I've had some damage in various gardens. Last year a patch of uliginosa was browsed as was the pineapple sage which grew nearby. The latter was understandable, sort of, but the former? The chewed areas were too high for anything but deer. At that same set of gardens patches of both coccinea and subrotunda received heavier damage from what I think was rabbits. The damage was severe enough to delay bloom until August and the sages never did reach their full stature: coccinea Dreamsicle which can reach six feet topped out at around two.

We have three squirrel houses in 3 different trees and the only critters we've seen giving the squirrels any grief are raccoons. The first one I built is designed differently than yours, with a roof that overhangs the front. One time a raccoon hung over the front and managed to reach in and get a hold of one, although he didn't get it. I promptly put a little rail on top to block them. We've had Cooper's hawks come through and stalk them but never seen one try and get in one of the houses. No foxes around here, so I can't say. It's not as easy for a larger predatory bird to get at them in the box. Some boxes have ledges installed underneath the hole on the inside to keep other predators from reaching them. 6-7 feet is kind of low. The general recommendation is at least 15 feet although some say 10 is enough. Mine are about 15, 20 and 25 feet up. The one has been up for 8 years and I put two more made from tires up last year. What can I say? I found a plan, was curious and had an old tire. I almost laughed when I saw them moving in last fall. ("SOB! They work!") When you hang them, give them some kind of nesting material to get them started. I put dry crushed or mulched leaves in ours, about 1/3 filled. One caveat about your box. Even being one inch thick, pine will rot over time, especially the floor. Even though it has a hole for drainage, water will collect in there from time to time. I made mine of cedar and it's held up well, but I can see I'll have to replace the floor or build a new one before long. I got the idea for the tire ones from a guy who sells them online.(Not myself) They hang from hooks and he sells them with a rope and attachment to fling it over a limb. I also found a plan for a different style house made from a tire. They seemed to like them just fine.

Ingenuous way to make a trap and kind also. I hope a mile is far enough away. Maybe you could put a little spot of spray paint on it through the cat carrier window if you trap another one so you'd know if the same one found it's way back.

Our squirrels squash stuff too, esp. the Osterich fern and the solomon's seals/false solomon's seals. Also, cats like to do a number of those kinds of plants too so it might not be the squirrels if it's happening at night. Outdoor cats will get in the garden and find a nice spot to roll around flattening everything. When they are in heat and a male is around, it's even WORSE. We're also getting browse lines on all our new shrubs from the bunnies. We have a fence but they still seem to find ways in and then they graze like cattle on all my stuff. I like bunnies but I'm growing to have a grudge against them when they anhialated my new redbud bush leaving barely a leaf on it. The bark is intact but it's severely stressed. I have moved it to a location closer to the house so I can see it and will be putting construction cloth around it tonight after work. I also have to put construction cloth around my burning bushes and my witch hazel which the bunnies have stripped bare up to the top of the browse line. :o/ Barb Ontario, CANADA