Sorry to hear about the aggressive squirrel. It is so disappointing and frustrating to find this kind of situation. I battle with squirrels also and have used small stones to deter them from digging up the roots of plants. But what I prefer is to use a plastic mesh (something that water can easily flow through) and cut to fit the area I am interested in protecting. (Chicken wire can work too.) Then I use ground staples to pin it down to the ground. I add some soil on top so it is not easily visible. I like to have the roots readily available to receive water and more air flow around the base of the plant.

Sunofa nutcracker. I hate those things. Destructive just for the sake of being so. Today I caught one gnawing on one my hypertufa troughs. Seriously? I hope they don't start tearing up my hostas too. I've tried about everything myself. I think getting a dog is about the only hope I have and I'm just not sure I'm up for that.

Chicken wire keeps them out but looks awful. Wish I had a better suggestion,but I have been dealing with them for over 40 years and I still don't have a good answer. Just hope something else grabs their attention.

-Babka

Hi, guys. Tonight, I came home with two 30 lb. bags of egg-sized river rocks. Tomorrow, I will put more of those rocks around the hostas, heuchies, and annuals. I also bought some 5" diameter round flat bottles with about a 3/4 - 1" wide opening at the neck (hurray for Michael's crafts coupons!). Those squirrels uprooted nearly all the wire baskets I made last year to protect the Sluggo pellets from being eaten by squirrels or birds. That stuff is expensive and I need it around to kill slugs! I figure I will put a tablespoon of Sluggo inside these bottles, add a tiny dash of yeast to make them irrestible, and then lay the bottles flat on the ground. Sure, the squirrels will try to flip them and dump them around, but I intend to put cable ties around the bottle necks and then attach them to stakes, of which I have lots. Those bottles will be anchored real good. So I will attempt to take on the nasty squirrels and head off slugs before any damage is done. What is really needed is an automatic sprayer which is set off by motion detectors, which sprays an ammonia solution. That would un-attract squirrels and maybe slugs as well.

I have to wonder why the squirrels are so attracted to and destructive in your garden. I know in my situation I feed the birds and that's why they come to my garden. I also remember last year we turned over the clay soil and made amendments to two different areas on our lot. The squirrels thought we did it for them. They merrily proceeded to bury their treasures for the winter in those places. Luckily, in the spring, I only found one hosta that was uprooted and left to die.

So I am wondering whether other people in your area are gardening too. If not, that may be the attraction to your garden---nice soft earth to bury in. I have never heard of squirrels eating slug pellets. Would it be possible to change the kind of pellets you are using?

Good luck with your efforts. Would love to see a picture sometime of the rocks and bottles.

Yes, Newhostalady, other people in the next 2 buildings down are gardening---after they saw my garden. I started with the gardening, the next building followed suit with their 3 "Obligatory Bushes", the building down from them then did it, the courtyard down from them now sports more plants, etc. There is no doubt the squirrels enjoy the nice soft tilled soil, so easy to dig and destroy in, vs. the crummy contractor fill I started with.

We are not allowed to put up bird feeders, so I don't know where the squirrels get the peanuts whose shells I frequently find in my container gardens.

I could not bear the thought of critters dying slowly from poisoning, so I use the regular Sluggo pellets and not the Sluggo plus, which contains metaldehyde, a nasty poison.

I saw on Amazon sheets of plastic spiked webbing you can buy, which you lay on the ground and plant through. Anybody digging, squirrel or dog, would get an OUCHIE from their efforts. We need that here!

Nice to hear that you inspired others to begin gardening.

I like the plastic spiked webbing in your picture. I read the reviews on the product. It was thought to be too pricey for the amount that was sold. I don't think it harms animals which is a good thing.

I took a picture of the mesh that I have used. The one on the left is a better size since the holes are larger. Today I found a place that sells garden spikes. They are about six inches long and could be used to hold down that mesh in the soil. They are longer than ground staples.

The squirrels in my yard would probably laugh at that spiky stuff. They have foiled about everything I have tried.

Before I came inside from my little grocery shopping walk, I opened up one of the two 30 lb. bags of egg-sized round river rocks I bought last night and piled additional rocks around the plants the squirrels (especially this one big old rank one which is utterly unafraid of people and which is terrorizing my downstairs neighbor by hanging out on her window ledge) have been de-leafing. Let's see how that works. It's gonna be a pain to dig the trench to sink my new soaker hose in once I finish it, and then re-mulch the garden after having to move all the rocks out of the way first. A major pain I'm not looking forward to at all. But having the soaker system installed and working will be a great boon once these spring rains cease and the long hot summer commences. And the extra stones will definitely discourage the rotten crummy squirrels from digging around roots.

New hosta lady, those garden staples are absolutely useless to hold down anything AND they rust in about 30 seconds. I just ordered some plastic spikes with little flanges along the shaft which should make it harder to pull out. Around here, with all this destructive stuff going on, one can always use more anchoring materials!

You can possibly catch them and relocate them to forest preserve? At least some? I also find bird netting to be inexpensive and very versatile

Thanks, Linda, but this is Queens, NY in NYC. There is a bit of forest about 1 mile away, but it is already stuffed with squirrels, rabbits, etc. The red tailed hawks undoubtedly account for some, but not enough. Bird netting is like mist and squirrels would chew through that in less time than it takes to type this. I am preparing anchors for my Sluggo-containing bottles so the squirrels don't toss them around and I hope my increased rocks do their job of discouraging digging. They usually do discourage digging very well.

I have been using bird netting for quite some time now, and usually place it over pots in the fall so furry rats do not dig into them, currently I use it against rabbits going after my veggie gardens. It is my suspicion that strength of the netting has no relevance, it is fear on being caught that prevents small animals actively digging anything covered with bird netting.