The SQUIRRELS are eating all of my plants!!!

We are in zone 6a, Sarnia, ON. I have hanging annual baskets around my fence and the squirrels are hanging down over the fence and eating all of the flowers and digging out and killing the roots. What am I going to do? They leave everything for dead!!
They get in to all of my bird feeders. I can't not enjoy the birds in our area and now I am afraid to plant my small vegetable garden - they've already ate all of my parsely I put out there.
HELP!!! My back yard looks like a bomb hit it!!!
Thanks, Kelly

That's awful. They do make bird feeders that those rodents can't get into. They are spring loaded and close up when any weight is put on the perch. My MIL used to put moth balls in her flower beds. It looked a little weird, but she swore by it. I hope someone else with squirrel problems will chime in.

You can get a heart to heart trap. Bait it ,when you catch squirrels you can relocate them or whatever you like. A rat trap with peanut butter will work as well.

For the birdfeeders, my experience is that the only thing you can do is buy the feeders that are supposed to be squirrel proof. For small birds, we have one that has a wire "cage" around it with holes that are too small for the squirrels. (Not that they don't try ... one of these days we're going to find a squirrel with its head stuck ...)

For larger birds, we had one with the spring-loaded platform which tipped to one side and whirled around when a squirrel tried to put his weight on it. That sort of worked, but eventually they figured out how to reach out from the house (the feeder hangs from the house) and somehow avoid tripping the spring. Finally the platform broke off, and what does DH come home with to replace it but a $140 model which has a MOTOR in it to twirl around under a squirrel's weight. I kid you not.

I think he just bought it for the entertainment value and it is that!. Yesterday I was sitting on the porch and heard a racket, and turned just in time to see a white squirrel belly falling below the window, LOL! Of course one squirrel figured out how to hang from the house with back paws and get front paws on the feeder itself, bypassing the twirling rail, so NOW we have it on a new rod that's too far from the house for the squirrels to reach.

Of course, just when you think you've outsmarted the squirrels...

In short, those two models of "squirrel-proof" birdfeeders do the job most of the time and that's the best advice I've got for that problem. As for the flower pots, there are a million products and home-grown substances to try, other folks will have experience with them to tell you what works.

Have you tried feeding the squirrels? After having a problem with them, I finally gave in and bought them dried ears of corn and squirrel cakes. I put them around the base of the trees they lived in and didn't have a problem with them getting in my garden anymore. They stole some veggies, but no major damage. I have never heard of anyway to keep your yard squirrel-free, so giving easier access to specific food might help keep them away from areas you don't want damaged. After you get past the nuisance, they are kind of cool to watch.

LOL, they are kind of fun. We just built a deck in the vicinity of the bird feeders, and the weather only just started cooperating, and we started relaxing out there in the evenings. The squirrels HATE that we're out there -- but they're not really afraid. It's hysterically funny. There are two who wander back and forth near the feeders, just a few feet from us, look back over their shoulders at us every few minutes to see what we're doing. At one point, one of them wandered up onto the deck and stood up looking at us over the bottom shelf of the grill. Just looking at us. I tell ya, all I could think of was a Disney movie. I expected to hear a Disney voice (a recognizable actor, of course) talking to me at any moment. "What are you doing out here? You're cramping my style! Go away, silly human!"

I had to wrap my planters in chicken wire and put some river rock over the soil to keep out the squirrels and the chipmunks. But then I got a dog and they pretty much stay away. I did buy the the squirrel proof feeder and that works real well.
http://www.amazon.com/Brome-1024-Squirrel-Buster-Cardinal/dp/B0007LQ3RQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1244743482&sr=8-3

Bet that works great, flowerjen, but it's MUCH more fun to TWIRL a squirrel ...


http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=DY-YF


This message was edited Jun 11, 2009 4:24 PM

Hee hee!!!

