I am so upset!

I went away to a convention for three days. When I got back, today, one of the first things I did was to check my garden. Where I'd planted five Chromacolor daffodils and two Pink Fountain tulips is just a hole in the dirt. The squirrels got them all! And they dug a large hole to do it, too! And I'd dipped the tulip bulbs in Bulb Guard, planted them with crushed oyster shell, sprayed them with Liquid Fence, and then the whole thing with Hot Pepper Wax.

And I don't have any more Chromacolor or Pink Fountain.

I'm not sure what to do to keep my bulbs safe now. I'm pretty much out of tricks. And I was told that the varmints don't even like to eat daffodils. But they sure went after mine.

And someone stole my Saturday and Sunday papers off my driveway, too! At least they didn't take the package sitting on my porch.

White_Hydrangea~ So sorry to hear about the rodent robbery in your garden. What else can you expect from "varmints" but surely they didn't decided to steal the newspapers to read in their nest as they dined on the buffet. Hopefully a neighbor grabbed them for you.

They've probably diverted cable to their trees, so they can watch HGTV and Animal Planet as they dine on bulbs and on sunflower seeds from the birdfeeder.

Juvenile delinquent squirrels? There goes the neighborhood! You'll know you really have a problem if they mug some local trick-or-treater for candy tomorrow night..........

Hi,

I normally hang out in the coleus forum, but I saw your post. Having the very same problems here with bulbs. I finally resorted to planting them in a wire cage which works well. Just takes a ton of extra time and effort to accomplish. They still try to dig up the cage, but they can't get to the bulbs. I just use chicken wire with medium sized holes and kind of wrap it around and under when I plant. Then fill in on top. The bulbs sprout through the holes. They make a commercial basket for this purpose, but if you need a bunch of them that is a no go.
Hope this helps.

Juanita

Hello, White Hydrangea,
I feel like I should send you a sympathy card. I have a very active squirrel population here, too. Last year they feasted on everything I planted. Today I put in 100 fritillaria meleagris. I planted them abt twice as deep as usual, then covered with extra topsoil/ compost/ peat mix, then covered with newspaper, & finally chicken wire. I'd gotten some of the big lawn staples, but ended up securing it with some bricks and some tomato cages. I don't know abt the squirrels or deer, but my cat was HIGHLY offended by the chicken wire.
There's a gardener here in Cincy who recommends a product called ropel. He advocates "lazy" beds of bulbs-- skinning off the grass, throwing some bulbs down and then covering in topsoil & mulch. He claims the ropel works very well--- you dip the bulb in it for 1 minute, then let it dry. It sounds promising, but I haven't tried it yet myself (haven't found it here yet & was too busy to order). Here's a link:
http://www.pestproducts.com/ropel.htm

Good luck, and I am SO SORRY abt your tulips & daffs!