put together a hot pepper,chile concoction and put it on the bark of his trees because these pests called squirrels were ruining his trees by chewing off the bark!

I hope you have success. Let us know because I *Hate* those tree rats.

teeka

on my walk this evening I actually saw a squirrel meandering down the street in the company of a rat! It was very weird and I crossed the street because they scared me. However, neither the rat nor squirrel seems to be afraid of me.

Rats born in the "Year of the Rat" are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions ...

Hmmm...I wonder if that rat has honorable intentions about that squirrel?

Little tongue in cheek plagiarism there ;)

I feed them separately at a squirrel station; seems to work fairly well, they leave my other stuff alone. They will figure out a way to get what they want, I think that's part of their charm (or curse LOL). I enjoy watching them so they don't really bother me much. I heart the little tree rats! :O)

A different take on squirrels... a few years ago, squirrels were commandeering the bird feeder on a regular basis. I asked DH to nip one in the butt w/ his BB gun. Well, I saw the aquirrel shake, jerk,writh, roll over, tremor, etc., as it was in its death throes. I know it was suffering, and decided then not to kill any more of them. DH threw it in the woods as a warning to his pals.
I don't have the extensive fruits, bulbs, etc., that a lot of y'all have (wish I did!!), so they don't make me nuts so much. I try to compensate by planting things w/ berries, seeds, etc., for the birds (sunflowers, wax myrtle, duranta, etc.), but removed the bird feeder.
To my dying day I'll remember seeing that little squirrel suffer. I don't heart them, but I don't hate them enough to kill them ever again.

Those fur tailed rats ran havoc with my bulb planting this year. They dig holes then find out the bulb is not an acorn so drop it. They ruined my Freesia & most of the Crocosmia, don't know about the Lycoris Radiata yet. I replanted but covered each planting with a 10x10 inch piece of 1/2 inch mesh screening. Some small rocks hold them down. Now I know how innovative squirrels are but I think this will hold them back. Now all I have to do is watch carefully for new growth and hope the crows don't think it's corn.

I can't bring myself to actually shoot the squirrels personally mainly because I have such rotten aim the furry tailed rats would probably sit there and taunt me as I hit everything but them! My solution, live trap the little menaces and then have have either my dad or brother shoot them and leave them in the woods for the hawks. The local hawks now visit our houses quite regularly! Of coarse, I'm feeling a bit blood thirsty at the moment because of all the damage that's been done to all of my gingers! Usually I would rather not kill the local wildlife.

Let us know if the spiny bromeliads work. I'm open to any new ways of deterring the squirrels!

There is no way to remove your plants from the natives unless you want to shoot or poison everything in your yard. A yard devoid of other types of life might not be as productive. Plants just like animals have a way of combating some forms of predation. Many plants, constantly trashed can develop chemical defenses that help ward off predators.

Some really good suggestions are to remove the temptations to your yard, I can't believe that ginger is the only thing in your garden that gets touched by wildlife. If it is, then try adding some things to distract the critters, perhaps something that they might enjoy more.

By constantly culling the flock of squirrels you are going to force those few that remain to breed more often. Is this what you want? Nature has a way of dealing with population control that humans seem unable to understand.

Predator urine may work, also pepper sauces, and other natural deterrents, try those before you consider culling as your only option.

Perhaps a "sideways" solution would work. Can you gift one of your neighbors with a squirrel feeding station and draw the squirrels away from your yard to theirs? (Kinda the way japanese beetle traps work--better in the neighbors yard than yours).

This is not as mean as it might sound if the neighbors don't have a garden. And they might enjoy watching the squirrel antics.

Maybe there are other creative ways to deflect the problem.
I think the drought will cause many animals to seek out alternative food sources.

I wouldn't mind so much if it was just the occasional nibble on a plant, it's the whole scale destruction that is driving me crazy. So far this year besides the damage done to the gingers, something has been striping the bark from my large sparkleberry bush, eaten all the new shoots of bamboo, and is busily tearing gaping holes in the log surround that I keep my extra potted plants in. I don't mind the log surround so much since I now it's rotting and whatever creature is attacking them is just going after bugs. As for feeding the local wildlife, I have several chickasaw plum trees that are currently loaded with fruit that they can eat as much of as they want. My big oak tree also dropped thousands of acorns this year, so many in some places that you can't even see the mulch anymore. I thought squirrels liked acorns, so why aren't they munching on them instead of my plants?!

By the way, many of my neighbors are also having problems with squirrels and not just with them attacking their gardens. Some suicidal squirrels actually ate the lead boots from around the pipes coming out of my parents roof!

You might spray your crop with Hot Pepper Wax.
Bad aim? Get a scope. Squirrels are delicious (I know this from my childhood).

bluepalm, where do they sell hot pepper wax?

to naplesgardener- my neighbors have feeders and I have 3 also . You could overfeed squirrels and they would still destroy plants in their quest for variety. Last year the most effective deterrant was the metal ducts I surrounded my mangoes and avacados with . This is both expensive and an eyesore. Trapping and relocating them is illegal. Poisoning effects to many other species. Killing them with a pellet gun although distasteful at least limits the population but is not that easy as they are fast , sneaky and a small target. Last year they paid no attention to my macadamia nuts til I left for three days to find all nuts gone. Hopefully my thorns will be successful

stuartdave
thanks for the info about feeders. sounds like you've tried everything. I'm surprised relocation is illegal for a non-protected species.
I wish you and others good luck in your quest for a solution.
I'd be annoyed too to lose the fruits of my labor.
The last time it happened to me my DH killed the rabbits and never told me until years later and I just thought they went away.