In fact, just this morning I watched a squirrel go around for at least 4 revolutions, hanging on for dear life, before he gave up and twirled off! :-D (I'm starting to think they'll learn to like it and come to the feeder just for the ride ...)

Don't you know there is a worldwide movement for squirrels to take over the the planet?!

http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/movies/peace_on_earth/index.html
(one of many such sites!)

I am fortunate to have only one squirrel that lives in my back yard. He loves sunflower seeds and gets in the birdfeeder tray and picks out all the sf seeds, then lifts the lid and gets inside it to get the rest. I buy extra sf seeds so he will have plenty and the birds can have some. He has never gotten into my plants except earlier this year he took ALL the loquats that I left on the tree. I had been taking off the ripe ones every day, but there were still a lot that were almost ready; I figured the next day I would get about 15. Would you believe it-- he took every one of them, even the ones that were not even near ripe! I expect he buried some of them--I should have loquat trees all over my back yard next yearl.

He OPENS the lid? :-O Dang, they really are gonna take over the planet. Right alongside the raccoons who can open the most carefully-sealed trash can...

Face it these little tree rats are geniuses. They are worse than mice. Can get into anything we can make or get around any deterent. That being said they are pretty neat too watch. I have hickory and oak trees all around and therefore plenty of tree rats. I have had late frosts kill the nut blooms and reduce production of nuts. During those seasons I buy bags of raw peanuts to supply the vermin. Keeps em from digging up everything else. I like watching them tease our Maltipooh. They will look down at her from the trunk of a tree and bark at her then go up and over to another tree and come down, bark some more. The poor dog just goes tree to tree yap yap yap the entire time. ;-D Great evening entertainment, better than any reality show on tv.

I have berry bushes, herbs and other types of plants in my garden as well as some bird feeders. I control the squirrels by not fighting them. I have a place for corn cobs, and a couple of "table" type feeders that I put wildlife food in for the squirrels. I often throw my leftover nuts, apple cores, and berries out there. As long as I keep food in these things, the squirrels leave my other things alone. They will go to the easiest and tastiest. The birds and squirrels leave my plants in the yard alone because they are being fed in a different area of the yard.

I must apologize, but this thread is making me LOL. When I lived in SO CA my parents had a HUGE pecan tree that was 30 years old. In all those years no human ever got a pecan, the squirrels got every one. They would pick the nuts before they were ripetake a few bites and toss them to the ground. My mom complained constantly about the mess and it became such a standing joke that my dad was always getting squirrel related gifts from "friends" and family. Finally, they cut the tree down without ever eating a pecan off of it.
Lisa

I just remembered--I had to change the container that I kept the bird seed in. It was for some time in a heavy duty plastic garbage can in the back yard; one morning I went out to get some seed to put in the feeder and found a hole chewed in the can just the perfect size for a squirrel to get through! So I had to get a galvanized can to keep the birdseeds in. There, you little devil, see if you can get in this can----

Another time I left a new bag on the front porch and forgot to take it in. Next morning I found the bag open and seeds all over the floor.

They are certainly opportunists, and that's probably all it takes to take over the world--that and persistence and a certain kind of intelligence.

Update on the twirling birdfeeder: NOW they're hanging on as long as they can, until I can't even count the revolutions. :-D Just watching them, I almost wet myself laughing.

DH says they're doing it to get it to spray seeds on the ground, but they're only getting a little from it that way, and *I* think they're doing it because they enjoy it.

http://www.livevideo.com/video/9CC08D2C794A49E2BD546611753AD6DC/squirrel-a-pult.aspx

rotfl, I posted that same video awhile ago on a different thread, it's still cracks me up.

ROFLMAO! I want to see a video of the squirrel go round next. As soon as I change my shorts.

What a great thread. Just read and laugh and laugh and read. My squirrels are well behaved. I feed them separately. chicken feed,sunflower seeds, bird feed dry dog food. They are fun to watch and they leave my garden alone. My little chihuahua thinks she is a squirrel dog and chases them. I've got 5 right now and they have fun in my oak,hickory forest.

