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.

Hasenfeffer (Sour Rabbit Stew) SUBMITTED BY: NXNER "Original German rabbit stew recipe passed down from my great-grandmother who immigrated to US in 1889. This is a lot of work to make but well worth it. It is an acquired taste dish; once hooked, you can't get enough. Serve with fresh mashed potatoes and celery sticks. Use the stock as gravy for mashed potatoes. Always tastes better as leftovers. Hope you enjoy!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREP TIME 1 Hr COOK TIME 1 Hr 15 Min READY IN 10 Hrs 15 Min INGREDIENTS 2 3/4 cups red wine vinegar 3 cups water 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar 8 whole cloves 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 5 stalks celery, chopped 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon pickling spice 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 (2 1/2 pound) rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces 3 tablespoons vegetable oil DIRECTIONS In a large pot, combine the water, white sugar, whole cloves, onion, celery, lemon, cinnamon, ground cloves, salt, pickling spice and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn off and allow to cool. Place the rabbit pieces into the mixture to marinate. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread flour out onto a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flour is a light brown color. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade, and discard the solids. Reserve the liquid for later. Heat the oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat the chicken with the toasted flour. Place into the hot oil, and cook until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan, and set aside. If there is oil left in the pan, sprinkle enough of the toasted flour over it to absorb the liquid. In a jar with a lid, mix 1/2 cup of the marinade with 1/4 cup of the remaining toasted flour. Close the lid, and shake vigorously until well blended with no lumps. Heat the pan with the rabbit drippings over low heat. Gradually stir in the marinade mixture, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is falling off of the bones. You may remove the bones prior to serving if desired.

I have dealt with the squirrel problem for 13 years +. I love and enjoy them and it is not true that they carry illnesses. Even rabies is quite rare . I also have two pet rats which are extremely clean and smart like my dogs I have rescued little squirrels, I love them as a species but they are not having anymore of my hard work, And it is hard working clay soil, never mind having to watch it all day. After 13 years I still cant fill even one basket of tomatoes or cucumbers. They ate the young watermelons broke the tomato plants, uprooted just about everything else. I have been wanting to help my neighbors with fresh veggies but I am not left with even enough for me . In spite of my love of this animal I must do something or this will be my last year because it is physically and mentally killing me. Shooting them is illegal ,trapping is useless and expensive.... so I am bringing out my slingshot been a while ! (hot pepper sauce is temporarily uncomfortable but does no permanent damage)so if someone gets that to work it would be better then having to resort to this option. (I tried it many times)I also heard from someone who tried it predator urine it only works if the animal knows its a big predator. Mine are city dwellers who are not afraid of a rottweiler or my four dogs. As soon as they go in they are there. Haunting :o) or soon they will be. Sorry skippy these veggies and flowers are all for me now you little thugs are too greedy and destructive. Move on or be mowed under. I still feel bad but this is insane like a gang here only to destroy. Last year they bit almost every tomato in the garden. The ones not bit were on the ground. Its not a hobby garden but serious hard work.... My husband will be pleased he was all for killing them the first day. I tried every legal means,tried to live with them nothing worked. No other choice left sadly. And for the record I know its probably been said before but If you want to feed squirrels wait till fall and use native foods they actually need like acorns,chestnuts,,, NOT PEANUTS EVER if you love them and your neighbors just don't PLEASE, because you are contributing to the problem. It has no nutritional value. The squirrels will have mangy coats, they wont forage for the proper food, which could mean starvation but most likely you will just have ugly bald squirrels digging up your garden to bury or find those peanuts . Hey I hit my practice target the second shot, but can I actually do it? I can only hope because I need my garden and my sanity intact.

Other than shooting the poor buggers there are 2 solutions to your problem. 1. Buy a good squirrel trap, e.g. made by Havahart. For about one week hold the trap doors open with some string and keep putting a handful of peanuts on the feeding platform every day, better still a couple of times/day and sprinkle some outside. The squirrels will get used to the trap and when you actually set it to trap the animals you will be amazed how quickly you can start to relocate them. Unfortunately, you must relocate the squirrel at least three miles from your location, even further if you are in a heavily wooded area, otherwise they will be back. Make sure the trap you buy is larger than the squirrel/chipmunk traps sold at Big Box retailers, e.g. designed for rabbits, otherwise lots of squirrels will escape. If you already have a small squirrel trap putting a small stone on each of the open doors helps to close them fast/stops squirrels from escaping. I found that trapping squirrels, leaving them in the trap for a couple of hours and releasing them into their neighborhood (watch them run in horror) helps a great deal if you leave the trap in sight. It definitely serves as a deterrent for squirrels that were trapped before. 2. Somewhat more finito, bury a 10 Gal. container into the soil, create a platform/use a second platform to create a base 15" below the rim of the buries container and keep spreading light colored sunflower seeds onto the base. Again, the idea is that squirrels will jump onto the base and feast on the seeds. After one week, remove the base, fill the bucket with water 15" below the rim and cover the water with light colored sunflower seeds which float. Get a net and get ready to fish out many drowned squirrels. As a European we like squirrels and think they are cute so please try version 1.