My only suggestion is to feed them. I put up squirl feeders & some times it helps & sometimes not! Good Luck

Cybil, the same here. We usually have a half dozen of the fellows running around our garden. They bring us as much enjoyment as anything else in the garden.

We pay them extortion peanuts. They have their feeding stations. The only time they dig up plants is a biproduct of when they bury peanuts.

The only damage they do is to newly planted plants in the beds and in pots. They'll dig in freshly worked soil. The solution is simple. We always sprinkle a bit of blood meal around any new plantings and that deters the squirrels.

WHat you say makes a lot of sense. All my beds are new. I just bought my house this summer and I've trucked in leaf compost from the landfill and am using it as part of my lasagna layers. My garden beds are soft, good compost. I guess they are squirrel fantasies. They haven't touched my front beds that I did sprinkle with blood meal (because I used sawdust horse bedding and needed some additional nitrogen). Where can I purchase cheap peanuts?

Thanks for your input.
Katie

I agree with setting up a squirrel feeding station, it worked for me. Now that they are no longer hungry & have access to 'their own food' they seem to leave everything alone, even my bird feeders.

For anyone handy with tools, here's a link I ran across on another forum for a unique squirrel feeder you can make yourself out of one fence post & a jar.
A Squirrel Feeder ThatÂs Sure to Get Some Chuckles

I like the feeders with corn cobs that drive the squirrels crazy. I went to look for one I bought my aunt years ago. It was just one pole on a center point with a cob skewered on each side. Every time the squirrel would go to one cob, it would twirl and make it very difficult for the squirrel to get to the it. My aunt wouldn't use it because she thought it was too mean.

Now I only found another version with two poles for four cobs, and these dangle. The one I bought for my aunt was nearly impossible for the squirrel to stabilize like this one, so it would keep going round and round.

{{gwi:292839}}

The other one I found has two cobs on it, but the photo is deceptive. When the squirrel gets on the cob, it springs/hops up and down. There's a video clip of it at the site. LOL!

I also use red pepper, but it does wash away too often. I buy it cheaply in bulk at Indian grocery stores for making curry, but it goes musty after a while. That's when it goes in the garden. I know some say it's cruel, but it doesn't kill them, and this is war.

I guess I have a mean streak ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: squirrel hopper

Katie - find a neighbor with nice thorny roses, and ask for the pruned canes (just stack them out of the way until you need them); the canes can be laid down on the new beds and do a pretty good job of deterring both squirrels and cats from digging, while not being too noticeable.

Barb_bronze - thanks for the photos - I've not seen anything like those around here. On the other hand, my DH started feeding the squirrels when he retired - however, in 3 years the resident population (those living in nests we can see from our house) went from about 5 nests with maybe 8 adults to (I am not making this up, I counted after yesterday's windstorm) 27 nests within a 200' circle. I can't keep track of how many furry bodies are actual residents because they mostly look alike, grey except for 2 blacks, and one with a black body and blonde tail (I dunno where the blonde comes from); but I have counted 16 at one time just from the kitchen window.
Yes, they dig in the gardens and flower beds, but not anywhere that is rose-cane protected or covered with wire mesh or heavily mulched with straw. They don't dig in the lawns but they do dig in the woodland area that has a chip mulch. They also play in the birdbaths, steal shiny plant labels, and engage in an on-going skimish with DH over whether or not birds are entitled to eat from the bird feeders. Slinky toys, tree netting and chili-powder sprays let us have some of the apples and pears, but I haven't found anything to protect the strawberries (they dug under the wire mesh)... but I am considering how to weave rose canes for baskets to cover the berries :)