On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 08:41:03 -0000, "paul"
wrote:

~can anyone recomend a good way of stopping squirrels from digging up my
~bulbs in the pots on my patio.
~

Hi (delurking

I've had this problem for years. I have two main solutions:

1) 1" galvanised mesh sheets can be bought from garden centres, and I
cut it with wirecutters into circles just smaller than the top of the
pot. These get laid on the surface after planting and just covered.
When the shoots get to about 2" high through the mesh, you can gently
lift it off. Tulips tend to push up the mesh as their leaves unfurl,
or deform slightly: other bulbs are better.

2) Upturned wire hanging baskets! Most of my bulb pots are 10-12"
diameter terracotta and so 12-14" baskets fit neatly over the top and
don't deform or obstruct the shoots as they grow. Again, lift off when
the bulbs are a couple of inches high, when the squirrels won't be
interested. By this time you'll want the baskets for planting up
anyway :-)

I've got two 15" pots of jetfire narcissi, tulips and grape hyacinths
that are just starting to look wonderful thanks to method number 1.
They are currently sitting on top of the removed mesh so I can reuse
it next year.

I don't recommend the cat method as mine's too lazy to chase the
squirrels anyway :-)

I did once check up on the govt websites about grey squirrels. They
are officially vermin. This means you can trap or kill them at will.
If you trap one, it's is illegal to let it go again on someone else's
property, so unless you let it go in your own garden, defeating the
object, you are back to killing them. They're only rats with good
publicity, anyway.

Good luck


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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