Squirrel resistant spring flowers?

I live with VERY aggressive squirrels. I've tried to co-exist with them with creating a special feeding area and various repellents but they still eat all my crocus flowers. (I've mastered the bulb planting but once the plants are growing they are on their own.) So before I spend a ton of cash on experimenting I'm hoping to get some advice about spring bulb flowers that squirrels will not eat.

I know they don't eat daffodils, dwarf irises, and snowdrops. Any other suggestions?

I am thinking live traps and relocation.

I have already moved 20 squirrels. There is a never ending supply. So I have to learn to co-exist with them

I read they don't like scilla or muscari much. I have lots of squirrels and they don't usually touch mine, although they'll occasionally nibble on a bloom. I don't even bother with crocus or most tulips anymore. They do, however, tend to leave my species tulips (i.e. greigii, kaufmanniana, etc.) alone for the most part.

We had a huge squirrel and rabbit population and tried lots of repellants and then came across a product called 'Deer Scram' which we sprinkled around everywhere and it seemed to have made the squirrels disappear for the most part (but not so much the deer).

This year the squirrels haven't bothered my Crocus 'tommies' (yet) so I might recommend a try with those (along with a dose or two of 'Deer Scram'). We still don't plant tulips but do put in muscari and daffs with a good amount of success. I noticed my neighbor had some success this year with the early blooming red tulips kaufmannias (?) which surprised me and I might try next year. They look quite jaunty with the yellow daffs against the grey/brown landscape here.

My mom says putting a sprinkle of crushed oyster shells above and below the bulb while planting helps a lot. I guess it hurts their little paws when they start digging. I've also heard of using cayenne pepper, but you's have to keep re-applying it after it rains.

jxmas, We don't have as much trouble with squirrels as we do with chipmunks. We've relocated over 100 of them in only 2 years. They multiply so fast. We now have a great hunting cat that keeps the population under control. We also have lots of bunnies that like to eat my plants too. I found these in a local store a while back. I'm hoping it will help. I do have some extra. Would you like to try some?

http://www.merrifieldgardencenter.com/products.php?pid=1278&openparent=196



Kathy

This message was edited Apr 1, 2006 2:51 PM

Kathy,could those pellets be "Irish Spring "soap,I chip up a little off a bar every now and then,and it keeps all mentioned pest away.Mike

Daffodils are good against squirrels and deer. We have both and the daffodils do best.

It's a systemic pest repellent. It makes the bulbs and eventually the plant taste bad.

I've never hear of using "Irish Spring" as a pest repellent. It's inexpensive too. I like that. I've also read that you can also hang bars of Ivory soap on trees and fence around your yard to keep deer out. Haven't tried it myself though. Has anyone else tried these with good success?

Kathyvm,
I lost 3 hibicus trees to deer. I even planted them about three feet from the house and the deer were still brazen enough eat the hibiscus and all my blooming roses, too! My Azaleas are way out in the yard and they never touched those! Anyway, last summer I hung a bar of Dial soap in a netted bag in my hibiscus tree and it worked like a charm. This year I'll try it with my roses, too.

JoAnn

WOW! Thanks so much for all your suggestions.

Kaythvm -- I totally sympathize with your chipmunk infestation. I've watched these city squirrels out race dogs, cats, and crazy NYC taxi drivers. Thank goodness they still fall for the peanuts-in-a-cage trap.

flowerfrenzy -- I've tried various versions of pepper-based repellent, they've been best at preventing the constant digging (especially with any new plantings), but do nothing against the constant eating when the plant is grown.

I will definitely try out the systemic repellent and the deer scram.

Best of all I now have a plant list for the fall. AWESOME!