skip to main content

Georgia Gardener

My own squirrel deterrent method (image intensive)

14 years ago

I have found the best squirrel deterents are a dog and a cat with strong hunting instincts. Between the two of them, the squirrels are obliged to stay on their side of the woodline most of the time, lest they perish. The dog chases away deer from my daylily field, raccoons and oppossums that try to raid my trash at night, and also my mother-in-law.....("Good dog"). The cat prefers mice, rabbits and squirrels...("Good cat"). And while I would love to have bird feeders around, that would be like inviting lambs to a slaughter so I opted not to do so. But I'll gladly trade my bird watching for "the terminator" of garden rodents any day.

Of course, I know cats and dogs may not be options for some urban or suburban gardeners but out here in the sticks they work like a charm.

A.J. (vicious, isn't he?)

Starbuck (aka "The Terminator")

This is one of those aforementioned birdhouses I won't be hanging lol! I actually entered this one in a Halloween pet photo contest last year. Placed in the top ten but darnit, we didn't win. I walked around the corner of my porch one day and almost busted out laughing when this was staring me in the face. Had to keep quiet though or I'd never get a good pic.

"Basket Case"

A.J. loves Starbuck. Some days it's mutual, somedays she could kill him with a look.

Hope ya'll enjoyed my babies.

Danielle

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

nwgatreasures
14 years ago
Sweet!
If it (they) work, then that's all that matters.

Dora
janen
14 years ago
Love your pictures! Thanks for sharing.
Related Discussions
A New Idea(?) Cardboard Mold (image intensive)
Q
Comments (80)
Peak the Tufa God---thank goodness you're back. After months of being forced to lie in bed and dream of the things I wanted to do, I attempted a two-layered grot and a casting of a hosta leaf. I did not do this directly on to the patio----remember...I'm the one whose new husband had to use a crowbar to get my first project off the cement. I'm also the (semi)fool who made bowls in the sand and allowed the tides of Puget Sound to set them. They are fine--probably because I did what Tufa God told me to do----used tons of rinse water after taking them off the beach. I've been trying to collect Dena's instructions on casting......Marly's general knowledge---all of which I have printed on scads of paper and stored in notebooks, which are now in a thousand different places. My wonderful husband's face looks pinched and worn as I stumble around and collect "shapes" for tufa production--and he just called from Home Depot, while I scrolled up this page to tell him which kind of tape to bring home. They're going to have to cut off my arms before I give up...but I feel much more secure now that Peak is back. By the way, Peak, would it not work to decorate the side of that gorgeous hunk with cement-soaked tulle? What might deter it from sticking?
...See More
animal deterrence
Q
Comments (12)
If you feed the deer, you will get more deer. They will have more babies and in a generation or two you have a population explosion. Feeding the deer may work in the short term but in the long term the problem will get worse. The best way to protect a garden is to fence it, ideally with a dog roaming free on your side of the fence. It can be a tall fence or a double fence or a solid fence they cannot see past. Deer will not jump where they cannot see the landing place. The other alternative is to grow exclusively plants that deer can not eat. Most of these are toxic plants such as oleander, though a few plants such as rosemary are simply so unpleasant that they avoid them. Many of the plants on deer-avoidance lists are merely less-preferred food, and they will eat them if they are hungry enough. Deer love roses. All roses. They like some roses better than others. They will leave the less-preferred roses such as rugosas until last, but if that is all they can get, they'll eat rugosas. Rosefolly
...See More
Florida squirrels!! ARG!
Q
Comments (52)
Well, I found this thread that was started almost a year ago to the day. Since I was late in starting my spring garden last year, I guess that might have been why I had NO problem with squirrels. This year I was able to get an early start and had most seeds/seedlings in the ground by mid-February (I live in the Largo/Seminole area). Here it is March 9th and the squirrels have pretty much destroyed at least half of each raised bed (I have 6). Planting corn was a joke. I planted it 3 weekends in a row and at first (duh) couldn't figure out what happened. But when the seedlings started getting chewed, and I had holes everywhere, it dawned on me. I sprinkled cayenne pepper over the watermelon seed mound I just replanted yesterday... only to go out this morning and find that they clearly like peppered watermelon seeds just as well as plain. I bought critter ridder yesterday too... and they dug right through it with no hesitation. I have taken the advice to put sunflower seeds on the opposite end of my garden and just give them something else to eat, but so far they haven't paid any notice. I guess I have to give it a few days. I'm an animal lover too, but boy do I get pissed off when I walk out every morning and see the damage they've done. Between them and moles, I feel like I'm losing the battle with organic, humane gardening.
...See More
Gopher deterrents. Are there any?
Q
Comments (16)
In looking for information about the gopher plant I came across stories about how nasty it's sap is. It sticks to your skin, causes intense allergic reactions, and if you get it around your eyes you can end up in the emergency room. The reaction lasts for a long time, and the milky white sap won't wash off with soap and water. You need to use rubbing alcohol to get it off, and if you get it in your eyes you're in trouble since you can't put rubbing alcohol in your eyes. That pretty much cooled any interest I had in the plant, especially since I think you'd have to have many plants to protect your trees or garden. It apparently self seeds easily, meaning you'd be pulling it up and having a lot of contact with it...and the roots grow quickly underground. I read some stories about how it seemed to work, but just as many telling how the gophers just made their way around the plants to get to their favorite garden treats. I'm allergic to poison oak and I've had a lot of experience digging it up. I wear long sleeved rubber gloves, and have clothing used only for poison oak removal. Afterwards I wash everything with rubbing alcohol, tools, gloves, hands, and face if necessary. I can usually spot a poison oak allergic reaction the minute it starts and can stop it quickly by using cortisone cream. This gopher plant sap sounds worse than poison oak(or poison ivy), with the only saving grace being that you have to contact the sap rather than just the leaves. However, one of the stories involved a woman who was merely trimming off the spent blooms and ended up with "itching hives, extremely flushed face, swollen eyelids, lips and cheeks" and needed a cortisone shot and cortisone creme to get it under control. I hope I'm just exaggerating this problem and it's not as bad as it seems...but be cautious with this plant. I think I'll stick to metal baskets for my trees.
...See More
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
14 years ago
Those are great! Such happy looking fur babies.
satellitehead
14 years ago
Great pictures!

