Squirrels

Something was digging in my garden yesterday! My husband and I both think it was a squirrel. No major damage, though perhaps a few radish seedlings met an untimely end.

Can bird netting keep squirrels out, or will they just reach right through it? I have to be careful of the appearance of any solutions, as my garden is highly visible from the street.

I would think bird netting would work effectively if the holes were small enough - unless the squirrel REALLY likes your radishes in which case it might chew through the netting. Plastic forks stuck in the ground handle first - so that the tines are sticking up - are often used as an effective deterrent for cats. I wonder if that would work for squirrels as well. Seems like any animal walking across your garden wouldn't want to get poked in the paw.

Thank you, Tim!

I forgot all about the dangers of another critter. We have cats and they are indoor-only. This afternoon, my indoor-start seedlings are big enough that I took off the lid permanently and put the tray at the window. I thought I'd taken adequate means to protect it, but not ten minutes later I heard a HUGE crash in the kitchen from that general location. I screamed in spite of myself (a raw, oh my Good Diety please NO!!!!! sort of horrified scream at the top of my lungs) and in the echoes of the crash, heard cats taking off in various directions at Mach IV.

Final damage tally was numerous branches broken off three Christmas cacti, plus shock to all three from falling... but my precious veggie starts were untouched. Whew!

Why do cats hate transplants so much? I've never figured that one out. It's not like we force them to eat the vegetables. Hmmmmm....

Hahaa, Tim

My midnight yard digger came back. To the same place! Turns out it was a summer savory square, not radishes, which just makes no sense at all because it's not up yet. Maybe it's trying to bury food, I don't know. I have planted tufts of cat fur all over that area, maybe it will help? (The cat fur is from a grooming glove.)

I am having the same problem. I am wondering if there is anything I can spray to help

I am hoping the cat fur helps. We have ferrets also, and in the past, ferret poo has been GREAT at getting rid of nasty rodents, but their litter is a recycled newspaper type and not very nice to look at. Hoping I don't have to go there.