How to Keep Squirrels Out of Potted Plants
To keep squirrels out of your potted plants, There are lots of ways that you can deter a squirrel from your potted plants without harming them, so check out some of the better options below.
A Little More About Squirrels
The first step in defeating your opponent is understanding him. Squirrels are agile rodents that dart around. Most people recognize them by their bushy tails. They nest in trees and sometimes they work their way into your home. Squirrels have a wide varied of diets. They don’t always go after nuts, they also eat fruits and veggies. In the fall, their quest for nuts is at its highest because they have to store them away in their dens for winter.
Why Do Squirrels Dig in Potted Plants?
Squirrels are attracted to potted plants because it’s easy for them to dig. Food and nuts will be hidden in the potting soil. Squares like to eat fruit, vegetables, and bulbs. Squirrels are natural-born diggers. Squirrels like to dig because they’re trying to store food. Digging is their main job during winter. To store away food, squirrels carry acorns or nuts and dig a few inches before storing them in the pot. Pots: dirt for them to dig in, food for them to eat. Fruit and vegetables, herbs, bulbs, and certain species of plants. Ripened fruits and vegetables are the tastiest.
How to Identify Squirrel Loss in the Garden
Signs of squirrel infestation: Damaged garden plants, dug-up potted plants, scratches on the bark of young trees, droppings, and footprints. Nests on a nearby tree branch. If you’re seeing multiple signs of squirrels, act quickly before they destroy your garden and houseplants. Let’s explore ways to protect our potted plants from these creatures. You might be dealing with squirrels or chipmunks or groundhogs.
Squirrels will steal ripening fruits and vegetables to eat. Squirrels can attack your gardens, bird feeders, and containers. If you’re growing flowers or vegetables in containers, be aware of squirrels digging around in them to look for insects or other goodies. If you notice your bird food disappearing quickly, you might have a squirrel problem. If you want to feed birds, make sure that the squirrels don’t eat the food.
Best Ways to keep squirrels out of potted plants that work.
Ground squirrels are a common pest in gardens. Squirrels make life difficult for gardeners. They bury their own food supply in pots, such as whole peanuts and acorns. Want to learn how to keep squirrels out of potted plants without hurting them or your yard? best ways to keep squirrels out of your potted plants.
Quick tips on common questions for each method:
1.Get a Dog
The simple way to keep squirrels away from plants: Get a dog. During the daytime, allow your dog to chase the squirrels away. You can use dog fur or clippings of your own hair to deter squirrels. Squirrels might figure out a way around your repellents and traps so you must be prepared to spend time and wit coming up with a solution. It’s not as easy as a one-trick-fix: Squirrels are pretty cunning. This is a matter of trial and error, In some cases, using more than one method will get the best results.
2.Prepare A Natural Squirrel Repellent
A natural squirrel repellent is a mixture of ingredients that can be sprayed on trees to ward off squirrels. Aloe vera is one ingredient that makes up the mixture and can also be applied directly to the skin.
There are many different ingredients that can be used in this mixture, including peppermint oil, thyme oil, and lavender oil.
3.Use Blood Meal or Other Food Products
A blood meal is a form of organic fertilizer that consists primarily of animal blood and dried fecal matter, which can help improve the growth rate of plants. A dried blood meal or bone meal is good for keeping pests away and promoting plant growth.
There are a few different ways to keep squirrels out of potted plants. One way is to use blood meal or another food product as a deterrent. For example, Burpee Organic Blood Meal is an excellent fertilizer and has also kept pests away from our garden.
4.Use Coffee Grounds
Mixing used coffee grounds with the top layer of soil is a dual-purpose and effective way to keep squirrels away. Most plants get nutrients from it. Squirrels will avoid the plants due to smell and taste. Repel them in case they don’t scare away by scaring them with pepper or some other scent that makes them uncomfortable, If you can’t scare them, try to make them not want to come near the plant.
This can be done with Cayenne Pepper or another similar scent that makes the squirrel uncomfortable enough to not want to come near the plant. Materials: vinegar, garlic, pepper, coffee grounds, blood meal, and bone meal, Spray with a solution to keep squirrels away. Squirrels don’t like the smell of coffee grounds. Squirrels don’t like the smell of coffee grounds. You can add it to the potting soil every couple of weeks.
5.Set Up Bird Feeders
Squirrels love container plants but hate birds. You can keep birds as pets in your garden. Birds will scare away the squirrels and feed them too. Considerations for bird feeder: 10ft away from trees, fences, and other perches for squirrels.
This bird feeder attracts birds that will eat the insects that squirrels like to eat.
6.Use Garlic Powder
Garlic powder is a great way to keep squirrels out of potted plants. Simply sprinkle a small amount on and around the plants and they will stay away. Mix ingredients with water and dish soap. Use a Spray bottle to apply the mixture to plants. Rain may wash away the smell.
Garlic powder is a food product made from crushed garlic. It has a strong, pungent smell and flavor with a slightly bitter taste that can vary by brand.
7.Use Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is a fruit that looks like a long, thin red hot chili pepper. It has a flavor that ranges from mild to very hot.
Cayenne pepper is another method for teaching squirrels a lesson about messing with your plants. Once they get a whiff of the burning red substance, they will definitely think twice before attempting to mess with your plant again. The tip is also great for keeping cats out of your plants because it smells so bad that squirrels stay away from them. To make them unappealing, try making their taste and smell unpleasant. Cayenne pepper is painful for squirrels and outside pets. Cayenne pepper: high in nitrogen and sold as fertilizers. Birds cannot taste cayenne pepper, leaving them to eat the birdseed.
Seeds can be soaked in cayenne pepper for a few hours before planting.
Mix Cayenne Pepper with water and leave it near the squirrels’ hole to keep them out of the plants.
Cayenne pepper can be sprinkled on the plant’s soil to make it unappealing for squirrels and other animals.
8.Create a Rock Barrier
A rock barrier is a type of landform composed of large rocks (usually boulders), which Cover the exposed soil surface of plants. It is used for erosion control, slope stabilization, and reducing soil loss. Rock barrier is a material to prevent digging.
9.Apply Hot Pepper Spray
Hot pepper spray is one of the best ways. You can make a simple solution with two tablespoons of washing liquid and hot chili sauce and a small bottle of water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and shake it up nicely before spraying down the soil in your potted plants.
10.Turn Extra Plant Stems Into Organic Fencing
Turning plant stems into fencing is a great way to create a natural fence or barrier that will grow with your garden. Creating barriers for squirrels. Squirrels are smart critics who make life difficult for gardeners.
11.Create a Wire or Mesh Barrier
A wire or Mesh Barrier is a barrier that can be used to contain and stop the flow of an object. Wire barriers are made up of metal, wire, or rope and mesh barriers are made from materials that can be easily bent and contorted.If you want to prevent squirrels from getting to your plants, you might consider blocking them with chicken wire or mesh. Squirrels will still nibble on the plants but they won’t be digging up anything. Chicken wire or mesh can be layered on the ground around your plants to prevent digging.
Conclusion
Squirrels can be a nuisance when it comes to potted plants. They often dig up the soil, take away your beloved planting bulbs, and bury their own food supply inside the pots. In order to deter squirrels from damaging your potted plants, you can set up barriers to avoid eye or skin damage. If you want to protect your potted plants without harming the little furry creatures, go for options like natural repellents and bird feeders.
