Keeping Squirrels out of your garden
Practice good sanitation and maintenance: As is so often the case in the garden, prevention is the best solution. Don't leave pet foods out in the open. Cover garbage cans and barbecues. Prune branches six feet away from the ground and from the roof of your property. Repair construction gaps (with wood or sheet metal) to keep squirrels from making a nest in your attic.
Squirrel proof your trees and shrubs: Trees that are sufficiently far apart from each other can be squirrel-proofed by fastening a 12-inch-wide band of sheet metal around the trunks six feet from the ground. Some folks completely cage-off their bushes and small trees before the fruit ripen. Others suspend aluminum pie plates from their woody plants, and dare squirrels to run the gauntlet. They often do.
Cage your bulbs: Before planting bulbs, set homemade or store-bought metal cages into planting holes. Alternatively, place a wire mesh over the entire bed once you've finished planting. To avoid interference with new growth, ensure that the mesh holes are 2 1/2 inches in diameter, or simply remove mesh in spring. Bulbs can also be dipped in RO-PEL®, a commercial repellent, prior to planting.
Use barriers for your flowers and vegetables: Various barriers—chicken wire, hardware cloth, 1- to 2-inch metal mesh—can be spread over the ground and cut to fit around plant stems. Or completely cover over newly planted vegetables with a chicken wire fence.
Experiment with repellents and electronic deterrents: Sensory barriers like hot pepper wax, mothballs, and predator urine can be used around the garden, but need to be reapplied and alternated on a regular basis (they are not that effective). Sound-emitting devices seem to have very limited effectiveness (Don't waste your money. In order to deter squirrels, they'd have to be so loud that they'd deter you as well).
Set up a diversion feeding station: If it took the squirrels just a few minutes to figure out how to break into your fancy new "squirrel-proof" bird-feeder, distract them with their own alternative feeder somewhere else in the yard. (This works)
© Copyright 1994-2010 Mary Cummins 2002-2011 Animal Advocates
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