Minor panic over squirrels

[GardenRN]

Does anyone know if squirrels eat freshly planted garlic loves?? I went outside to tinker in the garden a while and I noticed that the garlic beds were full of squirrel holes. A little exploring showed that there was nothing at the bottom of the holes, so they weren't burying anything, but its really hard to tell if all the garlic is there or not. If they ate it I need to plant more NOW. If I just plant without knowing I could have way too much garlic in the bed and have wasted a good bit of money replacing them.

I need to get more critter ridder.

[Tilde]

How "just"? If it's like a week, I don't think (completely uninformed guess) that it shouldn't be bad to just give the whole bed a good grope - maybe get a bit of string to mark for yourself where each is.

Then, whether you replant or add more or not, (you have those half barrels, right?) , drill some holes in the side of the planter, get some hardware cloth (they make a cheap plastic kind now but still tough or get metal, whatever) and throw a top over the bed, using zipties to secure it.

That was my plan if the burrowers kept bothering my carrots ...

[GardenRN]

Well I probed a bit and found two rows that seem to be undisturbed. and I read somewhere else that squirrels may dig it up but tend to leave it right there on top of the dirt. (which they didn't) So I am leaning toward the idea that the beds are still in tact.

I could plant it in the barrels and cover them, problem is we're talking about 200 garlic cloves spaced 6" apart. That will take up way too many barrels. That's why I put these in the ground. I started in the barrels and found that after 2 barrels I hadn't even put a dent in the pile of cloves I had to bury. So I moved to the ground. Maybe I'll just stretch some chicken wire over the bed on the ground. Then they can't dig. I just hope all the cloves are still in there. I guess I'll find out when they start coming up. The cloves have about an inch of root on them now. So I'll probably have a good feel in about 2 more weeks.

[Tilde]

Ah yeah. Chicken wire & hold down with cinder blocks. maybe you can replant where you see empty spOts soon.

I keep forgetting y'all are real garden size gardens, not just snackies like me.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I keep forgetting y'all are real garden size gardens, not just snackies like me.

Jeff, If you don't have chicken wire, maybe a few stakes and zig-zag some string across your bed. Make sure it is low, so they can't just crawl under. Tripwire.

Eric

[Father's Daughter]

I've had some digging in my garlic bed as well, but what I'm finding near the holes are pieces of acorn shells. We have a very large oak tree near my garden so I do often end up with acorns making their way into it. No sign of any dug up cloves as far as I can tell.

[john gault]

Does anyone know if squirrels eat freshly planted garlic loves?? I went outside to tinker in the garden a while and I noticed that the garlic beds were full of squirrel holes. A little exploring showed that there was nothing at the bottom of the holes, so they weren't burying anything,...:

Luckily they stay out of my garden, I think because they got plenty of shaded area under my trees to dig around, and I've also seen those shallow empty holes left by the squirrels; they also love my compost pile.


Edit: I just remembered (after I hit the "submit" button) that once in a while they do come in my garden to eat on the sunflowers, but the cat usually chases them out; they're really taking a chance since they're away from the safety of a tree. I doubt they will eat on garlic, but I'd be more worried with tomatoes and such. If they did dig up any garlic, I'm willing to bet it wasn't to get at the garlic.

[Gary350]

Squirrels are my friends they never eat anything in my garden except Sun Flower seeds after the plants make seeds. I put up a squirrel nesting box and they have babies 2 times every years, spring and fall. The babies are cute.

[GardenRN]

FD and JG, thanks! This is what I was hoping to hear. I didn't think they'd really want to go after the actual garlic, especially since it is used a lot in repellents. I think they were at the compost, or maybe just enoying digging for stray acorns in the soft soil. I too have several large oaks in neighboring yards and the acorns end up all over my garden. I'm always pulling a few that have started t grow. Much more settling to know that they probably aren't specifically after the garlic cloves. Thanks

[DeborahL]

Gary, I loved your post. I once had 13 squirrel friends. Even named them and knew (for the most part) who was who.
I bought huge bags of bird seed for them, and cut up apples every day.
I bought bags of frozen corn kernels for the crows.
It was a happy time in my life.

[gardenvt]

I planted a few garlic cloves in the early summer and found the squirrels were just digging them up and leaving them. When I planted out this fall, I made a cover of sorts - 2x4 frame w/chicken wire - that I will use for some of the drying next year - dual purpose.

The squirrels dug up small plants all season and would leave them alone after awhile. The only thing they really bothered - and not that much - was the kale. They would pick it and not eat it. I wouldn't have minded so much had they eaten what they picked - "take what you want but eat all you take." Last year, it was Hansel eggplants. They climbed into the bush and would bite them off and bury them.

I shut down some beds and topped with compost over the weekend and as soon as we went into the house, those guys were out digging at it - surely we buried some that they want!

I don't mind them as long as they don't destroy the garden.

[Fig3825]

A note about something I read regarding squirrels.

First, they destroyed my corn this year. Ate the immature corn fruits right off the stalks. And to make things first, they only 'ate the bellies'. By this I only mean rather than eating a fruit until they were done, they went to each and every fruit and took a couple bites, ruining pretty much the entire crop. I had no idea what it was eating it until I finally caught one out there in the process of chowing down.

What I read is that squirrels are not as clever as people think they are. While they can maneuver the most difficult mazes to get to the food, they bury their nuts and whatnot all over the place and have no idea where they buried them. They dig randomly or when they smell something as opposed to going back to a location where they 'remembered' burying something.

