New Advances In Squirrel Warfare

I will keep all of my readers updated on the latest tactics I am using against the squirrels. One day, I will find a cure. In the meantime, I will explore different ideas and concepts to help with either getting rid of squirrels, or giving them an alternative to my gardens (or both)!

A few days ago, I put a layer of mulch in about 1/2 the pots that are outside and line the fence. I don't know why, but only certain ones seem to be the favorites of the squirrels. The mulch seems to help! I can see where they are digging, but instead of digging a deep hole in one or two pots, there are dig marks in several of the pots, but none is very deep. It looks like they are being discouraged because the mulch is too thick to work through to get to the dirt.

Peppermint oil does seem to help, but you have to reapply it after it rains. The scent doesn't last very long either. At $14 a bottle, unless I can make a peppermint spray using a few drops in water, it is too expensive to use. You are to soak cotton balls in peppermint oil, then place them in the area that is affected by the activity of the squirrels. Supposedly, squirrels hate the smell of peppermint, and it is supposed to repel them. I do love the smell of my backyard though, when the peppermint smell is strong. It smells like a candy cane factory!

I have some peppermint seeds now, and I am planting them, hoping for nice, big peppermint plants to come out of them.

Now, I have a cool idea, if I could make it work. If you have ever had hamsters, you know how entertaining a wheel in their cage is. What if I could make a squirrel wheel and attach it to a tree in the back? Wouldn't that be cool?

An actual picture of
an exercise wheel that
can be used by squirrels!

I do have a more practical idea though. Squirrels like to dig. I am thinking about making one or two sandboxes in my back yard for the squirrels. I would put a lot of sand, or dirt, in them, and put some corn and/or sunflower seeds in them. The squirrels could spend their time digging for corn and seeds, and it would keep them entertained.

We live on the other side of a wildlife conservation reserve, and we do have a lot of interesting animals out there. You can hear the activity at when, when you go outside. Occasionally, I hear an animal that just bit the dust. Some other larger, stronger animal came along its path, and that was the end of that animal. Sad, but true.

About two years ago, I began feeding the squirrels popcorn. There was a small handful of squirrels then, and their number went up to a dozen. An interesting thing happened though. I fed them popcorn almost every day. They came out more readily as time went on. But the number of squirrels went down. After a while, we had only two squirrels that would come out. Around here, there are hawks that are always looking for something to eat. We fattened up the squirrels, and they became a tasty snack for the hawks. At least, that is my theory.

The squirrels, of course, are back up in number. I got my air pellet gun out and am learning how to aim it. I came really close to hitting a squirrel, although I think all I would have to do is to hit the fence, and that will scare them away.

Next big item to get, is a sprinkler, sensored scarecrow. It is solar powered, and as soon as it senses something in its path, the sprinkler goes off.

We will see how the sandbox works. If the squirrels destroy 1/10th of the garden, that still is a lot, because my garden is not that big yet. But, I will find ways to make the garden bigger, and grow more plants. That way, when part of it gets destroyed, that part won't be missed as much.

Until next time..

Happy Gardening!

Bye Bye Squirrels. I'll fix
your fuzzy little tails, yet!

Specific Problems That I Have Faced In My Gardening Experiences

I have been gardening for 35 years now, and still don't have a green thumb. Should I give up, like everyone else who has these problems does? Should I keep going and try to resolve each issue?

I am writing this with the hopes of helping others who struggle with gardening, especially organic gardening in Central Florida, or other zones that include similar problems as I have had.

I will list the problems and try to tackle them one by one, with educated answers. Please feel free to chime in if you have had tried and proven methods that have worked for you.

1. Lack of water - This wasn't such a problem until we had a serious drought about 16 or so years ago. I watered every day up to that point, but we were put on water restrictions since that time. We can now only use a sprinkler system once a week, and only during certain hours.

Answer: Pray for rain. I'm serious. We had months of no rain, and fires were starting. People were being evacuated from their homes. A lady called from Arizona, and at the end of our conversation, she asked if I had anything she could pray for. I told her to pray for rain. She did. Rain came back to our land, thank God.

