Squash Blossom Eating Critter!!

Denese 9/1/2011, 9:19 am

This should probably be put under pests, but I'll let you decide. First, I found out that it wasn't a raccoon that ate my corn. Then, this morning I caught the same critter eating the blossoms off my acorn squash. Shocked

At least he left the baby squashes, but I have no idea if they were pollinated, yet. Sad

Here is a photo of the guilty critter...

critter - Squash Blossom Eating Critter!! Squash10

Anybody interested in a veggie eating mini-dachshund puppy? No, seriously I love him dearly and would never give him up, but I'm at a loss on how to prevent him helping himself to my veggies. Anyone have any ideas how to keep him out of the veggies?

moswell 9/1/2011, 9:53 am

Aw, what a cutie. But I know well how frustrating adorable little dogs can be. Smile

Maybe bitter spray would work, assuming it wouldn't hurt the plants?

Denese 9/1/2011, 11:28 am

moswell wrote:

Maybe bitter spray would work, assuming it wouldn't hurt the plants?

I have some Bitter Apple spray. It says, "Ingredients: Water, Isopropanol 20%, Bitter Principles and Extractives.

Will this hurt my plants? Then again, it probably wouldn't do anymore damage than he has done. Laughing

moswell 9/1/2011, 11:57 am

Denese wrote:
moswell wrote:

Maybe bitter spray would work, assuming it wouldn't hurt the plants?

I have some Bitter Apple spray. It says, "Ingredients: Water, Isopropanol 20%, Bitter Principles and Extractives.

Will this hurt my plants? Then again, it probably wouldn't do anymore damage than he has done.

- true.

At any rate, I'm a new gardener, so I hesitate to advise on what's safe and what's not. That said, I believe most of the "bitter" ingredients are natural and probably come from plants in the first place. Maybe do like you do with a pre-treatment for laundry or something: test one small area and see how the plant fares?

Denese 9/1/2011, 12:34 pm

That's probably a good idea. My major concern is the isopropanol. Isn't that alcohol?

Lindacol 9/1/2011, 2:55 pm

Denese wrote:
moswell wrote:

Maybe bitter spray would work, assuming it wouldn't hurt the plants?

I have some Bitter Apple spray. It says, "Ingredients: Water, Isopropanol 20%, Bitter Principles and Extractives.

Will this hurt my plants? Then again, it probably wouldn't do anymore damage than he has done.

Not sure what it might do to the plants but I would be concerned about what it might do to the pollinators (bees, etc) since you would be spraying it on the flowers.

Bitter apple spray did not stop my dog from chewing on himself, nor my goats from chewing on wood.

You probably need to fence him out of the garden.

Chopper 9/1/2011, 3:17 pm

The only real answer short of staying with the dog constantly is fencing. That cheap low white fencing should be plenty. That is what I used for one Rottweiler and one very small spaniel.

You can see the fencing in the bed below. Cheap, easy and effective. You might also try a hoop house with netting.

critter - Squash Blossom Eating Critter!! Bed_8_10

critter - Squash Blossom Eating Critter!! Bed_8_10

Denese 9/1/2011, 4:25 pm

Lindacol wrote:

Not sure what it might do to the plants but I would be concerned about what it might do to the pollinators (bees, etc)

Oh, I hadn't thought about the pollinators. Yeah, probably not a good idea.

Lindacol wrote:

You probably need to fence him out of the garden.

critter - Squash Blossom Eating Critter!! Empty

Chopper wrote:

The only real answer short of staying with the dog constantly is fencing.

I've been trying to come up with a way to fence him out. I like your low fencing, Chopper. I might give that a shot, thanks.

sherryeo 9/1/2011, 6:50 pm

Oh, yea, look at that face! He's guilty as homemade sin and he know's he's been found out! Good luck with figuring out how to fence the veggies away from him. He looks like he's worth the effort to keep around, for sure!!! Cutie.

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