Squirrels Digging In My Planters

**Marie78** · 05-21-2007, 12:04 PM

I hope somebody can give me ideas for how to stop squirrels from digging in my planters. I live in an apartment building, the top floor apartment and have 4 containers on my private balcony. I planted flower seeds the first week in May and I have been carefully watering and watching my little plants grow. This morning I woke up to a horrible sight on my balcony. The containers had been dug through and my little plants were buried underneath dirt and upturned. There was soil everywhere. I swept up and replanted the little plants (some are as tiny as my finger nail) that I could find and then watered the containers.

I have been online looking for ideas, most people said Cayenne pepper didn't work for them. Some suggestions were products from a garden store to keep critters away. Other people said that nothing works and the squirrels will keep coming back to dig. I was hoping someone had tried something and got good results. I would move my plants, but there is no where to move them, since I don't have a yard of my own.

**Missy** · 05-21-2007, 12:08 PM

i would brush the kitties and line the pots with the cat hair. if it smells like a predator, maybe they'll stop.

**Darlene** · 05-21-2007, 12:44 PM

You prob don't want to get rid of them the way we do, lets just say they never come back...overgrown rats is what they are...

Could you put some kind of metal cage over your planters? They will chew through plastic if they want. Are you feeding birds nearby?

**Marie78** · 05-21-2007, 02:36 PM

Thank you for the advice, I don't have any bird feeders nearby. I would be afraid the squirrels would be attracted to the bird seed, and it's a small balcony so I wouldn't want a lot of bird waste on my table and chairs. I have two cats that are shedding a lot, I'll try the cat hair in the planters. Should I put it right on top of the soil or tuck it under the pots?

**McD** · 05-21-2007, 03:24 PM

I have this same problem....pepper didn't work at all.
I held firm and tried to just wait it out....worked until the squirrells sounded like they were dancing in circles right above my bed on the roof...at 4 in the morning.
So....my husband took matters into his own hand.

Squirell Casualtiess---2 dead, one wounded.

**Missy** · 05-21-2007, 03:44 PM

id just put it (cat hair) right on top.

**Marie78** · 05-22-2007, 12:00 AM

I hope this doesn't sound crazy or cruel, but I put wooden kabahb skewers in my planters pointy side up every few inches surrounding my little tiny plants. I sprinkled some crushed red pepper on the soil and some tufts of cat fur. I am hoping if the pepper and cat fur won't scare them away the risk of bodily harm with a sharp object will. I'll have to wait until morning to see if the little guys were digging again.

**Missy** · 05-22-2007, 12:05 AM

hey, pointy tops on gates and fences keep people out, and we don't call it cruel, heck we even call it decorative!! LOL. Pointy would keep me out, so maybe it'll work with the squirrels too. Good luck!

**Missy** · 05-22-2007, 12:06 AM

oooh, hey! i lined the edge of my garden with mothballs (i know, not the more pleasant of smells...) but it keeps cats out of my garden...might help with the squirrels too if the other ideas don't work

**Marie78** · 05-22-2007, 10:53 AM

No digging last night! I am not sure what kept them away the most: the pointy sticks, pepper, or cat fur. I am going to keep doing all three, at least until my plants are big enough to survive an unearthing.

**Missy** · 05-22-2007, 05:22 PM

woo hoo!! glad to hear it worked...what ever "it" was. lol

**spyzvixxen** · 05-22-2007, 07:48 PM

this post couldn't have come at a better time! same situation here....first floor apt. w/ patio, bird feeder next door. I tried Cayenne pepper which worked for about a week, but lo and behold I come home tonight and my herb garden has been ransacked. Will try the skewers and report back.

**pita1213** · 05-23-2007, 06:22 AM

if you have little kids, either your own or neighbors little kids( neighbors have 3 year olds) try drinking straws. i was having trouble with squirrels diggins up my flower pots so i put a bunch of palstic straws all over the pots. it's not the pointy part that keeps them away, it;s teh fact that there is something in the way. looks a little odd, and i've had people ask why they are there, but it works. i'm also a big clutz and was afraid i'd trip and fall on teh skewers. straws will still hurt, but aren't as pokey.

**TheRootedNomad** · 05-23-2007, 07:00 AM

My uncle has used mothballs scattered throughout his garne and claims it works.....However the cat hair idea sounds pretty cool to me!!!! What a neat idea Missy!!! Glad "it" seems to be working.

**Jaded** · 06-13-2007, 09:12 AM

Human hair works too. You can get your local barber shop or beauty shop to save you some.

I actually like my squirrels, and I feed them far away from the other plants, so I don't have much digging, and they know where to go for food. Yes, that is an added expense, but I put a lot of money into my plants, so I don't want them destroyed.

Wish this stuff worked with armadillos. They are driving me crazy! I have to go out tonite and do the kitty litter trick...put used kitty litter into the holes so they won't go back into them, but that's just moving them somewhere else. They dig HUGE holes all over my yard!