That is quite a problem. I have squirrels to (who doesn't LOL) But they have never attacked the lilies, And I have a 20-25 pot ghetto going in the driveway. they sometimes dig in there but never do much damage.

The pepper spray may work, but you have to reapply it after it rains. If the squirrels are that hungry maybe even th epepper won't work. Hmmm, I am not being very helpful tho.

I do cover the pots with chicken wire when the lilies are not growing. When they get taller the squirrels don't bother them as much here.

good Luck

Michael

I got 20 bulbs last week on clearance for about $10. Most had pretty long sprouts, and about half of them I was able to plant with the sprout above ground, in my back yard. The squirrels tore or ate off all of the ones that were above ground! Fortunately I am not out much, and the squirrels haven't touched a single one in the front yard, planted about a month ago (of which about 20/75 are up). I have had a mole problem in the front yard, but I know they don't actually eat bulbs, so I am hoping the damage from the tunnels isn't fatal to any of the lilies.

Aaron

For all it is worth, I use deer-off and it seems to discourage squirrels, too.

We have a LOT of squirrels in our neighborhood. They've mostly been trouble for my tulips which aren't planted as deeply as my lilies. I've never had them eat emerging plants. I have a neighbor who feeds the squirrels peanuts in the winter so they won't eat her tulip bulbs. Maybe that trick will work in the Spring. Has anyone else heard of this? Does it make sense, or just make MORE squirrels?! :)
-Helen

I'm beginning to wonder what kind of Schwarzenegger-style squirrels I've got here. I'm down to 2 lilies in the one bed. (Altho' the Asiatic lilies 15 feet away are unscathed.) They've muscled aside everything I've put over the lilies to protect them -- and something has climbed up the fire escape to eat the lilies I planted for me neighbor -- 3 time! But nothing else is being touched.

Now that I've got mulch down, they're not digging up the bulbs and fanging them, then flinging them around. And they're not even eating the plants, just chewing the stalks in half.

We're pretty urban here, but I suppose I shouldn't rule out oppossums. Altho' I didn't think they were so gourmet as to eat only one variety of plant. And I can't really see them climbing up the fire escape steps. And I've had problems in past summers with squirrels running along the back fence and chewing holes in rosebuds that are at that height. (Must seem like a flippin' buffet line!)

The untouched Asiatics and Orientals I have in other beds are coming up thru ground cover or in fairly dense planting -- do you think that could be the key? I've still got six bulbs I started in little pots, that I had planned to take to our garden swap -- maybe I need to put down some ground cover around them?

Has anyone tried using a tbs of liquid dish detergent like Palmolive or Dawn mixed with a quart of water in a spray bottle? I do it for my Hibiscus and other plants. Once a week, or every two weeks and re-apply if it rains?
I don't know if it would hurt lilies but I have done it for all my other plants with no problems.I just started to collect day lilies so haven't tried it on them yet. The squirrles hate the smell of the two dishwashing liquids. I know they won't touch my hibiscus's anymore and they were shredding them before. It was suggested on some other plant forums I'm on. I don't know about lilies though. They also apply it to Hawaiian plumerias to keep off pests, animals and bugs.
Also, can anyone tell me if Casa blanca lilies grow well in Florida? I think I'm in zone 9a
My new email is windyrr2@earthlink.net
I have to change it on the forum.
Cheryl

Alison,

the heavy planting may be the key, I notice that when plants are more mature (Larger) I dont have that much if any squirrel digging.

Now, are you sure it is the tree rodents? We have opossums, racoons and skunks. Just this week I planted a new plant, dug a nice hole, (killed 4 grubs) and came out the next morning to find it lying on its side with the hole perfectly dug out the way I did it. The grass near it also had smaller holes, so I assume it was a skink digging for grubs and sensing loose dirt. (I left out the 'GASP' when I saw it)

Did you use any fertilizer on these lilies and not the others? I watered some primroses with seaweed/fish fertlilzer only to find them DUG as well earlier in the spring, and only the ones I watered. Sigh. Sometimes I actually think its my garden until I am corrected, we plant food and attractions while the neirghbors have a desert ( here anyway) and wonder why there are wild life problems.