Funny part is, we have a family of feral cats that the folks in a house behind us (diagonally) keep, but they don't seem to go after the squirrels. Birds and chipmunks, but not squirrels. Our dog could care less about squirrels and birds, but she'll eat bees and flies all day long.

At some point I want to fence in our yard for the dog to run around (she likes to dig, though), but we can't do it effectively because of the layout of our yard :\ My parents dog (Shiba Inu, Japanese hunting dog) does the job of keeping squirrels out quite nicely. I'm envious.
rjinga
14 years ago
I would have given you first prize with that picture! Very cute, My cats (and a few extras that I feed) are hunters boy...A day doesn't pass when I dont see at least ONE mouse, mole or bird feathers. The mocking birds have my oldest cat charlie pegged. I always know where she is out there because they get all riled up when she's around. She's a marked cat and they dont forget.

Fortunately the wooded area behind us is too far away for the squirrels to visit. Too much landscape between them and us, and no trees to retreat into, they'd be toast for sure if they even dared come around here!!

My dog instinctively knows the difference between our 2 outdoor kitties and the big mean tom cat who comes around(our outdoor kitties were once strays/ferrel cats that have been tamed and now reside with us, outside in the day, in at night)

They all do their part, except for laying in my day lilie beds, I'm still wondering how they think that serves any greater purpose!!
girlgroupgirl
14 years ago
How cute are your babies!
My furinator is now regulated to indoors. Boo Boo Kitty used to man all posts, nothing could cross the line without her kicking it's butt - not people, not animals. Heck, we rarely had a palmetto bug cross the line. Anything larger than she could tackle and she'd come and get me and we'd bust it together (like snakes).
She is retired now, and hardly even lifts her head when there's a bird in front of her, lol.
squirrellypete
Original Author
14 years ago
GGG -- Boo Boo Kitty sounds like she earned a well-deserved retirement after years of being on duty. I have my other two kitties relegated to the indoors for medical reasons. Someday Starbuck will have to retire but she's only about 4 so hopefully she still has years of service to my gardening cause ahead of her.

