I planted many different varieties of bamboo several years ago and was
plunged into near despair recently by the fact that squirrels have
developed a taste for and destroyed virtually all of the beautiful new
shoots coming up this year... I have been trying all sorts of
deterrents including caging, hot sauce, bug spray,..etc,. all with
little or no success. I have finally stumbled onto something that
works reasonably well and want to pass it on to others... It occured
to me that cats are a squirrel's natural enemy and so I had a
brainstorm.. a friend of mine has many cats and so I asked for her
kitty litter waste.. This cat urine and feces mixed with clay has
been a godsend to me... I mix it with water and let it soak for a
while and then I stir it all up in a big bucket with a plaster mixer
on the end of a heavy duty drill... I end up with a very stinky
mayonaise textured substance which I then paint onto the shoots as
they come up.. I make a trip around the place every morning and with
a small little broom I apply this nasty stuff to the shoots... When it
dries the clay leaves a stinky residue on the shoots) I am glad to
report that the squirrels leave them alone... (and yet continue to
destroy the shoots that I overlook and don't paint).. I caution you
that I killed a few shoots initially by pouring the mixture on with a
big spoon and I think that it ended up burning them with too much
nitrogen around the base... Since then I just lightly paint the stuff
on... You only need to apply the stuff until the shoots get a few feet
high and harden... Give it a try,... it has worked for me... David