Help with squirrels...

The neighborhood squirrels are driving me absolutely bonkers. I have applied Deer Off and Critter Ridder, but the rodents keep digging up my newly emerging bulbs. The label on Deer Off says one application is supposed to last up to 3 months, and Critter Ridder should last one month. But my bulbs are dug up the day after an application of either, so I'm applying every other day. I also have a dog who enjoys marking the perimeter of the beds; I keep being hopeful that this will do more to deter the squirrels than it will do to harm the soil.

Will putting down new mulch help? I hate to put cages around the bulbs because the beds are in my front yard, but if that's what it takes, I'll go for it. I know this is a common problem, but does anyone have any new things for me to try? Thank you!

Am on other side of the Lake: between L Ontario and L Simcoe. In zone 5a.
Use a lot of spring bulbs. For here, at least, planting depths on bulb packages, may be for Holland or England. I plant small bulbs at 4 inches
(i.e. crocuses) and large bulbs (i.e. tulips or daffodils) at 12 twelve inches.
Unless squirrels are very hungry, they only dig about 2 inches, so have little problem with squirrels. Seems from observation that they give up digging after a short while. Only real problem is with voles which can mine out blocks of bulbs. I think I am distracting the voles by putting out bird seed all winter.
Now also use more daffodils because they are poisonous and don't get eaten.

I feed the squirrels dry ears of corn or the squirrel cakes. I guess it keeps them full and they usually stay out of my garden, but I don't have bulbs so I don't know how effective it would be for those.

I plant my bulbs surrounded by chicken wire so the critters can't get to them.

I have tried everything also for squirrels. We have ground squirrels that have destroyed my roses, vegtables and bulbs. We also have bird feeders but that doesnt help. I had to get cages and then we just rehome them to the back BLM land. I wish I knew more to do, so if you have any suggestions I would graciously accept them.

Watch the squirrels. They play. They dig. They chase each other round trees. They are hilarious while courting. If a guy got that much abuse, the human race would have died out years ago. Soon they will notice you and beg food. They love peanuts. Squirrels were the first gardeners. If it wasn't for them planting seeds and nuts and forgetting where they put them, the great forests of North America may never have happened. After a while you will realize that squirrels are a lot more interesting than the bulbs. Peace will return to your life, and all will be well.

Great point Wulfsden! We used to have a problem with squirrels and our tomatoes. We started seeing tomato skins hanging in the trees and couldn't figure out what was happening to them until we finally caught a squirrel sneeking a tomato from the garden and carrying it up a tree. We thought it was so cute and funny that we didn't care. It was a little harder to look past it when it stole strawberries but he didn't eat that much we figured. We are supposed to help our neighbors with food from our garden right? The closests neighbors I have are the wildlife! LOL!