by Judith Willson

Created on: November 09, 2010

Squirrels are ingenious in their attempts to find, and sometimes to bury, food.  If they are busy digging up your lawn, rooting in flower pots, and stealing your bulbs you might start seeing them as less than cute.  There are ways to deter squirrels from digging, although you might need to try more than one if you have particularly determined squirrels.

Physical barriers.

If you only want to protect a small area, perhaps a patch of special bulbs, from squirrels then your best bet is to make it impossible to dig.  You can sink fine chicken wire into the soil, which will allow grass and some bulbs to grow up through it.  You could also simply place a sheet of plastic or wood over the area.  If you wish to protect bulbs over the winter this is pretty effective.

Deterrents

There are plenty of deterrents you can buy to deter squirrels, ranging from carnivore urine or dung (try organic suppliers, or your local zoo) to more hi-tech ultrasonic devices.  A motion sensitive sprinkler system might scare the squirrels away for a while. 

These deterrents tend to work only until the squirrels realise there is no real danger.  A border of marigolds might also work but the only long term, 100% effective deterrent is a large and ferocious dog, or a very aggressive cat. 

Distraction

Your squirrels are digging in the search for food.  One possible solution is simply to give them food a lot easier to get at.  They won’t bother exhausting themselves digging if you provide a free lunch somewhere else. 

Grains and nuts don’t cost all that much, especially if you buy from an agricultural supplies shop rather than a pet shop or supermarket.  Squirrels can be entertaining and cute, when they are not ruining your garden, so this might be a way to turn them into an asset rather than a liability.

Trapping

Live trapping those squirrels is the last resort, and will only work if you only have a few to deal with.  First of all check that trapping them is legal in your area and whether you need a permit.  Then set your traps and release the squirrels as far away from your property as you can, at least a couple of miles. 

Don’t trap squirrels during the spring (and sometimes the autumn), which is the breeding season.  You risk removing the mother and leaving the babies to starve.

One of these methods should work.  If not you probably have to resign yourself to the fact you have extremely intelligent squirrels.  Since they have won the war you might as well sit back and enjoy them.

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