Squirrels may seem like the furthest thing in your mind when it comes to growing grapes, but the truth is that these critters are a legitimate concern. To those who ask, ‘can squirrels eat grapes?’, the answer is a definite yes.
We’ll cover how these creatures can take away your hard-earned work, and how you can keep squirrels out of your grapes.
Can Squirrels Eat Grapes in My Yard?
The short answer, sadly, is yes. Squirrels can take to grapes just as they do nuts and other foods. These small creatures can acquire grapes fairly easily too because they’re great climbers and jump a considerable distance from an elevated structure. Your fence, trees, and gutters can serve as launchpads for squirrels and their snacks.
Squirrels and other grape-loving critters can go through a vineyard quickly and leave little to no fruit left for harvest. It would be unwise to just leave your grapes out in the open without setting up some kind of defense.
You’ll have several options on how to keep squirrels out of grape vines though, so all won’t be lost when these small creatures come for a visit.
How to Keep Squirrels Out of Grapes
Keep Your Garden Clean
Squirrels often choose long-standing piles of yard or garden debris, such as rock, wood, and branches to serve as their base of operations. The more they can hide, the better for them (and the more they tend to stay).
To deter squirrels from staying in your garden and eating your grapes, it’s best that you do regular plant and debris cleanup. Clear away items that might attract the creatures, such as wood piles, leftover vegetable crops, and brush piles around the vineyard.
When you have less ground obstruction, squirrels, mice, and other animals tend to stay only for a short while or use your yard as a resting spot and not as a feeding ground.
Build a Frame or Cage
One of the best ways to make sure squirrels can’t get to your grapes is to build a wooden or metal frame around your grape vines and enclose them in mesh or netting that has small holes.
The covering should still allow a portion of sunlight to pass through, like a half-inch grid across the board. When installing the frame, you should cover the whole plant from top to bottom, as squirrels can jump over or burrow through the soil to get inside.
Give Them Easy-Access Snacks
This strategy is similar to keeping birds out of your fruits or tree nuts using a bird feeder. With squirrels, you can set out a bowl or a container in easy-to-reach areas or where you usually see them, e.g., trees or by the road. You can add bird seed, dried corn, nuts, and fruits that they like so they won’t have to go out of their way and get into your grapes.
It’s worth noting that you won’t need to hand out free food throughout the year to keep squirrels out of your grape vines. Just a few months, particularly when the grapes are maturing and when they’re ready to be picked.
Spray Squirrel Repellents
Some people swear by urine as a squirrel repellent to get the creatures out of their yard or garden. There are commercial anti-squirrel products you can spray as well. It’s always best to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and apply it near your grapes (not on them) so the taste won’t change when you eat them.
Spraying with chili pepper solutions is said to work as well, but the results might vary from one person to another. The best time to apply the repellent is in the early morning or late afternoon, and again when it rains or after a week.
Set Traps or Fence Them Out
You can set out cage traps for squirrels so they won’t feast on your grapes. Add a nice and tempting bait, such as a nut, fruit, or peanut butter, and wait until the squirrels get trapped inside. Then, you can bring the trap near a woodland area and release the creatures in the wild, and hopefully, they will have learned their lesson well.
Alternatively, you can try a low-voltage electric fence and run them at night to keep the squirrels at bay.
Related Article: Does a Squirrel Eat Grass?