Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas – Keep Squirrels out of The Yard!

Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas – Keep Squirrels out of The Yard!

Do you have a problem with squirrels?  If so, these natural squirrel repellent ideas may prove useful to you.

Dealing with squirrels has been an ongoing problem for me in one way or another for several years. 

If you read my blog often, you may remember reading about the squirrels in my vegetable garden a few years ago.

Suffice to say, it was a nightmare all around. I was at my wit’s end trying to keep them out of my home grown vegetables. Squirrel with an ear of corn and words reading keeping squirrels away.

Problems caused by squirrels in the garden

Animal lovers are charmed by the acrobatic maneuvers of squirrels and find them delightful.

But when a gardener walks out into their vegetable garden to find their corn in a mess and their tomatoes scattered over the ground with exactly one bite out of each, they are anything BUT charmed.

Squirrels are a constant source of frustration for any vegetable gardener and I, for one, am always looking for new, and natural, ways for keeping squirrels out of my garden.Red Squirrel on a bowl.

I am an organic gardener by nature, but when my 1000 foot vegetable garden was destroyed by squirrels two years ago, I was prepared to try anything and everything to get rid of them.

I made some squirrel repellents but was never happy with the idea that they contained moth balls, which are quite toxic, so I discontinued the use of them and started looking into other natural squirrel deterrent ideas.

Even if you never see squirrels in your yard, there are lots of signs that they have been visiting your garden.

Look for shallow digging and holes around plants, small bites on vegetables (particularly tomatoes), seed heads that hat been nibbled, whole plants that have disappeared (!) and digging evidence in your plant containers.

These are all signs that Mr. Squirrel has been paying you a visit and that it might be time to take action to control him.Red squirrel in a tree with a nut and words Natural Squirrel Repellents.

[bctt tweet=”Keep squirrels away naturally with some very creative ideas. Dogs, cats, garlic, peppers and peppermint are all useful tools to rid your yard of squirrels. 🐿🌶😺🐶🐿 ” username=”agardeningcook”]

Let’s look at some Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Keeping squirrels out of the garden is a challenge for sure, but these ideas should help.

Hot Pepper Plants and Cayenne PepperHot Pepper plant.

Hot peppers are the most often used ingredients in natural squirrel repellent remedies, it seems.  You can use them in a variety of ways:

  • Sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on the ground near the plants that seem to be attracting squirrels.
  • Sprinkle a light dusting of cayenne pepper right on the leaves of squirrel tempting plants. Low lying leaves are the most important ones to sprinkle.
  • Mix cayenne pepper and petroleum jelly and spread it on the stems of plants at the base. Also spread it on fences, poles and other solid things near plants that squirrels like.
  • Make a cayenne pepper spray to spray on the leaves of tempting plants. To do this, mix a small bottle of your favorite hot sauce with a gallon on water. Place in a spray bottle and use it directly on the leaves of the plants that the squirrels are going after.

Note:  all of these remedies will need to be reapplied periodically, especially after it rains.

Garlic Spraysgarlic cloves and whole heads of garlic.

Squirrels also dislike the smell and taste of garlic.  Make a concoction with chopped up garlic, water and vinegar.

Let the mixture sit for a few days to give the flavors a chance to combine well and spray it on fences, and stakes in your vegetable garden.

Apple Cider Vinegar Spray as a squirrel repellent

Apple cider vinegar spray in a bottle with a red top.

The acrid taste and smell of apple cider vinegar is a real turn off to squirrels. Use it as a spray on hard surfaces and fixtures in squirrel infested areas.

Note:  This spray is for use on hard surfaces, and it can be sprayed 100%. Don’t use it on plants since vinegar can kill plants.

How to Keep Squirrels away with Bulbs and Plants

Use bulbs as a way of keeping squirrels out of the garden.  Some plants that repel squirrels are beautiful to see, but many of them are actually unappealing to squirrels.

Allium, lily of the valley, daffodil and hyacinths in a collage.

There are some bulbs and plants that squirrels really avoid due to their taste and smell.  Planting this type of bulb near your vegetable garden can do a good job of keeping the squirrels away.

A few ideas for squirrel repelling bulbs are daffodils, hyacinths, allium, lily of the valley, peppermint and geranium.

Squirrels aren’t the only thing that plants will repel. Lots of plants are great at repelling insects. See my list of mosquito repelling plants here.

Peppermint Essential Oil is a Natural Squirrel RepellentBottles of peppermint essential oil in a row.

