Should I ever poison a squirrel?

If you have a problem with squirrels and you would like to learn how to kill them, poison is not the right option to consider. First, there are no registered squirrel poisons that are available in the market, and poisoning a squirrel is typically illegal. The rodenticide that is available in the market is meant to kill rats and not squirrels. The examples are cholecalciferol, bromethalin and warfarin, which are ineffective on squirrels. The squirrel may not eat the rat poison if you try to use it. They are normally seed eaters and they prefer to eat the food available outside. Since the attic may have many squirrels, if you use the poison, you may only kill some of them, which means that poison is not good to solve the entire problem.



If the squirrel eats the poison, it can die within the attic and it will cause an odor problem. It will start to rot and it can lead to a terrible odor for the people who live in the house.

If you are still thinking of using the poison, you have to know that it has its advantages and drawbacks. To start with, when you put the poisoned food in one place, you are not sure if the squirrel will come back to that place, so it may be useless.

Poisoning is a cruel method to get rid of the squirrel since the animal will suffer before it dies. Even if the squirrel finds the poison, it may not be strong enough for the squirrel to die. The baits that are often used along with poison to kill the squirrel are small pieces of candy bar, peanut butter, sweetened nut products and nuts. However, keep in mind that these baits may also attract children and pets, so you may end up doing more harm unintentionally.

Anticoagulants work after 2 to 3 days, and the squirrels will have enough time to go away from your property and die at another location. The squirrel will die because of anemia and hypovolemic circulatory shock.

Strychnine is a dangerous substance that is used for killing pests. It will be absorbed quickly into the stomach, and it will lead to clinical signs at least two hours after the intake. You can use a few tablespoons on the bait. The signs include nervousness, severe seizures, tremors, anxiety, drooling and then acute death.

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Should I ever poison a squirrel?