How to keep out squirrels?

[PillsburyDoughboy]

I have bonsais and they are hard enough to care for without the squirrels digging them up. What can I do to keep them out of my pots?

[Chris]

Put down hardware cloth (a thick steel mesh sold at hardware stores) around the plant on top of the soil. Squirrels won't (can't) dig through it, problem solved.

You can put pebbles or bark on top of the cloth if you find it unsightly.

[greenthumb]

Go to a local co-op and purchase some bulk ground cayenne pepper. Sprinkle this over the soil surface and the squirrels will only need to get into it once and they will leave your plants alone. You will need to put a fair amount down and reapply after watering once or twice.
Good luck!

[nofeargardener]

Go to a local co-op and purchase some bulk ground cayenne pepper. Sprinkle this over the soil surface and the squirrels will only need to get into it once and they will leave your plants alone. You will need to put a fair amount down and reapply after watering once or twice.
Good luck!

I agree with greenthumb. I've used cayenne pepper AND mothballs before. I had the same issue when I planted garlic. Squirrels came in and dug it all up, took a bite, and left me the mess. Good times... good times.

You could also strike a bargain with them by putting up a small squirrel feeding area away from your plants. Sure... it's bribery, but it just might work!

[inchworm5]

I like the bargaining idea, but you have to be careful though because if the squirrels begin to expect the food they may never leave you alone. We used to throw out food sometimes like bread or old food that the animals around our yard would eat, mostly birds at first but then the squirrels took over and they would loiter around the deck constantly expecting there to be food. We had one fat bully that used to run all the other squirrels off the deck so that he could hog all the food, it was funny to watch but if you don't like loitering squirrels then I would suggest the other alternatives.

[JeffM]

I can remember watching a determined ground squirrel eating a tomato plant that, out of frustration, I had covered with cayenne, black and white pepper.
Another time I watched a squirrel return several times to retrieve some buried seeds in a pot I had coated with cayenne pepper.
The only thing that worked for me was building a wire mesh cage completely around my pots, but that didn't prove very practical or attractive.
As I mentioned on another thread, the only thing that worked was to finally eliminate the problem by using a device called the Rat Zapper baited with shelled peanuts.
It was them or me and I wasn't going to be cheated out of enjoying patio and garden plants.