Plant sunflowers away from areas that squirrels can climb. Covering your individual fruit, such as pears or persimmons, with a wire mesh wrapping. The smells that squirrels hate are usually pungent: Garlic. Happy planting! They’ve got long bushy tails and are usually black, grey or rusty red. Fencing Is Your Friend. My name is Lisa, and I’m on a mission to expand my plant knowledge. Simply place human or dog hair in areas where the squirrels … That means to spoil their taste, and change their smell. Here's an example of … And this also means that a lot of their digging isn’t about searching for food, but rather finding a good hiding spot for nuts they have already found. keep squirrels from pushing them around, and yet leave enough gaps Squirrels dig primarily to bury their cache of food, such as acorns or nuts. Using lethal traps is a little drastic and there are good live-trapping devices that work quite well. If you have outside pets, be my other tips for keeping cats out of your plants. Squirrels are tenacious creatures and if they decide to dig a tunnel in your potted plant, it may seem like keeping squirrels out of containers is a hopeless task. Consider hanging decorative or shiny elements near your potted plants to scare squirrels away For example, try colorful pinwheels or spinners, old CDs, or aluminum pie pans. You can use homemade sprays with garlic or strong citrus oils, or sprinkle hot cayenne pepper on the leaves as well as the surrounding soil. Play nice. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Understanding your opponent is the first step in defeating him. pests. Chicken wire or other mesh material can Press Esc to cancel. digging. Try using one to protect your garden while watering your plants at the same time. Onions. The tiny bushy-tailed animals are known for destroying gardens, damaging plants, and ruining landscaping. Certain ground squirrels eat flowers and plants as well as dig, so you need to prevent them from getting at both the plant and the soil. Alternatively, a thick layer of mulch may be beneficial for keeping squirrels out of containers and will be much healthier for plants. providing you don’t create too much of a barrier for water. Hardware cloth, plastic bird netting, chicken wire, and summer weight row covers all provide effective protection. Don't spend ages (like us!) You can construct cages around individual plants or around a whole bed, or … actually have a wide varied diet that includes fruit, vegetables, Another choice is to mount a plastic owl or hawk model on a nearby perch. A relatively easy way to keep squirrels out of your potted plants is to make them as unappealing as possible. You can use homemade sprays with garlic or strong citrus oils, or sprinkle hot cayenne pepper on the leaves as well as the surrounding soil. The idea that squirrels are always If you want to … plants from a number of burrowing insects or other plant-eating This tip is as cheap as you can get and also relatively easy. You can buy handsome antique replicas, or create simple DIY cloches with chicken wire. Bone meal, fish emulsion, blood meal, and some other natural fertilizers … A light layer of … Keeping Squirrels Out Of Gardens: Tips On Protecting Tomatoes From Squirrels, Cayenne Pepper In The Garden - Tips For Growing Cayenne Peppers, Ways To Use Peppermint – Learn About Peppermint Plant Uses, Garden Inside During Winter: How To Plant An Indoor Winter Garden, Growing Food For Christmas: How To Grow Christmas Dinner, Boxwood Wreath Ideas: Tips For Making Boxwood Wreaths, Variegated Viburnum Plants: Tips On Growing Variegated Leaf Viburnums, Goji Berry Plant Propagation: How To Propagate Goji Berry Seeds And Cuttings, Echinacea Deadheading: Do You Need To Deadhead Coneflowers, Rooting Viburnum Cuttings: How To Propagate Viburnum From Cuttings, Fresh-Cut Pine Tree Smell: Perfect Christmas Tree Memories, Norfolk Island Pine - The Perfect Christmas Tree, Winter Survival Guide: Creative Ways To Garden In Winter, Evergreen Favorite: Container Grown Olive Trees. This option is a bit riskier, as it can make your squirrel problem worse. The Practical Planter also participates in programs from ShareASale and other sites and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. The mixture is powerful enough to irritate your skin, lips, and eyes, so use with care. Both of these techniques also work if you have a cat using your potted plants as a litter box. Turns out squirrels … You may be able to entice your small thieves to another area of the yard by providing them with a better option. Seeds … Hanging a few foil pie plates is a classic one, letting them clatter around unpredictably in the breeze. Chances are, you’ll find their tasty treasure trove buried a few inches (7.5 to 15 cm.) Blood meal or fish emulsion … One of the methods I frequently recommend for deterring squirrels from bird feeders, gardens and fruit trees is to feed them … As an interesting side note, you can also use this type of hot pepper technique to keep squirrels out of a bird feeder. Use Some Repellents. smooth river stones are excellent for this. 1. If you want to protect your plants from squirrels… cayenne pepper, one chopped onion, and one chopped jalapeno pepper. deep in your containers. Just be aware that these are high in nitrogen and actually sold as fertilizers. are the only thing a squirrel is looking for in your yard. Add dried blood (blood meal) to the potting mix. Large They’re heavy enough to How to Protect your Plants from Squirrel Damage I Must Garden RTU Spray Squirrel Repellent was developed to repel squirrels from destructively chewing on flowers, buds and plants. They are unable to taste cayenne pepper, leaving them to eat your bird seed as usual. Shield ground crops with row covers, create an enclosure with chicken wire or even build a greenhouse to protect tempting treats from squirrels. Using natural squirrel repellents in the … Here's how to keep squirrels out of your garden. These types of traps can be purchased at most home improvement stores or garden centers. If you don’t like the idea of surrounding your plants, try cutting small pieces that you can lay under the surface of the soil. Squirrels are nimble creatures. Some … Or, you can line the planting hole itself with wire mesh (“hardware cloth”). Get strategic with your gardening. may still nibble on the plants, but at least they won’t be digging or That means to spoil their taste, and change their smell. A layer of stones can do the trick, block