Squirrels don’t like the strong scent of peppermint. In the same way that a live peppermint plant will deter them, peppermint essential oils also can be used.

Soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them here and there on jar lids around plants in your garden that the squirrels like. The baits will need to be re-soaked periodically.

You can also make a peppermint essential oil spray with the ratio of one drop of peppermint essential oil to one ounce of vinegar and use it to spray on hard surfaces in the garden.

Peppermint essential oil can also be combined with other oils to make an effective homemade mosquito repellent spray.

Squirrel repellent ideas on a peach colored background with squirrels, dog, daffodil, peppers and bottle of peppermint oil.

Other Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

If the remedies don’t work at keeping squirrels out of the garden, then it might be time for some more drastic measures. Here are some other ideas for what repels squirrels.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels by scaring them

Metal scarecrow with light sensors to keep the squirrels away.

Motion detecting lights, scarecrows, high frequency sound machines, owl decoys, and other tools are used to scare squirrels. Some friends of mine have a huge farm property and Randy has a vegetable garden which gives her prizes every year at the State Fair.

When I visited recently, I asked Randy how she keeps the squirrels away from it and she said it was this amazing sculpture that she had made.

The sculpture is huge, has lights that come on when anything approaches the garden and does a great job of keeping the squirrels away from it.

How to repel squirrels Using Cats and Dogs Black German Shepherd sitting on a lawn.

The last few dogs that we had love to chase squirrels and this is one behavior that I don’t discourage.  

If you have a dog or cat in your yard that chases the squirrels every time they visit, it is unlikely that you will have much of a squirrel problem.

Not all dogs deter squirrels. When I had my squirrel invasion, the dogs I had then had no interest in the squirrels! Other times (and other dogs) proved just the opposite!

Squirrel Traps

Sometimes the answer to a squirrel problem is simply to trap them and remove them to another location.

Note: Be sure to check the rules about relocating in your area.  Some regions prohibit this action by law.

Squirrel trap in garden near some iris leaves.

Place sunflower seeds, small pieces of corn on the cob or other threats that squirrels like in a squirrel trap. Place the trap near the area where you know the squirrels visit.

Once the squirrel gets trapped, release it in some far away place (or they will just return if you release near your home!)

Remove things that attract squirrels

You may be unknowingly attracting squirrels in your attempt to bring other wildlife into the garden. The bird seed that the birds love is also a favorite food of squirrels.Bird and bird feeder willed with seed.

Place bird feeders away from your vegetable garden area if possible, and be sure to clean up around them.  The smell of seeds and bits of fruit can really be attractive to squirrels.

Also, make sure that your garbage bins are closed to keep temptation away.  There is no sense in sending out a welcome mat if you want to keep squirrels at bay!

Give them an alternative food choice

This may seem like an oxymoron, but sometimes giving the squirrels their own food supply can be the answer.Squirrel feeding station with a red squirrel.

If you have tried everything to keep squirrels away and they still keep returning to your garden, try setting up a distraction station somewhere in your yard that is some distance away from your veggies.

Set up a food station with squirrel tempting treats like sunflower seeds, nuts and other treats. This will attract the squirrels away from your vegetables and to other areas of the yard.

Just be sure the station is positioned well away from your edible vegetables. Don’t forget to keep water here too.  My entire crop of tomatoes each had one bite out of them and I am sure the squirrels were mainly thirsty that day.

Cages for Vegetables are natural squirrel repellents

Squirrels love vegetables, in particular corn. (My squirrel problem was never a problem until I decided to plant corn in the vegetable garden.)

If all else fails, cages may be your only option.

Vegetables in cages to help keep squirrels away.
Photo Credit: Flickr: Hardworkinghippy

One of the best natural squirrel repellent ideas is simply to keep them out! The squirrels cannot eat when they can’t get into the vegetable area.  Think about making tall wire cages.

Be sure the garden beds have tops (bird netting works well) as well as sides, or the squirrels will just climb up and in. Row covers also work for smaller veggies.

A note on Predators.

Both hawks and owls love to prey on squirrels.  My husband is convinced that our squirrel population is so much higher because wooded land near by has been built up with houses and the owls are less plentiful.Grey Owl in a tree.

Find out what you can about attracting owls and hawks to the area to see if this helps.

If you don’t have live owls living nearby, think about investing in some owl decoys. They are designed to scare away squirrels and other rodents.

Have you found other natural methods effective at keeping squirrels out of your garden? Share your natural squirrel repellent in the comments below!

