Squirrels

I asked the instructor in one of my gardening classes how to deal with squirrels and she said "high-velocity led." I'm not going to go that route although some days my thoughts do turn to violence against rodents.

I has anyone had success with moth balls or predator urine?

Someone suggested rubbing my pots with jalapeño peppers.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Maureen

Good morning
If your bushy tailed rodents are as smart as mine,none of the above works.I have tried them all.I practise rodent relocation.I catch them in a have a heart trap using crunchy peanut butter as bait and then relocate them far from home.Even that is starting not to work quite as quickly as before.
This also works for racoons but the bait is sardines.They just can't resist it.Hope this helps.

Ah, the Squirrel question!
In my backyard the Squirrels dug over my potted plants and chewed up the leaves and flowers. They also dumped them onto the ground, where they became Bunny- food. I tried EVERYTHING to deter the Squirrels. Nothing worked!! (There are some books out on the subject, check Amazon)
After years of frustrations which included a wonderful trapped Skunk, some birds and an Opossum, my terrific DH came up with this solution last Spring:
http://kammlott.net/July2004/cage.jpg

It works!! This cage is 30 feet long.

Other than that, I protect some of my in-the-ground-plants ( those against the side wall) with bird-netting, that works too.

RUK
Wow! Where did you buy that and how much did it cost?Does it come in smaller sizes?I have a pergula where I keep alot of my pots.The squirrels just have to taste almost everything I plant.This could be a solution.I tried chicken wire for my herb and veggie garden.That works too but it is ugly.

Downscale,
My cage had a previous life as a toolbin in a factory. We acquired it before the building was to be demolished. It was reassembled in our backyard and I gave it several coats of green Rustoleum paint.
Squirrels can only LOOK longingly inside now!! It screens all birds except little Sparrows, which fly just through.
Now here is the company which made the toolbin.
http://wirecrafters.com/
You will be able to make yourself a cage of any size you want. Just purchase the panels and set them up as you wish.

Ursula

Downscale,

Apparently my rodents are smarter than their small craniums let on. They killed several of my plants last year, by digging and dumping them on the ground. The trapping idea is one I may definately consider.

RUK;

Your cage looks awsome, I was dreaming of such a thing just today :)

I can't do anything that good, but I have some hardware cloth and may try to come up with something.
Thanks,

Maureen

Hi,

I used to have the same problem with squirrels till i tried a product called ro-pel and it worked. :) its pre mixed and you just spray your plants. it didnt seem to bother seedlings either.
Now i have a cat thats my squirrel chaser...hehe ...but i keep the ro-pel on had just incase, max (the cat)desides not to do his job.And no max is not for hire...LOL

I live in the center of a town of 70,000. Many large trees and many, many, many squirrels. In the last few years we have gone from red to gray sguirrels with a big difference. The grays eat and destroy EVERYTHING. I have personaly liberated 67 grays since last November and as I type this I count 9 of the little darlings on my patio. (just a scouting party) They love hot pepper and will reproduce faster than you can reload. Two Hawks have taken residence in my back yard because of the unlimited food supply. I can expect the latest generation to appear in a few weeks. Sorry about the rambling "BUT YOU CAN NOT WIN".

Hi Miss,

I looked up ro-pel and I plan to try it out. Thanks for the info!

>>>The grays eat and destroy EVERYTHING.

bentonstreet,

I know that is true. I there is nothing they won't touch. So far I have been successfully bribing them with nuts on the other end of the yard, but I too have seen far too many rodents on my small patio. I keep a stick by the door because now they don't run on sight anymore, I have to chase them!

Maureen

Ro-pel and anything else you might try will lose its charm after a while. These little "Weisenheimer" - Squirrels are not to be discouraged in the long run. Either introduce a TRUE predator or cage your stuff. ( I opted for the second ), you can't outsmart a Squirrel!

Hi Maureen,

I hope the ro-pel works for you as it did for me :) I tried many repellents before I bought that .. yes I even tried the urine stuff to that’s a joke! if the squirrels have never seen a fox how is fox urine going to work....hehe... this I was told after I bought it and tried it...what a waste of money that was.

So far I haven't had any problems with the little scamps. Of course my "garden" is all in pots but they haven't even shown an intrest in them. Course my killer dog patrols the yard. Only problem is if she caught one I'm pretty sure she'd only lick it to death. I wonder why they don't seem to even bother with my yard. I see them run along the back fence and gather things from the front yard but they never seem to even notice anything in the back of the house.

araness, it must be the killer dog.. :)

LOL...yep she's reaaaaal mean. I mean is this a killer or what? *G*

what, she doesn't even have 3 towering drooling heads??

She is cute!

That is surely a killer dog!!!!! i would run if i see her coming toward me....run to her that is...hehe

LOL yes, she's a real killer. The only thing I've ever seen her get angry at are the lizzards. I think the only reason she doesn't like them are that they run and hide. To her this isn't playing fair, the squirrels etc will run but she can still see them but the tiny lizzards take cover under rocks, decking etc.

Well. I bout the hardware cloth and am going to get to making cages as best I can. I'm still going to try the ro-pel too. Anyone with plans for cages that a do it yourself illiterate like me can try, please speak up :)

Araness, what a cutie! Better than squirrels any day.

Maureen

RUK
You are so right!Even the chunkey peanut butter will not get them into the trap at this stage.It only works in the the winter when I'm not planting anything more interesting.A few years ago I heard a program on NPR about the greys.They came over with the Scotch Irish on the boats and are decimating our reds.At that time there was a bounty on their heads in Ireland.DEAD HEADS I mean.

Downscale
interesting info, I didn't know that.
As cute as they look, we don't call them tree rats for nothing. Roast a few and toast a few....nahhh - not really!

Know this isn't humane, but...........

YIKES! I couldn't use them...*sigh* my baby (puppy) would end up with her nose right in the trap.