Try gravel n the planting holes and bamboo stakes close to the stalks, maybe?

Michael

I keep the pesky tree rats (squirrels) out of the bulb garden (in the backyard) by feeding them in a different location-the front yard. Has worked out so far.
But, you may not have squirrels biting off your lilies. Have you actively seen this?. Tree rats usually feed by day and hide at night. (Owl's have to eat, also.)
You might have cottontail rabbits. Or somebody in the neighborhood let their Easter bunny loose. We recently discovered a pair in our backyard and now I'm on full bunny prevention alert. Those damn (but cute) things can be heck on gardens.
jb

I haven't seen squirrel eating mine but have had the deer nip them off. This year however I have tunnels though 2 of my beds and no lilies growing at all where there used to be so many that I was planning on dividing them this again this year, now I am looking to replace them. some whoch I have not be able to find listed anyway. Also many unamed that were given by family and friends who have passed on.

It sounds like it's time to get serious and get out the live traps for these bushy-tailed rats. I tried everything else and it only worked for a while. I hated to do it, but a trapping program was the only thing that kept my plants intact.

"Also, can anyone tell me if Casa blanca lilies grow well in Florida? I think I'm in zone 9a" posted by wendyrr2

You may be able to grow the Casablancas in Florida, however I think you'll have to refrigerate them for several months to simulate winter, and shade them from the midday sun. I have a tub full of them which started out in Seattle nearly 15 years ago and now they are in Virginia with me - they are still doing very well, but I have to shade them from the afternoon sun.

The squirrels love to nibble them just as they are emerging, but I started putting the bbq grate over the tub until they get too big..by that time the little tree-rats are no longer interested in them. I doubt the dishsoap will hurt them, in fact it will probably help as long as the mix isn't too strong.

Good luck growing Casablanca down there.. you should be able to pull it off with extra work. It's worth it!

Use the dish soap, but add the pepper and then ammonia and some hot sauce. if just mixing for a 16 oz spray bottle make it about an 8th or 2 oz ammonia and dish soap 5 or 7 good spritzes of Tabasco, tablespoon of pepper, rest water.

Do not feed peanuts to the squirrels. I had a neighbor do that and the squirrels would come to my yard, where the soil was so nice and bury the peanuts. In the process they would dig up plants. And while they were here, they would chomp on tulip stems & take bites out of tomatoes. I wouldn't have minded if they ate the entire tomato - but they would take a bite and throw it away. The good news is that the neighbor passed away and is no longer feeding the squirrels. We also removed a huge tree that was close to our house and they are no longer nesting in our soffit. So there are only a few left in the neighborhood and we plan on trapping them. What I found did work pretty well, was the red pepper spray. You have to spray it right on the plants - I sprayed surrounding mulch, too. And reapply after rain. I feel your pain. I hate those little buggers!!!

Ouchie! quote of the day......

"The good news is, the neighbor passed away"

Heh, that could have been stated better eh! Of course we know you mean the good part is no more peanuts, not no more neighbor.

Last season I had the best fed squirrels in the county. They had dug up my bulbs for dinner. I chicken wired everything I had left. We purchased a squirrel feeder that you put 4 ears of corn on & it goes around. As long as I keep it filled, my flower beds are left alone. I have seen them jump out of trees onto purple conflowers(to bend them down)so they can eat the heads. To deter the rabbits, who love to eats the leaves and fresh growing sprouts, I use critter ridder. This will last for 30 days, even with rain. It's sort of expensive, but my peace of mind is worth more. My neighbor uses rat traps to keep the chipmunk populations under control, also.

Hi,

We also have squirrels. As someone else said, who doesn't. [g]
I didn't realize that there was a squirrel nest in a neighbor's tree until one day I was reading something and saw a picture of what a squirrel nest looks like and sure enough, it was in the yard next door. I thought it was a big bird nest..lol.

I feed the birds and it does draw the squirrels into the yard. The more I attract the squirrels the more damage they do. I finally figured out that there is one bird seed they don't eat..safflower seed. It is a white seed. I have seen them hop on a feeder tray full of the seed and turn their nose up at it and leave. Over and over they have done it, so I know they don't like it. The birds do enjoy it though. Cardinals and finches etc.

