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froggy
Senior Member
Posts: 269
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:54 pm
Location: Toronto, ON, zone 5a

my planters look like a war zone!

any advice on how to deal with squirrels?
I have a few planters out with 1-2 year old tree and lavender seedlings, and the squirrels are pulling one out after another... they are going after literally everything this year, the lavender, lilac, geraniums, daffodils (ok I expected that one), seeds of tomato, assorted tree seeds and morning glory.
huh, actually the chives have gone unharmed :)
I've sprinkled cayenne pepper over all the soil, but they are just digging through it.
if I squirt them with water, they just move out of reach, if I throw anything at them, they actually come back to check if it's edible (someone obviously is feeding them).

what can I do apart from locking my dog on the balcony with the plants?
has anyone tried moth balls or chili flakes?

thanks...

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Kisal
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Posts: 7646
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:04 am
Location: Oregon

Moth balls are seriously poisonous, and the problem with putting out poison is that there is no way to prevent other creatures from getting into it ... even your own dog, or some birds that come to eat insect pests.

I used hardware cloth to make covers for my containers. Once the plants got to be about 5 or 6 inches tall, the animals didn't seem to bother them anymore. IMO, that might be because the seed has been used up by the plant. I think the squirrels just dig to get the seeds, so no seeds, no digging.

I do toss some black oil sunflower seeds around on the ground for the squirrels, well away from any seedling plants I'm growing. Another thing the squirrels might be after is water. Small plants contain a lot of moisture, so a pan of water might keep them away from your plants, too.

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Good suggestions from Kisal. I have lots of squirrels and they rarely bother my garden, except they will take bites out of tomatoes given the chance. But I agree that what they are likely looking for isn't really plants, it's seeds, which they love. So if you just put out more mature plants and/or you can cage/protect the more juvenile ones, you shouldn't have so much trouble.



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