I have squirrels in my flower beds. How can I get rid of them?

Susan Smith
by Susan Smith
How do I get rid of squirrels in my flower beds. They eat the roots of my flowers in the summer and bury nuts there in the fall. Help!
  11 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Sep 27, 2015
    You have a few options but may seem to be a tedious chore. You can put wire mesh all around and cover the beds with mulch. An other option is to spread blood meal around your flowers. It has a very foul odor which the squirrels do not like.
  • Gretchen Gretchen on Sep 27, 2015
    The physical barrier is the absolutely best method. Do not use moth balls or hot pepper. The moth balls leach a poison into the ground water (and into the watershed) and the pepper can blind both squirrels and birds who happen to land there. Janet was right - the wire mesh (or screening you might use in a window) or over-the-counter products specifically made for repelling squirrels. You can also use a mulch of stone or wood that they don't like as much as good soil.
  • Beth Pedersen Beth Pedersen on Sep 27, 2015
    The blood meal will attract dogs. Shoot the squirrels and have a nice squirrel dumpling stew. Just joking. lol
  • Charlotte Gustavson Charlotte Gustavson on Sep 27, 2015
    Plant Fritillaria in you garden bed. I read years ago that it will deter squirrels from digging in the soil around them because of the scent. It also deters deer and mice according to what I just read on a gardening site (checking to make sure my memory was right about the effect on the soil they're planted in!). The only other solution I know of is to get a dog. :)
  • Denny S Denny S on Sep 27, 2015
    Get a bottle of fox urine and spray around
    • Tina Hill Tina Hill on Feb 08, 2016
      @Denny S I agree with Denny .... there is a product called Shake Away Granules .... it doesn't freeze or wash away in rain and it is predator urine ... very effective without drawing stray doemestic cats to use your flower beds as a litter pan
  • Duv310660 Duv310660 on Sep 27, 2015
    Get a very keen cat - ours keep rabbits, mice, voles, moles, red and black squirrels at bay. We let them out during the day, and bring them in at 4pm to protect roosting birds. We keep many feeders to offset the cost to the birds - but quite frankly, cats prefer to hunt rodents, and they spot the squirrels first at the bird feeders.
  • Laurie Laurie on Sep 27, 2015
    I've got this! I had a problem with the chickens and dogs digging in my flowerbed. I completely cured the problem by laying chicken wire on the ground. Plants grow through it but animals can't dig past it! For plants you already have just cut the wire to go around them. Give it a go, you will love it!
  • Susan Susan on Oct 04, 2015
    Get a bag of blood meal from nursery. Spread across your bed. The squirrels will shy away from blood smell and it also is a mild fertilizer especially for bulbs. I never found I could smell it myself
  • Capernius Capernius on Jan 28, 2016
    The best way to repel/deter squirrels is with Mint*(planted in a pot not the ground), pepper plants and/or the fruit from the plant, Squirrels hate hot spicy things...so anything that is hot, spicy, or minty will keep them from that area. *mint, ANY mint, that is planted directly into the ground, will spread like a fire in a hay barn. that is why it is best to plant it in a pot, about 20" diameter pot or bigger, And not in the ground. Ste the plant on top of the ground, NOT IN IT. if the runners make contact with the soil outside the pot, the plant will spread, otherwise it will stay within the pot.*
  • Get a bag of blood meal from the nursery, spread through garden. The squirrels don't like blood smell at all and it also is a mild fertilizer