Kitchen Gardeners

What am I to do my poor little garden has become a haven for every squirrel in the metro Atlanta Area. They are quite selective because the lone suvivor is the cucumber plant that is blossoming nicely but everything else shows signs of the assault. Anyone with some suggestions to ward off the foe I will greatly appreciate it lest I waste much time and energy and cash this year.

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Hi Corinthia. I thought you already added a discussion about this. Anyway, if you click on "forum" above and do a search for "squirrels" you'll find numerous posts that people have made regarding squirrel problems. Maybe that will help while you wait for new responses to this post.

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We had a cat once that was a great squirreler. He'd catch them all! Maybe a cat is a good idea.

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http://www.beeman.com/
Best case scenario is you have a 10 year old boy with lots of free time this summer.
Tree rats...it's what's for dinner.

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.....buy a cheapo bird-feeder. Put it up somewhere,..they WILL go to it. I still say for a 36''x72''....get a cat.

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Hot pepper (cayanne) mixed into bird seed deters squirrels at bird feeders. Have you tried mixing up a liquid pepper solution, then spraying the leaves of your plants? You will need to reapply after a rain. The only other thing I could suggest would be chicken-wire cages over the garden plants. A good cat, however, could be a long-term solution; but it will also go after the wild birds.

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Two of my cats do the job for me-the others can't be bothered. Otherwise, a BB gun and a brunswick stew recipe would be my choice ;)

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I also live in Atlanta and the gray squirrels are a problem. Here's what Iv'e done - for what it's worth.

I noticed that a squirrel was on my bird feeder (on the patio) so I raised it up a bit (higher jump) and then put thick Vasoline on the rail (jumping spot)...I also peppered it with Cayane pepper. I have had no problems since then. Primarily though...I have cut off the food supply. I toss peanuts to the squirrels in the Spring in order to give them extra protien. After about mid-May I quit. I also had my bird feeder in place up until a few weeks ago. I took it down and replaced it with my Hummingbird feeder. So far -so good.

It is key though - to have any bird feeder a ways away from a plant. Birds scatter stuff and squirrels are opportunists.

P.S. a cat is a great squirrel chaser...depending on how you feed the cat. Keep him/her hungry like a "barn cat" and they will do the job....on the other hand....a well fed cat will just sleep.

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...post a pic when you get back from the shelter. get the ugliest one.

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meow.

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I can't vouch for this personally, and I need to issue a warning here for the faint of heart and animal lovers among us. I read once of a guy who was absolutely desperate after two years of squirrel commando raids on his garden and finally shot one of them, tied it to a makeshift cross, and stuck the whole thing in the ground closest to the treeline where the little buggers were coming from. He left it there until the end of the season as a grim threat to the other furry bandits. The crucified rodent served as a warning dire enough to plant fear in the heart of the most conniving of them. Shocking solution, yes, but no more raids on his garden, and he only had to kill one of them to do it.

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...no ''wildlife-specialist'' would EVER condone, or advise the drowning in a trash-can. try again.

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Carol, I dont know you,so I can't make any character judgements. Nor would I.But the practice of drowning animals goes against my grain. I guess I'm not ''practical''. have a nice day.

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