squirrels are making me nuts

we have lots of squirrels, birds and chipmunks around our house... but until recently they have left my plants alone. what's changed?

every day i come home from work to find plants laying in the yard, on top of the mulch in the flowerbed, in the driveway and hanging out of their pots.
i'm assuming the squirrels are the culprits as the chipmunks have only dug holes on the sunny side of the house. but i thought squirrels liked bulbs... they are gnawing on/digging up everything!

examples of the carnage i come home to:
*habanero peppers have been unpotted and laying on our 2nd story deck
*my hen and chicks have been yanked and munched on
*a hole was dug through 3" of rubber mulch and a carnation perished
*my sweet peas were unrooted and eaten from the bottom, until the point where they couldn't reach the plant on the trellis.

what can i do? is there a way to prevent this?
i don't want pesticides or poisons because we have cats and my husband is an ape. he'd walk through and track any chemical inside.

Thanks in advance

I always see more squirrel digging activity this time of year, they are busy burying food for the winter but often seem to just dig holes for the fun of it. It could also be rabbits, the ones in my yard like to dig up plants too. Try sprinkling blood meal around your plants, although you may need to refresh it after a rain. Or you can try a rabbit repellant, they will also repel squirrels - I've had good luck with PlantSkydd, it's organic but stinky.

Good luck with your varmints!

Food-wise this is a hard time of year for squirrels so they will eat many things they normally wouldn't bother with. You could try putting up a plastic owl near the plants you want them to stay away from (owls will make lunch of squirrels). Also, farther out in your yard you could put out things like peanuts, corn, sunflower seeds or other seeds that they like (on the ground is fine). These are favorite foods and they will be likely to stop to eat them and leave your plants alone. The nice thing about the seeds is your local birds will enjoy them too.

I just feed the little buggers and they leave all plants alone. Of course, the raccoons are a different story. Had tomato plants, tomatos on the plants, now tomatos are gone. Didn't even get to eat one of them. They also finish off the food that the squirrels and birds don't eat during the day. Guess they have to eat too.

Me too irishsoul (love your user ID--I'm Irish). The squirrels sneak up to my bird feeder but they're veeeerrrry careful. We have a rat terrier and she absolutely loves to chase them (and can catch them too). The squirrels are getting daring here lately because Millie has been sick and not up to chasing them.

i suppose feeding them is less work than replanting things every night. if that doesn't work i will certainly try a repellent.

my coworker suggested putting shiny pinwheels around the garden saying the movement would scare them... anyone know if this will work?

I have had luck keeping squirrels out of my potted plants by laying old dead rose canes on the dirt. I use small sections and criss cross them until the dirt is covered. In the Spring I save all the dead rose canes for just this use. Since doing this the squirrels have left the pots alone. Now in the garden is a different story. Not enough canes to cover large areas and too difficult to weed. My fingers also don't like the thorns. When for any reason I need to remove the canes I use tongs, much easier on the hands.

I also have had luck keeping squirrels and deer from eating apples on the tree by hanging CD's on a string from the branches. At night our security light reflects on them. Wish I had tried this earlier in the year before the critters had most of the apples for snacks. Probably the same principle as the pin wheels, movement and light reflection.

Guess we have unusal squirrels here. They play with the spinning art decor. They are actually a lot of fun to watch and they make us laugh with their antics. There are about 13 squirrels that come daily, but on Sunday about 20. I think they invite their relatives for Sunday brunch or something. It is very strange and we haven't figured out why Sunday only. It is a real Hmmm situation.

Naturelover, have you been to Ireland? It is so wonderful there. Here is a picture to get your Irish blood going. Killarney Moutains, Upper Lake.

irishsoul: is that near lough leane and the gap of dunloe? 'cause i could swear i've been there. beautiful country and the locals are so friendly...

I agree with naturelover ... get a dog. Our retreiver was doing a fine job of keeping most rodents away from the gardens, and then a pair of redtailed hawks moved into the neighborhood. Now we don't have any varmit troubles. Though I do worry about the neighbors who let their cats roam.

Yes very near there. It is actually on the property of the Muckross House near Killarney. And, the beginning or ending (depending on your point of view) of the Ring of Kerry.

No, never have had the opportunity to go to Ireland irishsoul :-( It's on my bucket list though! My maternal grandmother came over when she was thirteen and had to make her own way. I could sit and listen to her wonderful brogue for hours! She told me many stories about her life in Ireland. She was such a special person. And you're right, it IS beautiful country.

Sounds like my grandparents. They were a wonder.

I spent a week in that region. It wasn't long enough. It was certainly my most favorite part of the world. Who knows, maybe my Irish blood will drag me back there when I retire.

My stay in Ireland was so different from any other trip I've taken... I was actually relaxed and felt peaceful. On other trips I've found I'm more stressed than when I am working 60 hour weeks.
I actually keep a few photos from there in my desk. When the day is going badly I pull them out and tack them up on the wall.

Maybe some DGers would get together for a trip someday. That would be an awesome vacation. With awesome people.

Now that would be a Trip. Of all the vacations we have ever taken, this is the one we still talk about and it has been 1 1/2 years since we had been there. I took several of my photos and blew them up and have them hanging in my dining room. Everyone that comes over loves to look at them. If I had one dream, it would be to go back to Ireland. It so felt like home.

Here is another photo of one of the many gardens at Blarney Castle.There were some people in the middle of the picture, so I just deleted them.

it's been about 10 years since i've been there. still think about it like it was just yesterday. of course if i ever go back i'll have to be careful... or i might just stay there.

What a wonderful idea--getting a group of fellow DGrs together to make a trip to Ireland! If y'all ever get really serious about that, don't forget me! Besides having such a beautiful country, I think the Irish are such fun-loving, wonderful, and interesting people.

Oh they are wonderful people. When we got there, of course looking a little tanner than everyone else, they had 70 degree weather in May, which was very rare. So everyone was thanking us for bringing the warm Florida weather with us.

We were even bought a couple of pints here and there. It was so funny and we made so many new friends that we still email back and forth.

Will diffinately have to try and put something together in a year or two. Right now all our vacations have been planned for a few years out. Trying to see as much as possible and meet as many people as possible before we get to old to enjoy it.
Rhonda

LOL! I don't plan on getting too old to enjoy it all irishsoul. Like my grandmother, I plan to enjoy life all the way to the last. She was diabetic but every Thursday when I took her to get her groceries, she'd buy these big, soft sugar cookies. When we got everything put away, she'd make a "spot of tea" to go with those cookies. I'd try to tell her she wasn't supposed to eat them and she'd always laugh and say, "Oh, what the Hell, I'm only gonna live once, might as well enjoy it." I can still hear her saying that. She was such an inspiration for me.

Oh that is such a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing. It brought back memories of my Grandmas homemade sugar cookies, that I tried to duplicate and never could.

my grandma always made cream of wheat for me in a way i've never been able to copy. and i found her way was the only way it seemed edible

Let's give a cheer to all the Grandmas out there past, present and future! I know my memories are wonderful and just hope I'm giving my grandkids good memories too. We do popcorn balls together for special occasions. What a mess, but we have fun.