How do I get those squirrels to stop diggin in my flower boxes?

Try sprinkling cayenne pepper,or blood meal on the soil.Stick bamboo skewers in the pots,or cover the top of the soil wire a wire mesh.

Thanks, Janet. These New York critters are cayenne pepper resistant. I tried. Bamboo seems like a good idea, but wire mesh wouldn't let my impatients grow. Will also try blood meal.

hot pepper flakes as they are are a bit hotter that the powder and don't lose the potency as fast

Try used coffee grounds. I get bags of them from Starbuck's, but other coffee shops my give them away too. I do my gardening on my back deck to avoid the night time critters, but, the squirrel's are another matter. I tried the coffee grounds in my flower pots first and it worked! You will need to refresh the grounds in a few weeks. And it is good for the plants.

coffee grounds are not a known deterrent.where was that information given?

I hate squirrels and stopped gardening because between them and rabbits, they ate EVERYTHING they could get their little chompers on. A rogue squirrel got into my house and caused over $1,000 damage not counting the cost to have an exterminator catch him and re-home him in woods miles away from my house. A cap on my chimney was the last resort...more money. A female squirrel also got into my attic, had a litter and ran all over the place. My only decision was to install very fine chicken wire over the vents at each end of the attic.

Maybe you could build tomato cages from chicken wire to keep them out of your garden. It worked for me when I did it for rabbits who made many a meal on my marigold flower boxes.

Thanks! What a story! It sounds funny, but I'm sure it wasn't when you had to shell out all this money because of these guys. I need something to keep them out of my flower boxes before they destroy my impatients again.

Unfortunately, squirrels are rodents. (That is why they are referred to as 'Tree Rats'.) They are no more than a rat in their habits. They can also be just as damaging to homes and property as any type of rat. And also diseases that can be passed to other animals as well as people.

Many like to watch them as they seem cute, but this can lead to problems with your own habits. The best thing to do with problem rodents of any kind is to set traps to get rid of them. Many will use a live trap and then 'relocate' these pests. However, this is a very cruel thing as the squirrels are very territorial. You would only be moving them into some other squirrels' area. They would be attacked and starved to death in any territory they have been placed. It is best if you use a kill trap, or just drown them after catching them in a live trap.

Now, if you like pet rats, I am sorry to say that since these 'rats' have not been 'domesticated' all you would be doing by placing them in a cage is helping them die as slow as if you had relocated them.

Out in rural areas some squirrels are okay. Too many cause problems. In the larger city urban areas all should be removed.

I have used chicken wire at soil level and then added seeds or plants. It worked well.