Hi folks,
I have found about 5 of these in my veggie garden over the last 2 months. Those darn squirrels keep hiding their acorns in the dirt. So now I am having to pull baby oak trees out every week, I guess the squirrels don't like me doing that. Are those pesky squirrels paying me back by dropping turds in with my peppers? I don't know maybe it's something else. If it is squirrel revenge then how can I keep them out? Any help here will be much appreciated!
It looks more like some kind of fungus rather than squirrel waste. I don't think a squirrel is capable of producing something that large. LOL What do you have in your bed (soil & amendment wise)? You can sprinkle dry garlic on your soil to kill fungus.
Thanks for replying... My soil is made up almost all of generic Lowes dirt: Potting soil, garden humus, composted cow manuer, etc... In the last few days I added organic compost and black kow but that hasn't affected anything yet... I can put a bunch of garlic in my soil to test if it kills a fungus... What do you suggest? Should I buy garlic in the produce section and chop it up or should I buy the can of dry garlic powder from the spice section? I'll try anything ok. (well almost anything)
thanks again
You can use just the plain dry garlic (powdered). We buy the BIG jar of it from Sam's and sprinkle it whenever we see anything weird growing.
Depending on where you are in SA, you might want to take a sample of what you have to a nursery like Shades of Green on Sunset near Alamo Heights and they can tell you what you have.
I agree.... Looks like yellow slime mold to me. I had this a couple of years back and it appeared out of nowhere. I thought my golden retriever had thrown up in my plant bed, until I found it in a second spot...
OK ill try the garlic thingy today. I am not too far from the Shades of Green, so if the garlic wont kill it then i'll take a sample to them.
Thanks for setting me straight!
I've tried putting llama poo, partially composted around newly planted plants to prevent the squirrels from digging them up. It seems to work. The squirrels really cannot resist those peat pots. They dig them up every time unless I do that. I've also used deer netting around my garden this year and it not only keeps the deer out, the squirrels, raccoons, cats, and dogs, avoid it. I love this stuff. My husband saw a bird get stuck for a short time, that will teach them!
I remember my wife telling me that when she was young her father would put out a bowl of Schaefer Beer for them. The squirrels would be too drunk to climb up the trees....
Ratfood, that is the infamous dog barf fungus. If you google it you find more than you probably want to know. It loves mulch.
I agree with Farmerdill. I can assure you: it is NOT a product of squirrels. Being an avid squirrel hunter, you can imagine how I could cure the acorn sprouting problem.
Yeah I got a brick of these but now It seems I won't need them. So far the squirrels have planted over 50 red oak trees in the garden but I just pull them out as they break ground. They haven't seemed to hurt any of the plants roots when they dig their holes...
On the fungus situation: I used some garlic powder but it does not seem to be helping at all. Maybe I am not using enough. I put some Black Kow in and now I have white mushrooms growing also. Can the kids eat the mushrooms? I don't know what kind of affect these fungi will have on the garden as a whole but the tomato plants seem to be growing an inch or two a day! Someone let me know how bad this is will ya?
Ratfood. It is not a good idea to eat wild /volunteer mushrooms. On ly the best experts can tell the difference between the poisonous and non poisonous cultivars. They do no damge to living plants.
OK thanks for the info on that Farmerdill... I there any good reason why someone wouldn't let the shrooms grow in the garden? Just because it's ugly? It steal the nutrients?
Also, I got a squirrelcrow but it doesn't seem to be working.
The little squirrelcrow is cute even if it doesn't keep the buggers away!!
Well that darn squirrel didn't work so i'm working on another angle... I have a few things in mind. On that note I have more creature problems invading my garden but that is a story for another thread..... Thank you for endless support and wish me luck on my future endeavors.
Good luck, RATFOOD^_^
Keep us posted on those future endeavors.
Squierrlcrows, well I thought I'd heard it all. Don't you people have a dog. I have eather the fastest squirres in the land, or one slow dog. My sand is well airrated though.
