Dryer sheets are a useful laundry item that reduces static, odd scents and makes laundry comfortable. There are many other uses of dryer sheets to repel bugs and small animals. Learn how effective dryer sheets are to repel squirrels.
Do dryer sheets repel squirrels?
Dryer sheets that contain strong fragrant can be used as a squirrel repellent. Dryer sheets that have mild fragrance do not work well to repel them. One should also place the dryer sheets in the right spots to get a good result. Placing a good number of sheets in a spot without piling works best.
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Squirrels can be very problematic for your yard, garden, and household. It’s not easy to get rid of them if you don’t know what to do. Dryer sheets are one of the methods to repel squirrels. But you have to be a bit strategic to repel the squirrels with a dryer sheet.
Dryer sheets are used to reduce static electricity from your clothes while machine drying. A common characteristic of dryer sheets is that they have a strong fragrance. It makes them a useful item to repel unwanted bugs and animals.
It’s super effective against bugs and ants but not that much for small animals. But it works well enough if you can use it properly.
Using dryer sheets that have a strong and long-lasting effect will work the best to repel squirrels.
Here is the list of dryer sheets that work well as a squirrel repellent.
Bounce dryer sheets:
It comes with a strong perfume and the scent lasts longer. It’s effective to repel squirrels.
Grain dryer sheets:
It comes with an original scent and 240 counts. It’s effective to repel squirrels.
Snuggle fabric softener dryer sheet:
It comes with a sparkle cent and 230 counts. It’s effective to repel squirrels.
What is a dryer sheet made of and how does it work?
Dryer sheets reduce the static of the cloth in the washing machine. It also keeps the clothes fresh-smelling. Here are the ingredients and working process of dryer sheets as a pest repellent.
Dryer sheet ingredients:
Dryer sheets are mainly fabric containing other ingredients in them. It contains liquid softeners that help to keep the clothes soft, a perfume that removes the odd smell from the clothes, and lubrication that makes laundry easier.
Dryer sheet companies use different ingredients as they are softer and fragrant. Some dryer sheets have a weak but pleasant scent while others have strong and long-lasting perfume effects. To repel squirrels, you need a dryer sheet that has a stronger scent.
So how does the strong smell keep the animals away?
How it works:
Animals can sense many times more smell than us. So, something that contains a strong scent may be pleasant for us but squirrels will dislike it.
The strong smell of dryer sheets will make them go away. The dryer sheet will not work as squirrel repellent if it has a weak scent.
Any kind of dryer sheet works to repel bugs as bugs breathe with the small holes in their body. The perfume particles create irritation in their body. But to repel squirrels, a strong scent is essential.
How do dryer sheets repel squirrels?
Fragrant dryer sheets work particularly well to repel squirrels. To repel squirrels effectively, you will have to buy a dryer sheet that contains a powerful smell.
However, it will work if you can put dryer sheets on their entrance or pathway. But gardens are hard to protect from squirrels with dryer sheets.
It’s not practical to border your garden with dryer sheets. But plants can be saved by attaching a dryer sheet.
There are other ways to keep squirrels away from your garden. Keep a dog or cat. Even a dummy predator will be effective to protect your garden from squirrels.
Homes are easy to protect from squirrels. First track all the entrance points of squirrels. Put a dryer sheet on every small hole that squirrels can use to enter. Place the dryer sheet on different parts of your kitchen. By doing this you can make your home squirrel-proof.
Not only squirrels, but the dryer sheet will also help to keep the air fresh and keep other pests away from your home.
Make sure to change the dryer sheet once the smells start to fade away. Check your dryer sheets every few days. Replace the sheet if you think the fragrant is getting weaker.
If a squirrel tries to enter your house, the strong smell will repel him and hopefully the squirrel will not come back again.
You can add extra perfume that you don’t use to get an extra powerful and longer effect. Dryer sheets are made to contain scent for a long time.
Do squirrels dislike the smell of dryer sheets?
Yes, they dislike the smell of dryer sheets. Not specifically dryer sheets, they dislike any kind of strong smell. In nature, too strong smells are very rare and small animals always try to stay away from smells that they don’t know.
Animals like squirrels are dependent on their smelling power. They can sense nuts, fruit, and apricot with their smelling power from a long distance.
The smelling power is also important to get the smells of predators. So evaluation provided them with a strong nose and smelling power.
But when they encounter some object that releases a strong scent, they can’t go closer to that. Their smell-sensing nerves are too sensitive for that.
How to use dryer sheets to repel squirrels?
Follow the steps below to repel squirrels from your home,
In the entrance points:
There are some entrance routes that squirrels use to enter your home. It can be your veranda, windows, ventilator, or small holes below the roof.
They usually come to find food. So make sure to protect the places where you keep food. Kitchens are a favorite place for squirrels.
Put a few dryer sheets depending on how big the entrance is. The squirrels are often curious about electric cables as they release small signals. Squirrels can damage cables so take steps to protect them.
Replace regularly:
Changing dryer sheets regularly is important as its effect can reduce gradually after some days. Changing every week will provide complete protection against squirrels. Changing every two weeks will also work most of the time.
If you aim to repel bugs, changing frequently isn’t that important but for squirrels it’s necessary.
Apply extra perfume:
You can also apply extra perfume that you don’t use in your dryer sheet. It will work more effectively and last longer.
You can apply useless perfume to the old dryer sheets that need changing. It will protect your home for another week.
What else do dryer sheets repel?
Dryer sheets are also useful to repel many other small animals and bugs. Check out the list of pests that can be repelled by dryer sheets.
Choccoroches:
Dryer sheets are very effective against cockroaches. Put dryer sheets in their favorite hiding spots.
Ants:
Ants are very annoying intruders in kitchens and dining spaces. Put dryer sheets in different entrance spots of your kitchen. It will stop the ants from entering your house.
Termites:
Termites are the biggest threat to your books. Put a few dryer sheets to save the books from termite strikes.
You can also keep some dryer sheets in the narrow spaces of your wooden furniture.
Mosquitos:
Dryer sheets are also very effective to repel mosquitos from your home. Put some fresh dryer sheets near your windows and doors. The strong smell of dryer sheets will stop the mosquitoes from entering your home.
Rats and mice:
Like squirrels, dryer sheets also work to deter rats and similar small animals.
Wasps:
Wasps are very frightening when they are in your house. Mostly, wasps make their home in the mailbox. Keeping dryer sheets in the mailbox will effectively repel the wasps and ants.
Ants can also make their home in the mailbox after a rainfall. Mailmen often put a dryer sheet to prevent ants and wasps. So, if you found one in your mailbox, don’t remove that.
Other bugs:
Dryer sheets are effective against almost all types of bugs, flies, larvae, etc. But overusing them in your garden may repel useful bugs like predator beetles or bees.
Final thoughts
Dryer sheets work well to repel squirrels. But you will have to use strongly scented ones and place them in the right spots. They also help to control other pests. So keeping dryer sheets in different spots of your house can be a good step towards a cleaner and healthier home.