rjinga, love your babies too. Especially the white one staring into the camera. So far I haven't been able to train A.J. to stay out of my daylily field so I feel your pain. I can't tell you how many buds he's broken as he bounds by. He only showed up on our property as a starving pup last April and we're still working on some "issues". At the end of daylily blooming season last fall I put nylon pantyhose footies over all of my developing seed pods that I hybridized just like I always do to protect them from insect damage. Well, A.J. must have gotten bored and thought they looked fun to play with so when I got back from work one day I found somewhere between 30 or 40 nylon stockings littering my field, complete with huge broken off seed pods inside, slightly chewed of course. I could have killed him!!! All that time spent planning my crosses, gathering pollen, pollinating and waiting...all for nothing. Aaargh! I would have had far fewer casualties with the bugs, so this year no panty hose. Eventually maybe I'll get it fenced off with low voltage electric wire and hopefully he and any hungry deer will get the hint quickly.

He only knows the difference between cats and everything else that moves. He actually ran down a HUGE wild turkey that just happened to walk out of the woods one day while we were on a walk. That was the day I learned my sweet, submissive wouldn't-hurt-a-kitten stray pooch had some serious hunting dog in his gene pool. The turkey and I just stood there and looked at each other for a minute, we were both so surprised by the other's sudden appearance. But the instant he got nervous and decided to run away he was doomed. A.J.'s chase instinct kicked in and they both disappeared over the hill just as the bird took flight low to the ground. I was concerned about the dog because those turkeys can actually inflict some serious damage when threatened. I looked and looked for him for over an hour with no luck. Finally later that evening I walked out of the house to look for him again and he was laying in the yard next to a giant turkey carcass. I was shocked! Not only had he killed it but he dragged it back home over a mile and that bird was much bigger than he was! So....who's craving a turkey sandwich?

Danielle

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Herb Garden Essentials: Grow Your Own Delicious Mint

By Marianne Lipanovich

Pull out a pot for this one. Mint's spreading habit and hard-to-kill nature can be a blessing — if you're properly prepared

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow Your Own Luscious Cherries

By Marianne Lipanovich

Nope, they’re not the easiest fruit to grow. But with spectacular blossoms and pies as possibilities, cherries are sure worth a try

LIFE How to Outsmart Backyard Critters

By Tiffany Carboni

Learn to think like a raccoon, skunk or squirrel to keep your home safe and your garden intact

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Take Back Your Front Yard: 8 Ways to Make It Social

By J. Peterson Garden Design

If only trees and squirrels gather in your front yard, you're missing out on valuable socializing space. Here's how to remedy that

ART Your Guide to Custom-Framing Photos and Art

By Karen Egly-Thompson

Get the lowdown on framing materials, methods and more

LIFE 6 Ways to Cool Off Without Air Conditioning

By Mariana Pickering (Emu Building Science)

These methods can reduce temperatures in the home and save on energy bills

LIVING ROOMS Readers' Choice: The 10 Most Popular Living Rooms of 2012

By Vanessa Brunner

Every design style gets a shout-out in the most saved living room photos of the past year — see if any elements speak to your own tastes

EDIBLE GARDENS 12 Essential Herbs for Your Edible Garden

By Annie Thornton

Make home cooking and drinks even better with herbs plucked from your own backyard or windowsill pot

FALL GARDENING 7 Reasons Not to Clean Up Your Fall Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Before you pluck and rake, consider wildlife, the health of your plants and your own right to relax

REMODELING GUIDES You Won't Believe What These Homeowners Found in Their Walls

By Mitchell Parker

From the banal to the downright bizarre, these uncovered artifacts may get you wondering what may be hidden in your own home

Sponsored