Also, I have to do a lot of watering by hand. This gives me good exercise though, so I am killing two birds with one stone (killing birds is not my thing!). You get the point though. Collecting rain with a rain barrel is good and may be necessary for the future (watch out for children getting into rain barrels though. I have heard of children drowning in them). Also, taking a hose and turning the water on low so it seeps out is a really good thing to do to conserve water and, at the same time, water plants.

2. Caterpillars eating my plants. I have had healthy plants just about die overnight because some caterpillar got into the plant and devoured it. Usually it is a tomato or pepper plant that gets devoured by these caterpillars.

Answer: BT is something that can be used to kill the caterpillar. If it is sprayed on the plant, the caterpillar will eat it as it eats the plant and it will kill the caterpillar. Another effective item to use is Diatomaceous Earth, or DE. It works the same way although it is a different product.

Fossil Power Diatomaceous Earth, Food-grade, Safe for Animals and Humans, for Dusters, Getting Rid of Bed Bugs, Fleas, Ticks and More, Used As a Health Remedy Due to High Amount of Silica (89%)

This garden dust with BT. utilizes bacillus thuringiensis (var. kurstaki) which, once ingested by the pest, kills them within a few days. 

3. Wildlife Destruction - This is a big one. I have all kind of repellents and scare tactics around, but each one only works on certain animals. The biggest problem I seem to have is with squirrels. They come into the garden and dig holes, and by doing that they uproot plants. It's like they are enjoying looking for some kind of treasure, but in doing so, the plants get pulled out and die, many times. 

Answer: Perhaps a BB gun will work, but you have to be there all the time to catch the squirrels in the act. I tried fencing them out. I am now using peppermint oil to repel them and it seems to work. Because you have to use a lot of this, it can end up being expensive. You are to soak cotton balls in peppermint oil because squirrels hate the smell of peppermint. If it rains, you have to replace the cotton balls because the scent will disappear. 

Another idea I have is to distract and entertain the squirrels. I haven't done this yet, but you can buy squirrel baffles and they will spend hours trying to figure them out. I was thinking about making my own by taking a corn cob and attaching it to a flexible pole and attaching that to a tree. Squirrels love bird food, so I make popcorn for them. Eventually, we had 12 squirrels in our back yard looking for popcorn everyday, but for some reason, the number of squirrels went down to 2. I have a feeling they became a tasty morsel for the birds of prey that live around here. You could use an electric fence, but it would probably fry the squirrels. For now, I am just sticking with peppermint oil and popcorn. Perhaps I could buy a bag of sand so they could have their own place to dig. 

                              

4. Twigs, branches, and sticks dropping in the garden on top of plants - This is the most recent struggle I have with my plants being killed. I am working on an answer right now and I think the only thing I can do is to make a cover to go over the top of the plant, but a few feet higher than the plant is. 

Answer: Tomato stakes planted around the pot and a top made of sheer fabric attached to the tops of the poles. Twigs and branches should land on the top of the fabric which will prevent the sticks from falling on top of the plants. Also, you don't want to shield the plant from getting sunlight or water because of the fabric. If it is high enough, it should give protection plus allow sunlight and water to be available to the plant. You could use netting instead of fabric. Just cut it into a circle that will match the size of the pot, put string or twisties through the fabric or netting, then attach the fabric or netting piece to the poles. I would use four poles but six might even be better. 

I use 6' poles but these are 4' ones and they
will work. Walmart has them for around $2
a pole, but amazon has a package of 25 that
cost around $28 and free shipping.

One more thing; make sure you give your plants food! I skipped this for many years and it was no wonder my garden didn't grow. There are several organic plant foods available out there, plus there are other organic fertilizers that can be used as well. 

Always follow directions with using organic fertilizers. You don't want to burn your plants. Been there. Done that. 

Until next time...

Happy Gardening!