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#1
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defense against squirrels and chipmunks
Aside from a cat and bb gun, is there anything I can put in my garden to
keep the chipmunks and squirrels from digging up my bulbs? I have a mixture of Narcissus Jack Snipe and crocuses. I stayed away from tulips and lilies as I read these are their favorites. thanks |
#2
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defense against squirrels and chipmunks
I find regular old chicken wire works well against squirrels and chipmunks. But
a bit tighter mesh will work better since it also deters mice and voles. I have found that narcissus doesn't need any protection, but crocus are known as "chipmunk candy" around here. You can either make an underground "basket with a lid" around your bulbs if you plant them in small groupings, or you can just lay some chicken wire overtop the already planted garden bed and tack it down with rocks or "wire staples" (I use pieces of bent wire clothes hangers). This defense has worked well for me...still have the tulips I planted five years ago. BT "seepnezorf1" wrote in message news:US1bb.527794$YN5.351802@sccrnsc01... Aside from a cat and bb gun, is there anything I can put in my garden to keep the chipmunks and squirrels from digging up my bulbs? I have a mixture of Narcissus Jack Snipe and crocuses. I stayed away from tulips and lilies as I read these are their favorites. thanks |
#3
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defense against squirrels and chipmunks
I have waged war on squirrels this year, and I am still inundated by
them. I talked to the game commision, and they said it was not a problem to shoot them as long as they were causing damage and on my property. I have 2 types of squirrels. The common gray and ther Fox squirrels. I don;t fool with the fox, but this year alone I have shot over 50 of the gray squirrels and there is still a heap of em out there yet. Fortunately I live in the country, so shooting them is not a problem as it may be in a populated area. I had trapped some for awhile, but it was a never ending battle setting and unloading the traps, and having to relocate the critters. The 50 I have shot do not include the ones I carted away after catching them in live traps. They come right in my hen houses and rob the eggs, eat through bags of feed, and dig up the yard burying acorns. They clipped my gardens new growth numerous times, and have all but destroyed most of the wild bird nests. The have destroyed all my birdhouses, by enlarging the entry holes, so they can fit inside. They are even eating their way into my attic, by gnawing through the screen thats used to cover the louvers in the gables. On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:27:48 GMT, "seepnezorf1" wrote: x-Aside from a cat and bb gun, is there anything I can put in my garden to x-keep the chipmunks and squirrels from digging up my bulbs? I have a mixture x-of Narcissus Jack Snipe and crocuses. I stayed away from tulips and lilies x-as I read these are their favorites. x- x-thanks x- -- Visit my website: Remove nospam for correct address http://www.nospamfrugalmachinist.com Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects. Regards Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever. Remove nospam from email address |
#4
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defense against squirrels and chipmunks
blood meal... sprinkle over the area and repeat after every rain. I think it does
work, seems the digging stops for a while anyway. Ingrid "seepnezorf1" wrote: Aside from a cat and bb gun, is there anything I can put in my garden to keep the chipmunks and squirrels from digging up my bulbs? I have a mixture of Narcissus Jack Snipe and crocuses. I stayed away from tulips and lilies as I read these are their favorites. thanks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List http://puregold.aquaria.net/ www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make. |
#6
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defense against squirrels and chipmunks
On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:27:48 GMT, "seepnezorf1"
wrote: Aside from a cat and bb gun, is there anything I can put in my garden to keep the chipmunks and squirrels from digging up my bulbs? I have a mixture of Narcissus Jack Snipe and crocuses. I stayed away from tulips and lilies as I read these are their favorites. A domestic small-breed cat would also kill birds, even when they're not hungry. A cat's instinct is to kill, which is why they should always be kept indoors. Four million birds are killed every day by people letting their cats outdoors. Native North American bobcats might help with rodents like sq's & chp's but they've been wiped out of most ecosystems due to being a nuisance to livestock farmers. Snakes, especially the timber rattlesnake, used to keep populations down, but in the early 20th century they were all trapped and killed in this area for their skins. I have no qualms about keeping their populations in my area low (I frequently work in the backyard moving many rocks). I put up a couple big birdhouses with 3-inch holes. This attracts owls and kestrels to the area, something which squirrels & chipmunks don't find very amusing. The squirrels will use boxes with 2-2.5 inch diameter holes, but around here they stay away from the 3-inch ones. Birdhouses with 2-inch diameters must have a steel-plate around the hole or else the squirrel will widen it to their own dimensions (usually pregnancy dimensions, meaning more squirrels). Animals seem to know that a hole that's too big is a sign something bigger can come in after them. In fact, I've been working on building a barred owl nestbox, but that is a biggie (2.5 feet deep and 12"x12" base with a 7" entrance hole). I would just barely have enough wood. To be honest, the pellet gun is what works best. Usually I get 30-40 a year, and there's always just as many to fill the void. With a squirrel it's less effective, but a properly sighted scope is very effective with chipmunks. Dan |
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