Most gardeners know that squirrels can pose a threat to nearly any potted plant. They like to dig in the soil to stash food they don’t consume immediately, so in addition to digging up your plants and knocking over pots, these fluffy tailed rascals often accidentally plant other seeds in your containers. If they’ve zeroed in on your porch or patio as a convenient place for food storage, they’re likely also knocking things over and generally causing havoc. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to discourage squirrel interest, and prevent them from ruining your garden containers.
Build a barrier
As with most pests, the only way to absolutely exclude squirrels from your potted plants is to build a barrier to keep them out. Making a “cage” from bird netting, chicken wire, or using a pre-made potted plant guard that slips on over top of your plant will keep squirrels at bay. Chicken wire can be bent into a cone or cube shape and will hold itself up if it’s not too large of an area. Bird netting will need to be fixed to stakes to support it. Some gardeners have success using DIY squirrel fencing, made from PVC pipes and bird netting for larger areas like raised beds. Similarly to the bird netting cage method, the DIY fencing can be attached to the PVC pipes to create an enclosure, but this method leaves the top open to facilitate weeding and maintenance. You can also choose to use a wire mesh soil guard to cover up just the soil, preventing any furry invaders from digging it up. This type of barrier is the only sure way to keep squirrels at bay, but there are a few other simple things to try if a caged plant isn’t your style.
Use a layer of protection
Ways to discourage squirrels from digging in your soil include using wood chips over top of your potting soil or using coconut fiber cut to the shape of your pot and placed over the soil. These aren’t completely foolproof and a tenacious squirrel will bypass them eventually, but they are a good deterrent when combined with other methods.
Add some spice to your soil
If you can’t cover up the soil, you can spray it with capsaicin infused water by boiling cayenne pepper, hot peppers with seeds, or black pepper in water, allowing it to cool, straining it, and pouring it into a spray bottle. This DIY squirrel repellent will discourage squirrels as they don’t like the taste or smell of hot pepper, but be aware that the mixture will be uncomfortable if it comes in contact with your skin or if you inhale the spray, and it will burn if you get it in your eyes. Best practice when applying home-made squirrel repellent to the soil in your potted plants is to wear goggles and gloves. Make sure to label your spray bottle so it doesn’t get mixed up with plain water. If you don’t want to mix your own, you can use pre-mixed repellent, using the same safety measures while applying it. Squirrels can also be repelled by the scent of cinnamon and mint, so adding these spices to your potted plant soil can help keep them away,
Razzle-dazzle ‘em
Shiny and moving objects will sometimes deter squirrels from a particular location as movement and shadows will set off a squirrel’s natural predator instinct. These things might not work forever, but can be effective for a season when combined with other methods. Pinwheels, spinners, old CDs hung from a string, mirrors, or other dazzlers are all cheap and simple squirrel deterrents.
Batten down the hatches
If your primary problem is that squirrels knock pots over, you can consider attaching them to your rail or fence, or using a window box. With plastic pots, using one or two deck screws with a fender washer through the bottom of the pot into the surface they’re sitting on will work. If you have pots that are more fragile, you can use a nylon nut and bolt through the drainage hole into the surface the pot is on. The softer hardware won’t damage the pot and the waterproof nylon material is perfect for use outdoors. Creating stability will keep squirrels from knocking planters over no matter how hard they try.