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Growing & CareNo. 8734 · The 2026 edition

Can Pumpkin-Eating Squirrels Be Stopped? We Tested 5 Home Remedies to Find Out

Tired of squirrels stealing your pumpkins? We tried five homemade tricks to see what really works.

Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at countryliving.com.

Can Pumpkin-Eating Squirrels Be Stopped? We Tried 5 Home Remedies
PHOTO · COUNTRYLIVING.COM

We put five common home remedies to the test to find out if you can keep squirrels from munching on your Halloween jack-o'-lanterns. From spicy coatings to clever barriers, see which methods actually stop the critters.

About this

We put five common home remedies to the test to find out if you can keep squirrels from munching on your Halloween jack-o'-lanterns. From spicy coatings to clever barriers, see which methods actually stop the critters.

Tips

  • Keep your pumpkins closer to the house, or in higher-traffic areas to make squirrels feel less safe.
  • Set out decoy pumpkins in a far part of the yard to attract squirrels away from your displayed pumpkins.
  • Try several methods (soap shavings, vinegar spray, cayenne spray) and reapply sprays every couple days for best results.

More photos

a small pumpkin sitting on a bed of dog hair to try to repel squirrels. results of the dog hair test. early on the pumpkin was attacked. a small pumpkin covered in vinegar to try to repel squirrels. results of the vinegar test. despite some early nibbles, it remained largely untouched. results of the cayenne test. the repellent stopped working after frequent applications were discontinued.

Photos hosted by countryliving.com.

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