Rant - Squirrels

jonty03

:mad: Squirrels - "NUTS!" - thats all I can say :mad:

Hi,
I have planted a load of narcissus bulbs in tubs (yes, I know it's late, but they were cheap ). Two days they were in - just TWO DAYS! I now have lots of bits of bulbs strewn across my patio! :mad: :mad: Not content with having a bit of a nibble from one or two, they have torn the lot into strips (500 bulbs!).

I have lost the odd bulb or two to squirrels in the past, but nothing on this scale and not so quickly. Am I just unlucky in that a solitary passing (very hungry) squirrel just happened to spot them and got carried away? Or do you think I will now have my own resident herd of the little beasts just waiting to pounce on my next offerings? :shocked:

Oh, and I'm not sure how to take this but they have left me an unshelled 'monkey nut' in one of the pots instead. Is this some sort of squirrel currency, whereby Mr and Mrs Squirrel have been shopping for daff bulbs? or an "hello, we're your new neighbours - we'll be back" message!

Any suggestions please on how to pursuade them to shop elsewhere? :mad:

Sorry, rant over

Seakay

My mother in law has the same problem - her most successful trick to date was to plant the bulbs under about an inch of soli/compost, then a piece of chicken wire, then half an inch to an inch of soil/compost. They tried to dig but rarely got through the wire. If they then give up you could risk putting on mulch, possibly with a good sprinkling of chili powder to further deter!

emiff6

[QUOTE=jonty03;40783578Oh, and I'm not sure how to take this but they have left me an unshelled 'monkey nut' in one of the pots instead.... [/QUOTE]

So, no daffs in the spring, but possibly a good crop of monkey nuts in the autumn!
I often find young peanut plants in my garden in the summer months, sprouting from where the local squirrel buried his winter supplies, pinched from the bird table next door!
And yes, if you leave them, they will develop peanuts.

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

Apparantly, if you soak the bulbs for about 20 mins in tonic water first (check it contains quinine) the squirrels won't touch them.

diable

shoot the bu99ers

annie123

I learned years ago to plant all bulbs in chicken wire cages.
Get some chicken wire lay into hole place bulbs and bring sides together to form a cage.
When they dig they can't reach them and should you wish to move them or lift to store if they are tulips, they are conveniently wrapped ready to go.

Invalidation

Shoot them with an air rifle then eat them. They are great in stews.

Linda32

We've got squirrels as well.

This is what we've done, I've got some of those office trays, you know the "in" and "out" trays. OH got them from work, maybe try freecycle or indeed buy some. Cheaper than buying bulbs, at least.

Place these over the top until the flowers grow, they should be alright then.

The "present" wasn't for you either, it was the squirrel burying his winter store the thought being that they don't actually remember where they planted them all, its just that they hide so many, they are bound to find some.

Think of it as their store cupboard for bad weather.

tikka1951

Had this problem in our former house. It used to reduce me to tears. My best solution was plastic forks from the £ shop. Used to put loads of them in the pots, spiky side upwards. Also used this method to deter cats from squatting on seedlings etc. and it worked a treat for very little outlay.

jonty03

Ooooh, I love those suggestions – some much more than others!

Where do you get strychnine, oops sorry, I mean quinine, from and does anyone have a recipe for squirrel and daffodil stew!

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

jonty03 wrote: »

Ooooh, I love those suggestions – some much more than others!

Where do you get strychnine, oops sorry, I mean quinine, from and does anyone have a recipe for squirrel and daffodil stew!

Quinine is in most tonic water, check the label to make sure you're buying one which has quinine in it