When I wandered into the kitchen this glorious spring morning, I espied one of the local Sciurus carolinensis scurrying around my garden, and digging in my strawberry pots. Opening the garden door didn’t frighten the little bugger away: he just sat on the grass chittering at me.
As I don’t have any explosives to hand (all thoughts of hippy greenness vanish like morning mist when one’s crops are under threat) I’ve had to take a more subtle approach.
I’m using pieces of bamboo (it grows in my garden, happily) to create a miniature obstacle course.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to sharpen the points, nor find suitable poisons to coat the tips. I’m a little worried that a simply physical barrier isn’t enough. But until I can find a supplier of anti-squirrel mines it’ll have to do.
For now, at least. No one nicks my strawberries.
The Beast is happy to offer his services. He’s pointed out that it’s biocontrol, which is good for the environment. And he also has experience of catching squirrels.
I fear that the beast won’t distinguish between squirrels and birds.
No, it’s easy. The birds fly away and laugh at him (they’ve even come into the flat to mock. Bastards).
I was just going to suggest a cat or dog. Not for catching squirrels, but for chasing them away.
We used to have grey, brown and black squirrels in our garden – it was like a squirrel soap opera out there some days, with all kinds of quarrels and fights and chasing. But I haven’t seen any of them since we started letting the cats out for a few hours at weekends. The raccoons are still around though, the cute little evil bastards.
They won’t necessarily harm your strawberries. They are either burying nuts/bulbs from somewhere else, or trying to score new ones. Once they suss out the root system in your pots, and work out there are no tasty bulbs to be had, I doubt they’ll cause much mischief.
Jennifer Rohn is the Delia Smith of gardening.
Thank you.
for squirrels, I recommend cayenne pepper or some derivative thereof. Put it all over your nuts, and then only the birds will enjoy them.
Put it all over your nuts, and then only the birds will enjoy them.
Why am I sniggering like a schoolboy?
[giggles madly]
>:)
After all the heavies in Stephen’s space, i thought it best to go back to toilet humour as soon as possible…
Ian, does that work for plums too?
You want to cayenne pepper on your plums, or on Stephen’s place?
Eh?
‘put’. ‘Want to put cayenne pepper…’
the first one