Garden tricks for pesky critters

[therealsilkiechick]

dispose of them in the trash is what we do. we wear rubber gloves incase they r carrying anything. don't mess with a live one though cause they will bite.

 

[FrenchHen]

Ick. Ok. Soggy dead squirrel is better than fat squirrel in garden.

 

[ChooksChick]

I LOVE my squirrels!!!!

We have about 400 of them in our yard, and so does each of our neighbors- in a tightly packed neighborhood!

I was laughing hysterically with the idea of relocating them...imagine flies on a pile of poo in the summer- that's how thick our squirrels inhabit our trees. Acorns, pecans and walnuts everywhere, etc...they're all over the street, crossing on the power lines, on the roofs...I could step out my back door and 7 or 8 would run off of my patio.

I grow peas and sunflowers and everything fine, but occasionally they'll get my tulip bulbs. My method is to get bulk corn and put it away from wherever my food garden is, so they're better occupied. I'll also spray plants down with red pepper tea- keeps certain bugs off of them, too. You can put it in a spray bottle and use it as bug repellent on your plants all summer.

I also have done the blood meal, and have used the coyote urine. My mother swears by eggshells around the plants, particularly with a bit of whites dried in the shells- must have a slight stink to it, I'd guess?

To keep squirrels away from or keep them from eating your garden plants, mix this:

* 1 gallon of water
* 5 capfuls of Murphy's Oil Soap
* 5 Tbsp. of cayenne pepper

Spray onto plants. This does not harm the plants and WILL keep the squirrels away! Obviously you'll want to reapply after repeated or heavy rains.

You can also soak some cotton balls in peppermint oil and put them around the plants. Some folks say planting hot peppers or peppermint around plants squirrels bother works, but generally this won't work with early things, like peas, because they won't have gotten big enough until much later.

I heard once that particular gardener I know had her DH, ahem, relieve himself in the flower bed, which could work I suppose, but i wouldn't try it in a veggie bed!! Concentrated male urine will work, but female urine draws male cats.


Whatever you do, DON'T use mothballs.

Birds can't smell them, even the wild birds, and they can be killed by the slightest bit leeching into the soil, etc. Lots of folks use this method and it's a nasty one for consequences. I can't imagine poisoning my girls like that by accident!

Lastly, for my asparagus up by my patio, I did have chicken issues last year, and I made an 'A' frame out of 3' wide hardware cloth left over from our banty tractor. I zip tied the top and bent the sides closed. Bamboo stakes inside fit through the top, and when the plants were good and established, I cut the ties and removed the frame.

There's no reason why this wouldn't work for squirrels.

 

[FrenchHen]

Great ideas. I've used pepper tea inside to keep the cats off my plants. I'm not worried so much about them eating the plants as stealing the seeds. My son will be more than happy to pee the perimeter.

 

[kb010]

another thing you could try is building a chicken moat around the garden? (just google chicken moat to see what I'm talking about) or just fencing in the garden, and cutting overhanging branches (if there are any). also--marigolds keep away rodents (bunnies, rats, maybe squirrels)--so plant a bunch of those around the perimeter of the garden. I would recommend a book called You Grow Girl to give you some more advice about controlling pests around the garden, etc. It's a great resource for such things, and all the techniques are free of chemicals =]. hope this helps

 

[#1California Chick]

French Hen

Just sprinkle cayenne pepper on the plants. The squirrels will stay away. I put it in with the bird seed to keep them out of the bird feeder (we have tree squirrels!). Squirrels can taste "hot" stuff, but birds cannot!

Cindy