Q: Squirrel Protection?
Any suggestions for protecting a just planted winter garden from squirrels?
I just started a very small winter garden .. temporarily fenced it off from my chickens and deer … only to have SQUIRRELS gobble it up. They have a lot access points over/in/under the fence right now, and the area is too large to entirely fence off w/ smaller wire. I’m thinking of building some small 4×4 chicken wired boxes to keep them out. Any other simpler/less expensive suggestions out there?
Thanks a lot
Katrina
Tags: fence, squirrel, winter garden
September 14th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Hey Katrina,
Isn’t it amazing how such a small, seemingly cute, fluffy tailed little critter can turn into such a menace? There are three general ways to deal with these little tree rats: deter them, trap them, “take care” of them (“take care” like a mafia movie – if you know what I mean).
Deterring:
-Scare them with a “Scarecrow” like Owl PBR240
-Treat them like they were on “Cops” the TV show with Hot Pepper Wax PBR990
Trap them:
-Catch them in a Cage alive and move them with a Havahart Trap PAT064, PAT076, or PAT078
“Take-Care” of them:
-Set up a Squirrel Hotel (Bait Station) PAB405 with goodies (Sure Stop Non-Strychnine Squirrel Bait) PAB300
I think the easiest way mentioned above would be the “Squirrel Hotel” under “Take Care of Them” section. Simply put out the “residence” with the “goodies” in there and let it do the work for you. Pepper wax will work as a deterrent as will The Owl Scarecrow – but the pepper wax needs to be reapplied, and the Squirrels may be fearless enough to make attacks on your crop despite the inflatable menace (I have heard these Owls work better for birds). The Havahart traps will definitely work, but then you have a caged rodent to deal with. You might want to start looking into a relocation program.
Hope that helps.
September 15th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I like the Haveaheart trap, old softy that I am.
However, relocating Grey squirrels is causing a rise in damaged forests.
In the Olympia area, loggers and hikers and arborists are seeing and reporting Grey squirrel damage to big leaf maples. It’s hard to imaging that damage is causing the death of the big trees. How’s that for a good reason to ‘hold your nose and deal with the introduced mauraders.
Unless of course, they have just eaten your newly planted Winter Garden.
Or, as in my garden, dug up and eaten almost every gallon-pot resident in
my nursery. A neighbor used to feed them p-nuts in the shell. Squirrels and Jays thrived and lived a life of burying-to-hide, and digging-to-find. It was
frightening to look at the destruction every day.
I worked way too hard to prevent damage. Almost gave up gardening.
I do not feel obligated to entertain introduced species that are killing parts
of pristine woodlands/forests.
Luckily the p-nuts lady moved away. That has cut down the digging. I feel like
a gardener who’s somewhat successful now!!
I’ve stopped relocating squirrels. I have set a limit of one family in my yard (city lot.)
.
When that number stretches beyond the two adults, the head-of-family-males
usually chase invaders from their territory . Or I will ‘take care of” the newcomers myself. Growing food for the family and friends takes precedence over” how cute they are.”
damage to Big Leaf maple trees. The Grey squirrels are gobbling down the new spring growth. The large increase in visible Grey squirrels is directly related to increased damage, and dying trees.
spring growth
September 15th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Hi Katrina, you don’t say whether they are ground squirrels or tree squirrels, but when I apprenticed at a farm, we found a visual barrier worked quite well. The idea being that they won’t eat what they can’t see. If you already have a fence around your garden, you can just add something to the bottom.