There used to be Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) buds and stalks here.It's hard to be stoic, not to stand there wringing my hands and gritting my teeth at my impotence in the face of the threat. The squirrels are on the rampage. Huge herds of them are marauding in the garden, sharp teeth and claws at the ready. Like a swarm of famished locusts, they descend on any and every bud and bloom in the garden and gnaw it off.
Sorry, I got a bit carried away there, but the garden is at a dangerous point. The snow has melted and new life is sprouting everywhere. The squirrels are getting hungry, having depleted their winter stores of peanuts. Ordinarily, I'd just head out in the garden armed with critter repellent. That won't work right now, as it must be applied when the repellent isn't a block of ice in the bottle and when it's not going to rain or snow for the next four hours. It's chilly and dripping out there now. There's nothing I can do to stop the hungry beasts. I have only so much chickenwire, and it really isn't practical to wrap an entire Witch Hazel.
This flower used to be attached to Hammamelis x 'Sunburst.'I suppose I could stay home all day, glued to the window while armed with a broom, ready to chase them away the moment they descend from the trees, but that's bordering on the pathological. Things get eaten. Plants get damaged. It happens. Life goes on. The plants will recover, and so will I. It's all part of being a gardener.
31 comments:
Squirrels hate hot pepper!! We sprinkle it in our bird feed sometimes and they don't bother it. Gonna check what type it is.
Capacin, any hot peppers mashed in the blender or powdered. It helps us. I also grow hot peppers of all types mixed with my flowers and now little dried peppers are all over and the squirrels don't like them. Leaving them outside wouldn't help you, BUT, you could pick them throughout the summer, keep them in a jar and then start spreading them in early spring. Just an idea. I have some seeds if you need some.
Hot Pepper/chili powder might work...
MMD, Yipes! Sounds like that hot pepper is worth a try!!
Too bad you had to let the gnome go ... you could have deputized him to stand out there and swat at the squirrels with a broom or sturdy stick! One idea for you: could you overturn some plastic pots over the plants you're trying to save from the depredations of hungry squirrels? I'd stake them into the ground with tree trimmings, fallen branches, etc. The holes in most nursery pots allow sufficient light/air/water through for plant health, in my experience, to use them as temporary plant covers.
"Things get eaten. Plants get damaged. It happens. Life goes on." Yes, but we don't have to like it. I guess the only other option is the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" option, meaning feed them enough corn so that they don't need to eat your tender plants. But will it work?
It's frustrating to put so much effort into a plant... any plant, and then to have it chewed to oblivion. The pepper idea sounds like it might work but over the years I have come to accept the fact that sometimes our wonderful gardens have trespassed into the natural habitat of wildlife. Like any parent, we are rather protective of our broods though.... sorry to see destruction to early on in the season. Hope that it will rebound and offer more of its joy later in the season!
Thanks, Darla, but I still have seeds from my Mucho Nacho jalapenos. Besides, hot pepper on the ground isn't going to help with the buds on the Witch Hazel branches.
Nancy - the hot pepper stuff would wash off the snow/rain mess we're supposed to get this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow.
Shady - when it dries out here again, I'll resume spraying with the Liquid Fence. I brought the bottle inside.
Cindy - I don't know what is worse, a garden full of overturned pots, or one missing some blooms. ;^)
Kathy - my next-door neighbors feed the squirrels peanuts. Maybe they ran out or haven't refilled the feeders. I'd hate to encourage more squirrels to come here. At one point, I had 8 different squirrels visiting my yard.
Teza - we have to learn to live with the critters and do the best we can to protect the plants. I did a good job of protecting the trees & shrubs over the winter, but it's the new growth that's at risk. Eventually, the weather will change & I'll be able to deal with the situation.
Dear MMD, I would be mad, too! There probably isn't a really easily workable solution...but maybe a little bit of each of the solutions...and a big ferocious dog!
gail
I put chilli pepper on my bird peanuts and the squirrels ignored it and kept chomping. Luckily I don't suffer from damaged plants because the squirrels spend their time attacking the bird feeders (lol)
I was really surprised to see your Prairie Smoke well ahead of our zone 7 plants. Micro climates seem to be everywhere. Sorry the squirrels got to them. I was thinking of adding some more in the around our hill but maybe that's not such a good idea. I do love those seed heads with the wild hair though.
