Squirrels, Wire cages, and Trellis on one end--what to do?!

The squirrels around here travel in packs it's so bad I live in a conservatory suburban neighborhood, with about 15 oak tress on my property, so yeah, it's bad.

I was all set to go to the hardware store today and get my supplies to make one of those wire frame cages you see in the book. But then it dawned on me--uh-oh...what about the side where a trellis will go when my plants get bigger?! I have two boxes, and will need a trellis in each one.

Right now the little buggers are already digging up my seed-planted soil. I'm hoping the seeds (lettuce, spinach, carrots) were small enough that they didn't find and remove them.

I know there are sprays you can buy--but I don't have any plants to spray at this point. Is there a way to cage your box with a trellis on one side?

Get you a LARGE canister of Cayenne Pepper and sprinkle very liberally all over everything!! I'm surrounded with squirrels and thats the only thing that has stopped them. It needs to be reapplied every few days depending on weather and rain, it loses its potency quickly. Its kind of gratifying to watch the little buggers jump in to take a bite and get a mouthful of cayenne... They are not happy !!

Might I suggest this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo

I have the same problem. I keep my netting up all the time and the peas are starting to cling to it. I have to do something quickly, but can't decide what to do that won't leave the rest of the garden exposed.

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:Might I suggest this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ya6z-NlDo

I have the same problem. I keep my netting up all the time and the peas are starting to cling to it. I have to do something quickly, but can't decide what to do that won't leave the rest of the garden exposed.

Oh, my goodness!

Anyway, yep, I know the quandary... we just put chicken wire over our garden, and the peas are near it already. I'll be putting bird netting around the sides, with a way to lift it. Am I concerned about complications with peas and netting? You bet! But the birds have been raiding our tomatoes and strawberries, and we're just fortunate that the squirrels apparently haven't discovered the garden yet. It's only a matter of time, though, since they raid my uncle's pear tree faithfully every year, and it's quite near.

Greenmama...I have exactly the same problem! So, when I built my SFG, I came up with this plan for all my pesky squirrels....SO FAR the squirrels and birds haven't gotten in

Scubadoo~

I think for now I'll go the cheap and fast route and buy some cayenne pepper, see how that works for me. Thanks all for your advice!

Hi, I'm new to the forums...

My son and I are choosing between two designs for warding off raccoons, rabbits, squirrels...etc. One plan is to make short cages of chicken wire to place over the boxes (can be lifted off when working in the garden) and the other is to use PVC poles and bird/deer netting to cover the boxes and trellises.

My main question was if anyone had used bird/deer netting before and whether animals are able to chew through it when they're hungry.

Thank you for any advice. I am looking forward to using this site.

Well, let me tell you. I asked for advice at 3 different garden centers, and all 3 times I was told that animals--especially squirrels--would chew right through dear or bird netting. That it was a waste of my money to try. They all said I needed metal chicken wire.

But DH was gone on business, and I am useless with tools, and the squirrels would not stay out of my garden! So, I spent $10 on dear netting, put it up over my PVC pipe hoops, staked it into the ground all around, and one month later not a single animal has chewed through it!

I will eventually have to take it off when the crops get tall enough, but for now, it's working!

Hi,
I had a problem with something digging up my seeds. We built a cage using the example in the book and voila, no problems. I had to remove the cage this evening because my tomatoes have gotten tall and I needed to start the process of training them to the trellis. I am waiting to see what tomorrow brings. I pray that now the seeds are plants the "rascal" (as I like to call him) will leave the box alone...that is until it starts producing anyway. Last year I used Deer Scram and never had a problem with anything. I am waiting on my delivery right now. I ordered it online.



The cage isn't pretty, but it served its purpose. I hope you find a solution that works for you. I know how frustrating it can be.

I had a big rabbit problem last summer, so we built chicken wire cages this year. The pics aren't very good, but they'll give you an idea. They're not setting on the beds because I was working in the yard. This one is 4' tall and uncovered.



The other is 3' tall and totally enclosed.



(Please ignore the extra determinate tomatoes that I plopped into kitty litter buckets because I couldn't bear to throw them out. Wished I'd moved them out of the way before I snapped the picture! )

I also have a flat top that I can use by itself for seeds/seedlings or ziptie to the 4' cage to keep the birds out of my strawberry bed. The 3' also stacks on top of the 4' if the squirrels try to get into my corn. I like that they're convertable and I can use them how I need them, but they don't work with trellised boxes. One good thing though--after all that effort, I haven't seen a single rabbit this year!

We made the wire cages in the book in different sizes so we can mix and match. Like 3 X 3, 2 X2 etc. I have a rectangular box with trellis along the north side and usually I keep a plastic row cover on that last row of boxes by the trellis until the seedlings are too tall. The cages go on the squares in front of those seedlings. Some cages are taller than others for tall plants.

I thought the squirrels would be a bigger problem than they are since they made a mess of my tulips bulbs the first spring I planted. They are mostly interested in the onion sets. And they bury things in the garden like peanuts and fruit. Slugs are probably a bigger problem.