the exposed soil surface of your container plants. This is when their quest for nuts is at its highest because they have to store them away. Cayenne pepper can be painful on thenose, and that’s not just squirrels. Give those a try first. These work best with container gardening, which is what I mostly do on our back patio, but several of these can be applied directly to your bed gardens. Protecting potted plants from squirrels is basically a matter of trial and error, but the following suggestions are certainly worth a try. consider. Blood meal is a high-nitrogen fertilizer, so be careful not to apply excessive amounts. Annoy them. If you have blackberry vines or wild roses growing nearby, cut a few stems and poke them into the soil, standing upright. The best part is that it won’t do any harm to your visiting birds. Set one or two up around your potted plants, and bait with whole peanuts or peanut butter. See my other tips for keeping cats out of your plants, if that’s a problem for you. Squirrels are one of the most common annoyances for homeowners throughout Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. after nuts isn’t accurate and you shouldn’t assume that nuts or seeds Aluminum flashing works well for wrapping tree trunks, and also prevents squirrels from … The best way to prevent squirrels from damaging and eating your sunflower plants is to use fluttering or moving items, baffles, aluminum oil around the stalk, and planting the right type of plants as a border. plants. Active during the day, they can also be a year-round problem because they don’t really hibernate in the winters. Just use this method...tried, tested and proven! Any fencing should be placed up to a foot into the ground to … Pour the strained mixture into a spray bottle and use it to spray the soil around potted plants. Protecting potted plants from squirrels is basically a matter of trial and error, but the following suggestions are certainly worth a try. If you have outside pets, beaware that they will get a surprise if they start nosing around yourplants. A great way to do that is to "hire" a dog or cat to patrol the yard. Today I’m going to share 5 tricks to keep squirrels out of your plants that I have picked up in the last few years of gardening. Sign up for our newsletter. … If you’ve had it up to here with potted plants and squirrels, here are a few suggestions that may help. Mix chilli powder in bird feeders to deter the squirrels. Protect your plants Protecting planted bulbs from squirrels with a layer of chicken wire One of the most important things you can do if squirrels are an issue is to protect your plants. Human hair: This a great trick and is very easy to do. This approach also means you don’t accidentally kill another animal that happens to make their way into the trap, like the neighbor’s cat. Once you have a squirrel captured, take it to any nearby wooded area away from your home and let it go. Though they don’t hibernate, and need a continuous source of food all through the winter. Keep Your Yard Clean. Natural repellents may include cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, vinegar, peppermint oil, or garlic (or try a combination of two or more). There are few avenues you can trying to protect your plants from squirrels. Flower pots are ideal because potting soil is so soft and easy for squirrels to dig in. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! uprooting anything. Cover potted plants with a cage made from chicken wire, plastic bird netting, or hardware cloth – especially during the offseason when squirrels are more prone to “planting” their stash, which they normally come back for later, digging up precious bulbs in the process. Expect to see them around no matter the season. You’ll need to take a few extra steps to keep squirrels out A layer of rocks on top of the potting soil may discourage squirrels from digging. However, rocks can become hot enough to damage plants during the summer months. They Plants flowers that squirrels … Try to add nuts and seeds to a bagful of powder. Just mix the pepper in with the bird food, and the squirrels will soon start to look elsewhere for a snack. Ensure that their favorite nuts are … Metal mesh cloches are ideal for young vegetable plants, especially leafy greens. ... you can build single cages to protect individual plants or you can build a larger cage that will cover a small bed (example, 6 feet by … The key is to always keep it filled, or you are just going to draw more squirrels to the yard that end up in your flowers when the feeder is empty. Stop squirrels from eating your garden plants by giving them something else to eat. You just have to cut it down to the right sizes to fit your critters out of your potted plants? Mix something into the potting soil that squirrels find distasteful. nose, and that’s not just squirrels. can be an excellent way of doing a little gardening in areas where So how do you keep these clever Squirrels are agile rodents that most people recognize as they dart around in the yard, or scurry from tree branch to tree branch. Similarly, create a homemade squirrel repellent consisting of 2 tablespoons (29.5 mL.) Use a wire farm basket for low-growing plants, making sure that it comes to the edge of the flower pot. As an added layer of protection, surround plants with fencing, netting, or chicken wire, all of which will help keep squirrels out. Fencing and its cousin netting are the best deterrents for protecting your … You can also plant bulbs these rodents don't like, such as daffodils and fritillaria, throughout the garden." To keep squirrels from plants or beds, install a cage or cover. squirrel. Only use them in your container plants if you know the soil can withstand the extra nutrients. Your dog: If you have a dog that behaves well outside, you can let him/her stay in your garden to scare the squirrels away. tubers, flowers, and even bird eggs or insects on occasion. The Practical Planter is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. The thorns may be sharp enough to discourage squirrels from digging. While you might find the scent of coffee delicious, squirrels don't. plant containers. I’ll share what I learn as I develop my green thumb. Building cages to enclose your plants is probably the most effective method of protecting tomatoes from squirrels. A relatively easy way to keep squirrels out of your potted plants is to make them as unappealing as possible. 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