Does WD-40 Keep Squirrels Away?
No, WD-40 doesn’t keep squirrels away. It’s a lubricant, not a squirrel repellent, and spraying it around your roofline, vents or attic won’t make a squirrel leave or stop one from coming back. Much of the WD-40 advice online comes from bird feeder setups, where people spray poles to make them slick, and that has nothing to do with keeping squirrels out of a house.
Why It Doesn’t Work on Squirrels in the House
Whatever smell WD-40 has fades, and a slick coating wears off. Neither one does anything about a squirrel’s teeth. Squirrels gnaw through soffits, roofing material and push their way through vents. A squirrel that wants back into a dry, protected attic isn’t going to be stopped by a film of oil on the wood it’s about to chew through.
It’s even less likely to work on a squirrel that’s raising young. Squirrels have litters more than once a year, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s guide to Texas squirrels notes that young gray squirrels stay in the nest for about six weeks. A mother with a nest full of young will keep coming back no matter what’s been sprayed around the entry hole.
Why Spraying It in the Attic Is a Bad Idea
WD-40 aerosol cans carry a flammable warning. Squirrels in an attic gnaw on wiring, which already creates a fire risk, and coating the area around chewed wires and attic insulation with a flammable spray doesn’t help that situation. It also leaves an oily mess on wood and soffits that does nothing for the problem you’re trying to fix.
What Actually Keeps Squirrels Away
Keeping squirrels out of a house comes down to two steps in the right order. Every squirrel comes out first, and then every entry point gets sealed with material they can’t chew through. Seal first and you risk locking a squirrel in, and a locked-in squirrel will chew through whatever is in its way, ceilings included.
The Critter Team provides squirrel removal services that follow that order. We humanely trap the squirrels out, then close soft roof connections with 23 gauge aluminum fabricated on-site and secure vents with hardware cloth and custom metal fabrication. We don’t use spray foam or steel wool, because neither holds up.
So Does WD-40 Keep Squirrels Away?
No. WD-40 is a lubricant, and it won’t drive squirrels out of an attic or keep them from getting back in. It can make a feeder pole slippery for a while, but on a house it does nothing a squirrel’s teeth can’t get past. Removing the squirrels and sealing every entry point with metal is what keeps them away.