Do Coffee Grounds Keep Squirrels Away

  • By: Rob
  • Date: November 6, 2022
  • Time to read: 4 min.
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Squirrels are cute and fascinating creatures. However, behind those fluffy cheeks and fur is a mischievous streak that often causes a lot of damage to gardens and homes, which is understandable if you want to keep them out. So, do coffee grounds keep squirrels away?

Most of the time, coffee grounds can keep squirrels away. This is primarily because squirrels find the scent of coffee to be off-putting and bitter. As a result, they avoid places that have a coffee scent.

If you wonder why squirrels hate coffee grounds, you have come to the right page. This article will answer all your questions about squirrels and coffee grounds.

Will Coffee Grounds Keep Squirrels Away

Do coffee grounds keep squirrels away or is this just a myth? Coffee grounds can effectively keep squirrels away because they hate the smell of it. Unlike humans who think that coffee aroma is relaxing and calming, squirrels find them highly bitter, which is why they tend to stay away from it.

The nice thing about coffee grounds is that it’s an environmentally friendly method of keeping squirrels away since you don’t need to use artificial chemicals. Besides that, it is inexpensive, especially if you use your own used coffee grounds. Coffee can be a good fertilizer for plants, it’s quite amazing the benefits of used old coffee grounds.

used coffee grounds

I recently wrote an article answering the question, can you reuse coffee grounds? maybe it’s also of interest.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do with old coffee grounds as they can’t be flushed down The Toilet – but if you have some extra grounds leftover I’ve made 5 other interesting uses for coffee grounds in the highlighted article.

Do Squirrels Hate the Smell of Coffee Grounds

Squirrels hate the smell of coffee grounds. For them, the smell of it is extremely bitter and potent. They especially hate used coffee grounds because they tend to have a stronger scent than unused ones.

Squirrels are gifted with an extremely strong sense of smell. This bodily feature helps them survive in the wild by allowing them to smell food under a foot of snow.

However, this same ability is the main reason why they hate the smell of coffee grounds so much. For them, the bitter aroma is amplified because of their strong sense of smell.

Squirrels in garden

How Do You Keep Squirrels Out of the Garden Using Coffee Grounds

Using coffee grounds to deter squirrels from your property is pretty easy. Just follow these steps:

Step #1: Collect Coffee Grounds

You will need plenty of coffee grounds because you have to cover most of your garden soil. Make sure to get as much as you can regardless of whether it’s decaf or regular coffee bean.

Suppose you have a hobby of brewing coffee. In that case, instead of throwing them away, it’s better to collect them. They will accumulate over time, giving you what you need to keep pesky squirrels away from your garden.

Step #2: Scatter the Coffee Grounds in Your Garden Soil

Cover your garden soil with ½ inch or 1 inch of coffee ground. Make sure to also include putting a layer of coffee ground on your potted plants.

If you notice existing squirrel damage in your garden, put more coffee ground on that area. This is because that is most likely the favorite hangout spot of the squirrels visiting your garden.

However, make sure to avoid adding too many coffee grounds. It can affect the pH balance of the soil, resulting in the plant withering.

Make sure to keep an eye out on your pets as well. Excessive ingestion of coffee grounds might make their stomach upset, causing them pain and discomfort.

Some plants actually thrive on coffee grounds, find out which ones through the link.

Step #3: Wait and See

The last thing that you have to do is sit back and enjoy. You will never see any squirrels in your garden again.

However, make sure to add new coffee grounds every other month or so because they will eventually lose their effectiveness once the grounds erode from the soil.

What Animals Don’t Like Coffee

Squirrels are not the only animals that are put off by coffee grounds. This is because the following animals also cannot tolerate it:

  • Slugs
  • Rabbits
  • Fire ants
  • Snails

If you notice, most of the animals that are put off by coffee grounds are found in the garden. Although some of them are cute, they can destroy plants and flowers, which is why many use coffee grounds as an additive to pest repellent.

The animals mentioned above are not the biggest fans of caffeine. You can simply scatter the coffee ground on your plant bed to keep them away from that area.

Final Words

Suppose you are currently suffering from squirrel infestation, or you just want to keep them away from your property. Do coffee grounds keep squirrels away, In that case, is a perfectly valid question and as we have confirmed, you might want to consider spreading out coffee grounds around your plants. Most squirrels hate its scent, so they wouldn’t dare go near it.

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