Squirrels in the corn?

Is this a common problem? My neighbors corn is being destroyed just as it's ready to be harvested. They're peeling back the husks and stripping the ears clean. He's grown corn for several years and they've never done this before! Anyone have tips to deter them?

A gun.

I've had squirrels tear up our corn patch so many times that I quit growing it for about 4 yrs (on our premises, anyway). They will eat or tear up more corn than the grower can get for him/herself.

This year I went for the .22 rifle cuz they were destroying our orchard (peaches first, then plums, then pears). I hope I put a dent in the squirrel poplulation because we have corn growing once again this yr. My goal is not to eradicate the squirrels but rather to thin them out abit so we can all learn to share again.

Your friend will have to learn to get up early and guard the cornpatch, all day long, either thru hollerin' out loud, traps, or a gun. (Thing about traps tho is they won't go in...there is too much to eat outside it.)

You made me LOL, Shoe. Nice succinct answer. Try adding coons, deer and crows to the mix. I haven't grown corn for years. Just too frustrating. I buy it from the nice man on the corner for $3.00 a dozen and let him worry about all the corn eating critters! I figure I'm ahead of the game on this one.

Put a radio in the corn patch turned on to a talk station. (Art Bell ought to do a job on those guys.) Seriously, the human voices might keep them away long enough for the corn to ripen. Or tie a dog nearby at night to bark and scare them. Electric fencing works too.

I too gave up growing corn for a number of years and am back at it this year. I have been thru the "it's cheaper and a surer thing to buy at the farmers market" - that's the sensible thing to do. It takes up too much room and in our climate we often get frost before the corn ripens but last week I picked my first half dozen ears and had them for breasfast and the smile on my face was as big as the cobs. Flowers are nice but there isn't anything that compares with picking and eating your own veggies every day. It must be the same satisfaction our forefathers had about a successful hunt or something.

Most of my first crop of corn failed to come up this year. After looking it over and scratching my head, I planted corn from a different source for a late crop. Turns out the pheasants (dozens of them!) were eating the seed.

My wife and I were talking about whether we were going to be able to sell any corn at the farmers market this fall because I'm worried about the pollination in the corn that's left. My wife asked "What about the pheasants?" My response was "Well, I was hoping to sell corn, but I guess we could raise pheasant instead!"