Squirrels tearing up garden

There are at least three squirrels digging up various parts of the garden looking for last fall's acorn stashes. Used cayenne pepper with good results but doesn't last through the weather especially down here in Louisiana.

Would it be better to feed the squirrels with peanuts to draw their attention away from the acorns? Or would that make matters worse as I draw more squirrels to my property? And should I do the feeding near the garden to distract them right away? Or should the feeding take place many yards away?

Feeding them peanuts (or any other nuts), near or far may only make things worse since one will stash away the nuts while another watches which will then dig up that stash once the other leaves and hides it in his own stash and so on...
Can't tell you a sure fire way to keep them away. I guess you'll just have to be persistent with the pepper.

Get a dog. LOL. Jody

EWWW those rodent's still make me cringe w/ anger. Your lucky your only dealing w/ 3 of them. 3-4 years ago, we planted literally several hundred(closer to1000+) tulip and other bulbs. We saw them all for 1 spring then came the squirrels. We thought "aww their planting nuts for winter, how cute" WRONG! They dug up EVERY SINGLE BULB except 1 tulip in the front that I don't even remember planting. I'm a major lover of wild life but that was the last straw. I ended up setting 2 live traps and got out my pellet gun too. In a 3 month period, I caught over 100 of those grey tree rats and that maybe under estimating the numbers. I tried relocating them several miles from the house and I painted a few w/ water color spray paint. They made it home almost before I did! All of the natural preditors that normally took care of squirrel populations have been ran off due to development etc. I hate to sound evil but I killed them all. I felt bad but man, they were eating patio furnature, chewing on the deck, eating cable and telephone wiring and that's just a few examples. After killing off all of those, we still have a huge population of them but the destructive ones are all gone. I've made peace with the new generations of them and I let them eat here too. Please don't think I'm a bad man for this but I couldn't find an alternative. I tried several scents like coyote, fox and other predator urines that are intended for keeping those critters away. I think they were sniffing it like punks sniff glue and laughed at me when they were high!LOLOL
Now we have a pair of red fox and the bobcat has returned. Between them and the hawks, everything seems back to normal. Man I still get angry about all of those hi $ hybrid bulbs we planted, those tree rats cost us easily 500$ in plants, wiring, patio furnature, plant pots and bird feeders.GRRR
If I were you, I'd try the predator scent's and garlic oil first, some people even use their own hair and anything else that smells like trouble to them. You can find most of these products and others at a good nursery. I hope you don't have a problem like I did. Part of me still feels bad about it untill I go out back and see the remaining damage that's left over. Who would ever think squirrels could eat pressure treated deck lumber or my plastic tubing for my patio mister system?
Oh well...It's all history now except my blood pressure rising just at the thought! LOL
Goodluck, Jeff

I think JODYC had your answer and all it would cost is the dog food, a few shots and a lot of love! My Mini Dachshunds solved my mole problem, and while they let squirrels run across the yard from Oak tree to Oak tree, NO WAY will they let a squirrel approach the house or plants! They could be a real problem here, we counted 25 between my neighbor's yard and mine one afternoon!
Pati

I agree that a dog could solve the problem. But let's for now assume that a dog is not an option. Everywhere I read not just in this thread but in others that the squirrels are essentially looking for food right where we don't want them to. Even JLD_II seems to concede that they're here to stay and they'll eat anything. So why not feed them but perhaps in a location away from the garden? Can't beat 'em, so join 'em kinda' thing.

dmadiola, when I moved here the first thing I did was set up my bird feeders. I think the underground "squirrel paper" advertised a new resturant in town (LOL). They came in droves, no birds could stay long enough to eat. I took the feeders down (sigh). But I planted plants for Butterflies in my containers and I am enjoying my "flying flowers" so much.

Smith and Wesson comes to mind.........lol

On a more serious note:
There are a number of commercial repellents that are on the market which claim to repel squirrels from flower beds and shrubs. They are available at hardware and garden stores. May want to check em out and give it a try.

You know squirrel potpie tastes just like chicken potpie when fixed correctly. And I know, I make a mean potpie!
We also have soaked them and then breaded and deep fried and they make an excellent appetizer.

We've been fighting the same battle for the last few months. Seems the most effective method is also the least desirable. Here's the recipe: Take one 4oz. paradichlorobenzene moth cake and 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper and place them in a ziplock bag. Crush with a hammer or rolling pin into a fine powder. Sprinkle lightly on the soil. This keeps them away for a day or two and then ya gotta do it again. And your neighborhood will smell LOVELY.
We've also planted black plastic forks with the tines sticking up just above the soil in our pots. Seems to be working so far.
P.S. We tried the expensive powdered fox urine that's supposed to be so effective... um, they stood in it while they were digging everything up. $20 down the drain.

I agree that feeding them will exacerbate the problem. The first time I tried bulbs I saw my beautiful pink tulips in my neighbor's yard down the street and my hyacinth were just GONE. So last fall when I put out quite an investment in bulbs I set them all out and covered them with chicken wire pinned down to the soil with garden staples. This spring when I saw the first signs of life I lifted it. I don't know how possible it would be to do this with your garden - in between plants or wherever you have the squirrel problem. I had been told to use garlic in the beds, or, as a second choice, chili powder. But I didn't want to affect the aroma of my flowers. In the past I have used moth balls set around plants in a circle and they had some staying power(I did this for my corn.). I have also read, but not tried, hanging the mothballs in a cheesecloth bag on fences, or what have you. Absolutely NOTHING kept them away from my sunflowers.