My wife has tried several things to keep squirrels and chipmunks out of her flowers. She’s put wire mesh around the pots but that obscures the flowers, makes it hard to water them, and also the squirrels and chipmunks just climb over it. She’s tried traps but we’re both squeamish and don’t really want to kill them so we end up with a live squirrel or chipmunk in a humane trap and, well, what are we supposed to do with it then? No matter where we release them they’re just going to come back. At least once a year one of our neighbors finds a garter snake in her garden and she gets me to come over and remove it, which I’m happy to do because I like snakes, and even though I release it at the very back of our yard I’m pretty sure it just goes back to my neighbor’s garden.
We won’t use poison because that could harm the dogs and also, again, we don’t want to kill the little beasts, just keep them out of the flowers. She tried fox urine and all that did was get the dogs excited and do a little watering of the flowers of their own.
The latest thing she’s tried is pinwheels. Supposedly the movement and sound will frighten away small animals, which sounds plausible but it doesn’t work. The bright side is I like seeing the pinwheels out there among the flowers. They’re fun to watch, they don’t need to be watered, the squirrels and chipmunks leave them alone.
And they remind me of the British comedian Jasper Carrott’s mole story.
Have you tried an Owl statue? They can be found on Amazon, and apparently the ones with the motion-sensing head that follows motion is especially effective. Just my two cents.
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An Owl statue seems like a really good idea and I think I should try it. My wife’s workspace looks right out at her flowers but I think we can position the Owl right in a spot where she wouldn’t see it but it would still keep the squirrels and chipmunks away. Thanks–I may have an update!
We had to surround a large percentage of our garden with chicken wire because of the bunnies so I completely understand!
We’ve had an amazing bunch of bunnies this year but they stay well away from the patio. Maybe the zinnias that my wife grows just don’t interest them.
I bought some 4th of July pinwheels for the cabin and left them at home. I guess they’ll keep til next year.
Good luck with your critter concerns!
The nice thing about pinwheels is they will keep, unlike the plants they’re supposed to protect.
I have no advice about moles, Chris, and we’re doing okay keeping the rabbits from destroying the herbs. So far, one of them pruned back the basil but it’s growing better than ever now! Trying out best to coexist and still get delicious pesto.
Lettuce seems like it would be a good way to distract the rabbits from the herbs but it also sounds like your garden is actually benefiting from some cunicular assistance.