Yes, you can get red squirrels out of your garage, but they make you work for it. Red squirrels are smaller than the gray ones and twice as stubborn. They are territorial, they chew through things gray squirrels leave alone, and once one sets up a nest in your garage, it will defend the place like it pays rent.
The fix comes down to three moves in the right order: seal the entry points, cut off the food, and trap anything that is still inside. Here is how to do each one. Still deciding whether to handle this yourself? My DIY vs. pro quiz asks five questions and gives you a straight answer.
- Red squirrels are smaller and more territorial than gray squirrels, and they squeeze through gaps as small as an inch.
- Seal every opening with quarter-inch hardware cloth and expanding foam.
- Live traps baited with sunflower seeds or peanut butter are the most reliable removal method.
- Remove food sources like bird seed, pet food, and fallen nuts.
- Check your local rules before trapping, because relocation is restricted in some places.
How to tell it is a red squirrel
Before you start, make sure you are dealing with a red squirrel and not a gray squirrel, a rat, or a mouse. Red squirrels are reddish-brown with a white belly and a reddish tail.
The sounds are the giveaway. Red squirrels make a loud, chattering, scolding call that sounds like a mechanical trill. Gray squirrels are quieter, and rats move around at night while red squirrels are out only in daylight, mostly early morning and late afternoon.
Damage from a red squirrel looks like chewed holes in plastic bins, gnawed wooden shelves, and shredded paper or fabric pulled into a nest. Their droppings are small and oblong, like a grain of rice.
One thing worth knowing: red squirrels are native here, unlike gray squirrels in a lot of places, and that means the rules about trapping and relocating them can be different. More on that below.
Seal every entry point
Sealing is the single most important step, because if you skip it, every squirrel you remove gets replaced by the next one through the same hole. Red squirrels can fit through a gap about an inch wide, so you have to be thorough.
Work your way around the garage and check:
- Under the garage door and the weatherstripping. Replace worn seals and add a threshold plate if there is a gap.
- Cracks in the walls and foundation, and gaps where pipes come through. Fill cracks with hydraulic cement, and stuff pipe gaps with hardware cloth, then foam.
- Soffits, fascia, and ridge vents. Cover openings with quarter-inch hardware cloth, screwed down, not stapled.
- Window and vent screens. Replace anything torn with hardware cloth.
- Corners where siding meets the foundation or roof meets wall. Add metal flashing.
Pro tip: do this inspection at night. Shine a bright light from inside the garage outward. Anywhere the light leaks through is a potential entry point. Mark each one with chalk and seal it the next day.
Remove the food that draws them in
Red squirrels come back to any place where they have found food, so starve them out.
- Store bird seed, pet food, and grass seed in sealed metal containers, not bags or plastic bins they can chew through.
- Keep garbage lids tight, and bungee them if needed.
- Move bird feeders away from the garage.
- Pick up fallen nuts, acorns, and fruit near the building.
- Don’t leave pet food bowls out overnight.
How to trap a red squirrel humanely
- Place a live trap along a wall or near the entry hole, not out in the middle of the floor. Squirrels run along edges.
- Bait it with whole sunflower seeds or peanut butter. Put a little just outside the door and a bigger pile behind the trigger plate.
- Pre-bait for a day or two with the door wired open, so the squirrel gets comfortable going in. Then arm the trap.
- Check the trap every few hours. A trapped squirrel should not sit in there longer than necessary.
- Cover the trap with a cloth to keep the animal calm while you deal with it.
Here is the legal part. Before you trap, check with your local wildlife agency. Some places require a permit to trap squirrels, and some prohibit relocating them altogether, which changes what you do with the animal once it is caught. Know the rule before you set the trap.
Deterrents that help around the edges
These are supplements to sealing and trapping, not replacements.
- Cayenne pepper or capsaicin spray along entry points. The heat irritates squirrels, but you have to reapply after rain.
- Motion-activated sprinklers near the garage door. The sudden spray startles them.
- Predator urine, which can trigger a fear response but washes off fast and needs frequent reapplication.
Scent-based deterrents like peppermint will not move a squirrel that already has a nest. Spend your effort on exclusion, not on smells.
When to call a professional
- If you think there is a nursing mother with babies. Separating her from a litter is inhumane and makes the problem worse.
- If there is chewed wiring. Exposed wires are a fire hazard, and an electrician should look before you seal anything up.
- If the garage is attached to the house. Squirrels in an attached garage often find their way into the walls or attic.
- If you keep catching squirrels week after week, which usually means a hidden entry point you missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Per animal, often yes, because they are more aggressive and territorial, and they chew through thicker material and cache more food. Gray squirrels are bigger and can do more structural damage to roofs and siding, but red squirrels are harder to evict once they settle in.
Easily. Standard rubber or vinyl seals are no match for their teeth. Replace worn bottom seals with heavy-duty rubber and an aluminum threshold, and check them every year.
Not reliably. A warm, dry garage with food and nesting material is prime real estate to a red squirrel. Your best bet is a one-way door over the entry point combined with sealing everything else.
About an inch. They are smaller than gray squirrels and can get through openings you would swear are too tight. If a gap looks close to an inch, close it.
Yes. They don’t hibernate, and a garage looks especially good to them when it is cold outside. Winter is actually a common time for garage infestations, as squirrels look for insulated places to nest.
The Bottom Line
Getting rid of red squirrels in a garage is a three-step job: seal every opening, remove the food, and trap whatever is left. They are stubborn, but the same principles work on them as on any squirrel.
The order matters. Seal first so no new ones get in, trap second to clear the ones already there, and keep the food locked up so they stop coming around. A weekend of exclusion work now beats a garage full of chewed wiring later.
