Only thing that works for squirrels is a physical barrier ime.
Aresmsu
Over the summer I was sprinkling the Bonide Repel All and it seemed to work for about a week or two. But after a summer of doing that and only having minor success, I decided it’s futile and wayyyy too expensive. I agree with the prior response that the only way is a physical barrier.
We deal with such issues on a regular basis there 😁
Dwarfzombi
Got any neighbors that bow hunt? Or have a BB gun? Gardening and small game hunting are highly compatible hobbies. Meat is delicious, and hair, guts and bones can be broken down into excellent fertilizer. If you have ethical or religious hang ups about killing, then you can enlist the help of an animal with no such moral quandaries (a dog), or put up physical barriers. But it takes a lot of money to build squirrel proof barriers or feed a dog.
tlbs101
We have lots of squirrels on our 8 acres. The ones who had made nests near the house and the garden areas were becoming nuisances including stealing eggs from the coop. We bought 2 live traps from Tractor Supply and relocated 4, so far. Squirrels further away have started encroaching on the abandoned nests so we will have to do another round of trap/relocate.
Before we got the live traps a month ago, I had all my raised beds in cages or hoop houses (still do). Some of the older raised beds also needed wire mesh buried underground.
JustCallMeNancy
That particular fat squirrel is pretty cute. But I agree, even that type can be a hindrance. But my huskies are breaking even. They’ve broken into my garden and started digging but they’ve also uh, “taken care of” the bunny problem. I was a little sad to see that, but the rabbits literally dug up and nested in my strawberry bed. Without the huskies it would have been a really bad harvest year.
carlovmon
Squirrels are pretty easy to trap. Most ignore my garden but when I get one that is tearing the place up I trap them and remove them.
OSRSjadeine
We have very aggressive squirrels and chipmunks here, dumb neighbors feed them…this was the only way I could keep them out
Just wondering what seedlings are going in late October in New Jersey? I have a raised bed and ended up putting a hinged hoop house over it & secured insect netting to it – and that has worked perfectly for keeping the pests out
ILCHottTub
Smaller beds and chicken wire or hardware cloth.
You’re gonna have to walk into that which is a huge no-no for raised beds/compaction/breaking plants etc. 4’x4’ is pretty standard and easy to do mods on like protective covers and frost liners etc.
Building a full cage kind of sucks. It’s only needed for things that squirrels take like tomatoes and maybe root crops. For your particular case they are just digging because the ground is soft and they are checking for nuts. You can lay down some chicken wire and thread your seedlings through it. I built a square frame that fit inside my raised bed and nailed chicken wire to it at the start of the year. You can plant seeds through the wire real easy. For things like larger seedling transplants you can cut out a small hole. It might rust away after a few years but it keeps the squirrels out. And unlike a full cage it looks fine.
673potatoes
Pellet gun.
ziomus90
Trap. Got me a 2 set at tractor supply
geriatric-millennial
I had sooo much luck with cayenne this summer.
Sprinkled every few days and after rain. But then right as the weather began changing, the squirrels decided they could tolerate it?!?! Had great luck seeding carrots until they decimated the bed 😓
Thee_Sinner
r/fatsquirrelhate
tbug30
Love the Freudian “raided beds” here. 🤣
retirednightshift
You may have released some scents that the dog is investigating. My dog periodically digs in my raised beds but it’s super rare. I think he sees me planting and digging and figures it’s the thing to do.
Snazzypanted
Get a ton of dog hair and scatter it everywhere in your garden, or get a fat trap and some peanut butter and bird seed and trap him. Then move him like 10 miles away and keep it up!
19 Comments
Only thing that works for squirrels is a physical barrier ime.
Over the summer I was sprinkling the Bonide Repel All and it seemed to work for about a week or two. But after a summer of doing that and only having minor success, I decided it’s futile and wayyyy too expensive. I agree with the prior response that the only way is a physical barrier.
https://preview.redd.it/744br6excoxf1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cacf73094ec76bcc1a41acd0fc9293e498cd474d
My fat squirrel. He broke the fence
May I suggest r/airguns?
We deal with such issues on a regular basis there 😁
Got any neighbors that bow hunt? Or have a BB gun? Gardening and small game hunting are highly compatible hobbies. Meat is delicious, and hair, guts and bones can be broken down into excellent fertilizer. If you have ethical or religious hang ups about killing, then you can enlist the help of an animal with no such moral quandaries (a dog), or put up physical barriers. But it takes a lot of money to build squirrel proof barriers or feed a dog.
We have lots of squirrels on our 8 acres. The ones who had made nests near the house and the garden areas were becoming nuisances including stealing eggs from the coop. We bought 2 live traps from Tractor Supply and relocated 4, so far. Squirrels further away have started encroaching on the abandoned nests so we will have to do another round of trap/relocate.
Before we got the live traps a month ago, I had all my raised beds in cages or hoop houses (still do). Some of the older raised beds also needed wire mesh buried underground.
That particular fat squirrel is pretty cute. But I agree, even that type can be a hindrance. But my huskies are breaking even. They’ve broken into my garden and started digging but they’ve also uh, “taken care of” the bunny problem. I was a little sad to see that, but the rabbits literally dug up and nested in my strawberry bed. Without the huskies it would have been a really bad harvest year.
Squirrels are pretty easy to trap. Most ignore my garden but when I get one that is tearing the place up I trap them and remove them.
We have very aggressive squirrels and chipmunks here, dumb neighbors feed them…this was the only way I could keep them out
https://preview.redd.it/uu1u9ukmpoxf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8784ec1066744e0d2dc3547de58f7baf2fe17c44
Just wondering what seedlings are going in late October in New Jersey? I have a raised bed and ended up putting a hinged hoop house over it & secured insect netting to it – and that has worked perfectly for keeping the pests out
Smaller beds and chicken wire or hardware cloth.
You’re gonna have to walk into that which is a huge no-no for raised beds/compaction/breaking plants etc. 4’x4’ is pretty standard and easy to do mods on like protective covers and frost liners etc.
https://preview.redd.it/0273osz0soxf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30649bc22ecdd53ca3d62e6019cb35fdd730ef52
Building a full cage kind of sucks. It’s only needed for things that squirrels take like tomatoes and maybe root crops. For your particular case they are just digging because the ground is soft and they are checking for nuts. You can lay down some chicken wire and thread your seedlings through it. I built a square frame that fit inside my raised bed and nailed chicken wire to it at the start of the year. You can plant seeds through the wire real easy. For things like larger seedling transplants you can cut out a small hole. It might rust away after a few years but it keeps the squirrels out. And unlike a full cage it looks fine.
Pellet gun.
Trap. Got me a 2 set at tractor supply
I had sooo much luck with cayenne this summer.
Sprinkled every few days and after rain. But then right as the weather began changing, the squirrels decided they could tolerate it?!?! Had great luck seeding carrots until they decimated the bed 😓
r/fatsquirrelhate
Love the Freudian “raided beds” here. 🤣
You may have released some scents that the dog is investigating. My dog periodically digs in my raised beds but it’s super rare. I think he sees me planting and digging and figures it’s the thing to do.
Get a ton of dog hair and scatter it everywhere in your garden, or get a fat trap and some peanut butter and bird seed and trap him. Then move him like 10 miles away and keep it up!