Squirrels eating the broccoli and Brussel plants

[River]

noticed some of my plants were getting eaten to the stem. I also built a raised garden and I was suspicious of the rabbits

With our warmer temps in zone 8b I dust them with bt. Hoping that it might also deter the animals and taste bitter. Of course it is for the worms

Today twice I caught the squirrels eating from both one of the containers and also in the raised garden bed

I am in the city and I thought about purchasing a BB gun maybe the old red Ryder. Really not sure about this

The squirrels did the same thing to my cherry tomatoes but it doesn’t hurt the plant

At this rate they will clean me out

Any suggestions?

 

[skinyea]

shoot them. squirrel meat goes real well with brussells sprouts

 

[River]

The ole red Ryder doesn’t have to much power but they respect it

just so many

 

[DirtMechanic]

Trade you squirrels. I had one eating the gutters on my shed.

 

[River]

I can understand eating plants
Not sure about the gutters. I know that squirrels will chew the hard gr

 

[River]

I was going to build a portable cage to go over the raised bed using 2x2’s and chicken wire. One of the folks at Lowe’s said that peppermint oil would work

he told me he used it for rats and it worked

I did some research and supposedly the scent deters them

sounds to easy

 

[DirtMechanic]

I was going to build a portable cage to go over the raised bed using 2x2’s and chicken wire. One of the folks at Lowe’s said that peppermint oil would work

he told me he used it for rats and it worked

I did some research and supposedly the scent deters them

sounds to easy

Yes they hate a stinky smell. I can pour something oily and stinky like a little 2 cycle gas in one end of a gutter and they will vacate for for a year.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I was going to build a portable cage to go over the raised bed using 2x2’s and chicken wire. One of the folks at Lowe’s said that peppermint oil would work

he told me he used it for rats and it worked

I did some research and supposedly the scent deters them

sounds to easy

Chicken wire tends to be a little light weight and they'll bite right through the wire if desperate enough. Look for welded hardware cloth. It is made of heavier wire and welded instead of twisted.

Dog fur will also work to keep squirrels and rabbits away. But that fur has to still be attached to the dog.

 

[River]

I agree Mr Yan
I used 2x2x8 and I tried to stretch the hardware cloth and my frame was not sturdy enough

I had a limited amount of time. So it’s not the most well built cage.

I have around 30 containers on my driveway and patio. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about that. As I said before my yard slopes and limited amount of sun to be found.

I did learn that okra is perfect to grow in pots and the squirrels leave it alone. Also the eggplants were not bothered. THey did like the cherry tomatoes but didn’t take to many and didn’t harm the plant.

I’m trying to see what we like to eat vs what the squirrels prefer

 

[jbclem]

I've been using cages for years and that's the only thing (other than catching them in a trap) that protects my vegetables. I have many cages (50+) and have never had a squirrel bite through chicken wire. I have smaller cages around 5 gal containers, and larger walk in cages. But squirrels can reach through regular chicken wire, so for the smaller cages I use aviary wire (chicken wire with 1/2" holes). They can still reach in a little but not very much. I also started using cages around clusters of fruit in my fruit trees, and for the first time I now have fruit that grows to maturity/ripeness and I even get to sample it.