Pin this post on Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Would you like a reminder of this post for keeping squirrels out of your garden?  Just pin this image to one of your gardening boards on Pinterest. You can also watch the video on YouTube later, as well.

Red squirrel, hot peppers, peppermint oil bottles in a collage with words reading natural squirrel repellents.

Admin Note: This post first appeared on the blog in April of 2017. I have updated the post with additional tips, more photos, a printable check list and a video for you to enjoy.


Yield: Ideas to Keep Squirrels out of Your Yard!

Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas

Squirrel in the garden

There are lots of ways to keep squirrels out of your yard. This handy check list will help you plan for a squirrel free garden this year.

Active Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Difficulty easy
Estimated Cost $10 – $50

Materials

  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Peppermint Essential Oils
  • Squirrel Cages
  • Motion Detectors
  • Vegetable Cages

Tools

  • Print out the check list below to help plan for dealing with squirrels this year.

Instructions

NATURAL SQUIRREL REPELLENT IDEAS

  1. Hot pepper plants
  2. Cayenne pepper on the leaves of plants.
  3. Peppermint essential oil on cotton balls in the garden
  4. Garlic and vinegar spray (hard surfaces)
  5. Apple cider vinegar spray (hard surfaces)
  6. Motion detector lights
  7. Large statues in the garden
  8. High Frequency sound machines
  9. Cats and Dogs will keep squirrels away
  10. Squirrel traps to trap and move squirrels
  11. Move bird feeders away from vegetable garden
  12. Keep garbage bins away too
  13. Set up a squirrel feeding station for their own food supply
  14. Grow vegetables in cages.
  15. Plant bulbs that deter squirrels such as daffodils, hyacinths, allium, garlic, lily of the valley, peppermint and geraniums.

Notes

Set your printer to “fit to page” and print out this chart on heavy card stock

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52 responses to “Natural Squirrel Repellent Ideas – Keep Squirrels out of The Yard!”

  1. Squirrels don’t like the smell of vinegar and ammonia. You can hang containers filled with soaked rags around your garden to keep squirrels at bay.

    Another trick is to cover the soil of your potted plants with some predator fur or even clippings from your own hair. Again, the smell of a predator will scare off the squirrels. Remember that those solutions must be “Re-freshed” from time to time, especially after a rainy day. 🙂

      • I have an idea: lemon balm grows easily prettily nicely and profusely and smells great to me and is useful in cooking and in keeping mosquitos away and so, maybe if I cut it off and lay it on the bare earth under the prickly holly hedge there wouldn’t be any more walnut thees growing hidden there from nuts buried by the squirrels?

    • Be careful about trapping and know the laws in your area. For example, after live trapping 3 squirrels in my house, and relocating them, I found out it is illegal in Oregon.

  2. I used the apple cider vinegar on my tomatoe plants and othet veges. I did not see where you should dilute the vinegar, not my plants have all browned and might not survive. If you did say to dilute the vinegar I did not see it. If you did not say to dilute it please let people know it must be diluted

  3. Someone in my neighborhood feeds the squirrels whole peanuts, walnuts, almonds and I don’t mind squirrels but they eat them on top of my fence and drop all the shell in the corner of my yard. And also bury nuts all throughout my yard as I find them as I’m planting. Just tired of it. Need something natural to keep them away but not harm any animals. I do love the birds

    • Squirrels are a challenge for sure. My husband thinks that the reason we have more squirrels now, is that the owl population in our area has decreased. My biggest mistake was planting corn one year. It drew them like magnets. We have tried catching them to release them elsewhere, but they are clever and can figure out the traps.

      • I have a squirrel that licks vinegar off my screen. Spray through the screen to run raccoons off.

  4. You should NEVER spray your vegetables with vinegar. It is an acid, a natural weed killer and i use it all the time for that. I mix it with salt for areas where I want to also kill the ground like between walkway stones.
    Never spray it on plants you want to live.

      • Our land is a Wildlife Habitat. Each month we buy 1400 pounds of deer feed (corn, nuggets, protein), 400 pounds bird seed (blackoil sunflower, niger thistle, suet), 25 pounds wildlife peanuts in the shell. Food for our five dogs. No hunting allowed. We enjoy watching and mingling with them. The only animal I shoot is a skunk out and about during the day. A skunk in daylight is probably sick, rabid. Rural Great State of Texas.

