Warning- Don’t Let Your Pumpkins Kill Squirrels Across New York
For the Halloween season- This is a warning about how your pumpkins could kill squirrels.
Each Halloween, everyone tries to fill your newsfeed with tips on how to make your pumpkins aka your Jack-o-lanterns last longer once you carve them. We've reported on stories about WD-40 being used. To help make their pumpkins last a little longer, some people spray another concoction that could be deadly to wildlife like squirrels in New York.
Some people spray bleach on their carved pumpkins. Clorox even has tips on their website:
Keep your carved pumpkin from rotting this Halloween. Discover how to preserve a carved pumpkin with a bleach solution to keep your carved pumpkins fresh."
Unlike humans, animals and bugs can't smell poison or when food seems off. As we get closer to wintertime, animals start to become desperate for food and will most likely eat anything, even your bleach-covered pumpkins. Animals like squirrels, deer, raccoons, birds, bugs, and much other wildlife consider pumpkins to be food.
This is the plea that many animal rescues and animal protective agencies are making to convince those not to bleach pumpkins this year.
What To Use Instead
Wildlife agencies and probably a scientist somewhere say that an alternative to bleach to preserve your Jack-o'-Lantern longer is vinegar.
Try using a mixture of one part vinegar to 10 parts water in a spray bottle, spray your carved pumpkin inside and out, and it should do the same as bleach. Vinegar is not harmful to wildlife so use that instead if you're leaving your carved pumpkins outside."
If you need more tips, you can find them online here.
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