I do serve up sunflower seed but in a squirrel proof bird feeder. Since making these adjustments I have had a lot less visits from squirrels. Last summer there were at least 6 of them in the yard all the time. At least 4 or 5 times a day. They were digging in my pots, chewing up succulent houseplants that I just brought out doors etc.

I did plant 2 lily bulbs this year and they didn't touch them. I have full grown Casa Blanca lilies and they don't touch those. I do have evidence of skunks digging every once in awhile for grubs, but I don't think we have much.

This year I have hardly seen a squirrel. They bit into a few cherry tomatoes and spit them out last month and they did the same thing to the first summer squash and left them alone after that. I am leaving my jade tree indoors this year, because they love biting into that for some reason..lol.

Adam

I need suggestions on trapping the tree rats. I have a large and a small Havahart traps. What would be the best baits and where should I place the trap? I am serious. I really am tired of finding my plants and fruits bitten off.

Thanks.

We have a small wire fox terrier, no squirrel problems in this yard!!!

I have read lots on here about how to discourage squirrels from digging and eating bulbs, bird seed, etc. I can tell you from experience that very little WORKS! They are very smart little guys. We have many hickory trees that they love (the nuts), oaks for acorns, dried corn on squirrel feeders but of course they love bird seed and suet and empty our many feeders before the birds can get to them. And...squirrel proof feeders are a huge joke so is greasing the poles that some feeders hang on. They dig up my dozens of plants from pots including hanging planters all summer and some plants are attached to bulbs or tubers, they eat certain bulbs (they do not bother Oriental lilies here), eat hibiscus leaves, strawberries and so forth. I have put chicken wire over pots (so attractive!), sprayed with Squirrel Scoot, Deer Away, hot pepper spray, sprinkled cayenne pepper, used predator urine,etc. Nothing stops them. Then I heard that if they get pepper on their 'hands' and rub their eyes they can go blind so I stopped that. Don't want them stumbling around (lol). This is the worst year for them destroying everything in sight daily. We have dozens of them and I am at my wits end. The hibiscus eating is brand new this year though I have had the plants in pots for years. Trapping/moving them is not an option....too many and trust me..they would come back.

I love to watch their antics but this is ridiculous.

Terri B

Please know that I empathize with you about the squirrels. The ones in my front yard have eaten every gladiolus that I've planted, gnaw and eat my flowering ginger plants and bamboo, get the hibiscus flowers and ripe nectarines off my trees, and yesterday ate the flowers off my new bright red Gerbera Daisies, within an hour of my planting them. We've tried cayenne pepper mixed with water, but it killed the plant I tried it on...I've reverted to building chicken wire pens for the gingers that have survived and overturning plastic milk baskets over the flowers (I must be the only person in the neighborhood who appears to be growing milk crates). I haven't found anything that works, including those Squirrel Chasers sold by Carol Wright---I put a brand new one on the ginger and a squirrel bit off a ginger stalk and sat right next to the Squirrel Chaser bag to eat the stalk!! Nothing I've tried works...All I wanted was a garden with pretty flowers...instead, I have a bare yard with cute little squirrels running amok!!! Hopefully, I'll find some flowering plants on the internet that the squirrels don't like, and if so, I'll get only those...otherwise, it's back to dirt and weeds!

This thread has been inactive for a while, but I don't see a resolution of the problem. Has anyone tried the peanut butter and plaster of paris balls mentioned in another forum? No, it doesn't "clog them up", it just administers a high does of calcium and apparently rodents are extremely sensitive to hypercalcemia (excessive calcium) and go into cardiac arrest. At least it's quick.

I hate to do this, but squirrels in the garden are the least of my worries (though a nuisance) since for years they've been getting into the attic areas of the house, destroying the soffits, siding and electrical wires in the process. The artillery in our "squirrel wars" consist of the havahart traps, PB+POP balls, and, most recently, ammonia sprayed in the areas in which they're trying to nest. I found I had to re-apply the ammonia frequently, but for now, and keeping my fingers crossed, their numbers seem to be down and the ones left are keeping well away from the house. (And, yes, I do feel like the wicked witch in the cottage in some fairy tale, but all this nibbling at my house had to stop.)