I enjoyed watching the antics of 5 babies growing up in my back yard last year. This year, one that missed Nest Building 101, stuck around. With a fresh branch, she'd zip up the tree, place it and watch if fall. Obviously (to her) a defective branch so off she'd go for another. She nearly stripped a few bushes (luckily, they're recovering nicely).

She disappeared for a while. My guess - she tried other building sites in other yards, needed a rest (squirrel spa?) or went off to study existing nests (Remedial Nest Building 101). After a month, she returned and finally got a nest to stay put. I'm sure it's the same squirrel because the results are in the same spot and exhibit her overall raggedy style. Hallelujah! The bushes are safe for now.

Try, try again; practice makes perfect and all that :)

LOL Sharon, You did'nt know they had a school for teaching squirrel housebuilding? Called Nut house 101.

Buy chicken scratch and put it out. It's cheap and squirrels and birds love it. In my area it's $10 a 50 lb bag. We put that in our bird feeders, squirrel feeders, and toss it all over a hill they like to run around on and eat. It's great. It keeps them out of the garden area, and they are fat and happy.

I have found after years of trying to out-fox-the-fox, that if I put another feeder just for the squirrels, it pretty much keeps them away from all the other stuff---but you must keep it full at all times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I'm leaning toward the feeding the squirrels directly method. My only question is, would that draw even MORE squirrels to the yard besides the ones who already live here? :-O

I was wondering this myself and decided to google it. I didn't get a direct answer and didn't thoroughly research it, but this is what I gather:
Squirrels that are well fed in the fall can produce more than one liter the next year. Feeding the squirrels can lead to overpopulation problems which can lead to diseases and mange.
Some studies showed that female squirrels realize areas are overpopulated and don't breed as often
Squirrels can adapt very easily to food sources they don't prefer, but will move on to other areas to find food if needed.
Some of the sites said the best way to deal with them in the garden was to give them their own food source so they stay away from undesired areas.
My personal opinion: if I already have a 'million' squirrels in my yard without directly feeding them, then there is some type of desired food source in my yard and I don't see how I could really attract that many more. Feeding them keeps them out of the garden (for the most part) and they don't seem to be as much of a nuisance. I had a lot of squirrels before I ever started a garden, so something is attracting them besides what I plant and what I feed them.

XMelissaX: What kind of trees grow around you? Squirrels absolutely love any tree that produces nuts, I have pecan, hickory, and oak. Some neighbors have crab apple and pear trees which the little bushey tails enjoy also.

Almost all the trees are maple. I think there is one oak and the rest are 'wild' trees that over the years have grown from weeds to trees, but I don't know what they are.

you could always cover the ground with some type of seeling faberic. as for the feeders, thread some scrap PVC piping on clothes line with the feeder in the middle, hand the line between two trees. My dad swairs by rice. I think it's mean but after they eat it then take a drink, there stomache bursts,

i have the same problem. basically from what i researched here is what u can try:

1- hot pepper spray or garlic spray- didnt work so well for me
2- predator urine (fox, mountain lion, ect..) - i got shake-away from critter-repellent.com and has worked for me so far
3- sprinkle cayenne on ur plants- workd but had to be reapplied often
4- feed them and give them water too, apparently they eat young growth for water as well. i wouldnt be worried about overpopulating, these rats are super territorial
5- a big rat trap. this was my first choice but my gf flipped when she saw me setting it. really though it wouldnt work anyway as more squirrels would just move into the territory

good luck!

I have three pecan trees. One is over 100 years old.[very large]. We have hostas around the large one. We are overrun with squirrels. We have a dried corn holder on the tree. To my amazement, our squirrels have never eaten my flowers,or dug my bulbs.I've always thought it was because we feed them. They do get a lot of the nuts,but the tree is so large,we still get an abundance of pecans. The only thing that tears up my yard,is the moles.
Good luck with your solutions.-Lynda