In the spring, many homeowners will start to put their plants outside. This is a great way to enjoy your green thumb and fresh air all year long! However, if you live in an area that has squirrels or other critters, then you may have some trouble with them digging up your potted plants. Luckily for you, there are four easy ways to keep squirrels out of your potted plants!
You can use stones, wire, netting, distractions, smell, or even taste to keep squirrels out of your potted plants. Mixing natural repellents like pepper, peppermint, or garlic into the soil can also be effective and will not hurt the squirrels or your plants.
Fear not, there are some ways to keep squirrels out of your potted plants. In this article, I will explain to you how to keep squirrels out of your potted plants.
Keeping squirrels out of your potted plants
There are various methods that you can use to keep your plants safe from squirrels. You can try to distract the squirrels or place chicken wire around your pots. Also putting ingredients that they don’t like the smell on the soil, will repel them.
Here is a list of methods you can use to defend your potted plants again squirrels.
Taste and smell
An easy way to repel squirrels from your potted plants is by mixing the soil with something that squirrels don’t like the taste or smell of. You could use homemade sprays with strong citrus oils, peppermint oil, vinegar, or garlic. As these smells are too strong for the squirrels.
When it comes to food, you can try sprinkling cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper on the soil and leaves of your potted plants. Cayenne pepper is a tried and tested method of trying to repel squirrels.
It is known that cayenne pepper has been used on bird feeders to repel squirrels trying to eat the bird food that has been put out. The cayenne pepper doesn’t affect the birds as they can’t taste it.
Although if you don’t have any pepper, adding blood meal or fish emulsion to the soil of your potted plants is another technique that many gardeners have used. However fish emulsion and blood meal are both very high in nitrogen.
This is why they are normally sold as fertilizer. Therefore, either don’t add too much of these or only add these to your soil if your plant can withstand the extra nutrients.
If you grow wild roses or blackberry wines. Having a few of those stems in your soil standing upright may repel squirrels. The thorns should be sharp enough to stop the squirrel from trying to dig up your potted plants.
Stones
Try putting a layer of stones on the soil of your potted plants. This will stop the squirrels from being able to dig down into the soil. It may not stop them from eating the plants, but it definitely stops them from digging into the soil.
Be careful what kind of rocks you choose to use. You want to stop squirrels from digging down but you don’t want to affect the plant itself. Water still needs to be able to reach the soil. Large smooth rocks are probably the best option.
Although some gardeners have suggested that instead of stones, a thick layer of mulch has the same effect and is hugely beneficial for your plant too.
Chicken wire or netting
Another option is by covering your potted plants with chicken wire or netting. This will stop squirrels from getting near to your plants and attempting to dig up your bulbs. This is a useful trick in the colder seasons when there isn’t anything growing in your plant pots.
If you don’t want to put netting over the top of your plants, you can put it in your plant pots instead. A layer of the mesh or wire would sit near the top of the surface, but it would be covered with soil, so the squirrels can’t see it.
This is another great way to prevent squirrels from digging into the soil. You just need to make sure that the wire is cut to the right size.
Distractions
Try hanging shiny things around her potted plants, such as old CDs or colorful pinwheels. These bright colors and shiny objects should scare the squirrels away. This method doesn’t always work but there is no harm in trying.
Also, it’s a great method for when you don’t want to mess with your potted plants themselves.
Try to provide something more appealing to the squirrels than your potted plants. This could be a squirrel feeder with lots of food for them to eat. This option should steer them away from eating your plants, as they have the option to have more food somewhere else.
Why do squirrels dig in my flower pot?
You may notice squirrels at your plant pot and wonder why they are there. Well, squirrels dig to store and bury their food. This food can be nuts or acorns that they have found and gathered.
Your flower pots are the perfect place for them to hide their food for when they need it, which will most likely be for the colder months in winter.
They like digging in potted plant pots because the soil is extremely soft, so it is easy for them to dig through. Therefore if you notice a squirrel has been in your plant pot, if you go digging in yourself you may find their food buried deep in the bottom.
However, squirrels might not be digging in your plant pots for such nice reasons. They may be in your plant pot to actually eat whatever you are growing. They are also known for digging up your plant bulbs and either nibbling on them or throwing them out.
So now you know why squirrels are in your potted plants, it’s time to find some ways on how to keep them out.
Final thoughts
Having squirrels in your garden can be annoying, especially when they start digging up your plant pots that you took time and effort over. Squirrels may decide to dig at your potted plants to either eat what you have planted or to store their own food for the colder months.
However, not everyone wants squirrels to store food in their plant pots. The methods suggested above will help stop squirrels from digging into your potted plants. All of these methods won’t cause any harm to your plants or squirrels.
These methods are about repelling the squirrels so that they learn and won’t disturb your potted plants. It is all about trial and error and sometimes it takes a combination of things to keep squirrels out of your plant pots.
However, this article has given you all the tools and ideas to help you keep your plants and plant pots safe from those pesky squirrels.
