squirrels outside

[suzyqorchids]

Hello, all
this is my first post in the new format. I noticed there are no posts in 'growing outdoors' so thought I would ask all of you...what can I do about squirrels digging in my pots outside? I move my orchids from the greenhouse to outdoors in summer-have a new house and lots 'o squirrels. Nasty critters want to chew and dig everything. Please don't suggest a 22 rifle --I live in town and want to be able to care for my plants! Is there anything you can recommend?
Thanks in advance,
Suzyq

[Kathy-WPalmBeach]

We are pestered by squirrels eating the seed in the bird feeders. I don't know how many plants you have but we've found that Thai Sriracha (hot chile sauce) is something they do not like! I squirt the stuff on top of the feeders and it does keep the squirrels away. I have read that they don't like hot peppers. Maybe you could try sprinkling some hot pepper flakes. I don't think this would hurt the plants. Anyone have any experience with this?

[MrBreeze]

Hot pepper, ashes, bloodmeal, predator urine, fake owls....all rubbish. One good rain and anything you put on anything, is washed off.

I agree that a .22 is not appropriate in town. I recommend the Crossman 760 which is just a bb gun.

Some people swear by dogs but just as many will tell you they're lazy oafs and, for instance when it is hot, they may just lay about while the squirrels do their evil deeds.

Trapping and relocating won't work in the long run. You just open up more territory for the adjacent squirrels, which will then eat that much more and therefore reproduce, that much more. The same principle applies to shooting them and poisoning them.

Ultimately, if you really want to grow plants that you really care about, outside, where squirrels live, in the end you'll have no choice but to enclose your plants in some sort of cage or actively fight them in mortal combat. You might get away with hanging them up but *only* if the squirrel isn't interested. If you don't, they WILL destroy your plants, sooner or later.

I'll readily admit that they're very cute. But make no mistake, they are the ultimate evil. Good luck.

[Howard]

Squirrels don't bother me often. The following work very well for me:

1. Dogs
2. Hav-a-hart trap the offenders and relocate FAR enough that they will never return
3. Human urine

I haven't needed #2 & #3 this year. The trap remains in plain sight at all times of the year. My last visit from a squirrel was Thanksgiving Day, 2007. A squirrel left a half-eaten tomato inside an orchid pot on top of the railing of the outdoor deck. Really!

Howard

[fotofashion]

I'll have to agree with Howard re: Hav-a-Hart traps. DH was having trouble with squirrels eating his tomatoes until we trapped several and relocated them. That was two years ago and we have not had a recurrence. My orchids are (right now) on a table in the back yard, easily accesible to them and they have not bothered anything yet. Years ago I lost most of my orchids to squirrels-they ate the plants. Of course, I have a cat that just loves to stalk squirrels although I doubt she has ever caught one but she does keep them on the run.
Beverly A.

[Alice-NJ]

I have trouble with squirrels and ground hogs. The hot pepper stuff doesn't help, although I've never tried the hot thai chile sauce. What helps for me is powdered lime all around the plants. They say that the animals don't like it when it gets on their paws, and they use their paws to eat so they taste it. Another thing is plastic garden screening. I put that around my tomatoes.

[Vincent]

There is one easy, inexpensive, and entirely effective method for keeping squirrels and birds away from plants or away from anything you don’t want them to disturb. You suspend CDs within a few feet of the items you want to protect. The number required depends on the size of the area in question. Even one CD will protect a few plants situated close together.

It works because a CD reflects strong beams of light as it moves around in the air. If you are standing near one and unexpectedly pick up the moving light out of the corner of your eye, you might first perceive it as movement by a physical object or body. This is what squirrels perceive. It scares them away and keeps them away. In my experience, they have never become accustomed to it.

The handiest lightweight and durable string I have used for this purpose is dental floss.

[cjc45]

Cat hair works for me. I replenish about once a month. If you don't have cats (felines) your friends will be willing to share.

[hainiaBrorm]

We had squirrels in the roof/loft once, it drove me crazy.
They pulled all the loft insulation into a huge ball in one corner of the roof space too, and I HATE touching rockwool, it makes me itch like crazy
Death is the only option. I used live traps and executed them as and when they were caught.
The important thing is to find where theyre getting in and block it up Or youll hear that scratching in the loft again before you know it.