The Best Ways to Keep Squirrels Out of Your Potted Plants
Most gardeners know that squirrels can pose a threat to almost any potted plant. They like to dig into the soil to hide food they don’t eat right away, so these furry, tailed rascals not only dig up your plants and knock over your pots, but they often accidentally plant other seeds in your containers. If they’ve focused on your porch or patio as a convenient place to store food, they’re probably also knocking things over and generally causing chaos. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to discourage squirrels and prevent them from ruining your garden containers.
Build a barrier
As with most pests, the only way to completely eliminate squirrels from your potted plants is to build a barrier to keep them out. Making a “cage” out of bird netting , chicken wire , or using a ready-made potted plant fence that fits over your plant will keep squirrels at bay. The wire mesh can be bent into a cone or cube shape and will hold up as long as the area is not too large. Bird netting will need to be attached to the stakes to support it. Some gardeners have had success using DIY squirrel fencing made from PVC pipes and bird netting in large areas, such as raised beds. Similar to the bird cage method, DIY fencing can be attached to PVC pipes to create an enclosure, but this method leaves the top open for easy weeding and maintenance. You can also use protective chicken wire to cover just the soil and prevent furry invaders from digging it up. This type of barrier is the only reliable way to keep squirrels at bay, but there are a few other simple things you can try if a caged plant isn’t your thing.
Use protection level
Ways to discourage squirrels from digging in your soil include using wood chips on top of the potting soil or using coir cut to the shape of your pot and placed on top of the soil. They are not completely foolproof and a tenacious squirrel will eventually get past them, but when combined with other methods they are a good deterrent.
Add some spices to the soil
If you can’t cover the soil, you can spray it with capsaicin-infused water by boiling cayenne pepper, seeded hot pepper , or black pepper in water , letting it cool, straining it, and pouring it into a spray bottle. This DIY squirrel repellent will repel squirrels as they don’t like the taste and smell of hot peppers, but keep in mind that the mixture will be unpleasant if it gets on your skin or if you inhale the spray, and it will burn if you’ll get it in the eyes. When applying homemade squirrel repellent to potted plant soil, it is best to wear safety glasses and gloves. Be sure to label the spray bottle so it does not mix with plain water. If you don’t want to mix your own repellent, you can use a pre-mixed repellent , taking the same precautions when using it. Squirrel can also repel the smell of cinnamon and mint, so adding these spices to your potting soil can help repel them.
Blind them
Shiny and moving objects sometimes scare squirrels away from a particular area, as movement and shadows activate the squirrel’s natural predatory instinct. These things may not work forever, but can be effective for a given season when combined with other methods. Pinwheels , fidget spinners , old CDs hanging on a string, mirrors and other blinding objects are all cheap and easy squirrel deterrents.
Batten down the hatches
If your main problem is squirrels knocking over pots, you can attach them to a railing or fence, or use a window box . For plastic pots, you can use one or two deck screws with a wing washer through the bottom of the pot and into the surface they sit on. If you have more fragile pots, you can use a nylon nut and screw it through the drainage hole to the surface the pot is sitting on. The softer fittings won’t damage the pot, and the waterproof nylon material is ideal for outdoor use. Creating stability will prevent squirrels from knocking over pots, no matter how hard they try.