Squirrel Decoys, Noisemakers, and Sprinklers
Fierce resin owls and creepy black rubber snakes seem to populate the garden aisle every spring, giving gardeners the promise of scaring the squirrel out of his wits. Faux predators may have some limited effectiveness, but you must provide the animation they lack by moving them around every day, and even with that effort, the squirrels generally catch on. However, there are many plants that squirrels find distasteful. These plants have strong odors or flavors that squirrels do not enjoy. Consider adding alliums (onion, garlic), daffodils, galanthus, lily-of-the-valley, geraniums, fritillary flowers, goldenrod, and bleeding hearts in your beds, borders, and hanging baskets. You don’t have to give up on feeding the birds, but switching to less palatable feed like safflower seed or seed treated with cayenne pepper can deter hungry squirrels. but won’t bother the birds. Don’t forget to clear away other foodstuffs that attract squirrels, like leftover pet food and dropped acorns or black walnuts in the landscape. Repellents may have some success used in conjunction with other deterrents, but gardeners must be vigilant about reapplication. Wind, water, and sunlight will cause repellants to break down quickly. A floating row cover is surprisingly effective as a barrier in the vegetable garden. Squirrels do not like the feeling of enclosure, which prevents their ability to escape to safety, so they will avoid entering a covered row. Metal mesh cloches are ideal for young vegetable plants, especially leafy greens. You can buy handsome antique replicas, or create simple DIY cloches with chicken wire. Sink additional chicken wire over freshly planted bulbs to prevent digging. Aluminum flashing works well for wrapping tree trunks, and also prevents squirrels from running up trees. Paper bags will enable sunflowers to fully ripen without molestation. Old stockings or cheesecloth can prevent squirrels from one of their most infuriating practices: taking a single bite from a ripening tomato, and then abandoning the spoiled fruit. Ultrasonic noisemakers and motion sensor sprinklers may give squirrels a start, but rapidly decrease in effectiveness over time. As urban animals, squirrels have adapted to live alongside all kinds of noises and other stimuli.
