materials that they need in order to make their nest.
Your wicker furniture is a fine substitute for the sticks and twigs that they might find elsewhere and would be a great addition to any nest that they may be currently building.
Why are Squirrels So Harmful to Patio Furniture?
Though they may look small and cute and super adorable, squirrels do have the potential to cause a great deal of damage when chewing on your patio furniture.
They have the ability, with their very small and very sharp teeth, to completely destroy an entire patio set with relative ease.
They can rip up cushions and steal pieces of the fiber inside, they can break off pieces of your wicker leaving holes and sharp, jagged edges.
If you suspect that there are squirrels starting to chew on your patio furniture, that you get rid of them and work to try and get them off your porch before they have a chance to start causing irreparable destruction.
These little pests can also find their way into your garden, your attic, your crawlspaces, and lot sof other places around the patio you don;t want them nesting.
In order to keep this nightmare from escalating any further, we've compiled this comprehensive list of our FAVORITE ways to help keep squirrels from chewing on your patio furniture any more.
If you can implement one or a combination of these tips below, you'll be on your way to a more enjoyable squirrel free season.
Read on!
1. Remove Attractants
The first and most helpful thing you can do to keep squirrels away from your outdoor furniture is to remove anything that might attract them to your patio.
Think about things like trash cans with food remnants, bird feeders, bags of dog food and more.
These are all things that the squirrels will smell and will then come to investigate.
They might not set out looking for your furniture, but if they smell something that they like, they are going to be far more likely to come onto your deck or patio and see your furniture as just one more opportunity.
If you really want to hang bird feeders in your yard, hang them FAR away from your patio furniture, because they WILL attract squirrels.
2. Store your Outdoor Cushions
Squirrels love chewing on patio furniture cushions to try and steal the foam inside for their nests.
One good way to prevent this is to store your patio furniture cushions in a deck box or outdoor storage bench.
This will not only protect them from squirrels but also from UV rays and the elements, prolonging their life on your patio as well.
3. Repellant Sprays
You can buy squirrel repellant sprays that help keep rodents like squirrels and chipmunks from chewing on your deck and patio furniture.
These sprays are designed to help make your deck less appealing and work to help scare squirrels and other small rodents away.
- NATURAL INGREDIENTS & PET SAFE – Safe for people, pets, and the environment. Contains NO harmful chemicals or poisons, and has NO foul odors.
- PROTECTS FURNITURE & DECKING – Prevents costly damage to outdoor furniture, cushions, planters, decking, trashcans, and any other surface squirrels are chewing on.
Squirrels have a very deft sense of smell and something that is formulated to smell like something that they do not like is going to repel them before they even get to your deck.
These sprays are designed to be safe for pets, plants, and are non-toxic so they can be sprayed on nearly anything to keep squirrels away.
These sprays are easy to use, safe and are a great way to start trying to repel squirrels if you want to use something that is safe and that will not be a ton of work to use or a very difficult process.
4. Predator Urine
You can also use the urine of a predator that they are afraid of like coyote urine or fox urine to help keep them away.
The use of predator urine can be very potent in repelling squirrels.
Naturally, squirrels know how to detect danger and the smell of urine from predators like coyotes and foxes makes them immediately want to stay away from your yard.
- REPEL BY INSTINCTS: By liberally marking an area with Fox Pee, you duplicate the territorial marking habits of foxes in the wild. This illusion triggers an instinctive response in the prey. If fox scent is around, these animals want to be far away.
- NUMBER ONE IN PEE: Harness the power of Urine the original brand in the pee business, PredatorPee. Established in 1986, it is still one of the only ways organic growers keep their crops safe without risking their certification.
However, we don't advise spraying it directly on your patio furniture. It is after all...urine.
The urine comes in a spray bottle or as a concentrate you can apply around the perimeter of your patio or up and down the posts of your deck.
The smell is very strong, so a little bit goes a long way with most of these solutions.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is another natural method of keeping squirrels away from your patio furniture.
- ORGANIC INGREDIENTS: The Bragg ACV is raw, unfiltered, and crafted from organically grown apples. It is organic, Non-GMO Verified, and Kosher certified.
- MOTHER OF VINEGAR: The ‘Mother’ consists of strands of proteins, enzymes, and friendly bacteria that give the product its murky appearance. The ‘Mother’ is used for its natural cleansing qualiti
And you can feel more comfortable spraying apple cider vinegar directly on your patio furniture than maybe you would with the squirrel repellant or the predator urine.
