Squirrels are a common pest in gardens and parks across the country, but they can become a nuisance if you’re trying to fill your garden with plenty of blooms. Squirrels are attracted to plant bulbs because they provide a nutritious food source, particularly during autumn when other food is scarce.
Gardening expert Ish shared the frustration around defending gardens from the pests, but revealed there are some easy solutions you can put in place to keep the squirrels at bay. This autumn, turn to your kitchen cupboards for the answer, as there’s one particular spice that squirrels can’t stand and will surely deter them from eating your plant bulbs. This is what you need to do.
If you’re after a more potent deterrent for squirrels, Ish recommended using chilli flakes to do the job. He said: “The cool thing about chilli flakes is: you sprinkle them every couple of weeks or so, and as a result, the squirrel will go for a little nibble on those first.
“And they’ll get a bit of a hot surprise, so you’ll find they probably won’t come back for a while.”
Chilli flakes work as a deterrent thanks to their capsaicin content. Capsaicin activates pain receptors in mammals, causing an unpleasant burning sensation that makes squirrels avoid treated areas.
When squirrels smell or taste chilli flakes, the capsaicin irritates their nose and mouth, causing a burning sensation. Ideal Home also suggested placing chilli flakes in bird feeders to ward off squirrels from eating bird food.
However, this will not affect the birds, as they have different taste receptors and do not react to the heat of capsaicin in the same way mammals do.
Rachel Bull, Head of Gardens at Homes & Gardens, also offered another method using chilli flakes. She said: “Another method is making a chilli powder spray by mixing a tablespoon of dish soap (from Walmart) with two teaspoons of chilli powder in water.
“Put your mixture in an empty spray bottle (from Amazon) and spray on ant hills and trails. This spray can also be applied to the lower leaves of plants being attacked by slugs, for example, deterring them from munching on the rest of the plant.”
Ish also suggested covering your plants with wire mesh or netting. This can help shield the whole of the plant pot, as it can be moulded to fit whatever shape and size the plant pot is.
Covering a plant pot in wire mesh will allow air and water to get into the plant throughout the winter months. This can easily be removed when the plants start to shoot.
To decrease the likelihood of the squirrels digging, consider overplanting the bulbs with some winter annuals. Ish said: “What will happen is that it will create a nice barrier, so they can’t get down there. And the roots will create a nice dense texture, so they can’t dig.
“The really cool thing about planting winter annuals is these will last all the way throughout the year, amazing colour, and the bottoms will actually grow through this in the spring. So you’ll end up with this double layer that looks absolutely stunning, and is cheap as chips.”