Well darn! Pesky little marauders. I do the hot pepper spray in the summer to ward off Japanese Beetles, but don't know how it would work on new buds. I wish you luck with controling them. Hopefully some things will manage to escape their appetites.
MMD, email(on my blog) me and I will let you know when we will be at the flower show. Thanks!
String some hot pepper in the branches.
I say shoot them with a high powered bb gun, and audience don't give me a hard time about how cute they are. They're rats with tails. Mean, human biting rats with fluffy tails. Oops, I wasn't going to share that. Anyway, that's how I keep them out of the bird feeders. Just call me Annie Oakley. :) ~~Dee
Gail - I miss my big, ferocious (to squirrels anyway) dog. She may have broken things, but she did keep the squirrels on their toes.
Easygardener - great idea! I'll put up bird feeders & the squirrels can attack them instead.
MacGardens - they do look like wild hair/bad hair day. Really, it was only one stalk that was blooming. The rest were just buds. Now, it's just nubs.
Beckie - Hot pepper wax is hard to find around here. I've used it to good effect. I must admit that, sick & twisted as it is, I laughed when the squirrel got a mouthful.
Darla - I doubt my husband would be willing to share his hot peppers, but I do have a few in the freezer.
Dee - LOL! Out in the country you can get away with that. If I tried it, somebody would call the cops on me.
I'm with Dee. They are rodents, like mice. If they were mice, we'd trap 'em and not think another thing about it. There are squirrel traps that are quick about it, if you know what I mean.
Or, you could just go out and buy a barrel of peanuts for them.
I think our squirrels are gorging on bird seeds and the corn my husband gives them. I guess I don't have any flowers yet for them to bother, but don't remember them doing that in the past.
I did see a large rabbit in the new bed the other day, and it, like the squirrels was too tame for my preference. I feel if they see me, they should run away right away, but they don't.
I"m sorry for your loss.
MMD - I'm so sorry for your loss. They are a pain in the *&#@%* aren't they? I can empathize, except my voracious monsters are deer. What about a hose-end motion detector sprayer? I am fantasizing about one to keep my neighor's feral, bird-eating cats out of my feeder area. But ultimately, my best advice is: breathe, breathe...
I could send over my Frankfort friend with his BB gun - he loves squirrel stew! ;)
We'll see what happens in the spring, but I've been keeping the squirrels fat and happy all winter. So far there aren't any more than usual, and they're leaving my stuff alone.
By this time most winters, they've usually stripped all the bark off the two cedars on the east side of our patio. This year they haven't touched them yet, and they're not doing as much digging or eating stuff in the garden.
I can't remember who recommended this either in the comments on my blog or a post or comment on someone else's sometime last spring, so I decided to try it. It's still an experiment in progress but so far I'm pleased with the results.
Hi MMD,
Sorry to hear that the loathsome tree rats are wreaking havoc in your emerging garden! They're horrid, destructive punks, and I have nothing but hatred for them. I'm more forgiving to the bunnies (even though they're why I can't grow larkspur, they always eat it!). I'd suggest it's time for you to sit down and talk about that new dog you've been wanting ... a nice ferocious terrier mix would be just perfect. They're fast and hate all rodents! I'd offer to loan you Hanna for a while, but we're having too much fun with her! :-)
I think Darla's suggestions about hot peppers can be done in some form... either make a spray with dish soap and red pepper/cayenne flakes steeped in boiling water or even some hot sauce to spray on the affected plant... but of course rain kind of negates the effect... Maybe you could make your own pepper wax by melting old candle bits with peppers and try that?
Either way, good luck! And about that terrier mix... Petfinder.com brought us Hanna, so it's worth at least a look! :-)
Hint, hint....
AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! I hate them. I really do. Shouldn't, but can't help it. I like Dee's idea, so Okie! HA Although this is no laughing matter. My weapon of choice at the moment is plastic bird netting. Cheaper, easier to spread about and it seems to flummox them. You have got some hungry squirrels there. Mine just dig everywhere, even under wire chicken wire. I have to extend it far past the bulb planting area and use metal staple and rocks along the edges.
BTW, there is a surprise for you today at my place.
Frances
I see that I am not the only one posting about the dangers in the garden. Although mine are a bit different from yours.
Squirrels are such pests, I had not realized that until I started reading garden blogs.
But cheer up there is a bit of Witch Hazel to be admired at Bliss.
All those rodents - deer and squirrels - can be a pain. It is interesting to me how the cycles run. This year we have squirrels which is very unusual. MY husband is worried they'll do as much damage to the house as to the garden. I do not want them in our attic!
Oh, MMD! I live in the city, and I use a daisy air powered pellet rifle to shoot at the squirrels. No one is the wiser, you can't hear it outside the yard. We have trained the squirrels to stay on the ground and eat the sunflowers that the birds spill out of the bird feeders. A combination of judicious application of pellets to squirrel rears plus capsaicin from the hot peppers on the things you don't want them to eat plus a liberal supply of sunflower seeds and dried dent corn on the cob ought to keep them away from your plants.
Carol - squirrel traps = eww!
Sue - it's a fine balancing act between feeding the critters enought to keep them from the plants and feeding them too much, encouraging more of them to come to the garden. I hate complacent rabbits.
Diana - the motion-sensor hose might work, but not in the winter around here!
Garden Girl - I guess it's time for me to put up some birdfeeders to keep the squirrels busy.
IVG - I do miss my old Terrier/Beagle mix. I have noticed an increase in critter activity in the absence of the dogs.
Frances - plastic bird netting is a great idea for shrubs, thanks! I could just see me snagging off the buds as I try to put it on. Now if I'm on the ball next fall, I'll put the netting on before the Witch Hazel forms buds.
Yolanda Elizabet - I had no idea squirrels were such pests until I moved here. There must have been too many other things for them to eat at the house where I grew up, and then the next 2 houses I lived in didn't have any squirrels yet because they were in newer subdivisions. I will have a show from the Witch Hazel, but now it will have to wait until the weather warms up again.
Pat Leuchtman - squirrels in the attic is so not funny. They also chew through wires and can cause serious damage. The squirrels destroyed the venting on my neighbor's house, pulling it apart to get into the attic.
HMH - the trifecta approach! Sounds helpful, but I'm still going to stick with chasing them with a broom rather than take pot shots at them. I have a 10 yr old son...
My father used to sprinkle moth balls around the eaves in the attic to keep the squirrels away. It worked and you couldn't smell them in the house. Too bad you can't hang them in the garden, like in old knee high stockings or something. The rain would probably make an awful mess. Sigh. I agree with Dee, shoot the varmints!
Janine - mothballs are no longer recommended for use the garden. I'm just glad they aren't trying to get in the house.
We don't have a squirrel problem. Oh, we have squirrels, but I think the cats keep them at a distance. Also, we had a bumper crop of acorns this year, so they're satisfied I think.
It's the darn RABBITS that chew everything down! And they don't eat it, they just chew it off. Grrrr...
I have Prairie Smoke, too, just new last spring, so I'm hoping to get lots of growth and blooms this year.
Orange Oil keeps them pesky squirrels away, they hate the odor of Orange oil, the kind you use to bake with. I have been using this for 2 seasons now and it works!
It's best to dip bulbs in orange oil
to ensure they won't be eaten by those quitters....and if you have skunk problems, place juicy fruit gum all around your yard, skunks hates juicy fruit gum!
Kylee - I have rabbit problems too, but the neighborhood cats have been managing to keep them in line recently. They are a serious problem at my parents' house, where they don't even bother to get up if you come outside.
Cathy - thanks for the suggestions! I've never heard of using orange oil. I'll have to look for that. I'd also never heard about skunks not liking Juicy Fruit gum. I might try it, but then I'd have to worry about raccoons with gum stuck in their fur.
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