On another note, they do eat garlic contrary to what you might think. Chicken wire as mentioned above will do the trick - or a dog loose in the yard...or a shotgun.

[rainbowgardener]

I have tons of squirrels and pretty much garlic; I've never seen squirrels bothering the garlic.

But everyone in the world loves corn. Back when I had plenty of garden space (but no fence), I gave up trying to grow it, because squirrels, raccoons, possums, woodchucks, mice, deer, birds (all of which we had on our property) and any other critters around all went crazy for it, and none of them cared whether it was ripe or not. I think you can only grow corn with a BIG fence around it, dug deep enough to prevent burrowing under and screened across the top for the birds.

And yes, squirrels forget where they buried things. I think that's the only way walnut trees get planted. I have a big black walnut tree that drops bushels of walnuts every year. But as near as I can tell the only ones that ever sprout are the ones the squirrels buried (the squirrels like to dig in my flower beds where the ground is soft). And yes, squirrels are famous for taking two bites out of everything instead of finishing any. They will do that to tomatoes too, if given the chance.

[DeborahL]

I should say something-I too know the pain of my fruits and vegetables and even baby lemons destroyed by squirrels.
I fed them in hopes of keeping them less interested in my garden, but also because I love to love the not-so-loved.
Kudos to all of you who aren't doing anything cruel.

[Tilde]

Alright, all this garlic talk has me tempted ... I've got a cold shaded spot that gets sun in the summer, not winter north side of the house, in the alley where I was going to plant the blueberry bushes.

Can I just dig it up and plant a bunch of garlic I have (not sprayed to retard growth) in there and see what happens? Sure, I'm zone ten but ... it's a very coool spot ...

[applestar]

I don't know that garlic needs a cool spot or are you concerned that it's a cool spot?

Most important to remember is that there are northern garlic and southern garlic. Not for the heat/cold but for the day length. it's hard to believ here in the northern latitudes where summer day/night is something like 16/8, but they are closer to equal length the closer you get to the equator. And garlic like onions won't form bulbs if wrong type is grown.

Presumably though southern garlic tends to tolerate summer heat and northern garlic tends to tolerate winter freeze.

[GardenRN]

Most important to remember is that there are northern garlic and southern garlic. Not for the heat/cold but for the day length. it's hard to believ here in the northern latitudes where summer day/night is something like 16/8, but they are closer to equal length the closer you get to the equator. And garlic like onions won't form bulbs if wrong type is grown.

Presumably though southern garlic tends to tolerate summer heat and northern garlic tends to tolerate winter freeze.

junk, I didn't know this. I hope I (by chance) got the right kind when I bought the garlic heads from walmart, separated, and planted. :::sigh::: just when you thought you had it figured out.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Tilde,

This may help. https://greyduckgarlic.com/Southern_Garlic_Grower_Guide.html

Eric

[Tilde]

Thanks - I've read that and a few others that deal with garlic in Florida I just have no idea what it is though I can probably take pix before I bury them. I've been looking for softneck garlic starts to no avail.

I want it to be a cool spot so its not too hot for the garlic and or onions; we likely won't freeze at all but I want it to have some cool weather to see how it goes. For comparison I'll also stick a 5 gal pickle bucket in that corner with a few cloves, too.

I can't really tear up the front and side yards but at the moment the spot is slightly disguised by a bench in which I am storing bricks. Eventually that will be replaced with a broad ring of blueberry bushes. So if it's a great garlic bed, wohoo.

It's also near the a/c unit (though not in the drip zone) so hopefully the noise will repel ground varmints (I've NEVER found trails of them in that area over the years). This willl allow it to avoid the flood zone that is the side yard in general - when it rains it's a little stream from the back of my yard to the sidwalk :boo:

[Runningtrails]

I hope you can find a way to deter them! My huge, hunting tomcat takes care of anything smaller than he is that comes near our place, squirrels, chipmonks, moles, mice, you name it - he kills it. Sometimes it a little sad. The only chipmonks I have seen here were a couple in the fall making a nest in the barn. I like the chipmonks but I knew they wouldn't last. Both ended up dead on the front porch, one at a time. He just lines em all up on the porch. He eats most of the mice, but not all. Sometimes he brings them in the door and drops them on the foot of the person who opens it. (That's fun!)

He went through a faze this past summer when he thought we wanted to kill them ourselves, for some reason! We chased half dead mice around the porch for about two months. Then he quit bringing them home alive. Many mornings I find mice stomachs on the porch, whole, and I know he caught a mouse. He has learned to eat them cleanly and just leave the stomach for us to see.

He's so proud of himself! He just purrs and coos and preens when he brings something home. We always praise him, of course. His field mice catching skills are vital out here.

Anyway, we don't have a lot of problem with squirrels. We don't have a lot of squirres. Now racoons are another story...and skunks too! We have had a skunk visiting our porch a few nights lately. I have been afriad that Shadow would come home and run into it, but hasn't happened yet.

I think we have other, larger animals that eat the squirrels too because I have only seen one or two around, even in the fall and have never seen one single rabbit in the years we've lived out here in the country. I know we have a lot of hawks and eagles, but haven't seen evidence of foxes or coyotes nearby.

Maybe you could get a big male cat? Shadow is our "guard cat". lol!