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The squirrels are decimating my tomatoes (Original Post) bearfan454 Jun 2016 OP
I'll bet NJCher Jun 2016 #1
Thanks bearfan454 Jun 2016 #5
My sympathies - Love the little buggers packman Jun 2016 #2
The damn chipmunks have dug up every cucumber and pumpkin plant. femmocrat Jun 2016 #3
I always have issues with septoria leaf spot. NutmegYankee Jun 2016 #7
Great idea! I think the plants are too big now, but I will remember that for next year!! femmocrat Jun 2016 #8
I had some little raccoons annoying me this year. NutmegYankee Jun 2016 #10
Have seen lots of squirrels this year, elleng Jun 2016 #4
Last Fall was an Oak tree mast year. NutmegYankee Jun 2016 #6
Oh, I do have an evil remedy for the squirrels. NutmegYankee Jun 2016 #9
That's brilliant! Brainstormy Jun 2016 #11

NJCher

(37,869 posts)
1. I'll bet
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 09:30 AM
Jun 2016

a nontoxic peppermint based repellent will do the trick. I'll post the name of mine after I go out to the shed and refresh my memory on the brand name.


Cher

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
2. My sympathies - Love the little buggers
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 09:36 AM
Jun 2016

and all that life energy. I would never advocate killing them with deadly traps or poisons, BUT they have humane live capture traps that you could use - catch and release somewhere else away from your garden.

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)
3. The damn chipmunks have dug up every cucumber and pumpkin plant.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 11:09 AM
Jun 2016

I used to think those guys were cute, but now I'm just annoyed with them.

They dug up all the seeds first. So I bought good-sized plants. They dug those up and ate the roots.

My tomatoes are OK for now, but they will soon be attacked by blight as they are every summer.

NutmegYankee

(16,308 posts)
7. I always have issues with septoria leaf spot.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 05:27 PM
Jun 2016

I have to accept it as my garden has shade in the early morning, so dew is slow to burn off.

Have you tried putting chicken wire over the seed area for the cukes? The plant will go right through flat wire but the it makes digging nearly impossible.

femmocrat

(28,394 posts)
8. Great idea! I think the plants are too big now, but I will remember that for next year!!
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 05:30 PM
Jun 2016

I put a tomato cage around each hill and then wrapped chicken wire around the bottom of the cage. That seems to be working for now.

NutmegYankee

(16,308 posts)
10. I had some little raccoons annoying me this year.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 05:39 PM
Jun 2016

They dug up some plants and made holes in several places. I knew it wasn't the skunk as I have a fence around the main garden plot. That and the skunk is too busy eating my blueberries.

elleng

(136,055 posts)
4. Have seen lots of squirrels this year,
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 12:17 PM
Jun 2016

and no bunnies! Don't know effect on garden as it belongs to neighbor, and I haven't kept track.

NutmegYankee

(16,308 posts)
6. Last Fall was an Oak tree mast year.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 05:23 PM
Jun 2016

Oaks produce acorns on a boom or bust cycle that keeps predators of the seeds low. The lean years keep the populations of rodents low and then in a mast year there are simply too many acorns for the rodents to eat. The squirrels exploded from the extra food but will suffer a Malthusian bust this winter.

NutmegYankee

(16,308 posts)
9. Oh, I do have an evil remedy for the squirrels.
Fri Jun 24, 2016, 05:35 PM
Jun 2016

I always plant cat mint and cat nip near my garden areas. The outdoor cats of my neighbors love to hang around, which keeps the critters away most of the time.

Brainstormy

(2,428 posts)
11. That's brilliant!
Sun Jun 26, 2016, 01:45 PM
Jun 2016

I don't have neighbor cats but I do have a home remedy for squirrels. Get some tea tree oil from the drug store. Soak cotton balls and half-bury them near the plants. Also keeps off lots of insect pests. Keeps spiders out of my garage, too.

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