How to keep squirrels out of potted plants? Where there is not much ground to plant, plant lovers love to go for outdoor plants in containers, it is a great of way small scale gardening. Planting in the container is a great way of protecting the plants from insects or other varieties of plant-eating pests.
If the squirrel container is no match, they can easily get through it. Gardeners should take the extra mile to protect the plants from squirrel infesting and follow the steps to secure their potted plants and even in-ground outdoor plants.
Introduction
For gardeners who have been gardening for quite some time, it is quite natural that you have faced problems with squirrels and also chipmunks in certain areas. Squirrels generals infest the potted plant to eat or bury their hard-earned foods in the container.
Over the years we utilized various ways to keep the squirrels away from the plants, in this article I will give the best way to answer, how to keep squirrels out of potted plants. Squirrels are an integral part of our ecosystem, it is best to not harm them and keep them away from our plants in the most humane way possible.
In the beginning, we will discuss the most basic ways and will proceed further. It is inevitable to apply several methods together to keep squirrels out of our garden efficiently.
The best line of defense against squirrel attacks is physical barriers, it keeps the squirrels out of potted plants, there are other methods as well but they are not good enough to prevent the rodent out of our way. When you are preparing to stop squirrel problems in your garden you should keep in mind that squirrels are an important part of our environment. The digging and caching of seeds and nuts to use later is quite important for our environment, it helps to aerate soil, and it enhance the growth of new plants and provides food for other large animals and mammals.
It is quite needless to say squirrels are clever animals that keep the gardeners at bay, especially during the beginning of spring. The most irritating segment of the entire thing is that they harm our beloved potted plants, but they stack their food like peanuts, and acorns. Some squirrels turn the flowering pot in their littering ground, disgusting, right? So, if you are curious to learn a few methods to protect the plants and keep the animals out without harming them, you are exactly where you should be.
Overview
In this article, the important question for gardeners is how to keep squirrels out of potted plants. The very reason you should go through this article. After lots of trial and error, I came across some most effective tips.
There are lots of ways to keep squirrels out but it is best to follow the humane ones.
The article contains all possible ways to meet the demand of keeping squirrels out of the garden.
Reason to worry about squirrel
During late summer and autumn, squirrels are most active, and they stock food to eat during winter. Squirrels do not hibernate but they tend to lay low, so it is very useful for them to store food during winter. The instinct of squirrels regarding storing food is very intense, it helps them to survive. Gray squirrels are the ones that spread their food all around the territory.
Generally, squirrels gather foods like acorns, pinecones, nuts, bark fruits various kinds of berries, fungi, and insects, but they love to steal bird eggs and bulbs. Sometimes squirrels destroy flowers in the garden just for fun, always keep an eye out for them and try to follow the tips I listed in the article.
All about squirrel
Squirrels generally weigh around 16 to 24 ounces, common gray squirrels cause the most harm in our garden. The color of this rodent varies from brown, tan, to dark brown. The belly of a squirrel varies from light, white to gray. The body of a squirrel is almost around 8 to 11 inches and its tail varies from 8 to 10 inches. We can identify a gray squirrel from its bushy tail, and fur-covered body to keep them warm and help in balancing their body.
Recognize squirrel damage
When gardeners are growing flowers and vegetables in containers, it is a common sight that something is digging around in container soil. Squirrels and chipmunks dig the soil in search of insects or other foods in the containers which can cause harm in the process.
Squirrels will attack and harm your garden, as well as bird feeders. If your bird’s food is missing quite frequently, it is quite natural that you are facing a squirrel problem.
How to keep squirrels away from plants, follow these steps.
- Use taste and smell: One of the easiest to keep the squirrel out of the garden is to make the plants unappealing. Try spoiling the taste and smell of the plants.
With the help of strong citrus oils or garlic sprays or sprinkling pepper on the leaves, we can deter the squirrels from having it.
For squirrels, fish emulsion is also unpleasant to smell and we can add to the soil of the plants.
We should also take care of the fact that it is high in nitrogen and often sold commercially as fertilizer. We should only apply it in our container plants if and only if we are sure that our soil can withstand extra nutrition.
- Consider setting up a blockade: often owners ask, how to keep squirrels out of my garden? Consider blocking the exposed part of the soil in the container. Squirrels with their excellent nibbling ability can still nibble but they cannot dig or uproot anything.
A layer of stone is an excellent choice but prevent from overdoing it and leave space for water. The owner can use large river stones for the purpose. River stones are enough to keep the animal out of the garden pot but will leave enough space for water to flow down the pot.
- Create distraction: This option is a kind of riskier and can increase the squirrel problem a lot. It is also the right solution if you know how to apply it.
How do I keep the squirrels out of my garden and not harm them, consider the solution.