I wish you all success with your own "squirrel wars" this coming spring.

This thread has been inactive for a while, but I don't see a resolution of the problem. Has anyone tried the peanut butter and plaster of paris balls mentioned in another forum? No, it doesn't "clog them up", but administers a high dose of calcium - apparently rodents are extremely sensitive to hypercalcemia (excessive calcium) and go into cardiac arrest. At least it's quick. I mix up a batch (about 50/50 PB + POP) at a time and keep it in the fridge. The balls (thumbnail size) are placed inside tubes to keep birds and pets from eating them - I don't know if they'd be affected, but why take the chance.

I hate to do this, but squirrels in the garden have become the least of my worries (though a nuisance) since they started getting into the attic areas of our house, destroying the soffits, siding and electrical wires in the process. The effective artillery in our "squirrel wars" consist of the Havahart traps, PB+POP balls, and, most recently, ammonia sprayed in the areas in which they're trying to nest. Everything else we tried was ineffective. I found I had to re-apply the ammonia frequently, but for now, and keeping my fingers crossed, their numbers seem to be down and the ones left are keeping well away from the house. (And, yes, I do feel like the wicked witch in the cottage in some fairy tale, but all this nibbling at my house had to stop.)

I wish you all success with your own "squirrel wars" this coming spring.

Thanks for posting -- because I realized I never came back and told you what seemed to work.

Coffee grounds! For years, I've picked up big bags of coffee grounds from a Starbucks and a local coffee house, to use in my compost pile. At one point, I had a big industrial garbage bag of pure grounds (No filters or tea bags or the like.) So I decided to spread it around like a mulch in some of the back beds. This was early spring, after I'd planted my 15-20 bulbs but beofre they started to come up.

I couldn't believe my eyes when the lilies started to get about 8-10" tall. They all came up! and they all went on to bloom with at least 3-4 flowers per stalk. It was heavenly.

Since then, I always put down a layer of coffee grounds when I plant the bulbs, and they grow completely unmolested! The lilies (and the rosebuds) were the only thing in the yard that got squirrel attention, so now I can go back to enjying their antics and watching them play.

I'm sorry I didn't pass this along earlier -- thanks for joggin my memory, garden-state-of-mind!

DITTO to mebarry117
My neighbor feeds the squirrels with eanuts every day...what do they do, take the nnunts to bury in my hige yard with all of this nice soil and black mulch> While they are here they put holes everyplace, They put about a hundred holes here in one AM.
What does not help is my next door neighbor who actuallay comes out early in the AM 7 AM with a spray bottle and scoots the squirrels form her yard into mine...would anyone ever dream of doing such a thing? LOL She has got to be certifiable. But I go out there at 7 AM with the dog and she hides, then when I come in she comes back. Oh Lord!
We aldo have possums, skunk and racoons who are more prone to be digging up ALL of my bulbs in the entire property, not just lilys. Other bulbs are not deep and in the winter they pop up. My efforts do not help keep them back down..alot of rocks and a tunnel below ground. DO NOT ask what that was pt there priot to prohibition. LOL
Cher (BIRDWISE)

I'm new to posting here in the lillies section. But a couple years ago i started with tigers, then moved onto every possible cross i could get at the discount stores. I have LOTS of lillies now, in the front side, and back yards. Also around the base of most of the trees. We have about 50 pecan trees, so the abundance of tree mice (squirrels) is well as you can imagine. Never had an issue with the fox squirrels, the cat squirrels however.............. ugh, they even dig up my amerillis bulbs, which you would think they couldnt, since hunting season just passed there is probably an abundance of FOX PISS on sale, the squirrels dont like this stuff, and it stinks sometimes even after a good rain, yeah its fox piss, but hey. I dont know much about why they do it, cause they dont eat the bulbs, nor do they need the food, we sell pecans by the sacs so there is plenty of food water and ETC for them, but the piss works. Just another possible solution?