  5. Hot pepper (flakes, oils, ect…) Peppermint plant and Peppermint oil, I’ve even gone as far as using ghost pepper hot sauce and it works for a day or two then even after I freshen it up the squirrels just come back… And the pepper mint plants have been destroyed…

    I’ve already had to replace a number of plants because of those “adorable” but destructive pests…

    I placed a couple of peanuts coated in Ghost pepper sauce in an open area to see the reaction.. A grey squirrel sniffed it then ate it…. If ghost pepper doesn’t discourage them, WHAT WILL?

    • Mark,

      Here are a several of my own, exasperated thoughts:

      1) Silly me! I, too, suspected that ghost-pepper sauce was so rich in capsaicin that it would surely de-welcome both squirrels and chipmunks. Up to a point it did or does: I also found, with time, that Rocky/Rockette the Squirrels got a little too used to vegetable hellfire (even as Alvin/Alvina have evidently relocated their Love Tunnel). What gave?! I suspect that not all ghost-pepper sauces are brewed equal. I had fair luck with a brand named, “Dave’s Gourmet” — opening the bottle too close to my face made my eyes sting and weep — yet rather less success with one named, “Small Axe,” altho a locally-rainy growing season may have partly aborted my little mission.

      2) So, what to do? Online, I found dried, powdered “Carolina Reaper” peppers, supposedly even more hellish than the infernal ghost pepper, and sprinkled this instant warlock’s brew onto a favorite burial-spot, as well (ill?) as on the surface-soil of a few potted plants. This so-called spice, partnered with (fresh) garlic powder, has worked quite well in the latter case, and for a little longer in the besieged flower bed. (Just for the Hades of it, I misted the booby-trapped potting compost with water, and soon “wept as I had sown”. Literally! Aah, sweet hope?)

      3) I myself have only a very small flower bed, plus a few pots, to protect against ravenous rodents. (I have learned the twin arts of decorating most of my potted charges with layers of crushed/polished stone, and then guessing at how often to water. Rodents are pretty chary of stones.) Had I a large plot to secure, and were I rather a bit more the Bad Boy, I would set out little saucers, filled with equal parts of sugar, corn meal, and baking soda. Multiple online sources indicate that such a blend tempts Hell’s critters to gorge, on which the bicarbonate reacts with their stomach acids, generating so much CO2, so quickly, that Rocky or Alvina or Pepé le Pew’s guts explode, blowing them to the Great Beyond. (Reportedly, this is because rodents can not . . . break wind.) This last resort I neither condemn nor condone — we might as well laugh, or learn to apply vegetable tear gas every few days, or learn how to garden with a mulch of landscaping cloth and decorative stone — which will surely not accommodate every plant on our wish list . . .

      Good luck!
      –Franco

  6. To all my fellow vegetable gardners who are in a constant battle with squirrels – I have found the solution. Squirrels were killing my garden – digging up seeds, eating the tops of plants and killing them and reeking havoc in my garden.
    I have tried all of the following with little or no success:
    1. firepit ashes (works for about a week)
    2. dried pepper flakes (works for a few days or until it rains)
    3. moth balls
    4. Irish Spring Soap
    5. dog patrol – works until the pups come back inside
    Back in the day my parents would hang old CDs in thier garden (when every software or printer update came with a CD), but during a pandemic thrift stores were not open. I got to thinking, what would be shiney and reflective, fun, and weather resistent. Aluminium pie pans are shiney and reflective and weather risistent, but not fun or attractive.
    Then it hit me- DISCO BALLS! Shiny – check, reflective- check, fun- check, weather resistant – I hoped so. Party City stores were not open, but they were accepting online orders. I found a 20% off online coupon and got free shipping. Three days later I had 3 Disco Balls on my front porch.
    I pulled 3 shepherd hooks and spider wire (the balls have to spin) out of the basement and installed my new Disco Balls in the garden. I’ve been watching the garden and the squirrels for the past 2+ months. Squirrels will walk the fence behind the garden and play in the grass and trees around the garden, BUT NOT ONE squirrel has gone in the garden and my garden is THRIVING. We have also had a lot of wind and rain this spring and not one mirror tile has come off.
    One of my neighbors has had her garden repeated destroyed by squirrels and put a disco ball in her last week.
    Don’t waste your time with all those things I mentioned above – they don’t work. Hang a couple of Disco Balls and make your garden a Squirrel-Free and Fun Zone!!!!