If the problem is about squirrels eating plant pots for food, we can consider making a distraction by creating more appealing options elsewhere.
We can add a squirrel feeder in a pot somewhere else in your yard, and serve nuts, seeds, fruits, and other variety of tasty squirrel treats. All of it can convince the pests to eat somewhere else.
- Scare the pest away: Not like any other wildlife, squirrels are not that panicky and it is hard to scare the pest away when they are used to human interaction. It is more like standing guard and chasing the pest away, there are not many kinds of things that can scare the pest away.
One of the most useful and classic ways is to put a few foil pie plates. , it will clatter them unpredictably in the breeze. There is another choice, mount a plastic owl or hawk model in a nearby tree. Owls and hawks are predators, their appearance will make the pest twice before approaching container plants.
- Electronic devices: In online and offline stores we can easily get electronic, solar, or battery-powered to keep the squirrels out of the garden. One of the most common types of devices that keep pests away is a device that releases ultrasonic sound waves that scare the squirrels away from our garden. Some devices provide extra care by adding a flashlight and some devices emit predator noise.
One of the most effective devices is motion-activated sprinklers. The device releases a sudden burst of water at any movement that can scare the squirrel away. It is best to frequently change the device position for more effective protection.
- Essential oil: We can use geranium, clove, and peppermint, the scent of this essential oil is something squirrels dislike a lot. Place soaked cotton in trays and remember to soak it in essential oils. We can also buy deterrents from a store that uses these essential oils, consider spraying them around the garden to deter the pest.
- Garlic: Humans may enjoy the fragrance of garlic while cooking, but squirrels do not love the smell or taste of garlic. Try mixing garlic with an equal part of water along with vinegar.
Keep the mix for at least a few weeks and let the flavor mix and after that spray it over fence, stakes, and flower pots. We should never spray the solution directly over our plants, it can harm them. Consider labeling the pot that contains leftover spray and place it in a safe location far from children and pets.
We can easily get garlic spray from online stores or garden supplies and hardware stores. Garlic deterrent is very effective in pest control but it is effective in keeping squirrels off. We should reapply the spray at regular intervals because the scent of the spray fades away after some time.
- Keeping a dog: Our dogs are great at chasing squirrels, if you have a pet dog you are at an advantage as squirrels cannot stand any chance against dogs.
Save your dog’s hair while grooming them and spread it over your garden. Trust me squirrel avoid sections that have evidence of a dog’s presence. Even human hair is effective in keeping squirrels out of the garden. During the daytime let your dog out in the garden, it will chase the squirrels out whenever they spot them. Once the dog chases out the squirrel a couple of times it is very unlikely that the squirrel will return.
- Consider using a coffee ground: you can spread leftover coffee ground from your coffee pot and spread it over the soil. Spreading coffee grounds will serve a dual purpose and will keep the squirrel out. Squirrels strongly dislike the smell and taste of coffee grounds, and it also enriches the soil and makes it fertile.
- Consider using blood meal: blood meal is very useful for plants, it enriches the soil. Squirrels hate the smell of blood meal. Just like coffee grounds, using blood meal can help in both grounds it will repel the pests and enrich the soil.
- Noise can keep squirrels away: Owners can consider hanging old CDs or shiny plates near outdoor plants, the bright light from them will keep the squirrel away from moving further.
We can also hang wind chimes or cans and empty soda cans. Placing a hawk statue near the pots will scare the pest away. Hawks are natural predators of squirrels and the sight of them will for sure scare them.
- How and what bulb to plant: There are certain bulbs that squirrels hate like daffodils, snowdrops, and ornamentals alliums. The unpleasant taste of the bulbs deter not only squirrels but deer and rabbits. We can try planting the bulbs in pots, planters, and containers.
To improve the protection of your plants, plant the flowers along with wire mesh. Some gardeners claim that planting the flowers along with crushed gravel keeps the squirrel’s way. Consider using rock stone to improve water flow. When gardeners are planning to plant a lot of bulbs, we can lay down chicken mesh. Gardeners place the one-inch mesh just below and above the bulbs. The plants can easily propagate through wire but squirrels cannot get through it.
We can also consider covering the surface of the bed with a plastic net, it is inexpensive and invincible. Clean the flowering area and get rid of papery bits of bulb debris. Clean the area and do not keep the bulbs while planting the bulbs– squirrels can easily smell their favorite food.
Conclusion
How to keep squirrels out of potted plants? It is a problem that’s put every owner in turmoil. Squirrels are a great threat to our beloved garden, but they play an important role in our ecosystem. In this article, there are several ways to protect the garden from squirrels.
Important note:
There are several ways to keep squirrels out of the garden, some are humane and some are harmful. In this article, we will discuss the most humane way that scare them away, protect our garden, and maintain the ecosystem.