Will Poison Get Rid of Squirrels?

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In a word, no, poison will not get rid of squirrels. It might kill off a number of other wild animals in the area though, just in case that was the outcome you were looking for. (Although, we're assuming not.)



Poison doesn't actually really work that well for ANY wild animals, even the rats and mice that the product was intended for. In fact, rodents are starting to show a staggering immunity to the kind of rodenticides we’ve been using for decades to get rid of them, meaning that rat poison actually kills other animals, usually scavengers, by way of secondary poisoning. If you use poison for ANY wild animal, you are simply adding to this problem.

Poison is one of the least humane methods of killing an animal, and in many cases, it doesn't actually kill the animal at all. With many rodent poisons containing anticoagulant ingredients, internal bleeding is the biggest problem, and this is something that causes death over a long and painful period of time. It isn't instant, and you will have no control — and no knowledge — of where the creature will end up. If it dies, you will then have a body hunt on your hands ... before the smell gets too bad.

Squirrels are larger animals than rats or mice, so you would need a larger dosage to get rid of squirrels, than you would rats. The problem with this, of course, is that rat poison is actually designed to attract rodents — to lure them in with great tasting stuff so they eat and (hopefully, although, not usually) die. If you are putting something that is well-known to attract rodents, you can't be surprised if you actually attract a few.

There are a few successful ways to get rid of squirrels, but poison isn’t one of them. It’s dangerous, cruel, and doesn’t work.

Go back to the Squirrel Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Squirrels guide.