  7. Disco balls!! Fun! I have seen smaller ornaments like this in the past. Grand idea!
    My grandma used the aluminum pie tin idea. Cut it into pcs and strung them on string or rope she saved. Then tied them to stakes and made a border. She said it was for the birds, never mentioned squirrels from what I remember.
    I saw on another page to get fake snakes. I went to Walmart today and bought 5 plastic snakes for $1/ea. (Toy dept) Put them by my planter containers this evening. Didn’t find the owl decoy though. Hopefully the snakes work. Article said you should move them and the owl periodically.

  8. I’d like to try the garlic and vinegar sprays. What is the ratio of water to garlic or vinegar?

    • I didn’t give an actual formula because vinegar can kill plants if not used correctly. The garlic and vinegar spray is meant to be used on fences and garden seats. If sprayed around plants, it can act like a weed killer, since vinegar is often used this 2ay.

      For hard surfaces, I’d mix vinegar/water 50/50 and then add a head of minced garlic and let it sit for a while to combine. It’s the smell of garlic that squirrels don’t like.

  9. Just got landscaping done squirrels are digging holes in the bark I am finding holes all over the place I just bought vinegar hoping to spray the boulder I hope the smell will keep them out is it 50 50

  10. squirrels don’t eat green tomatoes. Pick them when they are juuuust starting to turn red, put them in a paper bag in a warm place in your home (top of fridge). They will ripen nicely and without blemishes!

    • @Robert
      They do eat green tomatoes in my garden they wait until they are mature enough to be juicy but not to start turning. They are not eating them because they are thirsty either they drink from the bird bath which is away from the garden. I have tried all the smells but with plenty of rain this year it all washes away cant always run out after rain and reapply. Debating building a cage to put around tomatoes.

    • @Robert, they do eat green tomatoes sometimes, the usual infuriating one small bite out of each, never a whole tomato.

    • @Susan, So far I have had success with the green plastic fencing (light-weight,little squares and about 30-36″ tall) sold at Lowes, etc. I put bamboo stakes around each plant, then encircle the plant with the fencing, attach the fencing to the bamboo poles with zip ties, and use wooden clothespins to overlap and close the fencing. Then I can open the fencing as needed for watering or gathering the crop. You may need to place some palm size rocks around the base of the fencing to discourage digging under. You can easily re-use the bamboo poles and the fencing the next year. (Beware of pepper flakes, when I tried them I got tons of little pepper plants sprouting in my plant pots, thought I would never get rid of them.)

    • @Robert, They do here in West Virginia. Last year we couldn’t get to the green tomatoes fast enough to beat the squirrels.

  11. A trap is the ONLY thing that works! I have tried everything from cayenne pepper to ammonia, garlic, mint sprays & owls/hawk fixtures with 0 results. Trap and move and release. Problem with that one solved!

  12. Trapped. Sprayed their legs red and blue for ID. Took them 10 miles away and released in a park. One week — seven days — later they were back.

    • Just read this and am crying with laughter! The thought of the wee furry muppets scampering back with their red and blue boots on is an image I won’t ever forget! Thanks so much for making me laugh today – you’ve no idea how much this has cheered me up after their last assault on my spring bulbs – now sitting inside in our bedroom!

  13. Be careful about trapping and know the laws in your area. For example, after live trapping 3 squirrels in my house, and relocating them, I found out it is illegal in Oregon.

  14. I have taken to planting bulbs with a covering of chicken wire right over the dirt, affixed with lawn pins. Then cover that in extra dirt or mulch. A solid metal barrier squirrels cannot get through. I also make circlets of chicken wire for any new plantings, especially young plants (otherwise the squirrels smell the fresh dirt and assume another squirrel has hidden a treat there, so have a dig to look for it sometimes destroying the roots in the process). Slight success with a solar ultrasonic motion sensor repeller (but it died after a few months). Repeller sprays only work a brief time (and who has the time or money to keep going round again and again like an idiot, spraying). Fake owls are just a joke. metallic shiny things (wind spinners, tassels, etc) do nothing. Shooting them with a hose on full blast only works for a short time, too. In my darkest moments I considered murder (poison peanuts for moles from Amazon), but I would never really do that (cathartic to imagine their demise, however). What I would like is peanuts with a coating of “the pill” so today’s squirrels will not be able to breed tomorrows squirrels, and will just die off naturally. Ahhhh, to dream…….

