Evil, Evil, Evil Rodents

I was just out looking around me beds thinking about where to put all of the bulbs that are due to arrive soon (including the fall flowering crocuses and colchicum that arrived yesterday). I noticed a bunch of holes, some even in places that I looked at just yesterday. I know we have rabbits ("nasty evil bunnies" in my house, because of their tendency to bite of the bottom of the Morning Glory vines, among other things), squirrels, and chipmunks in the neighborhood...

Judging from the depth of the holes, I think they were after the crocuses. I've had crocuses in these beds for several years and never had problems before. How in the world do they know exactly where to dig?

scent?

I know that the squirrels used to watch me plant bulbs, they would then run right out and dig them up

Maybe it was just random tunneling, especially if you have mulch... I'm seeing a lot of vole activity in my daff & DL bed again this summer, but come spring I don't seem to have lost many bulbs (daffs and crocus might not be to their taste; I do know they eat tulips if given the chance)... I think they just like to tunnel in the mulch.

Now I am sure it is chipmunks. I caught one in the act this morning. Saw it digging away. I had just recently planted some carpet phlox. I had carefully moved aside a clump of crocus bulbs in the process and reburied them beside the new plant. Sure enough, the chipmunk had specifically dug beside the new plant. They're definitely after the crocus bulbs...

A friend at church offered to let me borrow a live trap...

You can also try a liberal sprinkling of cayenne pepper (get one of the big cheap containers at a place like Sam's) in your beds, or maybe put around some gravel or something else they wouldn't like to dig in with their tender little paws.

My husband works with a professor who studies acorn dispersal and has watched squirrels for over 12 years now. He finds that when you first plant bulbs cover them with bricks, stones, wire mesh, garlic powder or any thing for just a few days. Once the soil settles the squirrels won't bother. When they smell the soil has been moved they seem to dig in the same spot probably thinking some other guy has buried something good. In the fall they can't help but bury for the winter. Like I said once the ground has settled you can remove what ever you put down. I buy a large container of garlic powder each fall when moving my plants and planting bulbs and I have no problems anymore.

I know this isn't much of a tip, but I have noticed that planting during or after a heavy rain helps because it wets the upturned soil down again. You have to put on a raincoat and whatnot to plant, but it helps to minimize the immediate loss of the bulbs.

OK. I lost some tulips planted last fall. No trace of them. Voles? I saw tunnels after I had been watering a lot. I already had major problems with squirrels digging up everything planted. I read up on what to try. So, I finally found paver sand - kinda sharp, I thought. I already had 1" plastic mesh and pepper spray.

So I dug holes or trenches. I tried mesh in trench, tulip bulb on mesh, sand around bulb, mesh on top, dirt on top, water heavy, pepper spray on top. This was for some tulips - at least the ones they ate last year. In another place where they did not eat the tulips last year, I just dug holes, placed tulip bulb, put sand over bulb, put dirt over top, watered, sprayed. For lilies, I made buddled mesh around the bulb, planted it, added sand, then dirt, then water, then spray. For hyacinths - not sure they eat these - I planted bulb, added sand, dirt, water, spray. For the crocus I found on top of soil from last year - I left alone - not sure what to do.

Just because I am mad at squirrels for past problems and current ones - they also dug up my new pansies - I added a large container of cayenne pepper to 5# feed in 2 bird feeders. I tried the bird feed that had a tiny little packet of pepper in it and the rodents did not seem to care. I can see the red pepper streaks in the feeders from several yards away. Let's see what happens. ;)

Nothing yet. Only one squirrel around feeder so far. The pepper is in layers in the feeders and a layer of pepper has not hit yet. If it works - I'll write back.

I will not know if mesh/sand works until spring.