Apple cider vinegar smells very strong however is not unpleasant, and can help make it hard for squirrels to even get past it to get up on your deck.
You can place it at specific points, near the furniture, near the entrance to the deck, along the banisters and rails and more.
This will help put off a very strong smell that will make it hard for the pests to get near and help keep them away from your deck entirely.
6. Sprinkle Pepper
Various kinds of pepper can also repel squirrels.
Sprinkle black, red, or cayenne pepper over any surface you want to protect from squirrel damage.
The pepper makes the areas of your patio furniture unpleasant for them to chew on, and they will avoid chewing on affected furniture and other surfaces.
The pepper also has a smell that is hard for humans to smell, but it is strong for squirrels, and it irritates their scent-sensitive noses.
- Starts with whole, ripe peppers
- Zesty heat, vivid red color and balanced fla
7. Squirrel Traps
You can also use traps to capture squirrels.
You can set them up around your patio and then release the squirrels far away from your home if you are feeling benevolent.
Just keep in mind any bait you place n the traps may end up attracting more squirrels than you catch.
- Heavy Duty - Constructed of sturdy galvanized steel for maximum resistance to rust and corrosion. 12-Gauge wire mesh prevents animals from breaking it.
- Ultra Sensitive - Once the pedal touched slightly, the gravity-action door will drop down in a flash. Also the trigger bar is located outside the trap to prevent captured animals from damaging it.
- Non-Toxic Solution - Easy to set up the bait and catch undesired animals alive.
8. Use Sound Devices
Squirrels are very receptive creatures, they depend on their senses to tell them if it is safe to go somewhere or not.
Ultrasonic sound devices can actually help keep a ton of different animals out of your yard. They have been shown to help keep away rats, moles, mice, squirrels, chipmunks and many more.
These devices use ultrasonic sounds, which are inaudible to the human ear, to repel rodents as far away from you as possible.
They also work great at keeping squirrels out of your trees.
These devices are usually easy to set up, can be motion activated and solar powered so very little for you do do after you stake them in the ground.
Some come with motion lights as well that can help to startle the squirrels if they get too close and help to keep them on their toes and off of your patio furniture.
Be cautious using these if you have your own pets that like to run around your patio as the ultrasonic sound can unfortunately irritate them just like the squirrels.
9. Your Dog
Your pets can be more helpful than you might imagine at keeping those squirrels from chewing on your patio furniture.
Though their barking at squirrels can be very annoying, it can help to keep the squirrels afraid of your patio and afraid to come close.
You can also let you pet out on to your patio to urinate around the perimeter with their own scent.
This helps to create a predator scent that squirrels and other very small rodents will avoid in order to stay safe.
If you have a yard that is fenced in and you can let your dog out in the yard, letting them urinate in different spots of the yard will definitely help to keep those squirrels away.
If they are able to chase squirrels the squirrels will see your yard as a threat and will see that it is dangerous and should be avoided.
In summary, the more time you let your dog hang out around your patio furniture, the less time squirrels will want to come investigate.
10. Predator Decoys
If you don't have a dog to help scare away the pesky squirrels, using a combination or repellent spray or predator urine with decoys such as a large owl or hawk around your patio furniture may just be the next best thing.
Using a decoy is also a fun way to spruce up your patio.
A great decoy can become a conversation piece, just make sure you move it around ever so often to help make it look like it is alive and moving on its own.
- ? LIFELIKE DESIGN - Stimulated real big owl size at 16.5 inches height and hand-painted vivid color.
- ? ROTATING HEAD - Owls freely rotating head is easy shaking and rotating by wind to mimic natural movements of an owl.
11. Sprinklers and Motion Activated Devices
The last thing you might want to try are motion activated devices like motion lights or sprinklers or sound machines.
These can be set up on your patio, near your patio furniture, or anywhere in your yard and can help to keep squirrels away as soon as they come close.
You can install motion activated sprinklers that shoot a jet spray of water when motion is detected, flashing lights that come on when motion is detected at night, and even sound devices that make noise when motion is detected.
These are often easy to install and can be a great deterrent for burglars and home invaders as well.
Just make sure to turn off that sprinkler jet before Grandma goes out to sit on the patio chair.
Overall, these devices work GREAT to scare the squirrels away and keep them from chewing on your patio furniture.
12. Patio Furniture Covers
If you don't want to go through all the stress of setting traps, using repellants, and the like, then investing in good patio furniture covers may save you the trouble.
Make sure to get a good quality UV protected durable brand that cinches up underneath each piece so that the covers do not blow away in a storm.
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