  15. FYI, I literally just sat and watched a squirrel eat my recently planted geranium, so that one does not work.

  16. I suspect that squirrels are digging up my jackfruit seeds and I will try these solutions.

  17. I am sorry, we can agree to disagree, with the statements apple cider deters squirrels. Sorry, that is not our case as I used 1 litre of pure apple cider vinegar and sprayed it by a bird feeder on a cloth. The rascal squirrel raided the feeder and mocked my attempt. They are cute animals but need to hunt for food in the wild. Coffee grounds are useless too as I sprinkled fresh and perked coffee grounds near the bird feeder and the pesky rascal gorged himself on bird seeds to annoy. We have a few solar repellents on order and will try that too to repel these little brazen marauders that are an immutable nuisance.

  18. This year I was looking for a good harvest of pears during the Spring. In JUne I notices ALL my pears and NO partial pears were even left on the tree. What can I use next year to get rid of the squirrels?

    • I don’t have any suggestions other than those in my post. Squirrels are the bane of my gardening existence. Sorry about your pears.

  19. I just planted tulip bulbs (literally hours ago) and those rascal squirrels have already Started digging them up. Any suggestions? I have cayenne pepper, peppermint oil, vinegar, apple cider vinegar. Would diluted spray work over the area? Or cayenne pepper over the planted bulbs?

    • Tulips and squirrels are VERY hard to keep apart. The only thing I have found is to put something over them (like a BBQ grate) that will allow the tulips to grow up through the holes but will keep the squirrels away from the bulbs. I lost every single one of my tulips to squirrels one year, so I feel your pain.

  20. Squirrels were eating wires on cars and gas lines. Chewing up the eves, crawling in an nesting. I blend, boil, strain and can in quart jar a habanero base for a spray that then i mix in sprayer includes peppermint, Irish Spring made liquid and a tea spoons oil all mixed as a concentration for my home made spray. I spray inside hood.
    I keep water out in summer so they wont chew on gas line or garden plants.
    I use hot red pepper on tomato plants.
    I put a little insulated dog like house with straw and two small entry/exit. way in back. I bring treats all winter. As distractions and TOYS.collected walnuts, corn and the hard round squirrel chew sold.( i cover with a vitamin water with cut ends, so the plastic covers most the chew. Stick a wire through and hang in or out of house. They have to work to chew.
    I use old vitamin water plastic jars. add a little corn, and a cut a hole so just a few corns fall out. So they have to work. Make Other Vit water bottles with TBS of cheep peanut butter. Slice the bottom so they can get their foot in and have to chew and work for the peanut butter. So Distractions, warm house so they have somewhere besides warm car engine in winter. and they need water.

    I have to remove figs on tree before they get them. I cleared away many bushes. Removed all bird feeders to way back or not at all.
    I used steel wool mixed in blobs of calk patching holes in eaves where they were chewing into edge under eaves of house.
    No car repairs as often. and come spring i bet they attempt a new hole in eaves of house.

  21. I set food out for the birds that has nested close to the house. I got Brat that wants to help himself.
    The ideas that you listed. it won’t hurt the birds, will it?

    • Most of the remedies are fine around birds, although peppermint oil can cause respiratory illness to some birds.

  22. First, your husband is correct on the housing. We are in the middle of a development boom, in our “used to be” small town. They are cutting down thousands of acres, by the day.

    The owls have left us, we used to have a family here. The hawks have left us. We even had a eagle, and I don’t see it anymore. What we do have is 100 squirrels that are beating me.

    They don’t like the smell of garlic- Fl squirrels do! They have dug up and ate all of mine. I had 30 tomatoes on one plant- gone. It’s not their fault the developers are destroying their homes. My heart is sad for them, and angry that they took out my corn- again.

    Chicken wire is no match for them either. Hot peppers? Tasty morsels for these guys. They have learned, and fast how to get past the deterrents. Moth balls? HA! The cover them up. They have gone into survival mode and our gardens are their grocery store. When I say survival mode- I sat and watched a squirrel beat the tar out of a hawk, and the hawk fled! That is where we are.

    I’m not going to shoot them, and was told that it would be useless anyway. You get rid of one batch, it leaves room for others that are searching for a home, to move in. Frankly, I have 2 options. Live with it and pray they leave something, of quit gardening. Neither seems like a good idea to me. All I know now, these money hungry people here in Fl are destroying this place!

  23. Thanks for the extensive info. Unfortunately, I have tried 75% of these suggestions to no avail🤬Put apple cider vinegar all over my banana trees and they seemed to like it! I just marinated it for them🤣 These squirrels are eating EVERYRHING this year! Banana tree shoots, canas flower shoots, crepe myrtle flower buds, and don’t get me started on my garden! Have a few things you mentioned I’m going to try! Wish me luck🤞

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